Mobile performance marketing tactics REVEALED (ft. GameMakers) – Games Growth with Upptic

In this episode of Games Growth with Upptic, we are republishing GameMakers‘ engaging episode, EXPOSING Mobile Performance Marketing Secrets! Podcast host Joseph Kim and Upptic CGO Warren Woodward unpack the intricacies of mobile marketing, the shifting role of mobile marketers, and what the future holds for growth strategies.

Many thanks to Joseph for allowing us to republish this episode on our own channels. Let’s look at some of the episode’s key takeaways on effective UA practices, challenges, and the critical shift toward efficiency in marketing teams.

Understanding the current state of mobile performance marketing

Warren kicks off with a deep dive into the state of mobile marketing, addressing the increasing complexity in user acquisition, a sector that once had relatively straightforward growth tactics. Today’s marketers are faced with the dual challenge of adapting to reduced budgets and navigating a crowded advertising landscape. The episode illustrates how successful UA teams must pivot, with a focus on leveraging emerging channels like rewarded video networks while building adaptive strategies around tools and data science to manage performance in an evolving environment.

Who’s winning and losing in today’s mobile UA?

A notable part of the discussion revolves around who’s currently excelling in the UA arena. While larger studios with massive budgets and in-depth analytics departments continue to thrive, smaller teams find themselves more challenged, with reduced resources in creative and data modeling. The conversation also highlights how some studios, particularly those in the 4X and social casino genres, are facing a more difficult road in UA due to the increased reliance on targeting high-value users — a task complicated by privacy policies like Apple’s IDFA changes.

Warren shares that while many companies lean into organic growth or influencer marketing as a response to these challenges, others are scaling back UA efforts entirely, illustrating the mixed outcomes from trying to navigate today’s unpredictable marketing dynamics.

Redefining the role of the mobile marketer

Mobile marketing has undergone a significant shift, with traditional “lever-pulling” optimization skills taking a back seat to data-driven decisions and cross-team collaboration. Warren discusses the need for growth teams to incorporate creative, data, and operational resources effectively to drive impact. For example, growth teams are now better served by aligning closely with product teams, aiming for a unified approach rather than operating in silos — a significant departure from the past UA environment, where operational excellence alone could make a difference.

Warren emphasizes that the UA marketer’s role today is more strategic and integrated, leveraging insights from data science and AI to get the most out of campaigns. By freeing up time from operational tasks, marketers can now focus on higher-value strategic activities like fostering closer ties with product development and prioritizing user feedback.

Outsourcing vs. In-House: Key considerations for growth teams

When setting up a growth team, studios often grapple with decisions around building internal capabilities versus outsourcing. Warren explains the balance of maintaining in-house expertise in areas like data science and creative, while outsourcing areas that benefit from external insights and specialized knowledge. For early-stage studios, a leaner approach is often more efficient, keeping internal hires to a minimum and leveraging agencies for specialized skills until product-market fit is achieved.

Warren underscores that game studios need to approach outsourcing cautiously. By selecting partners whose incentives align with their goals, studios can ensure growth partners work in their best interest. Agencies can be an excellent choice for early-stage projects, but as the studio scales, there may be benefits to taking those functions in-house for better control.

Data as the new differentiator

With the power of AI and algorithms increasingly automating many facets of UA, the focus for differentiation has shifted towards data science and creative excellence. The episode highlights how effective data modeling can bridge the gap left by privacy restrictions, allowing studios to still drive ROI on channels affected by Apple’s ongoing data privacy changes. For example, Warren explains how Upptic’s “living data model” helps them navigate consented and non-consented data, ensuring optimized campaign performance even when exact user data is limited.

The discussion also explores how some games are using dynamic surveys to apply results from consented users to broader cohorts. This approach helps them capture enough data to fuel algorithms for campaigns on platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Google.

The growing importance of creative

As automation takes over more campaign operations, Warren notes that creativity is emerging as a powerful differentiator. Many studios are now investing heavily in creative production, and AI is playing an instrumental role in simplifying the creative process. By utilizing AI for concept testing and initial asset creation, teams can generate a higher volume of creative outputs, which is crucial in a highly competitive UA environment.

Warren predicts this trend will accelerate in the coming years, with larger teams dedicating even more resources to creative assets that stand out in the crowded ad landscape.

Preparing for 2025: Trends to watch

The episode concludes with a forward-looking discussion, forecasting the trends set to shape the UA industry in 2025. A key focus is the anticipated rise in lean growth teams, where efficiency and streamlined operations become paramount. Given the current economic environment, studios are expected to experiment with AI-driven efficiencies, a trend Warren likens to Elon Musk’s radical “lean approach” at Twitter. This shift will require UA teams to adopt more efficient and innovative strategies, especially as spending by mobile studios continues to decline.

Additionally, Warren points to the growing influence of creator partnerships, especially in PC and console gaming. Warren and Joseph discuss the potential for performance-based strategies in creator marketing as creators become pivotal channels for growth — an area still in its early stages of development but ripe for iteration and optimization.