What is retargeting?

Retargeting is a marketing strategy used to re-engage lapsed customers. When a user engages with a website or app - whether that’s visiting the homepage or installing the app - they get tagged with an identifier, like a cookie or pixel. Through this identifier, the business can later serve these visitors an ad to encourage them to complete an action based on what they did (e.g. if a user added an item to cart, a retargeting strategy can serve ads to complete checkout). Retargeting allows businesses to target potential or existing customers at any point along the user funnel to push them towards a desired conversion - like engagement with a specific page on-site, upselling, and making a first purchase.

In mobile gaming, retargeting involves serving personalized ads to users who have previously installed, interacted with, or visited a mobile app. It can be used to re-engage users and point them towards a desired action specific to a game, whether that’s reinstalling it, logging back in, finishing a level, or even completing an in-app purchase.  

Why run retargeting campaigns?

Ad retargeting, compared to new user acquisition, has a few key advantages:

• Less expensive: Compared to acquiring a new user, converting a previously engaged player with a retargeting ad is usually cheaper. That’s because ad retargeting focuses on those that have already shown some level of purchase intent, rather than wasting budget on players that potentially have zero interest in a game. Since retargeted players are further along in the funnel, they’re more likely to engage and convert than brand-new users
• Higher engagement: Mobile retargeting campaigns are based on the fact that players have already engaged with an app in some way - so they’re more likely to engage more with the game than a new user because they’re already familiar with it. Research from Adjust, for example, shows that retargeted users complete almost twice as many in-game events as newly acquired users

• More revenue: Since the players brought back to your game through retargeting campaigns are often more engaged, their LTV is often higher, too - which means more revenue. Plus, mobile retargeting isn’t always about getting players to re-install; it’s also used to upsell players or drive purchases for a specific microtransaction. In this way, it’s a direct revenue-driver - in fact, studies show that mobile retargeting for games can lead to an ARPPU (average revenue per paying user) uplift of 121%!

• Boost in retention: The players that have already engaged with a game then convert after being shown a retargeting ad are more likely to stick around than brand-new users. These retargeted users are already familiar with the game - whatever convinces them to return is likely a reminder why they enjoyed playing in the first place and they’re even more motivated to return. For example, retargeting players with an ad highlighting a set of new levels can bring them back to the game where they’ll remain engaged through the new content, boosting retention rates

What mobile retargeting used to look like

Apple introduced the IDFA in 2012, letting advertisers on iOS track campaign performance on the user-level. How? Well, the IDFA - and other mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs) like Google's GAID - acts like a digital name tag on player’s devices. Think of it like the native mobile version of the retargeting pixel we mentioned in the beginning. The IDFA anonymizes user data so information like their name and age isn’t revealed, but it’s able to show how users came to a game (from which channel) and their preferences - all at a player level, rather than cohorting the data from a bunch of players. 

The main value props of the IDFA for user acquisition are:

• Personalize ads based on access to player-level data
• Accurately measure ROAS by tracking the performance of each UA channel and its success at driving high-value users
• Run retargeting campaigns aimed at re-engaging specific players

All of this data lets studios connect impressions to individual installs - which in turn gives them a ton of information they can use to optimize both initial ad campaigns and mobile retargeting strategies. The more that developers know about their players and what channels they convert from, the better they can personalize ad retargeting campaigns and run them more efficiently.

For example, an iOS user could see an ad for a social casino game on Facebook. Clicking the ad takes them to the App Store, where they download the game. Turns out this user loves the game, and quickly starts making in-app purchases so they can keep playing and progressing. But on Day 32, things get busy at work and their session time starts decreasing. Thanks to info from the IDFA that can be used together with in-app data, the developer of the game can run a retargeting campaign on Facebook with an ad encouraging this user to come back to the game and start playing - it can even include a discount on the player’s favorite in-app purchase. 

But these retargeting capabilities were essentially eliminated when Apple deprecated the IDFA in 2021.

Retargeting in a post-IDFA environment

Under the App Tracking Transparency framework that Apple rolled out in 2021, the IDFA is no longer set to opt-in as the default (users could manually opt out if they preferred) - instead with ATT, players have to manually opt into the IDFA to allow tracking. But only 39% of mobile game players have opted into ad tracking, so studios can’t attribute most of their ad installs to specific campaigns - aka they don’t know which channels a majority of their users are coming from. This makes it extremely difficult to not only run and measure regular UA campaigns, but also makes mobile retargeting almost impossible (no access to user-level data prevents studios from targeting those individuals again).  

