Moloco CTV as a New Growth Channel: KRAFTON’s CookieRun India Success

About

Krafton is a global game publisher leading innovation in game development and global publishing. With strong IPs like PUBG: Battlegrounds, it has achieved worldwide success, offering beloved games to gamers around the world. Krafton’s India headquarters is a key player in the rapidly growing Indian market, publishing localized games such as Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). Leveraging its deep understanding of the Indian market and proven success, it is now supporting the launch and expansion of ‘CookieRun India’—a title tailored to India players of global hit, CookieRun.

LG Channels is LG Electronics' ad-supported free video content service (FAST), offering new advertising opportunities through in-stream ads with advanced targeting options beyond the mobile app. Through its partnership with Moloco, LG Channels provides a personalized advertising experience optimized for their users, supporting global advertisers in achieving their campaign goals.

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Challenges: Reaching incremental high-value users for the CookieRun India launch

Krafton set out to ensure a successful launch for CookieRun India by rapidly increasing awareness among broader audiences and acquiring high-value users who would engage long-term. 

To succeed, Krafton had to solve for:

• Expanding beyond mobile to reach a wider, more engaged audience: While mobile app campaigns were a key acquisition channel, expanding beyond mobile was necessary to reach untapped audiences efficiently. Also, While user acquisition costs in India are generally low, the key challenge was not just driving large-scale installs but also attracting high-value users who would stay engaged with the game long-term.
• Avoiding the limitations of traditional TV advertising (TVC): While channels like TVC are commonly used for large-scale branding campaigns when targeting a wide audience, its limitations in accurately measuring ad effectiveness made them less suitable as a sustainable channel.
• Finding a measurable, performance-driven channel: Ensuring conversion tracking to evaluate and prove the impact of the new channel.

To drive sustainable growth, Krafton needed a new channel that could complement existing mobile app campaigns, expand reach, and acquire high-value users efficiently.

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Solution: Leveraging CTV as a new growth channel

Moloco's CTV (Connected TV)* proved to be a suitable new media channel, offering a key advantage over traditional TVC by allowing performance measurement through mobile measurement partners (MMPs), while effectively reaching new users that were previously difficult to target through mobile apps. It also provided the flexibility to adjust the budget and use the same creatives as that of the app campaigns, making it easier and more sustainable to test the new channel without significant risk.

1. Scalability through a new channel

With Moloco’s performance CTV integrated into LG Channels, Krafton engaged new users across various free streaming channels, including major channels like NDTV and India TV. This allowed them to reach TV audiences previously difficult to target through mobile campaigns, effectively increasing exposure and engagement through seamlessly displayed video ads. As the campaign progressed, LG Channels’ ad inventory expanded rapidly, further boosting Krafton’s ability to scale. 

2. Precise measurement as a performance channel

CTV provided precise measurement capabilities, enabling Krafton to track app installs and in-app engagement. By analyzing post-install behavior, Krafton confirmed that CTV-acquired users had higher retention rates compared to other channels. This validated CTV’s role as not just a branding tool, but a performance-driven channel that drives incremental user acquisition.

By integrating CTV into its user acquisition strategy, Krafton extended its reach, acquired engaged users, and improved campaign efficiency — proving that CTV can effectively support mobile growth.

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Results: An effective channel for acquiring high-value users

Through Moloco's CTV campaign, Krafton successfully reached new users and achieved exceptional results in key user value metrics like retention. Notably, 22% of users acquired through Moloco's mobile app campaigns were also exposed to CTV ads, with these users showing more than double the D1 retention compared to those acquired through mobile app ads alone.

• 14% of users reached via CTV were new audiences (based on IP address) 
• 20% higher D1 retention compared to users acquired via mobile install campaign
• 37% higher D7 retention compared to users acquired via mobile install campaign

“The CTV campaign stood out from traditional TV advertising by offering measurable performance tracking, enabling us to maximize efficiency with a data-driven approach. We were impressed by the higher retention achieved compared to other channels, proving Moloco CTV's potential as a new growth channel. We anticipate it will positively impact our future campaign strategies. Additionally, Moloco's responsive support and quick product improvements were key to the campaign's success." — Sangbum Kim , Team Lead, India Performance Marketing Team, Krafton

CTV offers a scalable, data-driven way to reach users beyond mobile app ads. Unlike traditional TV commercials, it provides precise performance measurement, making it an effective channel for growth. Pairing CTV with mobile campaigns expands reach, drives high-value user acquisition, and enhances long-term engagement.

Ready to unlock new growth opportunities with Moloco’s CTV? Connect with Moloco’s team to explore how CTV can complement your mobile UA strategy and drive measurable results.