Achieving stability at scale: the approach of a live game streaming app

Overview

• Loco, an Indian live game-streaming and eSports platform, boasts a unique business model and is poised to grow its user base rapidly using non-SRNs, affiliate networks, and multiple app stores.
• Loco faced challenges during its rapid expansion, with limited visibility into user acquisition campaigns across different channels and app stores. The team also struggled to scale their UA efforts beyond traditional SRNs while mitigating mobile ad fraud. 
• Using AppsFlyer’s measurement suite, Loco gained in-depth campaign insights, which supported its rapid user acquisition efforts and campaign optimization. With Protect360, Loco was able to prevent fraud before, during, and after install in the non-SRN arena, protecting its user acquisition budget. 

Background

Loco, headquartered in Mumbai, is an Indian live game-streaming and eSports platform that captivates users with its exhilarating live game streams, engaging quizzes, and enticing opportunities to win real cash prizes. The company’s distinctive business model has earned it a dedicated global user base, positioning Loco as a leading player in the dynamic entertainment industry.

Challenge

Aiming to extend its reach, Loco began exploring opportunities beyond SRNs (self-reporting networks, such as Meta, Google, and Tik Tok), venturing into affiliate networks and OEM app stores (original equipment manufacturers, such as Xiaomi MI, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung Galaxy). This expansion brought certain challenges for Loco, including  lack of control over campaign performance, the threat of mobile ad fraud, and broken user experiences during ad interactions, leading to user churn.

Loco also found it hard to scale user acquisition with ads on Google and Meta (formerly Facebook). The increasing competition on these ad networks led to higher costs per acquisition, making it difficult for Loco to maintain a cost-effective user acquisition strategy. The company needed to expand its reach by diversifying marketing channels and partnering with affiliate, OEM, and programmatic channels. 

However, without a robust campaign measurement platform in place, assessing the performance of different agencies and site IDs was too complex to handle. Loco recognized the need to fine-tune its approach to user acquisition and engagement, so that users not only installed the app but also engaged with the content. The challenge was to optimize user conversions from the moment of installation to significant video watch milestones (one, three, and five minutes). 

Loco’s niche audience of 13 to 20 year olds posed an acquisition challenge for platforms like Google and Meta. Turning to affiliate networks seemed promising, but it came with a major setback: rampant fraud. Through diligent analysis, the Loco team discovered this fraud within weeks. 95% of the fraud was sophisticated, involving bots and in-app behavior impersonation, distorting metrics and engagement. Fraudulent users even mimicked engagement by hitting KPIs like the one-minute video watch. However, the scams were exposed by the sharp drop in Day 4 retention rates (for example, from 30% at Day 3 to just 5% at D4). 

Loco’s thriving business hinged on collaborations with individual streamers from diverse platforms like YouTube, Discord, and Instagram. However, efficiently measuring and attributing user installations and engagement to each streamer proved daunting. Loco sought a solution that would provide distinct links to every streamer, enabling seamless channeling of followers and subscribers. Without this, it was impossible to measure the impact of each streamer’s efforts and understand in-app events performed by referred users.

While thriving on the Play Store and App Store, Loco aimed to broaden its reach through OEM stores like Xiaomi MI, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung Galaxy. But measuring app installs and user behavior from these third-party app stores posed challenges. Loco grappled with unreliable attribution, leaving the team in the dark about crucial user data such as user engagements, app installs, in-app events, and retention rates. The lack of multi-store attribution integration meant it was hard to understand these key metrics and make data-driven decisions.

Solution

Loco partnered with AppsFlyer to address the challenges of scaling user acquisition beyond SRNs and combating ad fraud in non-SRN and affiliate channels. By integrating AppsFlyer’s SDK, Loco efficiently managed multiple partner agencies, affiliate channels, programmatic campaigns, and OEM partnerships, ensuring accurate attribution of installs and user engagement. 

