In honor of Women’s History Month, the Elevate Brunch: Women in Gaming & Tech – GDC Edition, co-hosted by Singular, Craftsman+, and Adikteev, brought together women leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities in male-dominated industries. The event fostered a dynamic community and sparked three key themes. First, building supportive and inclusive communities is transformative; when women advocate for each other, they shift from feeling like outsiders to realizing their full potential, driving lasting impact.
Second, transforming adversity into opportunity: resilience allows women leaders to turn setbacks into stepping stones, leading with purpose and creating meaningful change. Third, the power of imagining better versions of ourselves encourages women to envision their fullest potential, overcoming self-doubt and embracing bold ambitions. As Women’s History Month concludes, events like this highlight a bright future for women in leadership, building platforms for sharing stories and championing success.
Special thanks to Susan Kuo, Nancy Roberts, Alex Ivachef, and Beth Berger for their inspiring contributions.
Merge Mansion boosted revenue by doubling live events and introducing innovative types like Merge It Up! mini battle pass, Secret Supply casino-merge minigame, and Circus Caper decoration event. Revenue spikes correlated with battle pass cycles and IAP offers. Key takeaways: events should drive premium currency use, PvE mode overlaps increase engagement, and unique mechanics deepen gameplay. For ad ops, focus on event-driven monetization and data-informed LiveOps strategies.
Web-to-app strategies boost conversions by 77% and achieve 13.6% average paying user rate. Brands like adidas saw 2.4x higher ROAS from deep-linked users, while AirAsia improved bookings by 19%. Key challenges include measurement gaps, siloed teams, and onboarding friction. Solutions involve Google Ads Web-to-App Install and Web to App Connect with AppsFlyer Smart Banners and deep linking. Actionable steps: set tracking, import conversions, activate smart bidding, and deep link users.
Influencer marketing drives app growth by building trust and authenticity beyond traditional UA. Budgeting should start with target markets, CPM benchmarks, and a 25% uplift in daily organic installs. Choose creators based on data: audience demographics, recent views, and content alignment. Measure performance with granular attribution links (e.g., AppsFlyer OneLink) to track installs, conversions, and ROI. Avoid vanity metrics; focus on CVR, retention, and long-tail effects. Start with small campaigns to gather benchmarks before scaling.
AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi refutes a short report questioning its e-commerce ad business and pixel practices. He highlights rapid growth to a billion-dollar run rate, noting 80% of sales occur within 24 hours, proving incrementality. The pixel is standard, comparable to Meta and Google, and Shopify auto-appends data similarly. Foroughi emphasizes that the ad models are young but improving fast, and the web ad market offers massive opportunity. He urges investors to dig deeper and use AI tools to verify claims. The response underscores AppLovin's commitment to innovation and execution.
Unity's 2025 mobile gaming report highlights key trends including expansion of rewarded marketplaces beyond games and mobile, increased adoption of ad-supported models by subscription apps, resurgence of midmarket titles, hybrid-casual game dominance reshaping ad strategies, APAC developers expanding globally, and long-format playables for scaling. Ad ops decision-makers should focus on diversifying ad formats, leveraging rewarded video, and optimizing for user engagement with longer creatives.
Cross-channel marketing analytics isn't about putting Meta, Google, and TikTok numbers side by side—they often double-count the same customer journey. Fragmented identity is the real culprit; without a first-party Customer User ID, attribution measures platform credit, not customer value. The article explains that deduplicating conversions across mobile, web, and CTV can lift attributed revenue by 30–60% and improve ROAS by 20%. It walks through attribution models, warns against platform-native analytics, and advises using an independent MMP for true cross-channel measurement. Ad ops takeaway: fix identity resolution first, because AI-driven optimization and budget allocation depend on trustworthy, deduplicated data.
Messaging Ads on TikTok enable real-time conversations between businesses and customers via Direct Message or third-party apps like WhatsApp and Messenger. Benefits include shorter conversion paths, immediate lead qualification, and enhanced customer experience. Best practices include using Smart+ automation, replying within three minutes, and aligning creative with CTAs. Key results show up to 67% lower cost per conversation and conversion rates up to 22.5%. Available in select markets, these ads help drive measurable business outcomes.
TikTok for Business is promoting tiered first-30-day ad credit incentives for new self-serve SMB advertisers: spend $100 get $100, $500 get $500, or $1,500 get $1,500 plus 1-to-1 expert onboarding support, with a headline entry offer of 50% off first-month spend up to $200 and matching credits up to $6,000. Credits are applied within 7 days of hitting the highest threshold or after the 30-day accumulation window. Eligibility excludes agency, Business Center, and TikTok Shop accounts, and limits one ad account per new TikTok For Business account. For ad ops teams, these terms dictate budget pacing, account structure, and credit-expiry planning.
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