Cameron Thom (Adikteev) joined Josh to discuss churn prediction, strategies for high LTV player retention, cross-platform development, and his love of Hearthstone.

Josh: Hi Cam, thanks for taking the time! Can you quickly introduce yourself?

I’m Cameron Thom, I've been with the company for six years, primarily focused on adoption of our churn prediction tool as well as our app retargeting business globally.

Josh: Talk to us about your journey in gaming and marketing so far!

I started out in user acquisition, primarily focusing on educating customers about driving app installs. Over time, I realized that post-install performance was becoming crucial for many companies, both in gaming and other sectors. The trend of retargeting first took off among major gaming companies, who often lead in adopting new marketing strategies. I collaborated with some of these larger gaming studios to develop optimal retargeting setups and measurement solutions. As the industry evolved, other app verticals began to embrace these tactics, particularly as larger U.S. gaming companies consolidated, bringing newer strategies to the forefront.

Josh: What is your go to mobile game at the moment?

I've always enjoyed Hearthstone. It's a game I've played for a long time, introduced to me by a former colleague who now works at Vibe. Hearthstone has been engaging enough to keep me interested over an extended period, unlike a lot of games that are easy to pick up but then run out of steam quickly.

Josh: Retention of high LTV players is becoming paramount for UA teams, so a two part question:

a. How have you seen retention change from a product to marketing metric?

Retention has always been a blended area between product and marketing, but who ultimately owns retention isn’t straightforward and varies by organization. With tougher economic conditions and shrinking marketing budgets, product and marketing teams need to collaborate more closely to manage full funnel retention. For example, CRM teams might send an email at one point in a user's journey, while performance marketing might target a user at a different point.

b. How are the team at Adikteev helping predict user churn for your advertising partners?

To your second question, At Adikteev, we use 30 days of postback data from mobile attribution partners like Adjust, Appsflyer, and Singular to understand user behavior patterns and predict user churn. We provide advertisers with insights to refine their marketing strategies and support their product developments.

Josh: There has been considerable growth in companies porting cross-platform. What advice do you have for pubs looking to make the leap cross-platform?

It’s clear why cross-platform development is really interesting to gaming companies as it can significantly enhance the lifetime value (LTV) of players who engage on multiple platforms, sometimes by up to 10x compared to mobile-only players. Depending on the strategy and genre, a gaming studio focusing on creating a compelling game that can resonate and perform well across various platforms can be more beneficial than spreading resources thin across many games, especially in a competitive market.

Josh: How should UA managers use analytical tools to not just stay ahead of competition but also understand their own performance and user base?

There are many strategies that are just tried-and-true when it comes to UA and retargeting depending on the game genre. But I would say that smart studios fine tune them and stay ahead with both competitive intelligence and innovation. Being open to sharing and receiving insights, but also staying close to the competition can help studios fine-tune their approaches, and staying innovative by sharing best practices can give them a competitive edge.

Josh: Thank you for joining us Cameron, and for your insights!