How Lotum used Kohort's platform to profitably scale User Acquisition and launch successfully into new markets

55%

Increase in UA spend over past 3 months

15%

Increased revenue

10%

Increased profits from 4 Pics 1 Word
Number of employees
50
Used by
Marketing, C-Suite
Headquarters
Germany
Industry
Mobile Games
Use cases
  • Long-tail Retention and LTV forecasting - applying historic data to model future behavior on a per-segment basis
  • User Acquisition - using LTV predictions to inform and guide spend and bid optimization
  • New Market Launches - creating LTV forecasts for newly launched markets, to grow efficiently with confidence

Snapshot

Lotum, a German mobile gaming company, was facing challenges in accurately forecasting long-tail user retention and monetization, hindering their ability to scale marketing spend with confidence for Lotum's popular game 4 Pics 1 Word. They were also looking to expand into new international markets but lacked the necessary data insights to support the launches.

Key contributions

  • Accurately forecasting active users, retention, and monetization for newly launched products and segments, especially with limited historical data.
    Kohort's segmented modeling provided the ability to infer long-term retention and monetization trends for Lotum’s new segments, allowing for more accurate forecasts even with limited available data. Using a customized user dashboard delivered early in the partnership, Kohort quickly provided deeper insights than initially anticipated. As a result, Kohort's platform enabled Lotum to make informed decisions on UA spend for 4 Pics 1 Word, resulting in greater accuracy over time as more data was collected and integrated, reducing the need for manual overrides. Kohort’s ongoing support, through regular calls and proactive adjustments, was instrumental in optimizing Lotum’s forecasting capabilities.
  • Applying forecasted LTVs on a per-segment basis to guide UA spend, providing a daily actionable spend suggestion report to balance between networks and geographic segments.
    By learning from every segment’s historic behavior, Kohort's models generated new player Lifetime Value (LTV) curves as soon as Lotum’s data went live on the platform. This allowed Lotum’s UA team to strategically allocate spend based on current LTV vs. CPI, with clear visibility into key ROAS payback periods, whether targeting 6 or 12 months. Kohort’s automated spend suggestion report, refreshed daily, played a crucial role in ensuring that Lotum could maximize profitability by balancing UA spend across various networks and geographic segments. Kohort’s tailored approach helped identify segments with high scaling potential, enabling swift adjustments to spend strategies.
  • Analyzing the performance of different forecasting models and understanding which one was most accurate, especially for newer cohorts and segments.
    Kohort implemented a back-testing approach that allowed Lotum to evaluate the accuracy of different forecasting models, particularly for newer cohorts and segments. This analytical approach provided valuable insights into which models performed best over time, giving Lotum the confidence to identify the most accurate predictions for retention and monetization trends. Kohort’s continued support in fine-tuning these models allowed Lotum to stay agile in adjusting strategies based on performance data.
  • Understanding the impact of transitioning between campaign types to attract higher-quality users and drive profitability.
    Kohort provided critical insights that helped Lotum assess the effect of the shift to a new type of user acquisition campaign for 4 Pics 1 Word. Kohort was able to demonstrate that these new campaigns were bringing in higher-value users, resulting in increases in both monetization and retention.

    Clearly understanding the expected impact on revenue, spend, and sales margins, showing that while the cost per acquisition was higher, the increase in ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User) across segments made the shift worthwhile for Lotum.

    Kohort’s data analysis and projections provided Lotum with the insights they needed to allocate spending effectively, particularly in key markets where significant improvements in monetization and LTV (Lifetime Value) were observed.

    Kohort's continuous analysis of retention and late monetization patterns ensured that Lotum could sustain these improvements in user quality and LTV, further driving long-term profitability and growth.
  • Providing proactive and actionable insights to Lotum, rather than requiring them to actively search for issues.
    Kohort introduced an AI Insights feature that would enable Lotum to identify trends and patterns in their data, that may have otherwise been missed. The proactive notifications and summaries of key metric changes would allow Lotum to stay ahead of potential issues, improving their ability to make timely decisions and optimize performance. Kohort’s proactive approach would then save Lotum time and resources, ensuring that their team could focus on strategic decision-making rather than constantly monitoring data.
  • Leveraging Kohort’s expertise in game data analytics and UA to scale Lotum's growth.
    Kohort’s deep expertise in game data analytics and user acquisition (UA) strategies helped guide Lotum through scaling efforts, both in terms of entering new markets and refining their UA strategies. Through a data-driven approach, Kohort provided actionable insights that allowed Lotum to navigate new opportunities while minimizing risk. Kohort's ability to quickly address challenges and offer new perspectives on UA spend and LTV forecasts contributed to significant growth for Lotum, ensuring sustainable scaling across key segments.

Key results

  • Helped drive positive ROAS growth by targeting high-performing users and transitioning between campaign types, demonstrating effective campaign optimization.
  • Enhanced LTV insights through Kohort's segment-level models and bespoke data analysis dashboards.
  • Achieved exponential growth by rapidly identifying segments (countries, platforms, and networks) with high scaling potential, while also recognizing those with limited capacity.

Kohort's forecasting platform has been key in scaling our user acquisition and expanding into new markets with data-driven decisions. Building in-house models would have required significant resources, but Kohort delivered accurate models instantly, enabling us to scale confidently. Their data-driven approach has boosted our team's performance and growth certainty.
Jens Abke
CEO at Lotum

Profitably scaled User Acquisition and launched successfully into new markets

Kohort helped Lotum scale User Acquisition and launch successfully into new markets, which led to an increase in UA spend, revenue and profit.

Partner with Kohort