Performance vs. Breadth

• Broadening campaigns beyond direct-response UA consistently inflates cost-per-install (CPI) because many impressions reach uninterested audiences, yet the users who do install often retain and engage as well as those from tightly targeted sources.6:35
• Brand familiarity serves as a reliable CPI reducer in performance campaigns, but its true incremental value is hard to isolate from organic chart rankings or the potentially cannibalistic effects of app-store advertising.16:14

Strategic Execution

• Acquisition source should dictate the in-game experience; rewarded-network users, who are primed by specific incentives in ads, show improved cohort performance when those same milestones are mirrored in their early-game journey.13:00
• Incrementality testing is increasingly necessary to validate cross-channel spending in CTV, search, and retargeting, but it remains operationally risky as it requires large cohorts and the willingness to pause potentially high-performing channels.14:14
• Client-side UA teams are currently overloaded by a massive backlog of channels—including TikTok, X, and new DSPs—making deep, multi-quarter strategic partnerships with ad networks more valuable than transactional spend toggling.24:26

Industry Outlook

• Luis, a 20-year gaming veteran and former ROIO chief marketing officer, has moved to Smadex—a demand-side platform—to help it reach a top-three industry position, betting that the market is shifting toward more transparent, white-glove DSP services.26:04