Mobile App Install Campaign Case Study: ₹8 CPI for a Casual Gaming App Using Google UAC

About PixelRush Studio — The Gaming App Client

PixelRush Studio is a Pune-based indie mobile game studio founded by 3 ex-Zynga engineers in 2021. Their debut title — a casual puzzle game called 'TileMaster' — had been live on the Play Store and App Store for 4 months, accumulating 28,000 organic installs from app store search and word-of-mouth. The game had strong retention metrics (Day-7 retention of 38%, far above the 14% industry average) but very low in-app purchase (IAP) conversion — the studio needed scale to validate the monetisation model and attract investor interest.

The studio's small marketing budget of ₹5 lakh for 3 months meant every rupee had to work extremely hard. HO Digital was brought in to maximise install volume while maintaining the quality of the acquired user cohort — specifically targeting users likely to make in-app purchases. The industry average CPI for casual games in India was ₹22. HO Digital delivered ₹8 CPI at 500,000 installs — 64% below the industry benchmark — while maintaining an IAP conversion rate of 4.2%.

Why the Gaming App Install Campaign Was Failing — Root Cause Audit

Six specific problems were identified in the first account audit:

1. CPI of ₹34 — 55% above target, consuming budget without scale The initial Google UAC campaigns were running at ₹34 CPI against a ₹22 target — every install was loss-making relative to the budget model. At ₹34 CPI, the ₹5 lakh budget would deliver only ~14,700 installs. The target was 50,000+.

2. Zero video creatives — running only static banner ads All 3 ad creatives were static banner images. In gaming UAC, video ads — specifically gameplay footage leading with the most satisfying game moment — consistently outperform static by 3-5× on CTR and 40-60% on CPI. The studio had no video production capability in-house.

3. No A/B testing across ad formats Landscape video, portrait video, playable ads, and bumper ads all perform differently for game installs. The account had never tested formats — it had been running the same 3 static images since launch.

4. Optimised for install event, not retention or IAP UAC was optimising for the 'install' event — attracting users most likely to install, regardless of whether they would engage or pay. Switching to a Day-7 retention event or IAP event would align the algorithm with the studio's actual revenue model.

5. iOS and Android combined in one campaign iOS users convert to IAP at 3.2× the Android rate but also cost significantly more to acquire. Combining them in one campaign averaged the CPIs and suppressed the high-LTV iOS segment — the studio was underspending on its best audience.

6. No Custom Product Pages or Custom Store Listings tested A/B testing was happening only at the ad level. Custom Product Pages (iOS) and Custom Store Listings (Android) allow the app store listing itself to be tailored to specific audience segments — a lever that was completely unused.

The 3-Phase Gaming App Marketing Strategy HO Digital Used

Phase 1 — Gameplay Video Creative Production & Format Testing (Weeks 1–2)

HO Digital identified video creative as the primary lever. Working with a freelance motion designer, 18 gameplay video ads were produced in 6 formats: 15-second portrait (optimised for Instagram), 30-second landscape (optimised for YouTube), 6-second bumper (Google Display), and 3 playable ad variants showing the first 30 seconds of gameplay. All videos led with the most satisfying game moment — the 'tile cascade completion' sequence — in the first 3 seconds. Playable ads outperformed all other formats at ₹6 CPI.

Phase 2 — UAC Campaign Restructure & iOS/Android Separation (Weeks 3–6)

Google UAC campaigns were restructured: one campaign optimised for install volume (Android, ₹8 CPI target), one optimised for IAP event (Android + iOS, ₹45 CPI tolerance). iOS was separated with a higher CPI tolerance — justified by the 3.2× higher IAP rate on iOS vs Android. Custom Product Pages were created for iOS targeting 3 audience segments: puzzle game lovers, strategy game players, and casual gamers. The puzzle-game-focused CPP converted at 2.4× the default App Store listing.

Phase 3 — Competitor Audience Scaling & Budget Deployment (Weeks 7–12)

Audience signals were expanded to include users of competitor games — specifically users who had installed Candy Crush, Monument Valley, and Alto's Odyssey. These competitor-game audiences converted at 44% lower CPI than generic interests. By week 10, the blended CPI was stable at ₹8 — allowing full deployment of the remaining ₹3.2 lakh budget into the highest-performing playable ad + competitor audience combination.

📊 Gaming App Install Campaign Results — Before vs After (90 Days)

• Cost Per Install: ₹34 → ₹8 (76% reduction — 64% below industry average of ₹22)

• Total Installs (90 Days): 28,000 (organic) → 500,000+ (paid campaign)

• Day-7 Retention: 14% (paid cohort) → 29% (after optimising for retention event)

• IAP Conversion Rate: — → 4.2% (2× the studio's target)

• Playable Ad CPI: ₹6 (lowest performing format in the account)

  iOS vs Android IAP Rate: iOS converts to IAP at 3.2× Android rate

• Competitor Audience CPI: 44% lower than interest-based targeting

4 Gaming App Marketing Lessons for Indie Studios and UA Managers

• Playable ads are the highest-ROAS format for casual games — users who play a 30-second demo before installing are 3× more likely to make an IAP

• Separate iOS and Android campaigns with different ROAS targets — iOS users have higher LTV but also higher CPI; combining them distorts both

• Optimise for a Day-7 retention or IAP event, not installs — install-optimised campaigns attract users who never engage

• Competitor audience targeting (users of similar games) consistently outperforms interest-based targeting for game install campaigns

What the Client Said

₹8 CPI at 500,000 installs — we couldn't have imagined this with our budget. HO Digital's creative strategy (especially the playable ads) was something we had never tried. The 4.2% IAP conversion rate from the paid cohort was higher than our organic cohort — proof that the right audience was being targeted, not just the cheapest audience. — Co-Founder, PixelRush Studio.

Running a mobile game or app and paying too much per install?

₹34 CPI down to ₹8 in 90 days — same budget, 17× more installs. HO Digital's gaming UAC strategy is built around playable ads, post-install event optimisation, and competitor audience targeting. We'll audit your current campaigns and tell you exactly where the CPI is leaking.

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