Brutally Honest #136 by Matej Lancaric
Brutally Honest #136 by Matej Lancaric
No 💩 BS newsletter with useful stuff about UA in the post IDFA world
Hey, FAM! What’s up?
🥃 Drink talk
Santa Barbara! I missed you so much. Anyone around for a coffee or a Margarita? Fuck coffee, let’s go with Margarita.
🦩Tip of the week
This is more advanced stuff so people who are new to Meta ads might not get it but...
...these are some metrics you need to keep an eye on when testing videos:
We have hook rate, hold rate and engagement score. You need to watch these when checking your creative performance.
Important thing is, there are no columns actually showing the metric, you need to derive it from other metrics. You can add it via Customize columns -> Add custom metric on the top right next to the search bar.
Then you go and click to “create custom metric”:
Hook rate
Measures the initial engagement level of your video ad
3-second video plays÷Impressions
Hold Rate
Measures the deeper engagement level of your video ad
ThruPlays÷Impressions
Engagement Score
Measures multiple layers of engagement with a variable multiplier
((ThruPlays×3)+(Post shares×2)+(Post comments))
Why doest it matter?
It's the percentage of your impressions that actually saw the first 3 seconds of the video. Everyone knows that the first 3 seconds are the most important in catching customers' attention. In the example above, about 41% of people who saw this ad, actually stayed for at least 3 seconds.
So if you can increase your hook rate you are more likely to increase conversion rate because your ad conversion rate because the people are just more interested.
Also if you have more videos with about the same performance, the one with the higher hook rate usually works better in the long run.
Hold rate and especially engagement score are vital metrics you keep an eye on. If you are serious about your creative testing. Right?
🐊 Cornelius: The Suspicious Investi-gator
True detective-like exploration of creative trends and historical influences. Delving deep into the world of creatives to uncover hidden patterns and inspirations:
Short-form entertainment has reshaped the UA creatives landscape, influencing everything from interactive novels to 4X games.
This shift began taking hold in July 2022 when Rise of Kingdoms (Lilith Games) released video ads that left many viewers scratching their heads, cringy, and wondering, "Is this really working?" That was also when Reelshort soft-launched—though hardly anyone noticed then.
It wasn’t until mid-2023 that Reelshort (Crazy Maple Studio) made waves, scaling rapidly with a unique approach: short-episode content in ads. With engaging, one-minute episodes, it brought drama content directly into advertising—allowing viewers to indulge in endless mini-stories anytime, anywhere. The ads tapped into a library filled with gripping tales of romantic entanglements with billionaires, heart-wrenching tragedies, epic comebacks, passionate love stories, revenge plots, and more. And that’s exactly what they showcased in their creatives.
By 2024, the trend caught the eye of other 4X games. Titles like State of Survival (FunPlus) and Hero Wars (Nexters ($GDEV) began leaning into boss battles and revenge stories, inspired by the successful narrative-driven ads pioneered by Reelshort.
Suddenly, the ads that once seemed confusing now make perfect sense—they were paving the way for a new era of immersive, story-driven UA creatives. Or does it?
Yours truly, Cornelius.
💀 Dr. Doom is not amused
One of my industry friends amused me with his direct and honest TL;DRs, so we agreed to share it here, too! My friend remains anonymous as Dr.Doom!
"The best "would be investment" of the year goes to Intel for acquisition of Nvidia. Had it really happen 😅 20 billion for 3,5 trillion sounds like a steal. So as you see Intel's stock nose diving towards the ground, remember what they said back then "I don't think this so-called "Nvidia" will turn out to be much, anyway." Famous last words as it seems 😅 Sincerely, Doom (https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/intels-former-ceo-pushed-for-the-chip-maker-to-buy-nvidia-for-usd20-billion-in-2005-the-gpu-company-is-now-worth-usd3-5-trillion/)
🎉 “Ha-ha” moment
Because life is too short to be serious.
🎮 two & a half gamers - Hexasort review!
Hexasort making $500k/day in revenue and has set a new standard for hybrid-casual games on multiple levels.
