User Acquisition & Creative learnings with comments - 2025

Your ultimate guide to staying ahead in the ever-evolving world of mobile marketing.

The article outlines the key lessons in User Acquisition (UA) and creative strategies for mobile marketing in 2025.

Sit back, relax, grab a Christmas Margarita or eggnog, and enjoy the learnings of 2025 with my lovely comments!

But where to start? There were so many important things that worked so well. I already shared many of them in my previous tips, so this time I will highlight those that had the greatest impact on my UA ops! It’s quite a lot of learning; definitely get that eggnog. Here we go:

APPLOVIN FTW!

Well, as predicted a year ago. Applovin became undeniably the top channel for all genres, and becoming very important channel for apps (and e-commerce)

I often get the following questions: When should we start? Is it a good channel? Are we ready?

First, we must ensure that our in-app purchase volume is strong enough for the algorithm to optimize effectively. We aim for at least 10–15 unique purchases per day. We can do a quick math exercise to determine if we’re ready using our D7 cost per purchase (CPPD7).

For example, if our CPPD7 is $800, then multiplying that by 10 tells us we need a $8,000 daily budget to kick things off. If our CPPD7 is lower, say $150, then around $1,500 per day is what we’d need. This calculation helps us determine whether our current spending can support a successful campaign.

More importantly, we must assess our creative depth. Even if our budget is in place, our campaign will only succeed if we have enough creative concepts to keep the content fresh. We should be prepared to refresh our creatives weekly or bi-weekly.

Although we might get by with 2–3 playables, we should ideally have at least 5 different video creatives ready to go, and these should be pre-tested on other channels to give us the best possible head start.

In short, we should only begin work with Applovin once we meet both our budget requirements (based on our CPPD7 and desired daily spend) and our creative assets are robust enough to support ongoing testing and optimization.

So, are you ready to launch?

Also, if you are on MAX mediation, you don’t ask any of the questions above. You launch “yesterday!”

Playables are the talk of 2025, and you need to be prepared for 2026. If you don’t have internal resources, you can use templates on Playablemaker.com

Get a 20% discount for 3 months with code: DANCINGUNICORN

Game Mechanics Trends - most used game objects

• Falling Objects (19%): Choose objects and drop them. If they fall from the platform, you lose. Easy to understand and play.

• Spin The Wheel (16%): Golden classic and one of our oldest game objects. With holidays approaching, used heavily for promotional ads.

• Defender (15%): New game mechanic purposed for creation of top down defending playables, gaining popularity on our platform.

Popular Ad Networks

1. Applovin - 694 playables

2. Unity - 492 playables

3. Google - 426 playables

4. Moloco - 401 playables

5. Mintegral - 282 playables

6. IronSource - 143 playables

7. Facebook- 91 playables

8. TiKTok- 75 playables

9. Liftoff- 13 playables

It seems that a fine line is being created between the top 4 and the rest ;)

November 2025 favorite playable creations from our customers:

1. https://app.playablemaker.com/share/6909ba19887373cd79f2023f

2. https://app.playablemaker.com/share/691f0bdb1f3ca15c85aa1412

3. https://app.playablemaker.com/share/68ee1e26820181d8fb0e2580

Understanding the CPI vs LTV equation

Finding a low CPI is like trying to catch a Legendary Pokémon in the wild; it requires strategy, patience, and a sprinkle of luck! Here are the keys to help you snag those installs without emptying your wallet:

1. Targeting: Get those audiences dialed in! Use customer segmentation and target specific demographics to reach users more likely to install your app, like finding the right squad for your Fortnite team!

2. Creative Assets: the magic of eye-catching ad creatives! Test different visuals, ad formats, and messages like you’re trying to figure out which combo works best in Smash Bros. Quality ads get more clicks, which ultimately leads to a lower CPI!

1. Platform Optimization: Each platform has its quirks. Make sure your campaigns are optimized for the specific ad network, whether it’s Facebook, Google, or even TikTok! Think of it like learning character moves, each one has a sweet spot!

All of this is only one side of the equation. I always say the CPI is only one KPI, which doesn’t say anything.

Retention Rate & LTV: Don’t forget about it! Users who stay after installation can help improve your metrics. It’s like building a gaming guild; the stronger the members, the more likely you’ll dominate! Measuring retention rate at a creative level is crucial for understanding whether your FAKE ads perform well or players churn immediately.

Just FYI: Low CPIs don’t matter if you are getting shitty traffic.

Why Multi-Channel UA Matters?

Expanding your UA efforts across multiple channels is essential for comprehensively understanding your game’s KPIs. Especially early in development, this approach may require a higher budget, but it provides valuable data for benchmarking and optimization.

Running campaigns across various platforms enables comparative analysis, helping identify which channels deliver the best results and where improvements are needed.

