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User Acquisition

Introduction to Event optimization campaigns

Learn about Level Complete, Payer, and Retention CPE campaigns with Unity User Acquisition.
Read time 3 minutesLast updated 9 hours ago
Event optimization campaigns, also known as Cost per Event (CPE) campaigns, optimize for users predicted to engage with your app after installation. You can use Event Optimization campaigns concurrently with other optimized campaign goals, such as Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) campaigns. Unity supports the following types of Event optimization campaigns:

Campaign type

Targeted users

Advertiser use cases

Level CompleteUsers predicted to reach a specific level milestone
  • Acquire high-engagement users by targeting in-app milestone completions.
  • Avoid sharing purchase events or purchase values for data-sensitive customers.
  • Define custom criteria for high-lifetime value (LTV) users, then map those criteria to corresponding Level Complete events.
  • Optimize for a more clearly defined, customized, and granular user segment.
PayerUsers predicted to make an in-app purchase (IAP) within 7 days
  • Run Event and ROAS campaigns concurrently to maximize scale.
  • Avoid sharing purchase value data.
  • Advertise non-gaming and real-money apps to grow purchase rates.
  • Advertise apps with high purchase frequency but low purchase values that are unsuitable for IAP ROAS.
RetentionUsers predicted to remain active on the seventh day after installation
  • Prioritize Day-7 (D7) retention
  • Avoid sharing purchase or purchase values
  • Diversify active campaigns to reach different user segments
The following information details the different types of Event optimization campaigns and how they work.

Level Complete

Level Complete campaigns optimize for users who are predicted to reach a specific level-completion milestone within your app. This campaign goal aims to acquire high-engagement users, which helps increase user retention and measure growth over time. Users who reach significant milestones are also more likely to watch ads or generate in-app purchase revenue.

Level Complete events

Advertisers select a specific completion event to target before creating a Level Complete campaign. During campaign creation, you choose from your available Level Complete events, and the campaign optimizes for the first occurrence of the selected event. Level Complete events work in conjunction with a supported Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP). To create a Level Complete campaign, you first map your chosen event in your MMP dashboard. This enables your MMP to send your campaign data for the selected event. For help integrating your MMP, refer to the Mobile Measurement Partner integration documentation.
Note
When you configure events in your MMP dashboard, although the setting isn't required, the recommended best practice is to include both values and revenue with post-install events. This additional data helps Unity's models to more accurately acquire high-value users.
For detailed instructions on how to map events in your MMP dashboard, refer to the Integration best practices documentation.

Event name targeting

Note
Performance improves as Unity collects more data from newly mapped events.
After you map a Level Complete event with your MMP, create your campaign in the User Acquisition Dashboard. In the Create a campaign dialog, use the Event name targeting section of the campaign setup to select which event your campaign targets. Your events become available in the User Acquisition dashboard within 72 hours after successful mapping. Expect a 14-day learning period when you successfully map a new event to Unity from your MMP for event name targeting. The learning period starts when your MMP passes the new event to Unity and isn't dependent on whether you use the new event in a Level Complete campaign.

Payer

Payer campaigns optimize for users who are predicted to make an in-app purchase within seven days of installation. Unlike In-app Purchase (IAP) ROAS campaigns, which optimize for both the probability and the predicted value of a user, Payer campaigns focus on acquiring a higher volume of paying users. This makes them well suited for scaling purchase volume with a potentially lower average purchase value. Advertisers set a target cost per event (tCPE), and Unity's machine learning models predict the likelihood of a purchase for each impression, then dynamically adjust bids to meet your tCPE goal.

Retention

Note
Legacy Retention campaigns will stop delivering on July 9, 2026. All new Retention campaigns must be created using the Event Optimization campaign goal.
Retention campaigns optimize for users who are predicted to remain active in your app at least seven days after installation. You set a target cost per event (tCPE), which represents the price you're willing to pay for a user who returns to your app seven days after installation. Unity’s machine learning models predict each user’s Day-7 retention likelihood and dynamically adjust bids accordingly.
Tip
Because retention campaigns tend to attract distinct user segments, they work well in conjunction with ROAS campaigns.
When you evaluate Retention campaign performance, use retention metrics and Cost per Install (CPI) together rather than ROAS alone. Retention campaigns are designed to bring in a different user segment than ROAS campaigns, one that prioritizes longer-term engagement over immediate revenue.