Joining me to kick off the week is David Westerman, Online Marketing Manager at Bytro. We sat down to talk marketing hardcore strategy games, TikTok Ads and his skills as a song writer! Read on for more...

1. Are you an AM or a PM person?

PM person for sure. For example, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I went to the gym in the morning.

2. What is your go-to game at the moment?

Marvel Snap. I just got Wong, but I have my eyes on Black Panther and Shuri next.

3. You can only play one game for the rest of your life, what game are you playing?

My strategic pick would be Dead Cells. Not necessarily my all-time favourite game overall, but it is definitely my favourite roguelike. I could probably go back to this one the most times without starting to feel repetitive.

4. A song plays every time you walk into a room. What song would you choose and why?

Fallen Kingdom by Silent Riot. Wrote that one with one of my best friends and recorded it with my own band during my university years. It remains one of my proudest personal achievements.

5. How did you start working in mobile gaming?

After leaving my job in audit and taking a marketing role in an indie studio that eventually shut down, Bytro was there to give me my first real shot at proving myself in user acquisition, 4 years ago. And I've been there ever since, advertising different games on all sorts of platforms I could get my hands on.

6. We have had Web3 and Crypto, VR, and AR, what do you think is the next big trend in gaming?

I think it's already here, and it's called Generative AI. Time will obviously tell if it will stick around, or crash and burn like some of those mentioned.

7. As a marketer for Hardcore Strategy Games, what top tips do you have about marketing hardcore strategy?

Don't be afraid to try new platforms, even if your theoretical target audience is not massively represented there. You might actually create a new target audience in the process! We had to withstand some doubtful comments about our TikTok ventures at first, but have become one of our biggest partners in the last 2 years.

8. What was your highlight from Gamesforum Barcelona?

How relevant and focused it was for Gaming User Acquisition. As a gaming marketer attending conferences, there's sometimes a trade-off between the marketing and the gaming aspects, and the content can feel superficial on one end very easily. I appreciated that Gamesforum Barcelona delivered on both ends of the spectrum.

9. We had some great panels and presentations in Barcelona, can you pick a favourite?

The Future of User Acquisition: What’s next for mobile marketers? Most likely the most experienced and talented panel I have attended. If they had a podcast together, I would tune in weekly!

10. As one of our expert speakers at Gamesforum Hamburg, what can our attendees expect to hear from you?

For people that haven't tried TikTok Ads yet, I hope to inspire them to give this platform a shot. For people that are starting TikTok Ads right now, my goal is to show them our journey so they can avoid some of the mistakes we already made. And for people that are already TikTok Ads experts, I wish they can go back to work the next day with at least a new idea to test.

Want to hear more from David? You can join him and a host of other great speakers at Gamesforum Hamburg in June! Sign up here