1
Goals
- Drive high-quality installs at scale for Block Crush and Sand Crush.
- Maintain strong player retention.
- Keep cost per install (CPI) low.
- Reach players across tier 2 and tier 3 India.
- Run on Android and iOS, tracked through AppsFlyer.
Casual Games41% day-1 retention6.93M reach for Block Crush and Sand Crush
Performance at a glance
6.93M
Total reach
3.65%
Click-through rate
41%
Day-1 retention
19%
Day-7 retention
The story
2
Strategy
- The campaign was assigned to casual gaming creators.
- Creators shared short-form reels in their stories with a clear CTA.
- Users interacted with the stories and tapped through to the Play Store.
- Hook: “Only 3% of players can clear this level.”
3
Key insights
Retention held up
- Day 1: 41%.
- Day 3: 28%.
- Day 7: 19%.
Challenge hooks drove taps
- “Only 3% of players can clear this level” turned viewers into players.
Stories worked as the install surface
- Short reels in creator stories, with a CTA straight to the store.
Tier 2 and tier 3 delivered scale
- High-quality installs at a low CPI across smaller cities.
4
Optimisation
Popbrain kept improving performance through the campaign by:
- Scaling the top 30% of high-converting creators.
- Pausing low-CTR placements.
- Rotating creatives every 4–5 days.
- Shifting budget towards high-retention creators.
5
Result
In 41 days the campaign reached 6.93M people and drove high-quality installs for two puzzle games, with 41% of new players coming back the next day.
Full case study
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