The value of retargeting players and when to do it

"77% of your users are lost three days after install on average," says RTB House gaming account director Vera Manhoso.

"This is where you’re missing out."

Manhoso appeared on stage at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2025 to discuss retargeting users and to reveal insights into making this process easier. She noted that only 30% of apps had implemented retargeting campaigns as of 2020.

"In our space, 2020 was like a million years ago, right?" she added. "But actually, there’s not a lot of recent data to update that. Based on our own knowledge from advertisers that we work with, and our peers as well, that number hasn’t changed much."

This is especially true for mobile games, where Manhoso speculated the figure to be closer to 11%. But this is beginning to change.

"We are starting to see advertisers enabling their data with retargeting partners before their game is even launched, and that’s really exciting to see."

Ready, set, go

Manhoso suggested that companies don’t need to wait to reach an exceptional install base before deploying retargeting tactics - sometimes "a couple of thousand really good payers" is sufficient - but it is essential to get a mobile measurement partner (MMP) integrated.

In fact, Manhoso argued that collecting that data sooner might be advantageous - ready to use as soon as a retargeting campaign does become of interest. Then, the best time to actually get started may vary by game, monetisation model and players.

"I like to think of it as if you’re sorting your gear loadout before a boss fight," she said. "If you have your preparation done correctly, then it’s really smooth."

She went on to discuss the role of AI and making algorithms smarter. Her full talk also covered tracking what players do in-game and what keeps them engaged, as well as advising on how to maintain data safety.

Pocket Gamer Connects is expanding into China this year with an inaugural Shanghai summit on July 30th. Five carefully curated tracks will give attendees the opportunity to network and learn in one of the world’s most lucrative mobile games markets.

Tickets for Pocket Gamer Connects Shanghai are available now.