Flexion targets TikTok influencers to give game developers a reliable low-cost return on user acquisition

Flexion Mobile’s influencer marketing agency Audiencly is metamorphosing many of its 6000-7000 top influencers on to TikTok using a disruptive service from Liteup Media.

The recently launched cost per install (CPI) service offers game developers a way to target users on TikTok and works in a similar way to automated ad buying. TikTok is currently the fastest growing social media platform and, importantly for game developers, the best for reaching Gen Z (zoomers) — 10 to 25-year-olds, the biggest audience for many game categories.

TikTok is predicted to reach 1.5 billion monthly users by the end of the year. Over half of them will be zoomers. TikTok is the most engaging social media platform, with an average user session of 10.85 minutes. It is inherently viral which means that even accounts with only a small number of followers can trigger millions of views for the right video.

“TikTok has the potential to reach a whole new generation of game players,” says Adrian Kotowski, CEO of Audiencly, “so it’s vital for developers to include influencers on the platform in their marketing mix. By offering our carefully curated group of content creators the chance to add TikTok to their output, we’re giving our clients instant access to this channel. They retain the same tried and trusted influencer personalities but with Liteup they reach out direct to the TikTok generation.”

Disruptive influencer tech

Liteup automatically connects developers with influencers through its mobile app in a way that precisely matches target audiences. To date, Liteup has focused on micro influencers but there is no limit on the size of an influencer’s audience. This means nano-influencers can sign up, but so can Audiencly’s much higher profile personalities.

The influencers include details of their TikTok followers and the type of content they create when they sign up with Liteup, allowing developers to precisely target the audiences they need to reach. The app-based service tracks influencer followers and advertisers are only charged when a new user installs a game. This allows developers to control spend and performance in the same way as they can with other forms of user acquisition.

Audiencly is wholly owned by Flexion Mobile, a company whose core business is taking Android games and giving them an additional audience and revenue on the alternative app stores. Flexion has just completed a US$500,000 investment in Liteup Media, taking a 20% stake in the company. This is testament to how important Flexion believes TikTok influencers are in game user acquisition.

“Expanding our service for game developers is a major goal for Flexion,” says CEO Jens Lauritzson. “Advertising is no longer enough to raise the profile of a game and influencer marketing is becoming ever more attractive for user acquisition. Liteup’s disruptive service combined with Audiencly’s expertise in influencers is exciting because it fills a need that no-one else is really addressing.”

Investment improves Liteup

For Liteup, the Flexion investment and Audiencly tie-up have significant advantages.
“Flexion’s investment has allowed us to accelerate development significantly,” says Aaron Baker, Liteup’s CEO. “In a matter of months, it has taken us from a minimum viable product to a feature-rich creator app with improved UI/UX, analytics, and an in-app content system. This makes it incredibly easy for influencers and creators to come on board.”

The fragmentation of the market is a big problem for game developers wishing to use influencers as part of their user acquisition mix. By coming together with Liteup, Audiencly is now able to offer access to a broad spectrum of influencers across a number of social media platforms.“

We’re starting to consolidate influencer marketing for games,” says Adrian Kotowski, “allowing UA experts to reach a range of influencer types through a single point of contact. Developers need a reliable return on investment from performance marketing and, with influencers, that’s exactly what we are able to give them.”