Brutally Honest #140

Hey, FAM! What’s up?

🥃 Drink talk

Alright, the San Francisco trip is happening on December 3! One day before (December 2), Supersonic is organizing a hybrid casual competition. If you have a hybrid casual game, check this out.

🦩Tip of the week

Creatives should be about emotions because emotions are a powerful way to connect with an audience, inspire action, and create a lasting impact. Emotions make the videos/images more meaningful and relatable, as people often engage deeply with content that evokes strong feelings. Whether it’s joy, sadness, excitement, or even anger, tapping into emotions can be a key driver of creative success.

Key points about emotions in creatives:

• Connection with the audience:

  When a creative piece evokes an emotion, it creates a deeper connection with the viewer or listener, making them feel personally invested in the content.

• Inspiration and motivation:

  Emotions can be a powerful source of inspiration for creative ideas, with positive and negative feelings driving the creative process.

• Storytelling power:

  Emotions add depth and richness to storytelling, allowing creators to convey complex narratives and nuances more effectively.

• Brand building:

  Connecting with customers on an emotional level can build brand loyalty and strengthen brand perception.

Examples of how creatives can incorporate emotions:

• Visual storytelling: Using imagery and color palettes that evoke specific emotions.

  

• Music and sound design: Choosing music that complements the desired emotional tone.
• Writing style and language: Using evocative language and imagery to convey emotions.
• Character development: Creating characters that audiences can empathize with and feel emotionally connected to.

Emotion can be a hard concept to explain rationally. It’s easy to give examples of emotions. But it is hard to describe how they actually work.

According to psychologist Paul Ekman, there are six basic emotions: enjoyment, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise. We know what these feel like and their many variations.

For example, enjoyment can be expressed as happiness, amusement, or pride. Anxiety, worry and panic are examples of fear.

Can you think of creatives that attack the emotions mentioned above? No? How about these:

🐊​ 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:

The Celebrity Effect in Mobile Game Advertising: When Stars Collide with Games

Mobile game advertising has leveled up over the years, and one major trend continues to shine: the use of celebrities to create unforgettable campaigns.

It’s no longer just about gameplay; it’s about storytelling, engagement, and star power. Let’s take a look at how some of the biggest names in Hollywood and beyond have entered the world of mobile gaming:

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Mobile Strike

The Governator himself brought a commanding presence to Mobile Strike, combining action-packed gameplay with Arnold’s iconic “military leader” persona. His involvement wasn’t just about lending his face—it tied directly into the game’s theme of power and strategy. The result? Massive brand awareness and a memorable campaign that still gets referenced today. These were the times when Arnold was everywhere. You opened your fridge, BAM! Arnold. Toilet? BAM! Arnold. TV? Arnold. Good old MZ days…

Jennifer Lopez in Coin Master

Coin Master (moonactive) brought J.Lo on board, and the combination of her star power and the game’s addictive mechanics created a campaign that resonated with a diverse audience. She also shared a few of these ads on her social media, getting 5+ million views. You have probably seen a Kardashian playing Coin Master. Those ads started rolling back in 2019. It was June 2020 when they introduced new celebrities into the mix. This creative campaign features not only the Kardashians, but Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Higgins, Rick Harrison, Rae Sremmurd, Terry Crews, Joan Rivers, NeNe, and Emily Ratajkowski. It was J.Lo that accelerated the number of downloads and revenue growth.

Pedro Pascal in Merge Mansion

When Merge Mansion revealed Pedro Pascal as their spokesperson, it took their narrative-driven approach to the next level. But only a narrative-driven approach; the revenue didn’t follow the “next level”, unfortunately. His mysterious, charming presence added depth to the game’s already intriguing “family secrets” storyline. Pascal’s ability to carry the suspense turned the campaign into more than just an ad—it became a mini-event. People expected a Netflix TV show but received a series of ads instead. Rumour has it this wasn’t really the top creative in the UA mix and was used for PR and hiring purposes instead. Very expensive hiring..

Squad Busters’ Celebrity Squad

Supercell’s Squad Busters showcased a creative twist on the celebrity trend, leveraging influencers and gaming personalities to connect directly with their audience. Instead of a Hollywood face, they made players feel like they were part of a squad filled with relatable “heroes” they already followed online. Also rumored to be the second biggest flop in the UA creative history, right after Pedro. I’m not sure about that. I like the ad, but I would definitely wait a bit longer to launch something like this.

Chris Pratt & Friends in Monopoly Go!

Scopely’s Monopoly Go! (Scopely) launched its first global campaign, “Friendship Pays,” just few days ago with a star-studded cast including Chris Pratt, Jason Momoa, and Keke Palmer, with Will Ferrell voicing Mr. Monopoly himself. This comes as Monopoly Go’s player spending has fallen to a 15-month low, down 58% from its peak this October. Great timing to salvage the revenue drop. Remember the J.Lo example? Up and to the right!  Also, this game has been profitable every day, every week, and every month since the global launch. I am pretty sure this is money well spent!

But there is more! Initially, I wanted to talk only about five examples, but I started digging deeper and found Simon Cowell in Royal Match (Dream games) or Sarah Jessica Parker playing SGH (Playtika), so I had to include also my fav David Beckham. Or Anthony Starr which was the most recent Celebrity UA creative – leaving some of his fans very surprised.

