Post on 19-Mar-2017
transcript
Agenda
YOUR HOSTS:
Mark RobinsonCEO, deltaDNA
Stefano MelucciVP Product, Thumbspirewith
Top soft launch strategies for awesome metrics
Agenda Why players leave
Day-1 Retention rates•On average, less than 40% of
players return to a free-to-play game after one session
•44% of games have 60 – 80% of players not returning after one session
Agenda Why soft launch matters
• In beta more than one month
•20% plus increase in D1 retention
•24% boost in IAP
Agenda Why players leave
Agenda Testing in soft launch
Testing processWhat to test
Agenda Testing on-boarding
•60% of players never return after session one
•Combine Gamification
•With Analytics and Personalization
•To create great onboarding
•For everyone
Agenda Improving on-boarding
•Do players know what to do?
•Are they given clear direction?
•Have they achieved something early on?
Example: Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
Rewarding used to encourage engagement / progression
Clearly signposted hints & tips led by a likable character that unveils game complexity over time
Agenda Improving on-boarding
•Is the game difficulty controlled?
•is the tutorial fun and engaging?
•Once the tutorial is complete, are players equipped to play the game and succeed?
•Have they had a taste of the best gameplay?
Example: CSR Classics
Players are shown something aspirational
Agenda Testing on-boarding
Where are players dropping out?
Practical steps•Set a high density of event counters to track how
players are moving through the First Time User Experience (FTUE)
Agenda Testing on-boarding
Practical stepsUse a funnel tool to analyze level progression & show which areas are acting as blockers
A/B test Find the most effective messaging variables for each segment with AB Testing
Agenda Testing retention
Which players segments are leaving the game and when?
Practical steps•Use a data mining tool to
segment players for targeting
Agenda Improving retention
Adjust the difficulty. Provide additional resources for target segment or signpost location unlocks
•48% of churned players leave because the difficulty is not balanced
•A game that is too easy will cause less retention issues than a game that is too difficult
•More than half of players joining any game are novices
Look at which player segments are failing to complete each mission
Agenda Improving retention
•38% of churned players leave because there aren’t enough rewards
•Incentives gives the player a reason to return, & rewards give a sense of achievement
•28% of churned players leave because there aren’t enough repeat play opportunities
Create replay opportunities for ‘Accomplishment’ types
Use targeting to reward your most loyal players with extra incentives
Agenda Testing retention
•Focus on retention first and foremost: you can always monetize a fun game
•Use segmentation to identify groups of players with similar experiences and test personalized intervention strategies
Agenda Novice: set your strategy
Agenda Grinder: set your strategy
Agenda Expert: set your strategy
Agenda How to optimize your soft launch process
1. Real focus on first 60 secs2. Map out the FTUE events in detail 3. Create segments 4. Analyze FTUE by segment 5. Overlay best practice gamification 6. Personalise your strategy for each segment7. Measure and repeat until metrics make
acquisition profitable.
Agenda deltaDNA: Powered by deep data
•The only deep data analytics platform dedicated to games •End-to-end toolkit to optimize & manage engagement, retention &
monetization
Agenda
Stefano MelucciVP Product, Thumbspire
Thumbspire use case
Agenda What is Thumbspire?
App Store USA Top Games Chart – 3/3/16
Analyze. Optimize. Monetize.
•We publish mobile games
•Work with small studios and dev shops across the world
•Games range from one-touch casual games to botanical simulations
•Our job is to ensure great engagement, and then to keep improving it
•All so that we can find the best way to generate revenue from the game
•While ensuring it finds the widest popular audience – through social media, user acquisition, featuring, PR, etc
Agenda Onboarding and retention - soft launch
Reduced the choicesin Menu navigation
Increased tutorial visual directions
Shortcut between chapters
Retention D1% increased by 66% in first 2 iterations (from 15% to 25%)
Agenda Optimizing marketing spending
•Tag all users with their marketing attribution
•Engagement and monetization by channel / campaign
•Optimize marketing investments
•D1% Retention 70% vs 65%
•Optimized LTV = 2x overall LTV
Overall Optimized marketing channel
Agenda Ad frequency optimization
•Dynamic parameters : - Frequency - Cooldown
•Measuring impact in engagement and IAP monetization
Agenda Optimize monetization - upselling
•Shown to users after Level 7 when they complete a task
•Converts when the bundle is purchased.
~0.8% conversion rate+39% on sales of the item
Agenda Optimize monetization - flash sales
•Users at Level 3 or more
•Who never purchased anything before
•And have a low virtual currency balance
Offer: 50% off on purchases for one session only
~2.5% conversion rate+23% on cash sales
Agenda Optimize monetization - merchandising experiment
•Users at Level 3 or more
•Offered Amazon t-shirts
9% click through rate
Agenda We partner with developers for the whole cycle
Pre and post launch servicesPRE
•Best practices for preparing your game for launch or soft launch
•Provide suite of tools: marketing attribution, analytics, ads mediation
•Work with developers through soft launch – iterations, analytics
•PR, relationship with stores , social media for launch
POST
•Regular re-engagement push notifications
•Analytics and game optimization
•UA and ROI optimization
•Social media
•Ads revenue optimization
•Engagement and upselling campaigns
YOUR HOSTS:
Mark RobinsonCEO, deltaDNA
Stefano MelucciVP Product, Thumbspirewith
Thank you!