Unlocking Value at Every Stage of the Player Journey for Gaming Brands

Achieving success in mobile gaming is a multifaceted process that involves multiple stages. From the initial encounter with a game to the moments that foster engagement and retention, every interaction plays a crucial role in shaping the outcome. The various stages of the player journey, including discovery, engagement, and advocacy, have a direct impact on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), a key metric that guides performance-driven marketing decisions in the gaming industry. However, maximizing value at each stage requires a deep understanding of how they are interconnected, which is often a challenging task. According to a report by Nielsen, nearly two-thirds of global marketers consider measuring full-funnel ROI to be extremely or very important, yet only 54% are confident in their ability to do so. This disparity highlights the difficulties in linking upper- and lower-funnel efforts within a single approach. Leading marketers are rethinking their approach to the player journey and exploring how platforms like TikTok can help them maximize value at every level, from discovery to long-term fandom. Noam Zada, Head of Business Marketing at TikTok Global Mobile Gaming, notes that the path to game discovery is no longer linear and often begins on TikTok. To achieve real growth, marketers need to view TikTok as a full-funnel platform that builds community and drives outcomes across the journey. The gamer's journey is evolving from a linear marketing funnel to an involvement funnel, where players connect, engage, and invest in a game. TikTok is a discovery powerhouse, introducing users to games they may not have known they were looking for. While 75% of mobile gamers consider TikTok the most important touchpoint before a purchase, only 21% say it was the last one. This reveals that TikTok's influence on buying behavior occurs early in the process and is often undercredited in traditional attribution models. According to MetricWorks, 26% of TikTok's purchase impact is missed globally, with this number rising to 37% across EMEA. Brands are undervaluing the early, decisive influence TikTok has on players. TikTok not only drives discoverability but also delivers resonance, making the path to installation feel natural and entertaining. For developers, this is key to turning casual browsers into new players and launching scaled, performance-driven campaigns. Once a player is connected to a game, the next challenge is keeping them engaged. Game marketing must create moments that keep players coming back, and TikTok is a key platform for this, with 81% of users finding TikTok ads entertaining. This entertainment factor transforms passive viewers into active participants. Engagement drives performance, and creating entertaining, interesting, and varied ads made for TikTok is crucial. To support this, TikTok offers a range of creative solutions, including TikTok One and TikTok Symphony, a bespoke creative studio powered by AI. Noam Zada notes that AI is transforming how brands show up, and tools like TikTok Symphony make it easier for gaming marketers to scale high-performing creative. As players become invested, they play and ultimately share the game, and TikTok's immersive ad environment and creator-powered culture make it ideal for building emotional loyalty and community. Players are 1.6 times more likely to recommend a game to friends and family when TikTok is part of their journey. Advocacy matters, as it builds loyalty, lowers acquisition costs, and creates communities that can sustain a title's momentum long after launch. TikTok's full-funnel solutions allow for blending creator content with paid amplification, and examples like Miniclip Netherlands' use of TikTok One to promote Head Football Coach demonstrate the potential for doubled ROAS and reduced cost-per-purchase. The future of gaming growth is not just about who downloads a game but about who sticks around, shares it, and helps it grow. Reimagining the player journey and leveraging TikTok's capabilities can help gaming brands achieve success at every level.