Highlights and Key Takeaways from Gamesforum Hamburg 2024
By Mariam Ahmad 19 June 2024
Gamesforum Hamburg has wrapped up with resounding success, providing attendees with a treasure trove of insights and new connections. Held at the stunning NORD EVENT Panoramadeck, the event not only served as a hub for industry thought leadership but also treated participants to spectacular 360-degree views of Hamburg, making for a truly memorable experience.
The summit featured a series of roundtables, panels and keynotes that all focused on UA and ad monetization strategies, creative concepts, and more, drawing in industry experts and thought leaders from across the globe. These sessions provided rich insights into the dynamic interplay of advertising techniques, user engagement, and monetization models.
We recap the two-day event below, highlighting some critical discussions and insights.
Day 1: UA
Challenges and Innovations in User Acquisition
The conference opened with a deep dive into the complexities of user acquisition in the current privacy-focused landscape, facilitated by the "Gamesforum Unfiltered" panel, moderated by MobileGroove’s Peggy Anne Salz. This session highlighted the continuous evolution of the UA manager's role due to technological advancements and regulatory changes. Subsequent discussions, such as "Ahead of the Game" and "Global Launch Your Games like a Boss," further emphasized the critical importance of aligning marketing strategies with game development early on and offered expert guidance on managing global game launches effectively.
Creative Marketing and Systematic Innovation
Midday sessions transitioned to focus on the power of creativity and systematic approaches in the marketing arena. "The Ad Creative Panel" and "How to Innovate your UA Creatives Systematically" provided insights into successful strategies for standing out in a crowded market through creative testing and a structured approach to innovation in advertising. These panels shared best practices for developing engaging content and the importance of a data-driven framework to refine marketing strategies.
Effective Data Utilization and Audience Engagement
The conference concluded with a strong focus on leveraging data and optimizing user engagement strategies. Panels like "Audience & Data Segmentation in 2024" discussed advanced techniques for data segmentation and the utilization of analytics to maximize user retention and re-engagement. The discussion provided practical advice on navigating new UA channels, mitigating risks associated with incentivized traffic, and the strategic use of data to drive decision-making in a dynamic market environment.
Day 2: Ad Mon
Gamesforum Unfiltered: Ad Monetization
Day 2 of Gamesforum Hamburg 2024 commenced with an unfiltered panel discussing ad monetization strategies for maximizing revenue in 2024. The session, moderated by Jacki Vause and featuring experts like Head of Game Economy & Ad Monetization, at Fingersoft, Otto Simola and Google’s Head of EMEA Mobile Apps Partnerships, Ross Brockman, delved into the complexities of integrating CMPs, balancing in-app advertising and in-app purchases, and effectively managing networks and partnerships.
Innovative Monetization Strategies
Throughout the day, several sessions focused on innovative approaches to ad monetization. The "Fireside Chat: Ad Quality" tackled the ongoing challenges in maintaining ad quality and the user experience within mobile games. Another session, "Ad Monetization Design: Crafting a UX for Ads," highlighted how a well-thought-out tech stack and user experience design can lead to successful ad monetization outcomes.
Future of Ad Monetization
The day concluded with forward-looking discussions such as "Predicting the LTV of Your User-base in a Privacy-centric World" and "Telling the Future of Ad Monetization," where panelists speculated on future trends in the industry and the evolving role of ad monetization managers. These sessions provided a glimpse into the potential future challenges and innovations in the field of mobile game advertising.
Roundtables
On the first day, discussions were spearheaded by industry leaders focusing on the integration of monetization techniques. Oğuz Ayar from Voodoo opened the series with "Mastering Hybrid Monetization for Maximum LTV," discussing how blending in-app purchases with ads can maximize player lifetime value. This was followed by Jakub Remiar, who dissected the nuances of ad placement from both product and monetization perspectives, highlighting the distinction between good and great ad placements within games.
The second day continued with themes of innovation and strategy refinement. Ivona Pinjak from GameBiz Consulting led the afternoon session on "User Segmentation in Ad Monetization," where she outlined strategies to grow ad revenue sustainably without disrupting game balance. Darina Guseva shared insights into effective user acquisition strategies in a competitive market, and Adam Zurek wrapped up the day by discussing the critical growth considerations for 2024, emphasizing a comprehensive approach integrating user acquisition, app store optimization, and monetization to effectively drive revenue.
Highlights
Attendee thoughts
This was KashKick’s first time sponsoring a Gamesforum event and it did not disappoint! The smaller conference size was ideal for having more intimate interactions with those who stopped by our table. As for content, the panels and solo presentations provided a lot of useful industry insight. Looking forward to Barcelona!
The Tactile team had a great time attending Gamesforum, gaining useful insights from industry peers and making valuable connections. Between the panels, round tables, and networking breaks, we reconnected with old friends and established new professional relationships. It’s always a win when you can say you learned something and had fun!
I massively enjoyed my experience at Gamesforum Hamburg this year, particularly the spirit of collaboration that energized every interaction throughout the conference. The highlight for me was definitely the Unfiltered UA Panel, this offered profound insights into upcoming trends and potential challenges in the mobile gaming space from significant publishers. Every time I find the Gamesforum experience incredibly enriching, and I move ahead with relationships developed and new friendships discovered. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a dynamic and enlightening gathering! Boom.
I really enjoyed reconnecting with old and new friends at Gamesforum Hamburg. What we like about Gamesforum is that it's so targeted - so we meet all the right people in Ad Monetization and UA. It's a very good event for us especially as we're able to talk to the European crowd within this industry.
It's a very targeted event, and that's what I love. We get a chance to have hands on discussions with people that are within UA and Ad Mon. It's a very helpful event for me, the UA side especially - both from a knowledge sharing side and the people I'm meeting. I've been recommending it to everyone!
Gamesforum is currently one of the premier conferences in the industry, and the Hamburg edition lived up to the high expectations. With outstanding speakers and even more impressive social mixers, it's definitely a must-attend event. I'll be marking it on my calendar for next year without a doubt.
Gamesforum Hamburg: engaging discussions led by industry experts, an excellent opportunity to connect with colleagues and friends; Fantastic venue, and a great organization.
This year's Gamesforum Hamburg was my first and I'm really impressed about the quality of the event. The panels and the presentations were truly insightful and up-to-date both from user acquisition and ad monetization perspective. The venue with it's breathtaking views was an experience of it's own!
Gamesforum Hamburg 2024 was awesome! Bringing together industry leaders and professionals for some of the most meaningful and open discussions I've ever experienced in such event. Learned a ton, made some great connections, and had a blast doing it. Can't wait for the next one!
As always, the Gamesforum crew put together another great show. The Hamburg venue was one of the best I've been to. I love their events for the ease of networking and the great content.
