Event optimization campaign best practices
Review the recommended best practices for Event optimization campaigns with Unity User Acquisition.
Read time 6 minutesLast updated a month ago
Event campaigns optimize for users predicted to engage with your app after installation. Refer to the following recommended best practices when you configure your Event Optimization campaign.
Payer campaign best practices
Before you set up your Payer campaign, review the following best practices.
Use historical Payer rate data to set bids
When you run a Payer campaign, you set a target Cost per Event (tCPE) bid for each country in your campaign. To determine the tCPE bid amounts at launch, the recommended best practice is to reference previous campaign data. Refer to the following guidance to set your tCPE bids, based on whether you have historical campaign data:
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You have historical CPI and Payer rate data. Note The Payer rate metric is the key performance indicator (KPI) for Payer campaigns. | Use the following formula to set your tCPE bids at launch: |
You don't have historical campaign data. | Use the following formula to set your tCPE bids at launch, and then closely monitor scale. If the campaign can't scale, increase your tCPE: |
Set a daily budget that allows for exploration
When you set the Daily budget for your campaign, choose an amount large enough to allow for healthy user exploration. The recommended best practice is to accumulate at least 75 payer events for accurate, stable model predictions, with a minimum of $200 per day in the US.
Optimize your campaign after launch
After launch, monitor your scale and spend closely. Consider adjusting your tCPE bids or budgets based on the following indicators:
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Your campaign reaches its daily cap continuously for 3 to 5 days. | Increase your daily budget. |
Your campaign doesn't reach its daily cap. | Increase your tCPE bids gradually to allow the models to learn. |
Your campaign reaches its daily cap and performs well. | Avoid changing your settings and allow the model to stabilize. |
You want to decrease your CPI. | Reduce your tCPE bids gradually. |
Allow time before making changes
Wait at least 9 days after launch to adjust your tCPE bids or budget. If you make changes too early, it can disrupt the model's learning and negatively affect campaign performance.
Run Payer alongside ROAS campaigns
Payer and ROAS campaigns optimize for different goals and attract different user segments, so there's no inherent risk of overlap. Running both campaign types at the same time can help you achieve greater overall scale while maintaining your ROAS targets.
Retention campaign best practices
Before you set up a Retention campaign, review the following best practices.
Confirm data readiness before launching
Before you create a Retention campaign, verify that your MMP is correctly configured to pass session data to Unity:
- The Game ID is correct in your MMP dashboard
- A valid install postback is in place
- Retention events (attributed and unattributed sessions) are mapped correctly
For detailed MMP integration instructions, refer to the Mobile Measurement Partner integration documentation.
Use historical Retention rate data to set bids
When you run a Retention campaign, you set a target Cost per Event (tCPE) bid for each country in your campaign. To determine the tCPE bid amounts at launch, the recommended best practice is to reference previous campaign data. Refer to the following guidance to set your tCPE bids, based on whether you have historical campaign data:
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You have historical CPI and Retention rate data. Note The Retention rate metric is the KPI for Retention campaigns. | Use the following formula to set your tCPE bids at launch: |
You don't have historical campaign data. | Use the following formula to set your tCPE bids at launch, and then closely monitor scale. If the campaign can't scale, increase your tCPE: |
Set a daily budget that allows for exploration
When you set the Daily budget for your campaign, choose an amount large enough to allow for healthy user exploration. The recommended best practice is to target at least 100 retention events for accurate, stable predictions with a minimum of $200 per day in the US.
Optimize your campaign after launch
After launch, monitor your scale and spend closely. Consider adjusting your tCPE bids or budgets based on the following indicators:
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|---|---|
Your campaign reaches its daily cap continuously for 3 to 5 days. | Increase your daily budget. |
Your campaign doesn't reach its daily cap. | Increase your tCPE bids by 10% every 3 to 5 days to allow the models to learn. |
Your campaign reaches its daily cap and performs well. | Avoid changing your settings and allow the model to stabilize. |
You want to decrease your CPI. | Reduce your tCPE bids gradually. Don't decrease more than 10% every 7 to 9 days. |
Allow time before evaluating performance
Wait at least two weeks before you make significant adjustments to your tCPE bids or budget. Changes during the first two weeks can disrupt the model's learning and negatively impact performance.
Evaluate performance using retention metrics and CPI
Evaluate Retention campaign performance using retention metrics and CPI together, not ROAS in isolation. Retention campaigns are designed to complement ROAS campaigns, and attract a different user segment: lower CPI with stronger D7 engagement.