Relying on a single channel can be risky due to algorithm changes or policy shifts. A multi-channel strategy mitigates this risk by diversifying your acquisition sources.

Remember to tailor your creatives to each platform’s specific audiences and formats to enhance engagement and effectiveness.

You should benchmark a few different UA sources against each other.

I am also revealing my top tips for 2026 next week! Stay tuned.

UA & Creative strategies

This hierarchy highlights platform-specific strategies for user acquisition (UA) campaigns.

Key Breakdown:

• Facebook: Prioritizes vertical formats for Reels/Stories with flexible video lengths.

• Google: Favors longer videos (30+ seconds) in both orientations.

• TikTok: Short, hook-driven TTCC videos for quick engagement.

• Moloco: Mix of static and mid-length videos.

• Applovin: Combines videos with interactive playables.

• Mintegral: Short videos paired with playables.

Creative velocity + diversity

Running a high volume of creative assets gives the algorithm room to do its job properly. More options mean better selection, faster learning, and clearer signals on what actually works.

A strong baseline is to spread creatives across multiple ad groups, with at least 10-15 creatives per ad group. This setup lets you test variations in parallel while still giving each asset enough delivery to produce meaningful data.

That said, refresh frequency matters more than raw volume.

The single biggest factor that determines how long an ad group stays healthy is how often you introduce new creatives. Uploading fresh assets consistently outperforms launching with a massive batch upfront. I used to refresh once per week, but the best results came after moving to 2–3 refreshes per week on Facebook and TikTok.

Consistency in the creative refresh framework is very important (as is in life).

Skills of a UA manager in 2025

I have been thinking about the role of UA and how it’s evolving nowadays. A Senior User Acquisition (UA) game manager typically combines deep analytical capabilities with strategic marketing and leadership skills. They are responsible for planning, executing, and optimizing campaigns to drive high-quality players into a game at scale. Below are some of the core skills and competencies that are commonly expected of a senior UA manager:

1. Performance Marketing Expertise

• Ad Platform Proficiency
  In-depth knowledge of major advertising networks (Facebook, Google, TikTok, Unity Ads, AppLovin, etc.) and how to optimize for each platform’s specific audience, format, and bidding structure.

• Campaign Optimization
  Ability to run and iterate on campaigns daily, including bidding adjustments, targeting refinements, and creative rotations based on performance metrics.

• A/B & Multivariate Testing
  Designing, implementing, and analyzing experiments (e.g., new creatives, landing pages, geos, user segments) to improve conversion rates.

2. Data Analysis & Reporting

• Analytical Mindset
  Skilled at interpreting user data, engagement metrics, and key performance indicators (KPIs) such as CPI, ROAS, LTV, retention, and funnel conversion.

• Cohort Analysis & LTV Projections
  Ability to break down user behavior by cohort and forecast their potential lifetime value to ensure campaigns are profitable over the long term.

• Attribution & Tracking Tools
  Familiarity with mobile measurement partners (MMPs) like AppsFlyer, Adjust, or Singular; comfortable setting up event tracking and ensuring accurate attribution.

• Dashboarding & Reporting
  Proficiency in Excel, BI tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI), or internal reporting platforms to convey insights clearly to stakeholders.

3. Strategic Planning & Budget Management

• Goal Setting & Prioritization
  Working with leadership to define user acquisition goals (e.g., target cost per install (CPI), cost per paying user, retention metrics) and prioritize channels and tactics.

• Resource Allocation
  Effective planning and distribution of multimillion-dollar budgets across geographies, channels, and creatives to maximize return on ad spend (ROAS).

• Market & Competitive Research
  Keeping a pulse on industry trends, competitor strategies, and emerging ad platforms to stay ahead of the curve.

4. Creative & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Creative Collaboration
  Partnering with designers, artists, and copywriters to brainstorm and test multiple creative variations (videos, banners, interactive ads) that resonate with target audiences.

• Creative production

  With the rise of AI, this becomes really important.

• ASO & Marketing Funnel Alignment
  Collaborating with product marketing teams on App Store Optimization (ASO) and ensuring that messaging in ads aligns with the store listings and user onboarding.

• Stakeholder Management
  Communicating UA results, challenges, and strategic shifts to product teams, executive leadership, and other non-marketing stakeholders.

5. Leadership & Team Management

• Mentorship & Coaching
  Leading and mentoring junior UA managers, analysts, or other team members, providing guidance on best practices and career development.

• Cross-Department Coordination
  Coordinating with product, analytics, data science, and finance teams to align on product roadmaps, budgets, and performance goals.

• Vendor & Partner Relationships
  Negotiating with ad tech vendors, agencies, and platform representatives to secure better deals, early access to beta features, or dedicated support.

