Brutally Honest #144

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Happy Holidays to everyone. The annual UA & Creatives Learnings article is coming! Stay tuned.. 🦩Tip of the week Experimenting with Runway prompts taught me how subtle changes can completely transform the outcome of a video. Here's how I refined my process: 1. The Iteration Process First Attempt: The camera shakes wildly while zooming in. Not ideal, but it kickstarted experimentation. Second Attempt : Prompt: "The camera slowly pushes in on the bird looking at the egg and then on the machine in the background. The machine slowly rotates its arm." Result: Improved focus, but the random opener didn't feel cohesive. Final Version: Prompt: "Subject sadly looks at the egg, machinery in the background slowly moves its arm." Added the MidJourney-generated image as the first frame to set the tone. Focused prompts on […]

Matej Lancaric December 27

Journal

Decrease the CPIs. Whatever it takes!

𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗣𝗜𝘀. Whatever it takes! 🚀 The creative inspiration flow has shifted—𝟰𝗫 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀, and it all comes down to one important thing: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 👇 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄:4X games -> Casual & Puzzle games -> other genres As we’ve seen in our Creative Trends episodes and discussed repeatedly in this creative investigation column, games like Royal Match (Dream Games) and even Fishdom (Playrix) take cues from the 4X genre. Why? Because the stakes are higher than ever, 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗣𝗜𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹.To achieve this, they’re adopting tactics and hooks previously dominated by 4X games—runner gates mechanics, King’s Nightmares (think "minigames"), Monstrous Sharks, and slingshots. It all comes back to one thing and one thing only. Emotions, AKA near-death experience. These moments of tension and […]

Matej Lancaric December 27

Highlights

User Acquisition & Creative Learnings 2024

The article breaks down the game-changing lessons in User Acquisition (UA) and creative strategies for mobile marketing in 2024. It's packed with insights you can't afford to miss, from diversifying UA channels and leveraging AI-driven optimization to mastering creative production and adapting to shifting platforms. It highlights how detailed creative briefs, effective communication, and experimental tools like TikTok Creative Challenges helped marketers stay ahead in a rapidly changing post-IDFA world. As we gear up for 2025, the stakes are higher than ever. Success lies in embracing AI-generated UGC, incentivized ads, and playables to drive engagement, slash CPIs, and scale effectively. This guide provides the playbook for dominance, with actionable steps for refining your strategies, optimizing your teams, and staying ahead of the competition. Don’t fall behind—future-proof your UA strategy now! Dive into this must-read guide and equip yourself with the tools and tactics to crush it […]

Matej Lancaric December 26

Highlights

Brutally Honest #143

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Back home in Slovakia. So many new ideas. Looking forward to start executing. Stay tuned. The new AI section is here! Check it out at the end of the newsletter! 🦩Tip of the week How do you evaluate creatives before spending a dime testing them? Ever had that gut feeling—"this will flop" or "this will crush it"? We’ve all been there. I used to be the “no feelings, only data” person, but as I started producing more creatives myself, I developed a solid framework to pre-evaluate ideas. Here’s how: The Boring Test When you watch the creative, ask yourself: Where do you lose interest? Is it the 1st second? The 3rd? Are you watching until the end? Try this with your team. Watch together and ask for a show of hands—“Who got bored, […]

Matej Lancaric December 20

Journal

Creative Trend: Near-Death Snake Experience

🐍 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 in Gaming Ads 👇 When you hear "snake" in gaming, it immediately calls to mind ads from Royal Match, Kingdom Guard, Rush Royale, or even Royal Kingdom. But where did this trend really start? Let’s dive into the snake pit of creative evolution in gaming UA.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀: 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (𝗗𝗲𝗰 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮)Royal Match was the first to introduce the snake concept in its UA mix back in December 2022. While the snake creative wasn’t the focus then (we were too busy saving the King from fire, drowning, or freezing), it quietly entered the mix. At this point, Royal Match (Dream Games) experimented with many "near-death" scenarios, laying the groundwork for what would come later.𝗥𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀 (𝗙𝗲𝗯 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯)Rush Royale (MY.GAMES) took the concept to the next level in February […]

Matej Lancaric December 16

Highlights

Brutally Honest #142

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Last few days in Santa Barbara before going home. I've enjoyed it here. It's quiet time, but I've met lots of interesting people here and in San Francisco. See you next year. 🦩Tip of the week I’ve often talked about identifying trends in creatives, but what about structuring your creative team and output requirements based on your UA budget? IMHO, You need five motion designers for 1 UA person in the team. Period! Ideal scenario: 1 Motion Designer (for animations and video creatives) 2 Illustrators (to craft unique assets and maintain visual consistency) 3 Graphic Designers (to adapt, iterate, and tweak creatives for scale) 4 Flying Unicorns 🦄 (because, let’s face it, magic helps) Jokes aside. In the era of AI where, UA managers can do almost everything by themselves. It would be […]

