Ecem Calban (TapNation) joins Josh to discuss the secret to hypercasual success in 2024, diversifying UA with rewarded and how playing games helps with UA!

Josh: Thanks for joining me Ecem! Can you introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?

I'm Ecem, and I have been the User Acquisition Manager at Tapnation for the past three years. I play an essential role in our game marketing strategy, executing UA campaigns across various ad networks. My objective is to acquire new users with high lifetime value and maintain a positive return on investment for the games we publish.

Josh: How did you come to work in mobile gaming?

As a marketing student, I always had a keen interest in the dynamic nature of digital marketing. During the pandemic, I noticed a significant surge in the mobile gaming sector, which piqued my interest further. This led me to pursue specialized training in mobile game marketing and to actively strengthen my professional network within the industry. Combining my marketing background with a newfound passion for mobile gaming, I transitioned into the gaming sector.

Josh: What are your go to mobile games?

As a User Acquisition specialist, my go-to mobile games are the ones in my portfolio, such as Doll Dress Up, Hero Making Tycoon, Color Water Sort, and Shuffle Board. Playing these games allows me to deeply analyze level progression and identify key points where we can reward users, especially in games that leverage incentive networks. Moreover, it’s crucial for me to provide feedback to the creatives team from a UA perspective, which is best achieved by actively engaging with the games myself.

Josh: Lot of talk about the death of hyper casual in the last year, so a two part question:

a. Do you think hyper is actually dead as some have suggested?

I don't believe hypercasual is dead; however, it has become challenging to find games with low CPI, strong LTV, and game metrics as easily as before. As a solution, hybrid games, which engage users more deeply and attract higher-quality users, have emerged as an alternative. It's essential for studios and publishers to focus more on developing and refining more IAP games to stay competitive and successful in the market.

b. How are the team at Tap Nation seeing success?

The key to success at Tap Nation lies in maintaining consistent metrics for the hypercasual games we publish over the years, alongside keeping our UA/Monet up-to-date. We diversify the networks we work with and strive to acquire users from various channels. Additionally, we focus on diversifying our portfolio by not only sticking to hypercasual but also focusing on hybrid and casual games.

Josh: How are you working with creative teams to stay ahead of the competition in the casual space?

Previously, especially during the hyper-casual era where speed was crucial, our creative thinking approach was less thorough. However, in hybrid casual and casual genres, our UA team collaborates closely with the creative department, prioritizing regular brainstorming sessions. During these meetings, competitor analysis and showcasing various gameplay scenes play a vital role. We've also shifted our focus towards playable production. In addition, we've started producing user-generated content (UGC) generation and AI tools into our workflows, facilitating ongoing learning and adaptation to keep pace with industry trends.

Josh: We have spoken about your experience with rewarded UA and incentivised traffic, how are the team benefitting from incentivised traffic?

Due to rising competition and CPIs on Android, which squeezed profit margins we started to benefit from incentivised traffic more. However, focusing mainly on iOS allowed us to find success by collaborating with around 20-25 offerwall channels, gradually adapting and building expertise over time.

Additionally, one advantage of incentivized networks is the small recoup window, allowing us to invest more “safely" in these networks and see the profit much faster. The main reason for this is that users from incentivized networks tend to be much more engaged compared to other networks.

In this matter, we aim to acquire new users from incentivised networks by selecting games from our portfolio that align more closely with these networks (such as puzzle genres). We consider the right level structure and completion time, providing targets to incentivize users effectively.

Josh: What do you look for in rewarded UA partners? What are some core messages you need conveyed?

When we look rewarded UA partners, we prioritize two significant factors specific to incentivized networks:

1. Fraud Prevention:

One of the main challenges we encounter is fraudulent users. Despite leveraging our internal technical infrastructure and MMP solutions, it's crucial for us that the networks we collaborate with have robust fraud prevention measures and are open to cooperation in this regard.

2. Scale Potential:

Another challenge is the varying scale potential among incentivized networks. Given the multitude of incentivized networks available, we ensure that the traffic offered to us is competitive and sufficient, aligning with our ROAS goals. We strive to partner with networks that not only provide ample traffic but also align with our performance objectives.

In summary, we seek rewarded UA partners who prioritize fraud prevention and offer competitive traffic that aligns with our KPI’s.

Josh: Joining us as a speaker for the first time, what can our audience expect to hear from you at Gamesforum Hamburg?

Joining as a speaker, audience can expect insights into navigating challenges of rewarded UA partnerships, focusing on fraud prevention and optimizing scale potential for successful user acquisition.

Josh: What advice do you have for attendees when visiting Hamburg for Gamesforum?

For attendees visiting Hamburg for Gamesforum, my advice is to seize networking opportunities to connect with industry professionals and explore potential partnerships.

Josh: Thanks Ecem for your time and insight on TapNation and mobile gaming User Acquisition! 

You can hear more from Ecem and about mobile games User Acquisition at Gamesforum Hamburg 2024!