Brutally Honest #81 by Matej Lancaric

Hey, FAM! What’s up?

?? Drink talk

Soooo I am planning to start publishing some content to paid-only subscribers during this month - Creative insights, UA tips (a little bit deeper than weekly tips), and some more stuff! Don’t hesitate to upgrade to paid now!

??Tip of the week

Placements, placements, placements. Either Google or Facebook. Go to your campaign, break it down by placements, and check what do you have there?!

Something like this, right? Omg, Facebook Video feeds is looking super good! I should run that placement only, which will improve my numbers significantly.

Yeah, that’s not really the case. Unfortunately! It is not going to be scalable, and if you put more budget behind this placement, it's going to get worse. The same happens to your creatives (we can discuss this later)

Manual placements give you more control and allow you to specifically choose where your ads will appear. It's like having a sniper rifle in a game, aiming for those high-value targets.

On the other hand, automated placements utilize Facebook's algorithm to optimize ad delivery across different placements, giving you more reach and potentially better performance. It's like having a trusty AI companion that knows the ins and outs of the game.

So, it’s great to start with Automated placements, narrow down these placements and get the best out of it. This is for all of you that start with the shoestring budget and try to get as much out of your spending as possible.

When scaling, manual placements are shit. It limits your potential reach which has impact on algo and your campaign dies quicker. You should always aim for potential reach like this:

Mobile App Install Optimisation: 1mil users

App Event Optimisation: 2-5 mil users

Value optimisation: 5+ mil users

?? Dr. Doom is not amused

One of my industry friends amused me with his direct and honest TL;DRs, so we agreed to share it here, too! My friend remains anonymous as Dr.Doom!

"Another week and another time for doomcorn ???? Embracer stock dropped so low that it got kicked out from some of the top EU and Global companies lists. Who would have though that running a literal ponzi scheme of buying companies through your stock, which then increases on the news of acquisition, then buying the next company - is not sustainable ?? And to top it of, why not buy Lord of the Rings rights? That did work well (no it didn't duh! ??) So close your bets on which company will be sold next in this big Embracer Portfolio firesale ?? My bet is on Gearbox." - Sincerely, Doom (https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/82598/embracer-group-dropped-from-top-stocks-list-by-sandp/)

??? “Ha-ha” moment

Because life is too short to be serious.

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?? two & a half gamers #81

Alien invasion hybrid casual story! Yes, we are talking about a game again. Quite interesting, though!

Tune in:

?? Listen on Spotify

?? Watch on Youtube

?? Diary of a Dancing Unicorn

Today was a good day.

Hey, hey, so do we see each other at this industry event?

Yeah, unfortunately, no. I am not allowed to come.

Wait what? How come? I mean, who else should be attending if not you?

Look, I have been banned since I moved to the “dark side” of the business. For some people, I am a vendor. And that’s a big no-no at this event.

Omg, that’s ridiculous. Three vendors are sponsoring the event.

Well yeah, I am not sponsoring this shit just to be able to attend. Also, heard a few people saying they managed to get into the group that is organising the event .. no insights are shared. It feels like a bunch of people trying to feel important rather than what they hoped.

Haha yeah that's exactly what I just wanted to say.

Enjoy, and say hi to all the industry friends!

Today was a good day.

?? Quote of the week

“That’s a new level of fame when you are recognized by your voice,” Paulo, 1:1 call

Alien Invasion - Hybrid casual story

?? Level up yourself

I launched a YouTube Channel. I'm putting a ton of energy into creating valuable content that I think you'll like. Check out the latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.

??? Gaming blast from the past

Do you remember this game? What did you play when you were young?

Bond. James Bond!

??Before you go

Ask Matej AI a question. It’s actually quite good!

?? Fun starts here

We are opening up a Slack channel for everybody. It is the most inclusive slack for all of the gaming industry. Female, male, non-binary, juniors, mid-level, seniors, vendors, developers = EVERYBODY! We are waiting for you ??

Feel free to join here!

??Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!

Please do me a favor and share this with someone in your network who you think would benefit from the insights and brutal honesty. It would mean a lot to me!

Take care, everyone! See you next Thursday!

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