Matej Lancaric December 12

Highlights

Brutally Honest #141

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Good people still exist. My daughter got flu last week and still has not recovered. We are still in the US. I wanted to buy some stronger meds, but since I don’t have a US ID, they couldn’t give them to me. God bless Nick from tvScientific, who bought them and even delivered them to my house here in Santa Barbara. We met only once for lunch a few weeks ago. Good people still exist. Thanks, buddy! Have you already filled out this form about the UA landscape? Could you please help me map the UA activities, spending levels, creative testing methodologies, and ROAS targets? I will make a nice report out of it with anonymized data. From what I already see, there is some interesting shit. https://forms.gle/wdutk2PvA7qTm84o7 ← Only 5 minutes of your time! […]

Matej Lancaric December 5

Journal

Capybara GO Global Launch UA Case Study

Fond of Capybaras? Then, you can now play with the lovable, oversized creature in Capybara Go! It’s a text-based roguelike RPG from Habby, the team behind hits like Archero and Survivor.io. So, is it a typical cute pet game? Almost! I already published a Capybara GO global launch case study, but this one is now updated with the US global launch data and some additional interesting soft launch stuff! Keep reading to know. Why Capybara GO is Unique The game lets you dive into the world of the adorable rodent in a completely unexpected way. It puts you on an epic journey where chaos and adventure go hand in hand. Your adventure begins and ends with a capybara, literally. You’ll bond with your new furry friend, kit it out with gear and set off on an endless series of randomized […]

Matej Lancaric December 5

Journal

Capybara GO Global Launch is a Flop

𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗚𝗢 🚀 $𝟭𝗺𝗶𝗹/𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, but not as expected after US global launch. 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁, 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝘆?👇 The updated global launch case study is here:📌 Case study📺 Watch on YouTube🦄 Subscribe to the Brutally Honest newsletter: lancaric.substack.com

Matej Lancaric December 3

Journal

Dark War Survival makes $300K a Day

𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 🤑 $𝟯𝟬𝟬𝗸/𝗱𝗮𝘆 with 120K downloads a day and will be attacking top ranks in 4X genre in 2025. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗔 & 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 thanks to the use of 𝗔𝗜. You won't like it👇 It was made by Rivergame, the same team that did Last War, Top War, and Top Heroes. Yes, it's not visible immediately, thanks to a different publisher name, but as you play, you get it right away. This time, the key iteration is that the Last War team took their game, added a Whiteout Survival (Century Games) onboarding funnel, and slapped a zombie/survival theme on top of it. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀!But the biggest genius move is in UA and creatives. Currently, 90% of creatives are made by AI. Think cost efficiency and speed of production (check this AI creative guide as […]

Matej Lancaric December 2

Highlights

Brutally Honest #140

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Alright, the San Francisco trip is happening on December 3! One day before (December 2), Supersonic is organizing a hybrid casual competition. If you have a hybrid casual game, check this out. 🦩Tip of the week Creatives should be about emotions because emotions are a powerful way to connect with an audience, inspire action, and create a lasting impact. Emotions make the videos/images more meaningful and relatable, as people often engage deeply with content that evokes strong feelings. Whether it's joy, sadness, excitement, or even anger, tapping into emotions can be a key driver of creative success. Key points about emotions in creatives: Connection with the audience: When a creative piece evokes an emotion, it creates a deeper connection with the viewer or listener, making them feel personally invested in the content. Inspiration […]

Matej Lancaric November 28

Journal

Playable ads Ultimate guide: kick a$$ creatives in UA

Actions speak louder than words, and doing is always better than showing. Don’t talk about buying your wife flowers; buy them. It’s the same with playable ads. Why show your game when you can get people to play it? Video ads get boring too, and playable ads can add some spice to your UA campaigns. For the unfamiliar, playable ads are minigames that give users a brief glimpse of what your game looks like. Here’s everything you need to know about them: Where did playable ads come from? Playable ads used to be developed by ad networks for advertisers. However, advertisers didn’t have the control to test or experiment with different creatives. Now, there are a lot of drag-and-drop tools that make it easy to develop. Alternatively, you can also easily produce them with a little bit of coding and […]

Matej Lancaric November 27

Matej Lancaric

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