How SBC Helped a Match‑3 Game Reduce CPI by 34%
A Match‑3 puzzle game hit a growth plateau. Creatives were fatiguing and acquisition costs kept rising. The studio partnered with SBC to rebuild their creative testing system and restore growth.
34%
lower CPI
61%
higher CTR
+17%
paying users
Overview
The client is a casual gaming studio running a popular Match‑3 puzzle game designed for a broad audience. The game had already reached millions of players. However, growth slowed as acquisition campaigns became less efficient and creatives stopped standing out.
Challenge
Growth started to plateau as their ads began blending into the feed and scaling spend in Tier‑1 markets became less efficient.
Creative fatigue hit fast, and fresh winning angles were not shipping quickly enough. As budgets increased, performance became harder to sustain.
CTR declined across key audiences
CPI increased in Tier‑1 auctions
Growth slowed as scale stalled
Without faster creative testing, scaling campaigns would continue to become more expensive.
What We Did
Creative Innovation
UGC‑style TikTok ads showed satisfying chain reactions and dramatic puzzle moments that instantly captured attention.
AI‑Powered Creative Optimization
An AI‑driven testing loop generated over 30 ad variations each week, constantly feeding the algorithm fresh creative.
Strategic Monetization Loop
An in‑game referral system “invite to unlock boosters” encouraged players to invite friends and increased paying user acquisition.
Results
lower Tier‑1 CPI
higher TikTok CTR
increase in paying users
With stronger creatives and faster testing, the studio scaled ad spend from $500k to $1.5M while maintaining performance.
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SBC helps game studios improve creative performance and scale campaigns.
