Strategy games often feature complex or nuanced gameplay mechanics, which can make creating effective ad creatives a challenge. However, with the right approach, it’s possible to engage your audience and increase conversions.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the top 5 creative ad types tailored specifically for strategy games. You’ll learn how to capture your audience's attention, showcase your game’s unique features, and drive installs. Whether you’re new to game advertising or looking to refine your strategy, this guide provides actionable insights to boost your campaigns.
Let’s dive into the key elements that make these ad types successful and explore how to apply them to improve your game’s performance.
What are Ad Types?
Ad types refer to the different formats used in advertisements to capture players' attention and encourage engagement. These ad types are designed to seamlessly integrate with gameplay, ensuring that ads are both effective for advertisers and non-disruptive for players. Common formats include rewarded video, interstitial, playable, and native ads. For example, rewarded video ads offer players in-game incentives, like extra lives or currency, in exchange for watching a video, thereby enhancing the user experience while driving ad engagement. Here’s why they are essential:
Enhancing Brand Awareness: A memorable ad type ensures that your game sticks in the minds of potential players. It creates a lasting impression, making it more likely for your game to be remembered when users browse app stores or discuss new games with friends.
Increasing Ad Recall: A strong ad type makes your creative stand out in a world inundated with advertisements. This increased recall can lead to higher engagement rates, as viewers are more likely to act on ads they remember.
Boosting Engagement: Effective ad types are designed to pique curiosity or evoke emotions, prompting viewers to interact with the ad. This engagement can manifest as likes, shares, comments, or clicks, all of which are vital for the success of an ad campaign.
Facilitating Consideration: A well-crafted ad type grabs attention and provides enough information to make viewers consider downloading the game. It highlights the game's unique selling points, nudging viewers closer to making a decision.
With a clear understanding of what ad types are and their importance, let's explore the top creative ad types specifically designed for strategy games.
You can use well-known personalities to promote the game to attract their fanbase and boost credibility. This approach is especially effective for strategy games, where celebrity endorsements can enhance perceived value.
Clash of Clans: Clash of Clans featured soccer star Erling Haaland as the Barbarian King in a cinematic ad. His genuine interest in the game, including building an in-game village, added authenticity and boosted user acquisition through celebrity fan engagement.
This ad type uses social proof and celebrity influence, potentially increasing downloads by tapping into existing fan bases, which is especially effective for global reach.
2. Cinematic Trailers
High-production value ads that resemble movie trailers create an epic, immersive experience, appealing to strategy game players who seek narrative depth and visual spectacle. These ads often showcase key gameplay elements in a dramatic format.
Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest: Utilized a movie-trailer-style ad to highlight fortress building, resource gathering, and enemy conquest. Its cinematic quality, featuring stunning visuals and gripping music, evoked a powerful emotional response, boosting user engagement.
Cinematic trailers enhance brand perception, making the game appear more professional and engaging, particularly for players seeking immersive experiences.
3. Gameplay Showcase
Ads that highlight actual gameplay footage allow potential players to see the strategic elements and decision-making processes, appealing to the target audience's interest in intellectual challenges. This ad type is crucial for demonstrating game mechanics and retention potential.
Lords Mobile: Created ads featuring bite-sized gameplay snippets that highlight resource management and troop deployment. This approach simplifies complex mechanics into digestible content, increasing user interest.
Gameplay showcase ads reduce uncertainty for potential players, increasing conversion rates by offering a direct look at the game's core experience.
4. Interactive Playable Ads
These ads allow users to interact with a simplified version of the game, providing an immediate, hands-on experience. For strategy games, simplifying mechanics can lower the barrier to entry, encouraging downloads by engaging users actively.
War Machines: Featured playable ads that let users aim and shoot at targets. This interactive format simplifies the core tank battle mechanics, sparking interest and driving over 100 million downloads since 2016, along with significant iOS revenue.
