Unlocking Maximum Value: How Gaming Brands Can Thrive at Every Stage of the Player Journey

Success in the mobile gaming industry is not achieved through a single event, but rather through a series of interconnected experiences that make up the player's journey. From the initial discovery of a game to the moments that foster long-term engagement and loyalty, every touchpoint plays a crucial role in determining the outcome. The key stages of this journey - discovery, engagement, and advocacy - have a direct impact on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), a metric that guides most performance-driven marketing decisions in the gaming sector. However, maximizing value at each stage requires a deep understanding of how they are interconnected, a challenge that many marketers struggle to overcome. According to a Nielsen report, 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 disconnect highlights the difficulty of linking upper- and lower-funnel efforts within a single approach. Leading marketers are rethinking their approach to the player journey and leveraging platforms like TikTok to maximize value at every level, from discovery to long-term fandom. The traditional linear marketing funnel is no longer effective, as the gamer's journey is now an involvement funnel where players connect, engage, and invest in a game, moving back and forth across their purchase and awareness journey. TikTok has emerged as a discovery powerhouse, introducing users to games they may not have known about through its vibrant ecosystem of creators and content. While 75% of mobile gamers say TikTok was the most important touchpoint before a purchase, only 21% say it was the last one, revealing a key insight: TikTok's role in influencing buying behavior occurs early in the process and is often under-credited in traditional attribution models. According to MetricWorks, 26% of TikTok's purchase impact is missed globally, with this number rising to 37% across EMEA, indicating that brands are undervaluing the early, decisive influence TikTok has on players. TikTok is not only driving discoverability but also delivering resonance, making the path to installation feel natural and entertaining. For developers, this is the key to turning casual browsers into new players and launching scaled, performance-driven campaigns that drive installs. Once a player is connected to a game, the next challenge is keeping them engaged. TikTok is a key platform for this, with 81% of users saying they find TikTok ads entertaining, making them 3.3 times more likely to engage with what they see compared to other platforms. Creating entertaining, interesting, and varied ads made specifically for TikTok (TikTok-First) is essential for building impact and driving performance. To support the creation of TikTok-First content, a range of creative solutions are available, including tools like TikTok One and the bespoke creative studio powered by AI, TikTok Symphony. AI is transforming how brands approach marketing, and with tools like TikTok Symphony, it is becoming easier for gaming marketers to scale high-performing creative, from ideation to execution. This moves to a higher level of involvement, where players who are invested in a game play and ultimately share it with others. 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. Although not every invested player becomes an advocate, those who do are powerful multipliers for acquisition ROI. Advocacy matters because 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 marketers to blend creator content with paid amplification, as seen in the example of Miniclip Netherlands, which used TikTok One to promote Head Football Coach and achieved a doubled ROAS. The ecosystem thrives when paid and organic efforts work together, allowing for sustained visibility, community building, and performance at a lower acquisition cost. Despite these benefits, many marketers still struggle to connect TikTok's upper-funnel impact to lower-funnel conversions due to traditional attribution models relying too heavily on last-click metrics. TikTok offers advanced measurement tools like Media Mix Modeling (MMM), Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), Conversion Lift Studies (CLS), and GeoLift Studies to help marketers assess the true impact of content across the funnel and optimize based on real, actionable insights. The question is no longer just 'How do we get more installs?' but 'How do we turn those installs into lasting impact?' The future of gaming growth is not just about who downloads a game, but about who sticks around, shares it, and helps it grow. Reimagine your player journey and start winning at every level on TikTok today.