Custom in-app events were introduced on the AppsFlyer platform, measuring user engagement at key time intervals, namely one minute, three minutes, and five minutes. These events were strategically employed to pinpoint the app’s high-intent users who not only installed or registered, but also engaged with the content by watching videos for a specified duration on the day of installation.

This data-driven approach was extended to major platforms such as Google, Meta, and other ad networks, as well as programmatic channels. By sharing custom events with these platforms, Loco aimed to leverage their algorithms to identify and attract high-intent users who were more likely to engage with the app’s content after installation.

When it came to combating fraud, AppsFlyer’s Protect360, a multi-layered fraud detection and protection solution, played a crucial role. This tool helped identify anomalies, validate installs, and protect against device-level fraud, maintaining the integrity of user acquisition data. Leveraging custom validation rules, Loco paid agencies only for real users acquired. This combination of integrated partner management, fraud detection and protection, and attribution capabilities empowered Loco to scale confidently into new territories. 

Loco chose AppsFlyer’s CX and Deep Linking Suite to improve and personalize user journeys, increase conversions, and boost revenue. With unique links for each streamer, Loco was able to accurately attribute app installs from various platforms like YouTube, Discord, and Instagram. Using AppsFlyer’s deep linking and in-app event measurement capabilities, Loco could measure a user’s journey from various touchpoints, such as social media posts, emails, or ads, directly to specific in-app actions. This gave the team a comprehensive understanding of which sources were driving the most engaged users. 

Loco also used deep links to direct users not only to the app’s homepage, but to specific in-app content such as invite-a-friend. This approach ensured that users landed exactly where they intended, enhancing the overall user experience and encouraging meaningful interactions.

Finally, to tackle the complexities of measuring app installs and user behavior from various third-party Android app stores, Loco embraced AppsFlyer’s Multi-Store Android Attribution solution. By seamlessly integrating the AppsFlyer SDK with Multi-Store Android Attribution functionality, Loco was able to analyze installs and user behavior from OEM stores like Xiaomi MI, Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung Galaxy, in addition to the Play Store and App Store.

Results

This new, optimized approach led to remarkable outcomes for Loco. The conversion rate from app installs to the one-minute video watch event surged to an impressive 45%, well above the previous rate of 15-20% on Day 0. This targeted approach ensured higher user engagement shortly after installs. 

The shift towards an engagement-centric user acquisition strategy improved campaign performance, boosting user engagement. Moreover, retention rates saw a significant surge on Day 1 and Day 7, proving that the strategy was effective in attracting genuinely interested users who remained engaged over time. 

Implementing Protect360 enabled Loco’s team to identify and prevent fraudulent activities, meaning fewer discrepancies with affiliate partners. They successfully identified and countered these fraudulent activities, safeguarding their system from any detrimental impact on overall metrics and performance.

Eliminating fraudulent installs also improved the cost efficiency of agency and affiliate channels, saving approximately 25% on the monthly budget. 

By integrating all in-app events into the Appsflyer SDK, Loco was able to assess user intent based on conversion rates, such as install-to-registration, video views, streamer follows, and chat interactions. This enabled the team to identify high-performing streamers, and optimize partnerships and campaigns based on key metrics like followers gained, user engagement, and retention. Users acquired from streamers showed impressive retention rates of 55% on Day 1 and 35% on Day 7, spending an average of 55 minutes per day in the app. Assessing installs across different third-party app stores enabled Loco to gauge app distribution effectiveness, while analyzing user engagement metrics helped identify stores attracting highly engaged users.

AppsFlyer’s CX and Deep linking suite made the ad-to-app experience super smooth for our users! They took away all the hassles when users clicked on ads and made it easy to enjoy our awesome content right away. That’s why users stayed longer exploring everything we offer. Plus, they made it a breeze for us to work with different streamers, keeping track of their performance without any fuss. Thanks to AppsFlyer, we know what works best, and it’s no wonder we’re rocking the live game streaming world!

Sumon Chandra, Vice President of Marketing, Loco

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