Hexasort by Lion Studios (a.k.a AppLovin) has become a significant player in mobile gaming and has grown steadily since its global launch. There are multiple layers of a masterpiece.
Great innovation on the ad placements. Felix already awarded the whole team a Nobel prize in recognition of their genius. Jakub defends the game designers behind the highly addictive game. Gameplay mechanics are designed for long sessions and strategic thinking.
Surprisingly, their main UA channel is Applovin. Hah, that is no surprise. Sorry. The whole creative approach is from a perfect UA playbook where you scale on Ad networks with a shit ton of playables. Yes, 70-80% of creatives are playables! Kudos to the team.
📺 Watch on Youtube
🎧 Listen on Spotify
🤑 Paid subs only
Sneak peek at what you get for your support:
🦄 Diary of a Dancing Unicorn
Today was a good day.
How can you manage all the work, be with your family and produce so much content?
And also travel and attend conferences?
haha yeah that as well.
Its super easy. Not wasting time on bullshit.
DUH! But seriously.
Time management on steroids. After you have kids you really manage your time properly. Since you have no time 😁 plus I work in weird times: morning 7-8am, afternoon 7pm or 10pm. And I am fine with it. Its not easy, its a balance.
Today was a good day.
🤺 Quote of the week
"Yes, yes, yes. Love your work!!!! Argh!!! Siiiick. Man, this loooks so sick” - Felix, 2.5gamers chat
Hexasort game review!
🧞 Level up yourself
I launched a YouTube Channel. I'm putting a ton of energy into creating valuable content that I think you'll like. Check out the latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.
👾 Gaming blast from the past
Do you remember this game? What did you play when you were young?
🥦 Before you go
Ask Matej AI a question. It’s actually quite good!
We produced one more episode at 2.5gamers. Check it out now:
🍿 Fun starts in two & a half gamers Slack! Join now
We are opening up a Slack channel for everybody. It is the most inclusive slack for the gaming industry. Female, male, non-binary, juniors, mid-level, seniors, vendors, developers = EVERYBODY! We are waiting for you ♥️
Feel free to join here!
🧙 Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!
Please do me a favor and share this with someone in your network who you think would benefit from the insights and brutal honesty. It would mean a lot to me!
Take care, everyone! See you next Monday!
👇 Reach out for feedback or questions, or say hi!
Give me some love (or hate) & Subscribe everywhere! ♥️
💡 PS: The latest UA & marketing jobs for you prepared by Gamigion:
Regional Marketing Director APAC Monopoly GO Scopely
Director of Product, Growth - WWE Champions Scopely
Senior Performance Product Manager (Growth) Scopely
Performance Marketing Manager Scopely
Marketing Intelligence, Insights Partner Supercell
Marketing Lead, Clash Royale Supercell
Regional Marketing, Korea Supercell
Lead User Acquisition Manager Playrix
Senior User Acquisition Manager Playrix
UA & Marketing Manager Playtika
Monetization Manager Playtika
Mobile User Acquisition Manager Moon Active
User Acquisition Manager Crazy Maple Studio
Senior Monetization Associate - Games Voodoo
Senior Monetization Associate - Apps Voodoo
Growth Manager Voodoo
Marketing Specialist Peak
Director of Growth Kwalee
Live Ops Manager Wargaming
Monetization Manager Gamelight
Monetization Specialist Gram Games
Senior Ad Monetisation Manager Miniclip
Lead Marketing Data Analyst Gameloft
Digital Marketing Specialist Fomo Games
Senior User Acquisition Manager MY.GAMES
Team Lead UA & Growth - Fully Remote SOFTGAMES
Mobile Growth Manager - Performance Marketing Phiture
Campaign Strategist (Performance Marketing) Fluent
Growth Customer Success Manager AppsFlyer
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Solutions Product Marketing Manager Taboola
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User Acquisition Specialist ShyftUp
VP of Product Marketing Xsolla
Growth Manager Moloco
Head of Marketing iion