LINE PokoPoko

Gamers enjoy a challenge.
LINE PokoPoko grows acquisition.

LINE PokoPoko keeps puzzle lovers entertained with leveled challenges, social features, and original characters like Pokota the rabbit. The casual game app optimized keyword coverage with Apple Search Ads to grow user acquisition while improving efficiency, return on ad spend, and retention.

The Results

2.9x increase in installs.

42% lower cost-per-install compared to
similar platforms.

20% higher day 7 retention
rate compared to
similar platforms.

16% higher return on ad
spend (ROAS) compared to the average on
similar platforms.

The Challenge

To drive high-quality acquisition growth, the team at LINE PokoPoko wanted to reach a wide audience of casual gamers on iOS. Improving app discovery with new players showing strong intent on the App Store for puzzle games would be key. But the team also needed to improve retention, since the app had been on the market for several years and faced growing competition.

Not only did Apple Search Ads drive better ROI for both new and returning users, it also helped us gain keyword insights so we could optimize our bidding
and creative strategy.

Toshinobu Kumagai,

LINE Corporation Game Marketing Team

The Solution

Scale impression volume with keyword relevance.

With Apple Search Ads campaigns separated by keyword theme, the LINE PokoPoko team expanded keyword coverage and improved reach. A discovery campaign helped find new relevant search terms outside their existing keyword lists. To capture the attention of engaged players searching for their brand terms as well as similar types of games, the team set up brand, category, and competitive campaigns.

“The brand keyword campaigns on Apple Search Ads complemented our organic growth and increased overall downloads,” says Toshinobu Kumagai from the LINE Corporation Game Marketing Team. ”We optimized our keyword strategy based on performance and prioritized investment on the most relevant newly discovered keywords driving the best return on investment and retention rates.”

Optimize performance with strategic insights.

By focusing on keywords with high relevance and strong conversions, the team at LINE PokoPoko maximized impressions and improved efficiency. With the Charts dashboard, they also gained a better understanding of campaign performance at the keyword level across gender and age audience segments. The team then gradually expanded keywords with Search Match, adding new high-performing search terms daily to drive additional scale.

“With this approach, we tripled our installs while improving conversion rates by 3 percent and lowering cost-per-install by 42 percent,” says Kumagai. “We also saw return on investment and retention rates that were much higher than the average on other platforms.” In fact, Apple Search Ads drove 20 percent higher day 7 retention rates than other ad platforms. Return on ad spend was also 16 percent higher than the average on other ad platforms.

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