Apptivate: App Marketing Explained Secrets to successful mobile game launches - Aaron Diaz (2K)
Aaron Diaz is the Manager of Mobile User Acquisition at 2K, the American video game publisher behind NBA 2K, Borderlands 2, and other popular role-playing, sports, and strategy games. In this episode, Taylor quizzes Aaron on his keys to UA success across the big titles he’s worked on over his career, including how he reached 10,000 users in less than 24 hours for the soft launch of a new game.
Questions Aaron answered in this episode:
- Can you tell us about the game you recently did a soft launch for and some of its unique challenges for you and your team?
- What was your strategy to get 10,000 users within 24 hours?
- How would you approach reaching 10K users differently if you had a month?
- How do you work with other teams to determine the KPIs of success for any launch?
- What works with testing new channels?
- How do previous launches help inform future launches for different types of games?
- How do you define success in the very early stages of testing?
- Are you using AI to do anything at work today?
- What’s something you wish someone would have told you about UA earlier in your career?
- Are there any new channels that you’re thinking about?
- How do you keep up with the industry?
Timestamp:
- 0:53 Getting 10k users within 24 hours
- 5:10 Aligning KPIs with other teams
- 6:04 The key to testing new channels
- 8:14 The best way to learn from past launches
- 9:24 Defining success for game launches
- 10:50 How are you using AI?
- 12:04 Advice to emerging UA marketers
- 13:21 Placing bets on CTV
- 15:39 Staying on top of the mobile industry
- 17:55 What Aaron predicts for 2025
- 21:08 What to do in the East San Francisco Bay
Quotes:
(8:51-9:00) “At the end of the day, experience is the best teacher. You’re not really going to learn a lot until you actually get your foot in the door running campaigns.”
(12:09-12:13) “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself and don’t be afraid if you don't see results right away.”
(12:31-12:47) "UA is almost like gambling. You make an estimate of what's going to work for you. You don't necessarily have the answers 100% of the time, but using data, you can make the assumption that this campaign is going to work in the long run if you put a little spend on it."