Lily’s Garden is a relaxing match-3 puzzle game where players help Lily restore her aunt’s garden while uncovering a heartfelt romantic story. With engaging puzzles, charming characters, and a beautifully illustrated setting, the game offers a unique blend of storytelling and strategic gameplay.
Tactile Games had an ad monetization setup that wasn’t using the full potential of its player base. They were open to suggestions on improving the current setup as long as the player experience would remain intact and suggested changes would not negatively impact in-app purchases (IAP) revenue, the primary revenue source for the game.
They were looking for advice both on their mediation and network setup, as well as their in-game setup, meaning formats and ad placements used, segmentation, and other system design elements.
GameBiz team conducted a careful analysis of Lily’s Garden game to better understand its current ad monetization setup and the growth potential.
We combined that with our experience, best practices, and our expectations for where the performance could be if adequate improvements were introduced.
- On the mediation and network side of things, we presented the cost/benefit analysis of staying with the current mediation provider vs. transitioning to a new one. On top of that, we highlighted our suggestion for the revised, broader pool of demand partners to improve competitiveness, eCPM, and consequently ad ARPDAU and ad revenue.
- On the in-game side of things, we presented ideas for how the current implementation can be improved by modifying the current caps, segmentation settings as well as visual design. Apart from that, we presented ideas for new placements and ad formats, along with detailed instructions on how to introduce them and what revenue impact to expect.
Among the changes we suggested, we would like to highlight two, that turned out to be most effective:
- Significant visual change on the After Match Rewards placement. We ensured that the call to action was much clearer and easier to understand and click on, which resulted in a massive increase in engagement.
- Introduction of a new, Before Match Boosters placement. This helped us increase engagement and offer value to players who previously didn’t find ads interesting and useful.
On top of this, some changes regarding capping and segments were introduced to better fit players’ needs and habits, while still keeping the IAP economy strong.
Recommended changes were introduced after careful consideration and testing, one by one. This resulted in a 101% increase in our ad ARPDAU and revenue. We were showing more ads to players than before, giving them more options to interact with ads and gain rewards that they could use to play our game more.
And thanks to the changes we did on the mediation and network side, we saw a nice, 25% increase in eCPM. The new setup is generating more revenue for us, while not compromising on user experience.
Tactile Games is a Danish 360-strong studio founded in 2008, with offices in four locations. To date, they have released 13 games, reaching more than 150 million downloads. Their flagship title is a puzzle game, Lily’s Garden. Tactile Games creates heart-filled casual puzzle games that inspire players of all skill levels.
