Lessmore

The objective

Driving installs and in-app purchases for mobile restaurant simulator

Lessmore, an independent mobile game publisher, was looking to promote its new restaurant simulator, "Eatventure." The game uses a hybrid monetization model combining in-app purchases and in-app advertising. The gaming experience is designed for a wide range of players and caters to all ages.

Following the launch, Lessmore rolled out a comprehensive marketing campaign to promote the game. Recognizing the potential of TikTok's vast gaming community, Lessmore decided to incorporate TikTok into its media mix.

The primary objective of the "Eatventure" campaign was to generate the maximum number of installs and in-app purchases, and eventually scale across different markets.

The Solution

Avoiding creative fatigue with TikTok Creative Challenge

Lessmore's primary focus was iOS users. The publisher started on TikTok at relatively low daily budgets targeting the US market, with the goal of scaling to other markets after mastering TikTok best practices.

Initially, the brand targeted app installs, as the game was relatively new to the market and its primary revenue at that time was coming from in-app advertising. As its player base expanded, the publisher's promotional strategy evolved to prioritize boosting in-app purchases. Thus, the primary emphasis shifted towards implementing impactful IAP campaigns to drive revenue growth. In order to find the best converting users, TikTok team experimented with audience targeting, testing different demographics and smartphone parameters.

Upon figuring out the most efficient approach to optimization and targeting, the campaign was scaled across different markets, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

Having gained massive exposure, Lessmore realized it needed to upgrade its creative approach. Initially, it used creatives that showcased the gameplay. While they were performing well, the gaming publisher acknowledged they could further leverage TikTok to mitigate the risk of creative fatigue. Lessmore's user acquisition team opted for TikTok Creative Challenge (TTCC), an official creator monetization program, where TikTok creators generate UGC-style ads for brands.

Lessmore began switching to a combination of gameplay videos and videos from TTCC. As the campaign progressed, the publishing was running almost 100% TTCC videos for "Eatventure." Within several months of TTCC implementation, the mobile game publisher received over 500 creator-generated videos.

The Results

Achieving global scale and sufficient ROAS

After 7 months of always-on activity, the publisher scaled on the platform by more than 50 times and TikTok emerged as the number one user acquisition channel for iOS users and iOS in-app purchases.

The campaign delivered a 46% lower cost per install than the average on other platforms, while day-seven return on ad spend was 28% higher than on other platforms. Lessmore also achieved a 22% conversion rate, again outperforming the average CVR on other platforms.

Overall, "Eatventure" achieved massive success, landing it among the top mobile games in a variety of markets, such as Germany, UK, Israel and Canada.