Hybrid casual UA playbook - Real data inside!
Creative strategy with real CPIs & ROAS numbers, channel mix & campaign structure
Another month, another newsletter filled with hybrid casual Tips and tricks only for paid subscribers!
Over the past few years, hybrid-casual games have become increasingly popular on mobile, with 5 billion downloads in 2022, a 3% increase from the previous year.
Hybrid casual games combine simple gameplay with additional levels and features to provide depth and variety for players of all skill levels. Hybrid casual games are a fusion of hypercasual and mid-core games.
Hypercasual games are a type of game that feature simplistic graphics, easy-to-use controls, and short gameplay sessions. These games have simple rules and storylines, making them easy to play.
Midcore games have more complex graphics, mechanics, and systems. Players must invest more cognitive effort and time to enjoy longer gameplay sessions.
Hybrid casual games combine the best features of hypercasual and mid-core games. They provide a simple and easy-to-play experience like hypercasual games and offer more in-depth and varied gameplay like mid-core games. These games appeal to both casual and core players, resulting in a satisfying and rewarding gaming experience for everyone.
Let's dive into the Hybrid casual UA Playbook that covers the UA channel mix, spying competitors, ideal campaign structure, and how many & what types of creatives you need to succeed!
Which UA channels are best for Hybrid Casual games, and what should the campaign structure look like? Well, everything depends on your budget. With a smaller scale, you can start with Facebook. You don't need an MMP. Facebook SDK is sufficient. Facebook provides the best targeting options with a lot of data you can still get from this network. Now you can dive a little deeper and check spend in EU countries:
More about this a bit later down the line…
Ideal Hybrid-casual games have a revenue profile 40-50%, driven by IAPs. This gives them the unique ability to drive traffic on blended ROAS UA campaigns and optimize the CPI funnel. Still, the majority of revenue of a Hybrid-casual game is driven by ad revenue.