Tech-oriented hyper-casual games publisher TapNation was founded back in 2019 in Paris. Today, the company has 500 million downloads, 40 million MAUs, and a portfolio of over 20 hit games released worldwide. In this article, you will learn the success story that TapNation has achieved with adjoe.

Challenge

Following the iOS privacy changes, TapNation warily witnessed the competition’s shift toward the Android market. Publishers and studios transferred their budgets to Android, and increasing demand for the inventory drove CPIs up. It wasn’t plain sailing; TapNation found its monetization was suffering from stagnation due to the hypercompetitive landscape, which was putting strain on its UA efforts and budgets. The publisher’s retention metrics were also not as strong as they used to be, meaning it was getting harder to hit its ROI goals. 

The publisher was already using core networks out there, including Meta and Google, for user acquisition. But every other publisher was also there in the mix, trying to enjoy their precious slice of the pie. To move forward, TapNation knew it needed new partners and new traffic to navigate the challenging landscape.

  • TapNation
  • TapNation

Solution

The company came across adjoe’s Playtime while in search of new traffic. With the nature of Playtime’s unique time-based rewarded model and its global SDK boasting exclusive inventory, TapNation saw ample opportunity to diversify its UA channels and reach new traffic. They wanted to boost their critical gaming KPIs – installs, retention, session duration, ROI – and, ideally, find a solution that would outperform its other core networks. 

The publisher ran a test on Playtime and was instantly impressed by its scalability – not just in the US, where app installs reached up to 100K monthly, but also in many other GEOs, including Germany, France, and Brazil. Playtime’s superior user experience drove more high-quality traffic to TapNation’s games and helped the publisher reach its UA goals from day one.

Impact

Playtime’s traffic now gives TapNation almost 50% higher retention metrics than the other core networks. Take, for example, Color Water Sort. Day 1 retention increased by 10% and reached 30% following the publisher’s collaboration with adjoe. When it came to the high quality of the users TapNation acquired from the adjoe network, it was easy to attribute an increase in session durations to these very users. In fact, TapNation’s average gameplay session durations have started to reach 11 to 12 minutes. 

The publisher also noticed that it could hit (and exceed) its ROI goal considerably faster with adjoe – from up to two weeks to just two to three days with Playtime. Meaning that the publisher is now reaping the rewards of additional profit after just a couple of days. A breakeven point worth boasting about.

With adjoe becoming a core partner for TapNation, the publisher is now also running successful campaigns on adjoe’s level-based ad unit adjoe Advance. adjoe is expanding its ad unit offerings beyond its rewarded channels, and the publisher has its eyes set on adjoe’s new rewarded video platform.

Side note: how accessible and inclusive ads improve your CPI.

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