Interactive ads increase engagement and retention, offering a taste of the game that can convert viewers into players, which is particularly effective for mid-core strategy games.
5. Transition from world to world
A dynamic transition from one world to another can be an effective attention-grabber in mobile gaming ads. The sudden change in environment creates a visual surprise, keeping viewers engaged while hinting at the game's depth and variety.
Whiteout Survival: The ad shifts from a calm setting to an all-out survival battle, introducing unexpected twists, intense action, and a constantly shifting game environment. This ad type is straightforward, highlights elements of surprise and action, and feels dynamic enough to capture attention quickly.
This format works well in short-form vertical video ads, where fast-paced cuts and engaging visuals are key to retaining user attention in the crucial first few seconds.
Finally, let’s look at some actionable tips to craft the perfect ad hook for your strategy game and maximize its impact.
Tips for Crafting the Perfect Ad Hook for Your Strategy Game
Crafting effective ad types is essential for attracting and retaining players. Here are some strategies to enhance your user acquisition efforts:
1. Understand Your Target Audience
Identify players who appreciate complex, strategic gameplay. Highlight aspects of your game that align with their interests, such as intricate tactics or deep storylines. This approach ensures that your messaging resonates with potential players.
2. Utilize Action-Oriented Language
Incorporate compelling calls to action like "Join now," "Start building," or "Claim your rewards" in your ads. Such phrases prompt immediate engagement, guiding users toward desired actions.
3. Leverage Both Paid and Organic Acquisition Channels
Combine paid advertising with organic strategies like App Store Optimization (ASO) to maximize reach. Paid ads provide immediate visibility, while ASO enhances long-term discoverability through optimized app listings. This balanced approach broadens your user base effectively.
4. Test and Optimize Ad Creatives
Regularly experiment with different ad variations to determine what resonates best with your audience. A/B testing allows you to refine your messaging and visuals, improving overall campaign performance.
5. Keep Messaging Concise and Impactful
Given the limited attention span on mobile devices, ensure your ad creatives are succinct yet compelling. Focus on delivering clear, value-driven messages that quickly communicate the game’s benefits.
6. Highlight Competitive and Social Features
Emphasize elements that foster competition and social interaction, such as multiplayer modes or leaderboards. These features appeal to players' desire for community and competition, enhancing engagement.
7. Showcase Game Depth and Strategy
Demonstrate the strategic depth of your game by highlighting complex decision-making scenarios and diverse gameplay options. This approach attracts players seeking a rich, immersive experience.
8. Utilize High-Quality Visuals
Incorporate high-definition graphics and cinematic visuals in your ads to capture attention. Showcasing the game's visual appeal can entice players who value immersive, aesthetically pleasing environments.
9. Offer Limited-Time Incentives
Create urgency by promoting limited-time events or exclusive rewards. Such incentives encourage immediate action and increase the likelihood of user acquisition.
10. Engage Through Influencer Partnerships
Collaborate with influencers in the gaming community to reach a wider audience. Influencers can authentically showcase your game, building trust and attracting their followers.
To wrap up, crafting the perfect ad type is crucial for driving user acquisition and ensuring long-term player retention.
Crafting the ideal creative ad type is key to boosting user acquisition—especially for strategy games. The core takeaway is that ad types should grab attention, evoke emotions, and provide a clear incentive for players to engage. Whether through cinematic trailers, interactive playables, or immersive gameplay showcases, every creative element plays a vital role in making your game stand out and driving conversions.
To make the most of your ad creatives, consider using Segwise AI for deep insights into your user acquisition efforts. With its AI-powered monitoring, alerting, and creative insights features, Segwise enables you to track performance trends, identify underperforming creatives, and optimize your campaigns based on data-driven recommendations. By integrating seamlessly with top platforms like Adjust, Appsflyer, and Google Ads, Segwise effectively improves your ad strategies and maximizes your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
Start refining your ad creatives with Segwise today and take advantage of a 14-day free trial to see how it can transform your user acquisition campaigns.
