Key insights for adapting ideas into high impact marketing creatives
- AppQuantum has been refining its creative strategy on Gold & Goblins with an emphasis on emotional pull over core gameplay.
- A failed hypercasual style multiplier ad led to one the studio’s biggest creative breakthroughs.
- The team’s most effective ad concept came from a YouTube AR video.
Vladimir Paklin is the marketing creatives producer at AppQuantum.
Hypercasual and midcore games take very different approaches when it comes to marketing creatives. Hypercasual titles thrive on showcasing unique mechanics, while midcore games tend to focus on storytelling, often with a cinematic flair.
Casual games, particularly idle ones, used to align more closely with hypercasual in terms of marketing. But as the genre has grown deeper and more layered - particularly with the rise of hybrids, where we’ve developed the most expertise - so have the creative strategies.
Now, it’s not just about showing off the core mechanics. It’s about pulling viewers in with a story, sparking some kind of emotional response, and doing it all in under a minute, without resorting to misleading ads.
We’ve done a lot of experimenting along the way. Some ideas came from hypercasual, some from PC games, and one of our best-performing creatives? It was inspired by an augmented reality YouTube channel.
Gameplay vs. feeling
Unlike hypercasual games, midcore and deep casual games don’t always need to showcase their core gameplay in ads. Take Gold & Goblins, for example. Its main mechanic - breaking stones to collect gold and progress - hasn’t been the focus of any top-performing creative for the last two years.
Unlike hypercasual games, midcore and deep casual games don’t always need to showcase their core gameplay in ads.
Instead, we leaned into a mini-game: a bonus level featuring a car. This mechanic only takes up a tiny fraction of a player’s session - less than a minute - but visually, it grabs attention right away.
While it’s not part of the primary gameplay, it captures the overall vibe of the game - overcoming obstacles, collecting resources, and earning rewards - all without misleading players.
In creatives for games like these, the key is to capture the “game feel”. For Gold & Goblins, that’s the thrill of overcoming obstacles, gathering resources, earning rewards, and advancing to the next level.
That last point - progression - is a central theme that consistently shows up in our creatives. Players want to smash through the stones, collect rewards, and get to the next stage. That desire is what keeps them coming back for more.
This is why our creatives always include some kind of obstacle to overcome. It’s a strategy that has delivered excellent results.
Adapting trends to fit your game
Let’s face it: everyone keeps an eye on the competition for inspiration. If you see a concept popping up across top projects, it’s a safe bet that it’s working. But blindly copying trends doesn’t cut it. Beyond ethical concerns, it’s just not effective. To make something work, you need to adapt it to your project and audience.
If we’re talking about real market research, the best-performing creatives usually tie into larger trends.
This means keeping a close watch on the market, honing your observation skills, and running endless tests. For small studios with limited marketing budgets, copying top competitors can work in the early stages - but eventually, you’ll need to develop your own expertise or partner with a publisher.
If we’re talking about real market research, the best-performing creatives usually tie into larger trends. Spotting and adapting those trends to your game’s unique “feel” is what allows you to scale and sustain growth for years to come.
Take the multiplier mechanic, which has been a staple in hypercasual games. You know the one: the character runs down a path, dodging or hitting multipliers like x2, x10, or -100, trying to maximise their strength. While it started in hypercasual, it’s still effective in casual genres today.
When you see this mechanic crushing it for your competitors, it’s tempting to try it yourself. We thought the same: what if we had a goblin running along a path, grabbing multipliers? Maybe it could multiply into a whole crowd of goblins? Being data-driven, we tested it. It flopped.
When you see this mechanic crushing it for your competitors, it’s tempting to try it yourself.
The problem was that our game is a deep idle with meditative gameplay. Quick reactions and split-second decisions don’t align with the “gamefeel.” It was a cool idea, but it clashed with the genre.
Then we stumbled upon a YouTube AR video of cartoon characters tossing candy into baskets, and the candies multiplied. That was the spark we needed.
We adapted the multiplier mechanic into something that fit our game: goblins passing through gates that multiply resources. Our past creatives featuring physical interactions with piles of resources had performed well, so we combined that with this new approach, and it clicked.
The secret to this creative’s success? It wasn’t just copying the trend. We adapted it deeply, blended it with an idea from YouTube, incorporated our game’s unique vibe, and built on features we already knew worked.
In the end, we got one of our all-time top-performing creatives that’s doing great to this day.
Spotting trends for a small studio
Adapting trends is one thing. Catching them early? That’s the real challenge. If someone could do this consistently, they’d probably be a billionaire (not financial advice). But even getting it right occasionally can put you ahead of the curve.
It’s no coincidence that big companies invest in dedicated R&D teams. But what if you’re a smaller studio?
Start by identifying competitors in your genre. Most small studios build on existing mechanics rather than inventing something entirely new. Use this as your starting point: study their creatives and expand your knowledge of the genre. Analytical tools like Sensor Tower can also help.
Look at your competitors’ successes and failures, monitor creatives over different timeframes, and focus on the geos that matter to you.
Look at your competitors’ successes and failures, monitor creatives over different timeframes, and focus on the geos that matter to you. If you’re targeting the US, it doesn’t help to study creatives that only perform well in Indonesia.
Almost everyone starts out by copying standout creatives from their competitors. But as you grow, you’ll need to move beyond imitation. As discussed earlier, the goal is to catch trends early and adapt them to fit your game.
Pay close attention to sudden changes in the top charts. If a game featuring new creative mechanics suddenly skyrockets, that’s your cue to investigate.
Also, keep an eye on your direct competitors. If a strong player in your niche starts using a new mechanic, there’s likely something to it.
Unfortunately, there’s no foolproof method for catching trends early. Trends are only obvious once they’ve solidified, and by then, you’re playing catch-up.
Right now, you’ll see plenty of similar creatives from different companies with little innovation. Without adaptation, another cookie-cutter creative will struggle to compete.
Here’s the big takeaway: even after you find a winning creative, the work doesn’t stop.
Take the recent trend of “crumbly” physical resources in casual games. It worked for a while but is starting to feel tired. The mobile market evolves fast.
Interestingly, our Gold & Goblins creatives have had much longer lifespans recently. Our top-performing ads have been running for over seven months - ancient by mobile marketing standards.
Maybe we just hit on something that resonates longer, so I’m not going to speak for the whole market here. Either way, we’re not slowing down. We’re still experimenting and testing.
Tips & tricks
Let’s wrap up with a few practical takeaways from our experience:
- Optimal ad creative length these days is around 60 seconds. Seven years ago (back when I started), 15-30 seconds was standard, but longer formats work better now.
- CGI-heavy creatives are hit or miss. They’re expensive and time-consuming but don’t always deliver the results to justify the cost.
- Playables can be a great addition. Many titles successfully use them, either standalone or as endcards.
- There’s no magic formula for a hit creative. Even if someone swears by a particular approach, too many unpredictable factors stand between you and your audience. Test a variety of concepts to find what resonates.
- Marketing creatives can influence game design. For instance, our car bonus level started as a creative concept before becoming part of the game.
And here’s the big takeaway: even after you find a winning creative, the work doesn’t stop.
Test variations, tweak the details, and refine your approach. Creating and refining creatives is a never-ending process. But with each success, you build a stronger foundation to tackle whatever comes next.
Companies
People
