Mobile Premier League (MPL), a paid competitive gaming platform (PCG), sought to establish a loyal user base in the North American market by moving beyond generic programmatic efforts to a more targeted, data-driven approach. After analyzing their user data, MPL identified Hispanic North Americans as its most engaged audience segment and developed a campaign specifically tailored to this demographic. The strategy incorporated Spanish cultural elements — including language, testimonials, and culturally relevant imagery — into their creative assets while employing hyper-local targeting in the five states with the highest Hispanic populations.
By leveraging contextually relevant digital channels and continually optimizing their approach based on performance data, MPL achieved significant improvements in engagement and return on ad spend (ROAS). The campaign delivered a 25 percent increase in click-through rates (CTR) and a 33 percent improvement in Day seven return on ad spend (D7 ROAS )compared to its business-as-usual metrics, successfully establishing a high-quality, loyal user base in the competitive U.S. gaming market.
As PCG platform, MPL aimed to cut through the clutter in the North American market and establish a loyal user base by reaching genuinely interested players and increasing their engagement on the platform. The campaign's performance objectives were measured in terms of increasing ROAS at the product level and boosting engagement at the creative level.
While MPL had been running various programmatic and mobile marketing efforts in the U.S. for the past three years, this particular campaign marked a significant departure from its previous approach. Instead of generic programmatic efforts, MPL adjusted its strategy to build higher relatability with the target audience through insights and data analytics. By leveraging location-based app marketing, the brand was able to achieve different — and better — results than before, attracting higher-quality users and increasing engagement, which served as key metrics for tracking the success of its strategic efforts.
Based on data analysis, MPL targeted North Americans of Hispanic ethnicity, as its research showed this demographic was most interested in its platform. Using analytics, the brand focused specifically on Hispanic individuals in the top five states with the highest Hispanic populations. The campaign targeted adults aged 25 to 55, with a 60 percent focus on males and 40 percent on females. The audience consisted of individuals keen on playing skill-based games and earning monetary rewards, particularly during their leisure time. Both the creative assets and media plan were specifically designed to reach and engage this demographic effectively.
The creative strategy involved adapting assets and communication based on collected insights. MPL enriched its creative assets with elements of Spanish culture — including people, language, and testimonials — to resonate with its target audience of Hispanic North Americans. This approach aimed to build trust through credible marketing via both video and static assets.
The media strategy employed hyper-local targeting in the top five North American states with the highest Hispanic populations, with further refinement within these states to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. MPL used contextually relevant channels such as Meta, Moloco, Liftoff, AppLovin, and Unity to ensure better engagement, higher ROI, high-quality users, and optimized acquisition.
Initially, MPL ran generic static creatives, but based on performance data, they added Spanish individuals and testimonials. This refined approach effectively filtered out uninterested users, targeting high-intent, loyal audiences to ensure campaign success.
The campaign execution leveraged cutting-edge digital technology and a data-driven approach to achieve optimal results. With a total budget of $1 million per month, MPL allocated the entire amount to digital channels, starting with an initial test spend of $100,000. This strategic allocation allowed them to harness data-driven insights, optimize targeting, and measure performance in real-time, ensuring the brand's marketing efforts were both efficient and effective.
The successful execution was built on three key pillars:
Advanced analytics and AI tools played a crucial role in refining the approach, enabling MPL to dynamically adjust strategies based on audience behavior and campaign performance. This agile methodology not only maximized return on investment (ROI) but also ensured that messaging resonated with the target audience throughout the campaign period.
By dedicating 100 percent of its budget to digital platforms, MPL capitalized on its ability to reach and engage a precisely targeted audience, which was essential in the highly competitive U.S. gaming market. This full digital commitment allowed them to leverage innovative marketing tactics and achieve significant campaign success.
The campaign achieved its objectives with significant improvements in key performance metrics:
Before this campaign, MPL had struggled to establish a loyal user base in the highly competitive U.S. gaming industry. Despite innovative marketing efforts and a growing presence, the challenge remained to attract and retain high-quality users. Competitors, many with deeper market penetration and larger budgets, made it difficult for MPL to stand out in a saturated market where users demanded seamless experiences and lucrative incentives. This led to high acquisition costs and churn rates.
The campaign's success in engaging the target Hispanic audience through localized content has influenced MPL's future marketing strategies by emphasizing the importance of targeted and culturally relevant approaches. The innovative strategy of hyper-local targeting and culturally relevant creatives helped the brand stand out in a crowded marketplace, and the use of testimonials in Spanish and tailored assets built trust and credibility, filtering out uninterested users while attracting those with high intent and loyalty.
Overall, the campaign had a significant impact on MPL's position in the U.S. PCG market by successfully acquiring high-quality and loyal users. The results demonstrated that a well-executed, data-driven programmatic campaign with cultural relevance can drive meaningful business results even in a highly competitive environment. By focusing on a specific audience segment and creating content that resonated with their cultural identity, MPL was able to establish a strong, loyal user base and significantly enhance its market presence and competitiveness.
