Mobile App Growth, User Acquisition
Scaling user acquisition while sustaining revenue growth is a critical challenge for mobile app publishers. The team at Panteon, one of Turkey’s leading mobile game publishers, faced this head-on with their new title, Raid Rush. Through a strategic shift in their approach, they achieved global scale and maximized revenue streams. Here’s how they did it.
Panteon is one of Turkey’s most mature and prolific gaming studios, boasting a diverse portfolio of casual and mid-core games that attract millions of users worldwide. Despite its success, Panteon, like many publishers, needed to balance monetization strategies while expanding into new global markets. With Raid Rush, it aimed to scale effectively while maintaining a focus on profitability.
To generate revenue from Raid Rush, Panteon adopted a hybrid monetization model, blending in-app purchases (IAPs) and ads. Initially, Panteon ran IAP-focused ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) campaigns through AppDiscovery to acquire high-quality users. This approach helped drive revenue, but Panteon had even bigger goals, including:
Panteon recognized that scaling required a fresh approach to its user acquisition strategy. While IAP campaigns were successful, the team knew they needed to diversify to reach users who primarily engage with ads, in addition to users who make purchases. In June 2024, Panteon made the pivotal move to MAX mediation.
With MAX, they were able to implement blended ROAS campaigns. These campaigns target a broader audience by factoring in both IAP revenue and ad engagement, unlocking new opportunities for growth. The shift paid off quickly, with Panteon experiencing strong momentum and incremental growth – without negatively impacting the performance of their existing IAP-focused campaigns.
By the second month, spending on blended ROAS campaigns had surpassed IAP ROAS campaigns, a clear sign that this approach was working. Panteon successfully attracted new users who met campaign goals and, importantly, saw an increase in Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU).
What made this strategy particularly effective was Panteon’s ability to run complementary UA campaigns. The IAP ROAS campaigns continued to attract high-value users, while blended ROAS campaigns brought in a more cost-effective user base that generated meaningful ad revenue. This dual approach allowed Panteon to scale while maintaining profitability:
The combination of these two approaches provided a powerful engine for sustainable growth. As a result, Panteon achieved scale without sacrificing user quality, ultimately boosting ARPDAU and overall profitability.
Beyond scaling its revenue streams, Panteon also expanded across geos, penetrating regions that had been a challenge in the past. While its initial focus was on tier 1 markets where IAP campaigns tend to perform well, the success of blended ROAS campaigns allowed it to scale into tier 2 and tier 3 regions.
By introducing new regions into its campaigns weekly, Raid Rush saw measurable growth in areas where scaling had been difficult in the past. This global expansion gave Panteon access to markets with higher ad engagement potential, which reduced its reliance on IAPs for revenue generation.
The shift to MAX mediation and the implementation of blended ROAS campaigns produced remarkable results for Panteon:
Panteon doubled its investment and returns by acquiring a greater number of quality users who met its campaign goals. This success came largely from previously untapped regions, proving the power of a diversified user acquisition strategy.
Panteon’s success with Raid Rush is proof that a multi-campaign approach balancing IAP-focused and ad-monetized audiences can be a game-changer. By adopting blended ROAS campaigns through MAX mediation, developers can unlock new growth opportunities across user segments and geographies while maintaining sustainable revenue growth.
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