Brief

Games24x7 is one of India’s largest online real money gaming (RMG) platforms, featuring flagship products RummyCircle (online card gaming) and My11Circle (fantasy gaming). In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, India imposed a lockdown, resulting in an unprecedented 50% surge in the number of gamers within 1-2 months. This rapid growth presented both an opportunity and a challenge.

Objective

• Acquire new users for RummyCircle by leveraging the increased organic interest in gaming due to the lockdown.

• Identify initial trends quickly and act swiftly to maximize growth.

Insights

• User Behavior Analysis: Identified peak play times, demographics, motivations, and intents. Motivations included entertainment, social interaction, and the potential to earn real money.

• Digital Ecosystem Growth: Observed parallel growth in casual gaming, news media, digital streaming, and fitness and wellness apps.

Strategy and Execution

Utilize Performance Marketing to achieve this scale

• Self-Serving Networks Designed region-specific campaigns with targeted Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Return on Investment (ROI) goals.

  • Utilized Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and TikTok Ads to reach a broad audience quickly.

  • Implemented automated optimizations and real-time analytics to adjust campaigns dynamically, allowing for quick responses to emerging trends and shifts in user behavior.

  • Integrated campaigns across multiple platforms to ensure a consistent message and branding, improving overall campaign performance.

  • Used advanced attribution models (combination of internal models and Appsflyer) to measure the effectiveness of different channels

• Data Analytics

  • Developed new predictive models and multiple projections to determine optimal CACs.

  • Used historical data and machine learning algorithms to predict user behavior and spending patterns and established different CAC targets based on the platform and region (e.g., distinct targets for Google Ads vs. Facebook Ads in Delhi vs. Karnataka).

• Creative Analytics

  • Utilized an in-house creative analytics tool to determine which elements of creatives (color schemes, call-to-action phrases, images) performed best.

  • Conducted A/B testing to continuously refine creative elements, leveraging data-driven insights for creative development.

• Affiliate Marketing

  • Activated over 6 affiliates to maximize reach. This involved thorough affiliate research, finalizing payout models, onboarding processes, continuous monitoring, implementing fraud checks, and managing payouts.

Results and Metrics

• Achieved a 2.5x increase in monthly new leads during the lockdown.

• Saw a 2.25x increase in depositors at a 1.5x CAC while the ROI increased by 10%.

• South India (region with 5 states), an already saturated market for which I was the POC, saw a 2x increase in leads, and the revenue contribution increased from 65% to 73%.

• Developed a novel region-specific strategy that became a new way of running campaigns even post-lockdown, involving dividing the marketing team into region-specific units to better tailor campaigns to local preferences and market conditions.

My Role

As a Senior Manager in the Performance Marketing team:

• Worked extensively on Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and POC for the South region.

• Handled creative analytics, liaising with the Brand team to ensure data-driven creative development.

• Assisted the Affiliate Marketing Manager in onboarding affiliates, providing them with required creatives and data.