How to get 80,000 installations in a month with video advertising: a case study of AdQuantum
October 27, 2021
Smartphones are used for everything nowadays. We use apps to order things from stores and restaurants, make appointments with doctors and hairdressers, chat with people, and play games of all types.
Since 2015, the agency AdQuantum has been in the business of promoting mobile apps. In this case study, we'll explore the results of their recent myTarget ad campaign for a casual game.
Since 2015, the agency AdQuantum has been in the business of promoting mobile apps. In this case study, we'll explore the results of their recent myTarget ad campaign for a casual game.
About the genre
Casual games are a popular genre designed for a wide audience. They have simple rules so users can learn how to play and make progress fast.
AdQuantum's task was to promote a word game in which players must form words from a set of letters. The game is available in several languages, including Russian.
AdQuantum's task was to promote a word game in which players must form words from a set of letters. The game is available in several languages, including Russian.
Campaign goals
The main goal of the campaign was to increase the number of times the app was installed, as well as boost user engagement with the game.
The first task was to identify the audience for a casual word game. It turned out to be women over 40 years old, who accounted for the bulk of installations even before the ad campaign. This audience actively uses the Russian social networks OK (Odnoklassniki) and VK (VKontakte) and plays games on social media platforms. To reach all of Russian social media at once, AdQuantum decided to run the campaign on myTarget.
The first task was to identify the audience for a casual word game. It turned out to be women over 40 years old, who accounted for the bulk of installations even before the ad campaign. This audience actively uses the Russian social networks OK (Odnoklassniki) and VK (VKontakte) and plays games on social media platforms. To reach all of Russian social media at once, AdQuantum decided to run the campaign on myTarget.
Tests
As part of their team's testing, AdQuantum developed over 20 unique potential ads. They also tested over 10 taglines and chose the best of them.
To make sure the ad was effective, the team stuck to a few rules. The ads showed simple and easy-to-understand tasks, such as solving picture puzzles, riddles, and crosswords. These tasks had to demonstrate that, although the targeted user could most likely solve the puzzles in the game, not everyone could. This message was emphasized by taglines such as "Harder than you think," "9 out of 10 people make a mistake at the end," and "Only 10% of people get all the words right."
The ads that included riddles, picture puzzles, and finding spelling errors showed the best results. AdQuantum concluded that the better users understood the task, the higher the chance that they would want to test their knowledge and progress to a harder level in the game.
AdQuantum also tested vertical clips at first and then created resized square ads of the options that proved most effective.
To make sure the ad was effective, the team stuck to a few rules. The ads showed simple and easy-to-understand tasks, such as solving picture puzzles, riddles, and crosswords. These tasks had to demonstrate that, although the targeted user could most likely solve the puzzles in the game, not everyone could. This message was emphasized by taglines such as "Harder than you think," "9 out of 10 people make a mistake at the end," and "Only 10% of people get all the words right."
The ads that included riddles, picture puzzles, and finding spelling errors showed the best results. AdQuantum concluded that the better users understood the task, the higher the chance that they would want to test their knowledge and progress to a harder level in the game.
AdQuantum also tested vertical clips at first and then created resized square ads of the options that proved most effective.
Campaign mechanic
To promote the game, AdQuantum's team ran 60 ad campaigns. To show the ad to the right audience, they set up targeting based on app categories (Android) and selected the Games category, which allows advertisers to market to users who have installed or deleted apps of a specific genre (for example, "Game-Word Game," "Game-Trivia"). This tool also makes it possible to show an ad to users who have installed a specific number of apps of a certain genre over a given period. Selecting an audience that had installed multiple apps of a certain category within a specific time is especially relevant to casual games, which users tend to download frequently. Communicating effectively with the target audience can help motivate them to install another game.
The main tools that AdQuantum used were video ads in vertical and square formats with a call-to-action button.
The vertical videos were used for campaigns on the social media platform OK and in the myTarget advertising network. This tool makes it possible to attract users from social networks and helps to reduce the total cost of installing the app. OK users displayed a high level of engagement, which was reflected in the metric of customer lifetime value, or the profit that a business will get over the entire time of its relationship with a customer.
While the core of the target audience was women 40 and older, the AdQuantum team also showed the ad to men. To reach a new audience, they broadened their promotion settings on OK to target both genders between the ages of 18 and 75. To optimize the most effective campaigns, users who had seen prior ads but did not install the app were not shown ads.
AdQuantum also used the square video format. This allowed them to attract an audience from OK, VK, and the ad network. To motivate users even more, they chose a special tagline to trigger them to click: "Can you handle this challenge?" These ads targeted men and women alike. However, to increase the number of installations, they narrowed the audience to target users between the ages of 35 and 75.
The main tools that AdQuantum used were video ads in vertical and square formats with a call-to-action button.
The vertical videos were used for campaigns on the social media platform OK and in the myTarget advertising network. This tool makes it possible to attract users from social networks and helps to reduce the total cost of installing the app. OK users displayed a high level of engagement, which was reflected in the metric of customer lifetime value, or the profit that a business will get over the entire time of its relationship with a customer.
While the core of the target audience was women 40 and older, the AdQuantum team also showed the ad to men. To reach a new audience, they broadened their promotion settings on OK to target both genders between the ages of 18 and 75. To optimize the most effective campaigns, users who had seen prior ads but did not install the app were not shown ads.
AdQuantum also used the square video format. This allowed them to attract an audience from OK, VK, and the ad network. To motivate users even more, they chose a special tagline to trigger them to click: "Can you handle this challenge?" These ads targeted men and women alike. However, to increase the number of installations, they narrowed the audience to target users between the ages of 35 and 75.
Results
In one month, the square and vertical video campaigns led over 80,000 social media users to install the game. Of them, AdQuantum received about 4,000 installs from the myTarget ad network. Their return on ad spend (ROAS) grew to 400%, while cost per install (CPI) remained at 13 rubles (~0.18 USD).
The cost to show the square videos (measured in cost per mille) was twice as high as that of the vertical videos. However, this was not a problem, as the square videos' conversion rate (CR) from click to install grew by four times.
Today, the number of mobile apps is constantly growing, so it is becoming more and more difficult for businesses to attract and retain an audience. To establish quality communication with users, companies must test the current tools on the market because these tools can help them achieve their business goals. It is important to keep social media in mind as well, as it has proven highly effective for promoting products.
The cost to show the square videos (measured in cost per mille) was twice as high as that of the vertical videos. However, this was not a problem, as the square videos' conversion rate (CR) from click to install grew by four times.
Today, the number of mobile apps is constantly growing, so it is becoming more and more difficult for businesses to attract and retain an audience. To establish quality communication with users, companies must test the current tools on the market because these tools can help them achieve their business goals. It is important to keep social media in mind as well, as it has proven highly effective for promoting products.
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