6. Technical Familiarity

• Mobile Game Ecosystem
  Deep understanding of free-to-play (F2P) mechanics, monetization models (IAP, ads, subscriptions), and user behaviors.

• Analytics & Event Tracking
  Capable of defining in-game events (tutorial completion, level-ups, in-app purchases) to measure and drive player engagement.

• Scripting & Automation (Nice to Have)
  Some UA managers benefit from basic SQL or Python skills to automate data pulls or custom analyses.

  • I don’t really know how to code! But it’s a useful skill to have :)

7. Play (love) games

• You need to play games and ideally love gaming. Its really important!

8. Business perspective

Most of the “young” UA managers don’t care about business health, P&L, cash flow, or the UA's actual impact on the business. Because they never had to. This is wrong. Most likely because they didn’t grow up in the era where running 29837896347 campaigns with micro-segmented targeting was winning. Push a button, run one campaign, that’s it. See you later.

Why These Skills Matter

A Senior UA Manager in the gaming industry is expected to drive both short-term and long-term results: maximizing installs and revenue while ensuring sustainability and profitability of marketing efforts. Their combination of data-driven analysis, creative collaboration, and strategic thinking is critical for today’s highly competitive and fast-paced mobile gaming market.

UA managers are not just media buyers anymore - they are integral players in shaping a game’s growth strategy, balancing the art of compelling creative with the science of data optimization to attract and retain valuable users.

Creative competencies for UA managers in 2025

In 2025, UA was undergoing a transformative shift with a pronounced emphasis on creative excellence. The convergence of storytelling and motion design will become pivotal in crafting compelling narratives that captivate audiences and drive engagement. And ROAS! DUH!

Key Competencies for UA Managers:

• Creative Brief Development: Articulating clear, concise, and inspiring creative briefs will be essential. These briefs serve as the foundation for campaigns, guiding the creative process to ensure alignment with strategic objectives.

• Storytelling Mastery: Crafting authentic and relatable narratives will be paramount. Story-first ads, which prioritize compelling stories over direct selling, are anticipated to dominate, fostering deeper emotional connections with audiences. This doesn’t mean you must have high production value AKA expensive videos.

• Motion Design: The ability to produce dynamic and engaging visual content will set professionals apart. You need to be able to build those creatives by yourself. Jesus Christ, AI is everywhere.

  • Nice to have: Advanced animations and visual storytelling can significantly elevate user experience, making motion design skills increasingly valuable.

As you know already, creative diversity and volume are pivotal in the evolving digital advertising landscape. Implementing a strategy that distributes many creative assets across multiple ad groups - ideally 5 to 8 creatives per group - facilitates effective experimentation and optimization. This approach enables advertising platforms to identify and prioritize the most effective creatives, enhancing campaign performance.

We are shifting towards creative quantity. Producing a higher volume of diverse creatives will likely become a key strategy, leveraging the power of variety to capture audience attention and drive campaign success.

To sum it up. The UA skill for 2026? Everything is around creatives. Right? Writing a creative brief, telling a story, and producing the creative by yourself is gonna be necessary. Storytelling + Motion design FTW!

PS: Storytelling is only one step away from … Prompt Engineering! and you know what that means for 2026.

Everything is a 4X (UA funnel)

Everyone’s hunting for the lowest possible CPI, pulling every trick in the book to get there.

This Two and a Half Gamers episode dives right in, so let’s break it down:

Social casino games dressed up as idle games.

No casino hints in the app store.
Ad creatives blend right in with the crowd, no obvious social casino vibes.

What’s the secret?
It’s all in the onboarding.

Players start with a “fake” idle or sim experience, nowhere near the real core gameplay.

Other examples:
Idle + social casino.
Idle + 4X.
Idle vs simulation.
Match3 + “fake” levels.

Onboarding has become the new creative cheat code.

In 2025, but mostly in 2026’s hyper-competitive, post-IDFA landscape (is this still a thing?), game teams must blend creative marketing with game design from day one. UA isn’t just a marketing afterthought; it’s now driving how games are built, monetized, and scaled to the top of the charts. This article explores the latest UA-driven development trends – from sophisticated onboarding funnels to creative-first monetization and templated game design – and how they’re expanding beyond 4X strategy hits into genres like social casino and puzzles. We’ll also look at how studios are balancing cost-per-install (CPI) and lifetime value (LTV) in this new era.

But wait! Players hate fake ads, and they immediately uninstall games. Well, yes and no. I actually asked players what they think. There is a reason why kingshot is making shit ton of money…

You want to launch the first UA campaigns. Now what?

🧠 MVP UA Template: I want to launch first Meta campaigns. Now what?

🧠 MVP UA IAA Template: I want to launch first Meta campaigns. Now what?

🧠 MVP UA Template: I want to launch my first Google Ads campaigns. Now what?

