Tapnation is a mobile publishing startup based in Paris that has a portfolio of 8 games with over 225 million total downloads. Their most recent game, Giant Rush, was stuck in the middle of the app charts until they used ironSource’s creative production solution to design a winning playable. After the playable went live, Giant Rush reached #1 on Android in the US, attracted millions of installs, and has remained in the top 15 for over a month. Here, Anouar Benattia, Head of UA & Monetization at Tapnation, talks about the journey to achieve this success, the playable creative, and what it was like to work with ironSource.
Getting stuck in the charts
We’d worked with ironSource on previous game launches and decided to partner with them again to help us improve performance and grow our game. When we started working together, ironSource’s in-house creative studio created an interactive end card (IEC) that helped us reach #15 in the charts and also increase revenue. This was a positive start, but ironSource saw that the game had potential to scale further - that’s when we began brainstorming other creative strategies.
Recognizing our growth potential
After the interactive end card ran for about a month and we saw its success, ironSource suggested we launch a playable. We already had a live playable from an external source that wasn’t delivering scale anymore, but the ironSource team saw the potential to create a more engaging, successful version that delivered the right user experience and drove installs.
Specifically, the ironSource team changed the colors of the playable so they resembled the actual game. They also adjusted the camera angle so it was a front view and removed all of the buttons, bars, and banners from the start screen to create a cleaner experience that made it easier for the user to understand how to start playing. Regarding gameplay, they increased the speed of the runner within the game and tested different level lengths, which created a more exciting user experience.
After 2 weeks, we launched the new playable and our growth exploded.
Reaching #1 and driving 47% of total installs on Android
The playable helped our performance from the get-go - in about one week, Giant Rush reached #1 on Android in the US. Looking at the share of voice of installs, 47% of users came from the ironSource playable in February, equaling over 3.9 million installs.
The playable was clearly performing well, and its impressive in-ad data confirmed it was contributing significantly to our success:
- 83% of users who saw the ad started playing
- 97% of users who started playing finished the entire playable
- 75% of users went to the app store after playing
The playable opened up new supply sources, too, which helped us scale further. Usually as a game gets older, new supply sources are harder to come by - but the playable unlocked 200% more supply sources on Android.
Staying at the top for over a month
Reaching the top of the charts wasn’t the end of our success - the playable from ironSource has helped us remain in the top 15 for over a month. This sustained performance is especially rare in the hyper-casual market because there are many new games getting launched all the time and the top charts are constantly shifting.
"In about one week, Giant Rush reached #1 on Android in the US and 47% of users came from the ironSource playable in February."
- Anouar Benattia, Head of UA & Monetization at Tapnation
With the ironSource team’s proactive, collaborative, and supportive approach, we were able to achieve our full potential - and sustain our success. Giant Rush’s performance and the positive experience we had working with ironSource has confirmed that we’ll definitely continue our partnership and we’re looking forward to launching new games together.
#1
On Android in the US
+200%
Supply sources on Android
3.9M
Installs driven by the playable in Feb