Since so few players have opted into ad tracking, it’s essential for developers to find alternative solutions for running and optimizing their new user acquisition and retargeting campaigns. This comes down to adjusting their approach to UA in two ways: 

1. Reach as many users as possible. Rather than trying to target and reach the right users from the get-go through ads, studios are going broad with their UA to attract as many users as possible, then segmenting them in-app. Once players are segmented, developers have the chance to gather in-game insights and run ad retargeting campaigns
2. Increase LTV from existing users. Since running UA has become more difficult and expensive under the new iOS framework, studios are looking to maximize revenue from their existing users. This goes hand-in-hand with retargeting as developers seek more ways to engage their user base. Through ad retargeting, they can bring back users that have churned and give them a player experience that encourages them to stick around (leading to higher LTV), or retarget existing users to re-engage and upsell them - another route to higher LTV

Apple did try to address the concerns of the ATT framework by releasing StoreKitAdNetwork, or SKAN. In its early forms, SKAN still didn’t help developers overcome the challenges brought by the loss of the IDFA, including a lack of user-level data, limited data points for tracking and attributing, and an inability to run retargeting campaigns. However, Apple introduced updates to SKAN (SKAN 4.0) and launched AdAttributionKit in 2024, which does let developers retarget players - among other updates to improve attribution and ad performance measurement.

Though AdAttributionKit makes retargeting possible again, it’s still a challenge for many developers. So to achieve scale and higher LTV, many game developers are turning to direct-to-consumer channels like web shops and game launchers. That’s because D2C channels give developers access to first-party player information like email addresses, which they can use as an identifier to run mobile retargeting campaigns on Meta and Google. 

A channel like a web shop also creates more opportunities to engage existing players and boost LTV - like launching a loyalty program and offering dynamic pricing. Higher LTV leads to higher margins, which studios can then put back into their UA and retargeting campaigns to increase their bids and attract higher-value users. Not to mention, D2C channels let studios bypass the 30% commission fees from platforms like Apple and Google. That’s more revenue to put towards retargeting, or to pass along to players directly in the form of discounted offers on a web shop that can encourage higher spend, engagement, and retention.

Best practices for ad retargeting

Games have been mastering retargeting for years. But since the IDFA presents new challenges, web retargeting (vs. in-game) offers huge opportunities for still reaching and converting target users. There’s a lot that games can learn about retargeting on the web from other industries, like ecommerce. Combining gaming motivations with insights from outside the industry can help studios create effective mobile retargeting strategies to direct to their online storefronts, game sites, and other web-based content. Let’s dive in:

Segment the audience 

For retargeting to work effectively, developers need to reach players at the right part of the user journey: awareness, interest, desire, or action. Segmenting players based on their previous engagement with a game and place in the funnel is the key to reaching them with the right retargeting messaging and call-to-action.

By the time they’re getting hit with a retargeting ad, players are already aware of a game. Studios should instead focus on the more bottom-funnel stages, like promoting interest in re-installing a game or inspiring players to take action and make an in-app purchase. The purpose of these ads is to encourage them to return to the game and highlight its value, similar to what an ecommerce brand like Casper does with their retargeting ad that focuses on the interest stage of the funnel by offering social proof:

Retargeting ads can also focus on players that are further along in the funnel and already indicated desire by adding IAPs to their cart. They could should be shown a retargeting ad that encourages them to complete the purchase and reminds them of an offer and/or the value of these items, like the furniture brand Wayfair does here:

If a player opened a game’s web shop and logged in with their player ID but didn’t purchase anything, they would be segmented into a group of non-purchasers at the interest stage. Like in ecommerce, the retargeting messaging should highlight the deals and value they can get by returning to the web shop. Compare this to a player that actually purchased something on the web shop - let’s say a $3.99 bundle. Their segment is at the bottom of the funnel: those that made a purchase but could be upsold. Retargeting messaging for this segment should include a spotlight of more, higher-value bundles that have similar items they purchased previously, along with more items they’d enjoy (e.g. skins). 

Set a frequency cap

Show a mobile retargeting ad too many times and users can experience ad fatigue, which can turn them off from a game. The general best practice is to serve a retargeting ad 4-7 times - this is usually enough times for the messaging to sink in and encourage a conversion, if it’ll happen.

Using player behavior data can help developers determine the right time to show retargeting ads to players at the times they’re most likely to convert. Looking at purchasing frequency, for example, studios can see how often and when a player completes a transaction. If the player appears to be an impulse buyer that makes purchases often, the studio should show them mobile retargeting ads quite quickly after purchase. 

