In today’s ultra-competitive mobile gaming landscape, the smartest UA strategies aren’t just about finding users – they’re about finding the right users. At AppLifters, we’ve always pushed for smarter targeting and tighter optimization, and one of the most impactful levers we’ve recently pulled is event-based targeting – and it’s changed the game.
Unlocking Growth Through In-Game Events
Over the past months, we’ve leaned heavily into in-game events – not just the big milestones, but smaller, trackable moments like total revenue checkpoints delivered in compact bundles (e.g., $0.50 revenue events). These micro-conversions, when structured and passed consistently, have become the foundation for smarter campaign segmentation and optimization.
The results have been dramatic – our social scale has more than doubled since implementing event-driven strategies.
Why Events Work
In-game events allow you to shift away from broad behavioral targeting and instead zero in on users who actually engage, spend, and retain. These signals help paid social algorithms – especially Meta and TikTok – train faster, optimize better, and ultimately bring in higher-value users.
Here’s how:
- Higher Signal Density: Sending smaller, more frequent events (like revenue in $0.50 bundles) gives ad platforms a clearer feedback loop.
- Better Audience Creation: Events allow you to build custom audiences and lookalikes based on meaningful actions, not just installs or tutorial completions.
- Smarter Optimization Goals: Campaigns can optimize for revenue-generating behaviors instead of soft KPIs.
Real Impact: 70%+ of Social Spend Now Event-Based
Today, over 70% of our social spend runs through event-targeted campaigns. And it’s not just a number – it reflects a fundamental shift in how we acquire users.
By aligning campaigns with real in-game behavior, we’ve:
- Reduced CPI waste from irrelevant traffic
- Increased ROAS across all core geos
- Scaled efficiently without sacrificing quality
How to Start: A Playbook for Event-Based Scaling
If you’re considering implementing in-game events in your UA strategy, here’s a simple roadmap:
- Identify Your High-Value Events
Revenue events, level completions, session depth, purchase attempts – anything that signals long-term value. - Bundle for Volume
Sending events in smaller revenue chunks (e.g., $0.50, $1.00) improves signal consistency. - Integrate with Paid Social
Make sure your MMP and event tracking setup pushes this data cleanly into ad platforms for retargeting and optimization. - Test, Then Scale
Start with small budgets, validate performance lift, then gradually shift more spend into event-based campaigns.
AppLifters’ Edge: UA Intelligence Meets Event Precision
With AppLifters, you get more than just campaign management – you get the tools and tech to make event-based scaling seamless:
- Real-time analytics via our BI platform
- Flexible custom event pipelines
- Deep integration with 40+ networks
- Expert UA strategists to guide setup and iteration
From Installs to Impact
Running campaigns based on installs might bring volume, but campaigns based on in-game events bring value. And in our experience, the latter is where true scale lives.
If you’re serious about pushing your UA efficiency and breaking through the ceiling, it’s time to get serious about events.
