Brutally Honest #61 by Matej Lancaric
No 💩 BS newsletter with useful stuff about UA in the post IDFA world
Hey, are you already in Las Vegas for MAU?
🥃 Drink talk
When this arrives in your inbox, I am on my way to Vegas—driving from Santa Barbara and listening to podcasts. Downloaded a few episodes of the Acquired podcast & some other shit. Looking forward to seeing you!
The last call: we are co-organizing a party you don’t want to miss on Wednesday. Register here!
🦩Tip of the week
Last week’s tip was well received. I also received a lot of additional questions, so let’s dive in:
Creative testing budget & process
We all know that creative production is a vital part of the UA. How much do you need to spend to find the winner creative? A lot!
How much money do you usually allocate for creative testing? Well, that’s a better question. I try to have 10-20% of the monthly budget allocated to a creative testing campaign.
If your budgets are low, $10-50k/month, skip the creative testing campaign, and add creatives to your BAU (business as usual) campaign. Replace underperforming creatives or those that are not having any spend.
Usually, aiming to get at least 100 installs per creative in 3-5 days.
Number of creatives mentioned in the last tip!
We are creating 5-6 unique creatives per month. It's 50% of what you mentioned in your newsletter.
We also checked with our parent company. They are also doing something similar to us.
Be sure to take my tips as an inspiration, not a silver bullet for success. What works for me, may not work for you. Try to find a middle ground, but in this tough UA landscape, creative is more important than ever.
If you are unable to find out-of-the box concepts or test crazy ideas, try to work with an external agency. They always have plenty of ideas.
💀 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!
"They say better late then never, but maybe never was the better option this time. Ubisoft again delayed their long anticipated pirate themed game Skull and Bones for the 5th time! (Which already sunk 120+ Million budget) "We are very happy with the progress" said Ubisoft CEO on investor's call after announcement. which he also said in July 2020. It seems we will rather see Cpt. Jack Sparrow sailing the high seas on Black Pearl again then this ship, which started as a "small spinoff" idea of the original Black Flag back in 2013.Yarrrrr!" - Sincerely, Dr. Doom (https://www.pcgamer.com/surprise-skull-and-bones-wont-actually-be-out-early-this-year-after-all)
🎉 “Ha-ha” moment
Because life is too short to be serious. Also, thanks, Anton!
🎮 two & a half gamers #65
We've taken the plunge into the mesmerizing world of tile games and uncovered two absolute gems for you! Let's meet our contenders:
TRIPLE TILE (Tripledot Studios) vs. TRIPLE MATCH 3D (Miniclip)
Get ready for the ultimate showdown! We're diving deep into these two incredible games, leaving no stone unturned. We've covered everything, from ad monetization strategies to user acquisition techniques, mind-blowing creatives, and game design marvels!
🎧 Listen on Spotify
📺 Watch on Youtube
👾 Mistplay is the #1 loyalty app for mobile gamers
Tap into loyalty-powered user acquisition to reach high-value users that drive retention and LTV. Learn more!
🦄 Diary of a Dancing Unicorn
Today was a good day.
Hey! I see you haven’t made a change in the campaign for two weeks. What is happening? I know you are busy, but I would appreciate if you could please pay attention to our game. We are paying you for it.
Hey hey! Whats up? What do you mean if I could pay attention? The game is growing according to the goals we have. This campaign is getting better in the last weeks thanks to being patient and making changes that actually help improve the performance.
But you haven’t made any change, that feels wrong.
I monitor campaigns on a daily basis, making too many changes could destroy the performance.
Hmm..
Today was a good day.
🤺 Quote of the week
“Testing 1000 creatives per month is fucking bullshit,” Adam, webinar
Battle of Tiles - Triple Tile vs. Triple Match 3D!
🧞 Level up yourself
I launched a YouTube Channel. I'm putting a ton of energy into creating valuable content I think you'll like. Check out the latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.
👾 Nostalgia games
Do you remember this game? What did you play when you were young?
Commandos!
More info here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/6800/Commandos_Behind_Enemy_Lines/
Such a great game! I tried to figure it out in my childhood but failed so many times. Hmm, let’s re-play ...
🥦 Before you go
Legend of Slime global launch review with UA strategy tips? All in this piece!
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!
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