Bravestars

The objective

Looking beyond the initial install to find more valuable players

Founded in 2013, Bravestars is a Vietnam-based mobile game developer and publisher creating entertainment experiences for players around the world. Among its titles is Snake Puzzle: Slither to Eat, a casual puzzle game that challenges players to guide a growing snake through each level.

As Bravestars looked to grow the game in the competitive United States (US) iOS market, it faced a familiar user acquisition challenge for in-app advertising (IAA) games: not every install delivers the same long-term value.

Optimizing primarily around early Day 0 performance can provide an immediate indication of campaign results, but it may not fully capture the ad revenue a player generates as they continue to engage with a game.

Bravestars wanted to move beyond early acquisition signals to identify high-value players more likely to drive stronger in-app ad revenue during the first seven days after installation.

At the same time, the studio wanted to scale its campaign without compromising return on ad spend. Its goal was to maintain full spend while optimizing toward a more stable, longer-term measure of player value on TikTok: Day 7 ad revenue return on ad spend (ROAS).

The solution

Optimizing acquisition around seven days of player value

Bravestars adopted TikTok’s Smart+ iOS App Campaign with Value-Based Optimization for Ad Revenue and Day 7 Target ROAS Bidding for Snake Puzzle: Slither to Eat.

Rather than optimizing primarily around Day 0 (D0) signals, the campaign could identify and target users more likely to generate stronger ad engagement and in-app advertising revenue during their first seven (D7) days with the game.

This longer ROAS optimization window gave Bravestars a performance signal that better reflected how its IAA model creates value. Instead of treating every install equally, Value-Based Optimization helped the campaign prioritize users with greater potential to generate ad revenue over time.

With Day 7 (D7) Target ROAS Bidding, Bravestars could set its desired D7 ROAS goal and optimize campaign delivery toward achieving it. This gave the studio greater control over efficiency while enabling TikTok’s system to identify and target higher-value users at scale.

The campaign was supported by Smart+ automation and AI-driven bidding, helping Bravestars scale efficiently while maintaining campaign volume and profitability. Creative+ Autoselect further supported campaign delivery by automatically selecting suitable creative assets.

Together, these solutions enabled Bravestars to shift its focus from short-term acquisition signals toward a fuller picture of player value across the first seven days.

The results

Scaling spend while achieving IAA Day 7 ROAS target

Moving from D0 toward D7 optimization enabled Bravestars to significantly scale its US iOS campaign while continuing to meet its efficiency goals.

With D7 Target ROAS Bidding, Bravestars achieved 4x absolute budget spending at D7 compared with D0, demonstrating its ability to substantially increase campaign scale. At the same time, the campaign recorded 184% D7 ROAS progression from D0 ROAS, and achieved 100% of Bravestars’ D7 ROAS KPI.

The results showed Bravestars that scaling user acquisition did not have to come at the expense of longer-term return. By giving TikTok a seven-day window to identify users more likely to generate ad revenue, the studio could increase spending while continuing to optimize toward its target ROAS.

“Adopting TikTok's IAA D7 Target ROAS solution transformed our acquisition strategy, allowing us to massively scale our budget while simultaneously hitting both our short- and long-term KPIs,” said Trung Do, UA Manager at Bravestars.

For IAA gaming advertisers, Bravestars’ experience demonstrates how optimizing beyond the initial install can create a stronger foundation for scalable growth. By focusing on the value players generate in their first 7 days (D7), the Smart+ iOS App Campaign and Value-Based Optimization can help advertisers pursue both campaign scale and ad revenue efficiency.