Big Huge Games Unlocks Extra Retargeting Performance by Adding New Vendor

Initially founded in 2000 and revived in 2013, Big Huge Games has a long history of developing hit strategy games. The studio is responsible for well-known and beloved titles like Rise of Nations and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. More than a decade of experience in RTS design led to the creation of DomiNations in 2015, which quickly became a top mobile game and, to this day, is one of the most popular titles in its genre.

DomiNations is a mature game 10 years after its release, making it an excellent fit for retargeting. Big Huge Games was already working with multiple vendors to ensure the game didn't decline. Despite that, the client saw value in adding RTB House to the mix as a new retargeting partner, so delivering good performance as soon as possible was important. The campaign over-delivered the D7 ROAS goal, thanks to an optimal initial setup. The main challenge was maintaining great results while significantly scaling and expanding the scope of the campaign at the same time.

The first step in campaign optimization was adjusting the creative mix. The RTB House team decided to rely more on video creatives, as they offer a more engaging format for users. This led to a 45% average increase in CTR and a better re-engagement rate. At the same time, the RTB House Deep Learning algorithm gathered enough data to unlock its full potential, significantly improving the performance of other creative formats and leading to much stronger D7 revenue numbers. The campaign was also scaled up by increasing the budget and adding new geos. The final step was expanding beyond Android and launching iOS campaigns.

The campaign yielded great results even in the learning period, significantly beating the set D7 ROAS goal in the first month. Due to RTB House's experience with similar games, the initial setup was already tried and tested. Further optimization and testing of the creative mix led to a sizable increase in CTR. As a result, the campaign is expanding at an increasing scale monthly, adding iOS to the blend and including more geos in the scope. The next step is to optimize the setup further by adding more inactivity window splits and a more personalized approach that takes full advantage of RTB House’s powerful Deep Learning algorithms.