Mobile Mavens: Are games able to capitalise on cultural sporting moments?

• Game studios can utilise holidays and events to boost user engagement and revenue
• Campaigns that focus on cultural sporting moments are able to do so with or without official licensing

Sporting events have the unique ability to unite the masses in a single, global celebration, creating a sense of shared experience and connection. We saw that at Euro 2024, which just finished with Spain triumphing 2-1 over England in the final.

The games industry is well positioned to capitalise on this excitement by incorporating themed campaigns into games, which can potentially boost metrics and lead to increased player engagement.

To find out how developers can take advantage of big sporting events like Euro 2024, we reached out to the Mobile Mavens, who shared their thoughts on making the most of such moments.

Sporting moments are one key example of landmark events that you can centre your user acquisition and engagement strategies around.

In the case of ZBD, the games we work with have used in-game events with boosted rewards to ensure they stay at the front of users’ minds in this period of enhanced competition. Conversely, boosted rewards can also be deployed post-event to capture users who may be churning from games following those limited-time enhanced rewards and additional content.

It’s all about deploying the right campaign to channel the passion for sporting events into your game’s content and also responding quickly to the cultural moments that emerge from them.

The developers we work with fuel player excitement by providing monetary rewards (bitcoin, gift cards, etc.), which we find engage players most effectively.

However, this type of approach can apply to any game or reward format, for example, ‘reach level 40 during Euro 2024 to unlock a limited-time avatar skin’.

Claudia Heiling

Co-Founder and COO
at Golden Whale Productions

There’s a unique opportunity for game makers to capitalise on heightened consumer attention around sporting events, particularly those with almost universal appeal.

While only a few large publishers secure official licences, other companies can still integrate these events into their live ops and marketing.

The real win – and the hardest thing to do – is to create a strategy that captures long-term value from events rather than a short-term spike. A user who was acquired thanks to a football-focused event will probably churn if that content drops off a cliff once the event finishes.

Therefore, successful integration of major events involves a combined strategy leveraging both immediate impact and lasting user engagement.

Spending far more time on optimising the customer engagement and retention mechanisms and fostering a loyal and active player community is equally important for achieving bottom-line success.

Otherwise, it’s highly likely that a short, focused campaign will result in a spike in users that leave as quickly as they came.

Chris Wilson

Head of Marketing
at Metaplay

The best mobile games are great at bringing what’s happening in the outside world into their game and the game world – and this summer’s Euros offered another prime opportunity for savvy studios to do precisely that.

Well-prepared studios with games that align with the tournament’s most loyal fan bases (think shooters, sports and racing games, RPGs and potentially 4x) can use events like the Euros to find new ways to engage their audience in-game through, for example, new in-game content, events and offers.

Even studios without a game directly tied to the sporting event can benefit from the buzz it creates. By organising competitions on social media and incorporating the tournament’s elements into their storefronts, studios can drive community engagement and boost their App Store conversion rate while respecting licensing restrictions.

Companies have a number of options, both with and without official IP licensing, and there is no right or wrong way to go about this.

Kristina Larionova

Creative Director
at Burny Games

Holidays and events resonate deeply with our audience, evoking powerful emotions. Themed game creatives, features, and events go beyond marketing tactics; they signify our genuine appreciation and understanding of our players.

One thing we’ve found particularly successful is themed ASO banners during key holidays and events. Although our focus has been on seasonal holidays, app store creatives could also engage players during sporting moments.

Celebrating significant moments with players is not just about short-term profits, but about fostering trust and loyalty, which are more valuable in the long run.