I was getting too many questions about the ideal UA setup. That’s why I built this MVP UA template covering Facebook and Google. TikTok + Apploving incoming.

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Yes, some of you might know this. Playablemaker is a tool we develop. I would appreciate it if you booked a demo, tried the tool, and shared feedback. If you use promo code DANCING UNICORN, you might get a discount.

PlayableMaker.com and our ad network comparison clearly show that UA managers are interested in building for all of them when they can do so.

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No 💩 BS UA Newsletter: Real Insights for the Post-IDFA World

Funny story - I started this weekly newsletter in March 2022, thinking I’d never have enough time, ideas, or insights to keep it going. Fast forward to today, and wow, what a ride it’s been!

• March 2022: 0 subscribers

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THANK YOU so much for the support and for sticking with me through this journey.

I’m committed to bringing you no-fluff, actionable insights about UA, especially as we navigate the challenges of the post-IDFA world. Here’s to more learning, sharing, and growth in the year ahead.

What topics or insights do you want to see more of in 2026? Drop me a reply, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Most popular paid content

📈Q1 2025 Brutally Honest UA report - Real Data inside!

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No Bullshit Gaming Podcast: Explosive Growth in 2025

Wow. What a year! This little baby has grown beyond anything we ever imagined. Oh my freaking god! The feedback has been incredible, and it’s all thanks to YOU. Your support pushes us to keep delivering no-BS, high-quality, and (let’s face it) super fun content.

Here’s the growth story:

• 2022: Barely 1,000–1,500 subscribers.

• 2023: Hit 8,200 subs across all platforms.

• 2024: We’re closing the year with an insane 12,543 subscribers!

• 2025: Attacking 18,000 subscribers.

We’re thrilled, humbled, and excited to keep growing. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do, it means the world to us and keeps the momentum going as we pour our hearts into this podcast.

A big thank you for being part of the journey. Here’s to an even bigger and better 2026!

Here is also our best episode, which got a wild viral effect - 52k views:

We leaned hard into bold, unapologetic humor. Those “little jokes”? Some people laughed out loud. Others got very uncomfortable. Turns out, making fun of life and especially of people who take it way too seriously, isn’t for everyone.

Spoiler: I don’t care. Zero f*cks given.

And guess what? It worked.

The mix of controversy and relatability kept us top of mind, sparked conversations, and built a loyal audience that got the vibe. Not everyone stayed. The right people did, and even brought their friends!

So if you’re trying to grow, here’s the actual playbook:

• Be authentic. No scripts. No polish. Just real opinions.

• Ride the hype. Jump on trends, but twist them into your voice.

• Embrace the hate. If people are mad, they’re paying attention. And, indeed, they paid a lot of attention. Thanks for the engagement 🙏

And if you think this was wild… 2026 is going to be unhinged. We’re cooking something insane. Buckle up. 🚀

We are building an inclusive community space in the gaming industry.

Building an inclusive community space in the gaming industry can significantly enhance collaboration and innovation. It creates an environment where diverse voices and perspectives are valued.

Yes, we actually did this, too. We opened up a community space for everybody. Juniors, seniors, developers, marketers, salespeople, vendors. The most inclusive community in gaming! Join us here.

2025: Not getting any easier

2025 was tough - no question about it. But here’s the thing: 2026 will be a good year. Not an easy one, but a good one - especially for bold, hard-working people.

There’s opportunity everywhere. Always has been, always will be. The difference is who’s willing to take risks, stay disciplined, and keep showing up when things get uncomfortable. I’ve learned that growth doesn’t come from perfect conditions, but from momentum, curiosity, and consistent effort.

If you’re willing to push, adapt, and put in the work, 2026 isn’t something to fear. It’s something to lean into.

Solopreneur Matej - once again

Opening up about my solopreneur journey, complete with all the numbers and thoughts about life, was hands down one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Putting it all out there - successes, struggles, and everything in between - felt vulnerable but also incredibly refreshing.

What didn’t I expect? The overwhelming feedback. Hearing how my story inspired so many people from different walks of life made it all worthwhile.

This journey isn’t just about business; it’s about growth, resilience, and figuring out what truly matters. And if sharing my experiences can help someone else along their path, it’s absolutely worth it.

To everyone who’s been a part of this ride - thank you - more learning, more sharing, and building something meaningful together.

Already started thinking about the next blog. It’s become an interesting tradition in which I unveil (maybe a little too much) my year.

How can humor & personal engagement boost newsletter subscriptions and sharing?

Humor & personal engagement are powerful tools for boosting newsletter subscriptions and encouraging sharing. Here’s how they can enhance the success of your campaigns:

Oh wow! You made it here! You must be very engaged. I like that type of players... Ehm, people!

Please share this article with your industry friends. It would mean the world to me.

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