Case Background
Million Lords is a SLG game under the well-known European game publisher Million Victories. Its classic hardcore 4X gameplay attracts a large number of strategy game enthusiasts. Players can build and expand their cities, attack opponents' cities, and strategically deploy troops to level up through successful attacks and the construction of defensive facilities. Based on these features, the game currently uses in-app purchases (IAP) as its main revenue model and focuses its marketing efforts on reaching more active users with a high willingness to pay, thereby further increasing revenue.
As Q5 approaches (usually referring to the period from December 20 to January 31 each year), activities on various platforms increase, and user interest in gaming rises. Million Lords hopes to seize this opportunity to expand into new markets, attract more high-value users, and improve return on ad spend (ROAS).
Solution
To achieve a more sustainable and robust marketing effect, Million Victories has been exploring advertising strategies suitable for the Tuke platform. In fact, one of the most effective tactics in Tuke's diverse marketing solutions is to combine mobile app install ads (MAI) with app event optimization (AEO). Considering that Million Lords is a hardcore strategy game, a customized creative marketing strategy is crucial for resonating with users and ensuring the effectiveness of ad placements.
By conducting a detailed analysis of over a hundred videos from the Tuke Creative Challenge (TTCC) and excellent gameplay-centric videos, Million Victories discovered a very successful creative model: when local native language creators appear in person and naturally integrate gameplay demonstrations, they generally achieve good user conversion. Moreover, these converted users also show excellent payment performance later, resulting in lower cost per install (CPI) and higher long-term return on ad spend (ROAS).
One of the most successful examples came from a professional player whose native language is English, creating materials for the English market. This live-action video gained a large number of views locally upon its release and contributed significantly to ad revenue. Based on this, when Million Lords prepared to enter other new markets, Tuke for Business suggested collaborating with Tuke creative partner Bambassadors on the Tuke Creative Exchange (TTCX) platform to create localized content for the French and German markets, leveraging Bambassadors' expertise in native content creation.
To replicate the success in the English market, Tuke for Business worked with Bambassadors to retain eye-catching elements such as content, visual composition, and tone from the English video, ultimately producing 10 videos each in German and French. Although the presentation varied, the essence remained unchanged.
Strategically combining highly relevant content with engaging gameplay has also proven to be key to Million Lords' success on Tuke, and Tuke for Business fully considered this when formulating creative solutions for them.
Marketing Results
This marketing campaign achieved significant results in both the German and French markets, especially on the Android platform, which has a large audience for hardcore strategy games.
Notably, the return on ad spend (ROAS) increased by 175% and 150% in Germany and France, respectively, while the cost per install (CPI) decreased by 60% and 53%. Compared to a 114% increase in ad click-through rate in the French market, although the increase in Germany was not as pronounced, it still rose by 28%. These results highlight the importance of creating highly relevant and resonant creative content, which played a crucial role in attracting the gaming community on the platform.
After integrating Bambassador's innovative video content, we saw a significant improvement in achieving our KPIs, greatly enhancing our operational performance, especially in the French and German markets. We are very satisfied with these results and will continue to use this strategy in the future.
Short answer for decision makers
This TikTok business signal should be used as a planning prompt, not a standalone trend. The practical question is whether your brand has the market readiness, creator supply, Shop conversion path, paid-media structure, and reporting cadence to act on it now.
Key facts
- Market signal: TikTok marketing Case Studies
- Published: May 17, 2024
- Source transparency: the original source linked in this article
Tuke recommendation
Choose one market, one product group, one creator cohort, and one KPI for the next operating cycle. Then align creative testing, TikTok Shop optimization, live commerce readiness, and weekly reporting around that single decision.
What should brands do with this TikTok signal?
Brands should translate the signal into a focused operating test across creative, creators, TikTok Shop readiness, paid media, and reporting before increasing budget.
How does Tuke Marketing evaluate this kind of news?
Tuke Marketing reviews platform news through market timing, category demand, creator supply, commerce readiness, and measurable growth actions.
When should a team contact Tuke about this topic?
A team should contact Tuke when it needs to turn a TikTok market signal into a practical launch, creator, advertising, live commerce, or reporting plan.
Source transparency: Tuke cites the original source linked in this article and adds its own operating analysis for brands evaluating TikTok growth decisions.