Chinese mobile game studio and LevelPlay partner Qcplay looked to optimize their ad monetization and better engage users with their new chart-topping, idle-RPG Super Snail. To accomplish this, they optimized their monetization stack using the Unity Ads bidder, following recommendations from the team at Unity.
Qcplay tested the Unity Ads bidder on iOS, seeing promising results. They then leveraged the Unity Ads bidder on all iOS traffic for Super Snail, leading to an ad ARPDAU increase of 29%.
Yifei Wang, Operation Manager at QCPlay, shares how Qcplay and the team at Unity optimized the game’s ad monetization strategy with the Unity Ads bidder to generate significantly more revenue.
Optimizing our monetization strategy
As an idle-RPG, Super Snail monetizes through a mix of in-app purchases and in-app advertising (IAA) using a number of ad networks, including ironSource Ads and Unity Ads. But, we noticed there were inefficiencies in how we were monetizing through IAA. We had built a strong relationship with the team at Unity, and so we turned to them for recommendations on how to better optimize our monetization strategy.
At this point, we were monetizing with Unity Ads in traditional instances. The Unity team recommended we A/B test the Unity Ads bidder to drive better IAA performance. They collected reports from our then current monetization strategy and compared them to the expected improvements in revenue with the Unity Ads bidder - convincing us to give the A/B test a try.
Testing the Unity Ads bidder
Group A used the traditional instances mode for Unity Ads, while group B ran with the Unity Ads bidder. The team at Unity were instrumental in running these tests, assisting with the integration of the bidder, as well as offering suggestions on how best to launch the test and measure performance. We closely monitored the results for revenue, eCPM, and ad ARPDAU through the LevelPlay dashboard.
The promising test results: 71% increase in ad ARPDAU and 65% increase in revenue
What we saw was incredibly promising. In our tests, ad ARPDAU for group B increased 71% and revenue from the waterfall jumped 65% with the Unity Ads bidder. On top of that, we saw a 10x increase in eCPM compared to the traditional instances in group A.
Thrilling news: 29% increase in ad ARPDAU
With these test results, we felt confident using the Unity Ads bidder on all of our in-app advertising for Super Snail. As a result, our ad ARPDAU jumped 29%, an improvement that’s particularly impressive given that Super Snail has a mixed monetization model.
Since then, we’ve only been growing and have now reached the top charts on iOS. We credit the success of our monetization stack’s optimization to the Unity team’s effective communication and expert recommendations. We look forward to our continued partnership with the team at Unity as we now expand the use of the Unity Ads bidder to our Android traffic for the game.
