Casino App Insights with Mikayel Mirzoyan | Appvertiser Chats #7

Hello everyone, today we are chatting with Mikayel Mirzoyan, Sr. Performance Marketing Manager at Appvertiser.

Do you prefer to listen or watch?

Spotify https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/appvertiser

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocvX03IoOes

He’s been helping clients in different categories including the hardest one to him, but the one he is most knowledgeable about: casino! 🎰 

Q: To break the ice, what’s your personal favorite app, category, and client?

A: Personally, I like motivational apps. I specially like reading quotes to get inspired. But in terms of a category to work with, it’s definitely gaming because UA is much easier for me there. In terms of a favorite client, with Lucktastic it was my first project and I learned tons collaborating with their team as well.

Q: Great that you leverage knowledge with every client. I know you’ve worked with more than seven casino apps. What are your insights on that category?

A: To be honest, this is also the hardest category I’ve worked with. Competition is high, competitors are bidding more and more to acquire users that convert into depositors and generate revenue. The main takeaways are: Make sure your app is trending: UX will be better, the onboarding process for users will be better. I2D rate is high, install to deposit rate is high. Your performance mainly depends on this metric. Creative strategy is key: You need to tell your users efficiently that when they come into the app they need to make deposits. From channel to channel everything differs and you need to do constant optimizations. In terms of channels, SDK and DSPs do well, but performance fluctuates a lot and you need to be aware of seasonal effects.

Q: What’s the essential channel kit for these types of apps, and what’s the channel to go for?

A: It depends on how long you are ready to invest money. DSPs show good results, but you need at least four weeks because of the learning phase. Content channels take longer, but based on my experience, ROAS are the best here.

Q: What’s the most successful campaign you’ve managed?

A: There are a few! I managed one with Playside Studios that was good and interesting as well. We were trying many things in Google Ads, but ROAS were not good. We did a deep dive into analysis on our side, on the MMPs side, and on the Google dashboard, and we saw there was a huge discrepancy. So we reached out to our Google rep and found out that the event we were using was wrong. Then we developed another MMP event which started working very well, and ROAS was finally three times higher. That’s my success story.

Q: Amazing, now switching gears to another topic. How do you prevent fraud in your campaigns?

A: That’s interesting because not many clients pay attention to fraud, but it’s very important. First of all, the first time I encountered fraud, the client had a tool that did fraud detection. We were looking at it daily, and it helped us. Right now, we use MMPs, but I have to admit that it is for sure not 100% accurate and detectable.

Q: Got it. We might agree that SDK networks are gaining more popularity among media mixes for mobile apps. Why is that, in your opinion?

A: It depends on the product and on the category, based on your goals and your KPIs. Applovin, for example, is very good and gives you plenty of opportunities. To choose the correct one, you need to try. Each one has a unique approach, and you must follow their best practices, meaning creatives, bidding, and campaign types.

Q: That starts to respond to my following question: What would you recommend a UA team to start running first regarding SDK networks?

A: It depends! For example, in the casino category, it’s very difficult to start with FB or Google. You can start with SDKs because it’s easier to get approval on creatives, which gives you the opportunity to run with them. SDKs have a lot of audiences, you’ll never run out of their audiences, and mostly they are high-quality traffic.

Q: Now, about automation, when would a team go for automation, how much can you automate, and is it related to budget or the simplicity of the campaign?

A: You can automate almost 100% of your campaigns with MMPs. The risk is minimal, and it’s worth giving it a try. Allocate 5-10% to testing with separate campaigns to ensure there’s no cannibalization with your other campaigns. Compare manual with automated campaigns, and as results improve, you can increase your spending. Generally, most campaigns are manual because MMPs lack sophisticated machine learning capabilities. As a UA manager, you should always monitor daily and weekly numbers anyway.

Q: Let’s talk about creatives. Many companies are focusing their energy on creatives. What are your thoughts on this?

A: Creatives are a complex topic, and the types vary from client to client. Some clients only run static images, while others find success with videos. Mixing images and playables can also be effective. Our creative strategy involves deep diving into analysis using tools like Mobile Action to study what competitors are doing. It’s crucial to highlight your app’s best features and main offer.

Q: There are some smaller channels that might present good opportunities. How do you determine when such an opportunity is worth exploring?

A: We schedule a call with the rep and ask for benchmarks, as it’s difficult to make assumptions. We gather the information and test it. That’s it!

Q: We always ask this of our invitees: What do you see for the future of mobile app acquisition?

A: In 2024, I anticipate Google imposing restrictions on apps, preventing them from tracking user information. I don’t see any MMPs entering the market with a solution for this, but it will require time to develop probabilistic analysis tracking with Google. Companies may provide instance solutions, but their accuracy is uncertain. Overall, projections can become more difficult…