Upptic’s creative development team delivered another standout year of innovation and performance in 2024’s ever-evolving gaming market. Here is a look at highlights from the year – including accomplishments, key trends, and top-performing strategies that game marketers can leverage for success.
Notable Creative Accomplishments
- Creative Team Client Reach: The creative team expanded its portfolio, working with more clients than ever across gaming – from mobile and PC, to web3. These included renowned games like Diablo Immortal, Hearthstone, BitLife, Gods Unchained, and Guild of Guardians – as well as non-gaming clientele like Backbone and Golf Logix GPS. This extensive and diverse clientele reflects Upptic’s flexibility and proven leadership in games and apps marketing.
- Creative Output on Upptic’s Growth Platform: Upptic Growth Platform users (which include our own creative team as well as many self-service clients) created an impressive 20,051 assets across various formats. This includes 6,927 videos showcasing innovative storytelling, 9,190 high-quality images tailored to specific campaigns, and 99 documents that provided in-depth insights and support materials. This output demonstrates the platform’s versatility and power for marketers everywhere.
Top Trends Driving Engagement
- Over-the-Shoulder: This trend remains a favorite among audiences, as it provides a relatable experience by incorporating actual gameplay footage and mimics watching a friend play the game – as seen in ad campaigns like Ultimate 8 Ball Pool‘s “Real Deal” campaign.
- AI-Generated Music and Visuals: AI-powered tools like Suno and MidJourney played a pivotal role in creating background music and visual effects that elevated the overall quality of campaigns. Campaigns leveraging AI tools showed early promise and led to some breakout successes. All in all, experimentation with AI opened new possibilities for creative storytelling and resource efficiency.
- Developer-Focused Content: Featuring developers in interviews added a human element to marketing efforts. Titles like The Tower benefited greatly, as these interviews built a sense of trust and connection between players and the game developers, fostering community engagement.
- Cozy Gaming: This trend capitalized on the appeal of warm, comforting, and relatable content, especially on TikTok. Games like The Tower utilized cozy gaming aesthetics effectively, creating content that resonated particularly well during the colder months, tapping into seasonal sentimentality.
Client Success Stories
Diablo Immortal
The campaign’s use of explainer and tutorial content resonated strongly with advanced players. By focusing on intricate game mechanics, Upptic was able to highlight the depth of the gameplay, which performed well for retargeting campaigns.
The Tower
The “Developer Interview” emerged as the top-performing content for this title, which came across as personal and relatable. An unbeatable top performer for six months, this video put a face to the game – building a strong connection with the player community.
Marvel Snap
Upptic utilizes well-known influencers and creators with live-action reaction videos. The split-screen reaction format used with the Marvel Snap campaign produces captivating ads that blend storytelling, influencer content and gameplay. This influencer was the first to incorporate pink and blue lighting in the background, setting a trend that many creators later adopted.
Pool Masters
Over-the-shoulder content and demographic targeting proved highly effective for Pool Masters. This trend is still going strong months on by providing a look at actual gameplay, as if you were watching a friend play the game.
codeSpark
Upptic’s app store optimization trailer for codeSpark demonstrated the value of testing. By isolating variables and conducting A/B tests, such as experimenting with music, these app store trailers achieved better performance, emphasizing the significance of tailoring creative elements to specific platforms.
Rush Street
Lively and relatable creator content (e.g. UGC), became a standout performer. Campaigns such as “Dave” and “Rachael Dance” captured attention through humor and engaging visual storytelling.
Ultimate 8 Ball Pool
The “Real Deal” campaign, showcasing authentic gameplay footage while directly addressing the frustration with fake gameplay ads, resonated deeply with users seeking genuine representations of their experience upon download. This approach delivered outstanding performance over several months.
Golf Logix
Upptic’s Golf Logix long-form video content, designed for longer ad inventory slots of 60+ seconds, performed exceptionally well on platforms like YouTube. This success highlighted the value of tailoring content to fit specific channel placements.
Emerging Formats and Innovations
Upptic pushed boundaries by experimenting with:
- User-Generated Content (UGC): Short, snappy 1-3 second hooks captured audience attention immediately, especially on TikTok – though they also work well on other platforms. These unscripted, authentic experiences — like “Waiting in a Car” gameplay clips — added a fresh and relatable perspective to advertising.
- Floating Faces: The team’s use of native TikTok filters in their ads demonstrated exceptional results, effectively blending nostalgia and humor to resonate with audiences. This success highlighted the importance of leveraging platform-specific tools to create engaging and tailored content for maximum impact.
- Multiscreen and Sludge Content: Addressing shrinking attention spans, Upptic incorporated fast-paced, multi-visual setups that merged gameplay and live-action content. This strategy not only captured viewer attention but also reinforced brand messaging in a dynamic and memorable way.
Key Takeaways for Game Marketers
- Tailored Content: It’s critical to understand audience nuances. Select influencers who align with target demographics to enhance relatability and trust – which will amplify campaign performance across channels.
- Continuous Testing: Iterative experimentation — such as A/B testing music, visuals, and ad formats — proved to be a cornerstone of Upptic’s success. This approach ensures that campaigns remain adaptive and optimized for maximum impact.
- Embrace Trends Early: Keep up with and integrate emerging technologies and current trends like AI-powered tools, social media best practices, and immersive content formats. This gives marketers a competitive edge in a fast-paced industry.
This last year of creative development has not only included some great accomplishments for Upptic and its clients, but also serves as a masterclass in creating effective marketing campaigns. As we gear up for 2025, we hope these insights will provide a strong foundation for marketers everywhere who are striving to thrive in the fast-paced world of games.
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