FingerSoft Boosts Player Retention by 42% and Lowers CAC by 27% with Starti

Objectives & Goals

• Improve Player Retention: Increase the day-7 retention rate by 34% among new players.

• Maximize Cost Efficiency: Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by 21%, ensuring sustainable user acquisition.

• Expand Market Reach: Tap into emerging markets like Southeast Asia and LATAM, while solidifying their presence in North America and Europe.

Challenges

• Retention Decline in Mature Markets: With saturated regions like North America and Europe, FingerSoft faced challenges in keeping players engaged beyond the first week.

• Casual Gamers’ Short Attention Spans: Reaching players who typically uninstall apps within days required an innovative and engaging ad strategy.

• Emerging Market Complexity: Markets like Southeast Asia presented opportunities, but cultural and language nuances meant a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work.

The Solution

Starti worked closely with FingerSoft to design a personalization-focused CTV strategy that centered on player engagement and retention. By leveraging advanced AI audience insights and dynamic creative optimization, Starti delivered tailored campaigns that resonated deeply with target audiences.

• Retention-Focused Audience Segmentation

AI-Driven Retention Models: Using FingerSoft’s first-party data, Starti created predictive retention models to identify at-risk players likely to churn within the first 7 days.

Behavior-Based Targeting: Segmented audiences into cohorts such as “Competitive Racers” (players engaging in leaderboard challenges) and “Casual Explorers” (players focusing on single-player modes).

• Hyper-Localized Creative Personalization

Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO): Developed 6,000+ ad variations tailored to regional and behavioral preferences:

North America/Europe: Focused on competitive gameplay, highlighting leaderboard rewards and time-limited tournaments.

LATAM: Promoted multiplayer modes with vibrant, community-focused messaging in Spanish and Portuguese.

Southeast Asia: Highlighted exclusive in-game rewards with local cultural adaptations in languages such as Thai, Vietnamese, and Bahasa.

Interactive Ads: Integrated dynamic QR codes that allowed players to instantly download the app or claim exclusive in-game bonuses.

• Premium Inventory & Contextual Placements

Ads were strategically placed in premium environments during live sports events, family entertainment shows, and esports tournaments on CTV platforms like Roku, Hulu, and local IPTV providers.

Ensured contextual alignment by pairing ads with content that appealed to casual, fun-loving audiences.

• Smart Optimization with Real-Time Insights

Starti’s AI continuously monitored ad performance, reallocating 55% of the budget to channels and creatives driving the highest retention rates in real-time.

• Cross-Channel Attribution

Implemented Starti’s OmniTrack to measure cross-device user journeys, revealing that 70% of retained players interacted with CTV ads before engaging with mobile app promotions.

FAQs

What were FingerSoft’s goals in working with Starti?

FingerSoft aimed to boost player retention by 34%, lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) by 21%, and expand into emerging markets like Southeast Asia and LATAM while maintaining momentum in North America and Europe.

What challenges did FingerSoft face globally?

FingerSoft struggled with declining engagement in saturated regions, short attention spans among casual gamers, and the cultural complexity of adapting creative content for diverse markets such as Southeast Asia.

How did Starti’s AI-driven strategy improve retention?

Starti built predictive retention models and segmented audiences by player behavior, delivering creative variations suited to competitive racers or casual explorers, ensuring stronger engagement and improved in-app retention.

What creative tactics made the campaigns stand out?

Using Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO), over 6,000 hyper-localized ad versions were created to reflect regional preferences. Interactive QR codes and culturally adapted messaging enhanced audience connection and improved download-to-retention conversion.

What results did FingerSoft achieve with Starti?

The campaign achieved 42% higher player retention, 27% CAC reduction, and 43M+ brand impressions. With tools like SmartReach™ AI, DCO, and OmniTrack Attribution, FingerSoft scaled performance and sustained retention gains across regions.

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