Panteon is one of Turkey’s oldest and most successful mobile game publishers. It boasts a diverse portfolio of casual and mid-core games enjoyed by millions of users worldwide. However, like many publishers, Panteon faced the challenge of scaling its games while balancing monetization strategies and global expansion.
Panteon employed a hybrid monetization strategy for its newest title, Raid Rush, relying on a combination of ads and in-app purchases (IAPs) to generate revenue. The app was growing at a healthy pace, running IAP ROAS campaigns on AppLovin’s AppDiscovery platform to deliver high-quality users.
However, Panteon had broader plans for expansion. Specifically, its goals include:
- Discovering new, highly engaged users.
- Increasing the game’s overall revenue through both ads and IAP
- Scaling the app across new geographies.
Scaling ad revenue would require Panteon to adjust its UA strategy. While IAP-focused campaigns performed well, new campaigns would have to target users likely to engage with ads, a different audience than those who generate revenue primarily from IAPs.
The move to MAX Mediation and blended ROAS campaigns
To achieve these goals, Panteon migrated to MAX mediation in June 2024, unlocking new opportunities to optimize its growth strategy. The move to MAX allowed it to tap into AppLovin’s blended ROAS campaigns. These campaigns target users who generate revenue through both IAPs, engagement with ads, or both – a different audience than its IAP ROAS campaigns.
The blended ROAS campaigns gathered momentum quickly, delivering the incremental growth Panteon sought – and without negatively impacting the value of the existing IAP ROAS campaigns.
By the second month, the blended ROAS campaign’s spending surpassed that of the IAP ROAS campaigns, indicating that it had discovered an abundance of new users meeting campaign criteria and underscoring the complementary nature of these two strategies.
Additionally, Panteon saw significant improvements in Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) after introducing this new campaign strategy.
Panteon found its success in the ability to run multiple, complementary UA campaigns side by side:
- IAP ROAS campaigns target users who make in-app purchases, resulting in higher revenue per user.
- Blended ROAS campaigns focus on acquiring a larger, more cost-effective set of users who are likely to generate meaningful revenue via ads.
The new strategy armed Panteon with a double-edged approach to scaling its new app. The IAP ROAS campaigns continued to maintain user quality and steady growth, while the blended ROAS campaigns increased scale by delivering more users at a significantly lower cost.
By optimizing for these two complementary goals, Panteon achieved sustainable growth, increased ARPDAU, and scaled user acquisition across multiple revenue streams.
“We’re really impressed with the rapid growth we’ve seen since migrating to MAX. The blended ROAS campaigns we’re now able to run alongside our IAP ROAS campaigns are delivering the quality, volume, and return on ad spend we’d hoped to achieve.”
Emre Gürcan, Head of Growth at Panteon
Scaling globally, acquiring high-value users
Panteon also achieved the scale it sought by acquiring new users in geographical regions it hadn’t successfully penetrated in the past. While its initial focus was on tier 1 geos, where IAP ROAS campaigns typically perform best, the success of the blended ROAS campaigns enabled it to scale rapidly in tier 2 and tier 3 regions.
Panteon began adding new regions to their blended ROAS campaigns weekly, and Raid Rush began seeing measurable growth in geos that had previously been challenging to scale. This global expansion uncovered opportunities for the publisher to tap into markets with high ad engagement potential, freeing it from reliance on IAP alone.
To date, Panteon’s shift to MAX mediation and blended ROAS campaigns have delivered impressive results:
- D0 & D7 ROAS increased by 15%
- Spend increased by over 220%
The publisher was able to find a greater number of quality users that met their campaign goals, ultimately doubling their investment and subsequent returns – as well as a significant lift in ARPDAU. Much of this new growth came from tier 2 geos, which had been difficult to scale in the past.
The takeaway for publishers? There’s tremendous value in a diversified UA strategy that balances IAP and ad-monetized users. By adopting a multi-campaign approach, Panteon was able to achieve all of its growth goals: Scaling efficiently, increasing revenue, and expanding into new markets. For publishers with similar aims, blended ROAS campaigns—along with MAX mediation—can deliver the flexibility to drive growth across user segments and geographies.
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