Try sequential messaging

Sequential messaging is a strategy for ad retargeting that helps avoid ad fatigue while highlighting different reasons for players to convert. Through a series of retargeting ads, studios can showcase a variety of value propositions that can encourage users to re-engage. This is also an excellent strategy for telling a story - studios can use a sequence of retargeting ads that both push users towards an action and center around their game’s lore and brand universe.

For example, a farm strategy game can highlight its progression system in a series of sequential mobile retargeting ads to encourage players to return and re-engage with the game. The first retargeting ad can highlight the primary currency in the game - let’s say it’s wheat. The second ad could highlight how players can redeem the wheat to unlock new farm tools and resources. The third ad could go into the different farm unions available for players to join, and how more resources can help the player’s standing in the farm union.  

Use dynamic retargeting

The dynamic ad format - available on major search and social platforms like LinkedIn, Google, and Facebook - automatically generates (often using AI) ad content and creative that’s tailored to a specific user or audience. These ads are particularly useful for mobile retargeting because they can offer greater personalization based on existing player information - when players receive content that feels customized for them, they’re more likely to convery.

Dynamic retargeting is useful when games offer a large inventory of in-game items. This allows the ads to mix and match, either highlighting the range of IAPs across the entire catalog, or a specific collection that’s likely to resonate with a specific player. In ecommerce, for example, Allbirds ran a Facebook retargeting campaign for customers that had previously interacted with a product ad but didn’t buy. Using dynamic product ads, they created versions that highlighted different parts of their Dashers running shoes: the product itself (design, materials), performance benefits, and innovation-focused content. After launching these versions and A/B testing them, Facebook automatically optimized which creatives/ads to show to the audience based on performance over time - overall, it led to a 48% increase in sales.

Go cross platform

Social media, search engines, display ads - there are a lot of options for running mobile retargeting ads. And it’s best to use a mix of all of them! The idea behind retargeting is to remind players of your game and all the reasons they should re-engage with it. This becomes more effective when you’re able to remind them on all the channels they spend their time in, whether that’s Facebook, Google, or YouTube.

Users behave differently on each channel. For example, the bounce rates - if a player clicks through a retargeting ad but leaves the destination page before browsing other pages  - of paid search ads is 43.9% on average, compared to 61.7% for paid social. This indicates user intent is higher on search ads and they’re more likely to convert and/or continue browsing a website if they click through the ad. 

Just zooming in on paid social channels, there are different benchmarks for each platform. Like Facebook, which has a 0.9% average CTR across industries and an average CPC of $1.86. Compare this to Twitter, which has a comparable 0.85% average CTR and a much lower CPC of $0.58.

Beyond each channel’s differences, each ad unit also has its own features and advantages. On paid search, there’s pretty much just one type of ad unit and placement: bidding on keywords so the ad appears in certain Google search results. But the advantage of running retargeting campaigns here is tapping into the billions of searches happening on Google and reaching players at a time of high intent (as they’re searching for terms related to a game).

Meanwhile on TikTok, advertisers can choose from 6 types of ads that appear in various places in the app and are meant to achieve different objectives. Spark ads, for example, appear in users’ feeds and are excellent ways to share user-generated content. So if a game has a community that can contribute content either in-game (think Roblox, Minecraft, and LittleBigPlanet) or on the web (Angry Birds’ Birdsona creator and World of Warcraft’s forums), developers can share this in ad form and retarget players with UGC that feels authentic and appealing - hopefully bringing them back to the game. 

Go D2C for retargeting

With user-level information, ad retargeting can be personalized, effective, and cost-efficient. Going D2C provides these identifiers - and more. In a game, players either complete a purchase or don’t; there’s no tracking capabilities in terms of browsing behavior, what they’ve added to their cart, etc. But D2C channels like web shops provide a depth of user behavior info as players journey from the app to the web.

You shouldn’t partner with just any D2C provider. Instead, you should seek out those with experience in combining retargeting best practices from outside of gaming and applying that to game design. At Stash, we built our product philosophy around unifying expertise from outside the gaming industry with a passion and skill for game design. So when we help our partners optimize mobile retargeting campaigns, we’re diving deep into the game data, then enriching it with outside industry knowledge to help create the most complete picture of players possible - which leads to more effective retargeting. 

‍Talk to us today about going D2C and running effective retargeting campaigns that maximize conversions and boost LTV.