Whether it’s Arnold commanding troops, J.Lo spinning the slot, Pedro unraveling mysteries, or Chris Pratt bringing Monopoly to life, celebrities are redefining how we market games or to be more precise, how we look at ROAS of these videos. I also see a pattern here: games with high LTV can afford to spend millions for celebrities. Others, not really. No shit, Sherlock.

What’s your favorite use of celebrities in mobile game advertising?

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!

“After defacto becoming the new CMO of America, getting his new plaything called DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency, duh!) it seems Elon also had enough time to grind Diablo 4 so hard that he now holds the world record on the fastest clear of the hardest dungeon. Can’t wait when he will be speed running those $2 trillion budget cuts he proposed, grab your doomcorn 🍿🤣” Sincerely, Doom (https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/you-hate-to-see-it-elon-musk-might-be-the-best-diablo-4-player-in-the-world/)

🎉  “Ha-ha” moment

Because life is too short to be serious.

🎮 two & a half gamers – Triple Match City

𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 $𝟱𝟬𝗸/𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, basically tripling their daily revenue in recent months marrying product & UA perfectly, but they need to figure out how to run UA properly first.

Radiant Cat Studio behind Triple Match City is taking the casual gaming market by storm. Well, not yet, really. But it will get there quickly. Despite low download numbers, Triple Match City is growing nicely and steadily, with 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵.

The game incorporates innovative gameplay mechanics that blend 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝟯D 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲𝘀. The game’s design and ad integration significantly impact user experience. It features sandbox levels that challenge players to collect various items within a time limit.

User acquisition remains a challenging aspect of mobile gaming. Radiant Cat Studios run 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲, so hopefully, this won’t be used too much for Triple Match City. We already saw one concept during the recording. Anyway, it seems like the company is not ready for scaling yet, but they have everything in place from the product side to do it. 𝗨𝗔 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. The number of unique creative concepts is low, but the number of channels is growing.

It looks like the future is bright for this game since they have the minigames blueprint in place. They just need to figure out the hardest part of the equation – UA.

📺 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.

Hey! Long time no see. We would be really interested in working with you and your show. Your approach is great, and we love it.

Thanks, what do you have in mind?

We would love to become a sponsor.

Join the competition now!

Oh that’s great. Thanks a lot. Let me think about the approach, but lets talk more to see if there is a fit.

Great! We think the audience fit is there.

Yeah, here are the terms we have to get you onboard. What do you think?

Looks good. We would need you to be exclusive as well, but that’s a minor thing. Let’s move forward. We also do only 70% of the fee you mentioned.

Wait a minute. What do you mean by exclusive?

Yeah, you can’t work with our competitors or talk about them. If someone asks you about the service, you need to mention our name.

Well, don’t you think that’s exactly against our No-BS approach? You must be joking.

Not really, that is the case in this situation. Also, not only your show, but also you as a person.

hahahah okay. That is not happening. Nothing in the world forbids me from saying what I believe is true. Thanks a lot for your approach, but this is not going to work.

Today was a good day.

🤺​ Quote of the week

“What do they think our channel is New York Times or what?” – Jakub, 2.5gamers chat

Triple Match City

🧞 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:

Actually, last week was extra special. Here you go one more:

💡 PS: The latest UA & marketing jobs for you prepared by Gamigion:

Director of Product Marketing Scopely
Marketing Manager, LATAM Supercell
Monetization Manager Supercell
Performance Marketing Manager Supercell
Live Operations & Monetization Lead Supercell
UA Lead Playtika
Social Media Manager Playtika
Monetization Manager Playtika
Monetization Operations Specialist Playtika
Product Monetization Manager Moon Active
User Acquisition Manager SciPlay
Head of Monetization & LiveOps SciPlay
Senior Product Marketing Manager Nordeus
Ad Monetization Manager Codeway
Marketing Analyst Candivore
Marketing Specialist Peak
Product Marketing Specialist Rollic
ASO Manager Tripledot Studios
Monetization Director Voodoo
Monetization Manager Gameloft
Product Marketing Manager Gameloft
Senior UA Manager TapNation
Junior Product Marketing Manager Kwalee
Marketing Director Tangelo Games Corp.
User Acquisition Manager Tactile Games
Marketing Specialist Fugo Games
Senior UA Manager MY.GAMES
Marketing Analyst MY.GAMES
User Acquisition Manager Easybrain
Lifecycle Marketing Specialist Kabam
Growth Manager Lead AppsFlyer
Marketing Manager Verve
Marketing Manager adjoe
Demand Growth Manager adjoe
Growth Partnerships Manager Unity
Senior Growth Manager Unity
User Acquisition Manager Xsolla
Manager, Business Marketing Liftoff
Senior Manager, Digital Marketing PubMatic
Sr Product Marketing Manager Airship
Product Growth Analyst Amplitude
Product Manager, Growth Amplitude
Social Media Manager Braze
Director of Monetization TyrAds
Senior Product Manager II, Growth Mistplay
Lead UA Manager (Gaming) Yodo1 Games
Team Lead UA & Growth – SOFTGAMES
Lifecycle Marketing Manager Benjamin
Growth Manager Moloco

Find out more here