We recently sat down with John Wright for a candid conversation about mobile marketing, user acquisition, and the state of the industry post-ATT. What started as a casual chat quickly turned into a masterclass on creative, attribution, and the future of gaming. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from John’s experience.
The 8-second rule and why creative must connect to humans
“People want bite-sized content,” John explained. “You’ve got about 8 seconds to hook them. If you don’t, they’ll scroll.”
With TikTok and short-form content reshaping attention spans, John emphasized that ads can’t just be optimized for IPM and eCPM. They need to tap into human motivations and emotions. After all, on the other side of every screen is a person juggling distractions.
“The industry forgets sometimes that there’s a human there,” he said.
Studios stepped up when tech didn’t
One of the strongest points John made was about ATT and attribution.
“SKAN 4 came out in Oct ‘22, and nothing’s moved since,” he noted. The expectation was that things would improve over time, but tools haven’t kept up.
Instead, studios themselves innovated. Better live ops. Smarter segmentation. Stronger products. John pointed to Clash Royale’s resurgence hitting an 8-year high with $100M in just six weeks. That wasn’t tech providers, that was product. Studios deserve the credit for keeping the industry moving forward.
Why game launches look different now
John also shared how launching games has completely changed.
A decade ago, success often meant burst campaigns, App Store rankings, and riding organic uplift. But as he explained: “Now, launching is calculated. You start on one network, find the winning creative, then scale. You open one geo at a time. And you need to be profitable on every single install.”
Organic boosts are no longer reliable. To survive, studios must build sustainable UA strategies.
Looking ahead: cautious optimism
Despite the challenges, John is optimistic. He highlighted how AI is being used in segmentation and personalization, how Gen Z is becoming the core spender in games, and how the focus has rightly shifted back to building better products.
“The next 3–5 years are going to be really interesting,” he said. “We’ve had tough times, but I’m positive about where we’re headed.”
Lessons on attribution
The conversation with John was a reminder that while tech frameworks and attribution debates will continue, what really matters is building great products, connecting with humans, and adapting when the landscape shifts. The studios that do this best will define the next era of gaming.
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