Historical cultivation games are a relatively niche genre, and due to differences in cultural backgrounds, there are significant differences in the gameplay logic of SLG games, making the promotion of such games quite challenging.
Once a successful SLG game breaks into the market, it is bound to have considerable profitability. Currently, the successful cultivation-based mobile games in the Western market generally inherit the core gameplay of mainstream Western SLGs while also integrating strongly localized RPG features such as medieval, Mongol warlord, and Eastern European empire themes, offering users a brand new gaming experience.
How can historical cultivation SLGs be better promoted? The following case study of NetMarvel's service for "Game of Khans" (hereinafter referred to as GOK) provides a replicable marketing reference for publishers, offering strategies for user growth and monetization that can be emulated.
01 Dilemma & Challenges
GOK is a high-quality mobile game with long-term operations jointly released by Xiamen's established game company Dotouch Technology and Dream+ Technology, and it has received continuous love from users in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
As the first globally popular Mongol conquest strategy game, it boasts rich gameplay and magnificent scenes that immerse players in the experience of managing and warring across different times.
Even after successfully opening up the market, GOK still struggled with the choice of promotion channels in its early stages, and user growth was not ideal in the short term. So they turned to NetMarvel, hoping to effectively solve the problem of limited user growth and achieve rapid results with the following solutions proposed by NetMarvel.
02 Solutions
1.Based on the product's user profile, accurately target the target audience
As a military SLG mobile game themed around the Mongols, GOK's audience is not extensive. At this point, the cost of acquiring users through general advertising is too high, necessitating targeted regional and platform-specific advertising strategies. Factors such as age, gender, and region are core considerations. Generally, the target user profile for SLG games is primarily the 20-39 age group, with a slight majority of males, who are more concerned with game visuals that focus on direct confrontation, combat outcomes, and strategic gameplay.
Beyond the basic judgments of user profiles and preferences for user materials, NetMarvel utilizes first-hand data from Dotouch Technology's suite of war cultivation products and environmental signals from past advertising inventory. By employing advanced machine learning models to analyze the data, they can accurately predict basic user behavior information. Additionally, they use their internal DMP management system data, combined with historical and current advertising data, to find the best solutions and quickly generate advertising strategies.
2.Start with vertical media, digging into traffic sources not covered by large media
GOK needs to break away from the homogenized large media advertising channels and tap into suitable traffic channels from niche media to ensure the acquisition of high-quality users. NetMarvel's owned IN-App traffic resources cover regions such as the United States, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia. The types of media include gaming (casual, money-making, real-money, mid-core), and utility apps (photo editing, cleaning, acceleration, power saving, weather, caller show, face-changing camera, etc.), with 100% real users to ensure advertisers reach high-quality target customers immediately.
03 Results of the Solution
After a series of strategic deployments and full-process marketing services by NetMarvel, GOK achieved a 15% reduction in customer acquisition cost and a 10% increase in user 30-day retention. The improvement in user retention and growth rate has brought tremendous commercial value to the mobile game, successfully opening up the market.
No comments yet