Tyr Rewards is flipping user acquisition on its head by mixing new ideas with what actually works in the real world. If you caught Gamesforum Vietnam 2025, you saw our Head of UA, Hernando Juni Four, owning the stage with Moloco. He gave everyone a look at how we’re running things in mobile growth, using our app built in-house. Main takeaway here? Installs alone don’t mean much anymore. What matters is getting the right users who actually stay.
Imagine this for a second. There’s a UA manager, Alex. He gets on his dashboard and sees CPIs way up, especially in the US. He’s putting money into campaigns, but ROAS just isn’t making sense. Users will grab the app, check it out, then leave in a flash. Sounds familiar, yeah? Most of us have that problem. It’s like running in place, spending more with nothing to show.
That’s exactly the problem Hernando jumped into. Moloco had us as a guest for real thoughts, not only as an advertiser after users, but as a platform, Tyrads, that also helps others get users. It’s a different seat that gives us a full look at what’s working and what’s not.
The Big Shift – From Volume to Value in User Acquisition
Things are different now. Hernando didn’t sugarcoat it. UA is moving from volume only to chasing value. Years back, all anyone wanted was to score more installs for less money. But now? If you just do that, you burn cash for nothing. “It is no longer just buying cheap installs,” Hernando explained. “Teams are now optimizing towards predictive LTV and focusing on acquiring better quality users.”
That’s built into how we run things on Tyr Rewards. We aren’t just a platform. We have a rewarded app community. Every part of what we do gives users real benefits. Simple as doing tasks, earning rewards. Scaling this is not easy, because you gotta know what keeps users coming back. Just the download isn’t enough. The journey after that is what truly matters.
How do we pull it off? We obsess over quality from that first tap.
Diversification – Your Best Friend in a Competitive Market
Don’t bet all on one idea. Yeah, you’ve heard it. Are you actually doing it, though? Since CPI is up (in some spots as much as 130%), you can’t treat diversification as just a nice feature. You need it. For us, it’s more than trying random ad networks; it’s about really tuning up every step.
Hernando spelled it out:
- Test everything – All the time, we check out new channels, odd campaign setups and events that push the envelope.
- Fix the user flow – We play with every part of the user experience, from what ad creative shows up to how they end up inside the Tyr Rewards app.
Think about the path. A person sees an ad. They tap. Hit a page. Download the app. Open it. Every step is a chance to lose them. We poke at every little step to keep things smooth and interesting. Hernando said, teams in SEA act super fast, they test ideas, learn from them and move ahead quickly. It’s something we now do wherever we work, too.
Finding Quality Users Early: It’s All in the Data
So, how do you spot a user that’s gonna be worth something? Waiting months isn’t an option. You gotta grab hints early. For us, data is everything. Hernando shared that we look hard at retention metrics like Day 1 and Day 3 to see if users are sticking.
It doesn’t end there. We use these retention metrics together with things happening at the start of the funnel. Like, we have a certain conversion rate we want on Day 1. If a campaign’s group doesn’t reach it, it’s a sign that they won’t hit the high-value stuff later. This warning system helps us quit what isn’t working and double down on what is.
Re-engagement ads are big for us, too. Hernando calls them “performance amplifiers.” Not just for folks who stopped caring, but for people on the fence. That is because, when you nudge the right crowd with the right message at the right moment, it can turn just curious users into a loyal and reliable fan base.
The Blended Strategy: Balancing Short-Term Wins and Long-Term Growth
Scaling? Tricky business. If you push more money into a campaign, sometimes ROAS just drops. We get around that by following Hernando’s blended strategy, splitting how we look at things between short run and long game.
- Short Term : We hunt for those fast data signals. Is a campaign or source bringing the right users? Quick feedback helps us pivot fast. The product team checks where folks drop out, too.
- Long Term: Are users staying for weeks, even months? Are they adding lasting value (LTV)? Watching long-term trends helps us see if increased budgets or new countries are paying off.
Balancing both means we won’t risk cash on random shots. We’re careful, tracking user actions closely. This blended strategy drives our user acquisition wins.
Using Tech Tools in UA: So What’s Real?
Everyone is talking about tech tools. But what’s the real use for UA teams today? Honestly, this tech cuts down time on boring tasks and lets us check way more data points. That frees up our UA managers to focus on bigger strategic moves.
Hernando shouts out three main areas where using tech helps:
- Creative Insights: The tools dig into all parts of our creatives, the hook, call to action, themes and end cards. They give us the picture of what people like, so we can make better ads, faster.
- Predicting LTV: The models guess the future value of users from what they do at the start. Means we can be smarter about spending and only put cash into spots that show lasting results.
- Audience Segmentation: Tools find patterns in big user sets, picking groups for targeting that we probably wouldn’t spot alone. It means targeting gets sharper and more personal.
Still, using tech isn’t magic. When UA teams don’t see what’s happening “behind the scenes,” they lose trust. We always want to know what’s helping, so if we gotta swap gears, we can.
The Dual Perspective: Advertiser and Partner
Having Tyr Rewards puts us in a different spot than most. We live like advertisers every day, feeling CPI spikes and hunting for ROAS. But at the same time, as Tyrads, we help other advertisers. Because the SDK offerwall is our own, we make the journey for the user super connected.
Living both lives makes us better and smarter. We get advertisers because we are one. We know what an easy monetization experience feels like because we built it ourselves. It comes back to giving value to users and advertisers. The user scores rewards, and the advertiser gets a serious user.
That alignment is what keeps us excited, and that’s why we shared our insights at Gamesforum Vietnam 2025. The future of user acquisition is all about being sharp, getting real value and building for actual people.
FAQs
What makes Tyr Rewards unique?
Simple, Tyr Rewards is our own app, all about giving rewards for real time spent. That gives us complete control. We can see what brings users in and keeps them around, which kinda makes it easier to help our own app and clients both grow.
Why is user quality more important than quantity?
Well, a simple download doesn’t guarantee value. So, you need someone who actually stays, uses the app and spends. As for the old method, grab all the downloads you can, watch them leave. However, focusing on quality makes every dollar work harder. And you’re building a business that doesn’t fizzle out.
Will technology replace UA managers?
Not at all! Tech is just a super sharp helper. It crunches the data-heavy stuff or checks ads, and figures out which user could be strong. So UA managers get more time for things like strategy, trends, and creative thinking. Using tech just makes the job more interesting.
How can UA teams achieve growth?
Constant testing and adaptation are key, as Hernando highlighted at Gamesforum Vietnam 2025. Because a trick that works perfectly for one country might bomb another. So, always keep trying new things. Change strategy to fit how each group acts. There’s no magic trick, just loads of tests until you see what sticks.
