About Clash of Clans mobile game
Supercell’s Clash of Clans is the most famous free-to-play mobile strategy game with 790 million downloads to date.
DAVID KOBLEN CREATIVE PRODUCER AT APPAGENTThrough our creative approach, we proved that Clash of Clans can run profitable user acquisition campaigns at scale. Video ads made by AppAgent are long-term best performers and unlocked significant spend on Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads.
The Brief
Produce high-performing ad and store creatives to drive new users to a 14-year-old game.
The Solution
Setting a creative strategy for such a big mobile brand required a return to our true marketing roots.
We conducted a comprehensive competition analysis at the start of the cooperation and created our own creative strategy canvas based on GameRefinery’s motivators.
So far, we’ve delivered 500+ original ads, with over 3,000 video exports in various sizes and languages.
We hired an experienced Clan leader, who has led his clan since 2015. His insights inspired the creative process and he regularly reviewed concepts, recorded gameplay, and did a final factual check of the ad. Hiring him was crucial to the ads’ success.
AppAgent’s Conclusion
“If you have a mid-core game with a massive fan base, your marketing creatives must be very true to the game. To ensure this happens, hire a hard-core fan of the game to help you with ideation and to double-check final outputs for 100% accuracy.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What was AppAgent’s role on Clash of Clans?
AppAgent was tasked with producing high-performing ad and store creatives for a 14-year-old, globally known title. That meant building a robust creative strategy, designing video ads and store assets, and delivering concepts that could unlock profitable user acquisition at scale on channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads.
How did you approach creative strategy for such a big, established brand?
For Clash of Clans, we went back to “true marketing roots”: starting with a comprehensive competition analysis and a creative strategy canvas built on GameRefinery’s motivators. This ensured that every concept was grounded in player psychology, market reality, and the existing brand world—not just in isolated ad ideas.
Why was hiring a Clan leader so important to the project?
We brought in an experienced Clan leader who has played since 2015 to make sure the ads stayed 100% true to the game. He inspired new ideas, recorded gameplay, and did factual checks on each video. For a mid-core game with a massive fan base, this level of authenticity is critical—players can immediately spot when something feels off.
Did AppAgent also produce App Store assets for Clash of Clans?
Yes. In addition to video ads, our creative production included App Store assets to ensure a cohesive user journey. Aligning ad concepts with store visuals was a key part of unlocking profitable acquisition at scale.
What kind of volume and variety of creatives did AppAgent produce?
So far, we’ve delivered 500+ original ads and over 3,000 video exports in multiple sizes and languages. This gave Supercell a large, well-structured creative pool that could be tested, localized, and refreshed without reinventing the wheel each time.
How did these ads impact user acquisition performance?
Video ads created by AppAgent became long-term best performers and helped prove that Clash of Clans can run profitable user acquisition campaigns at scale, even after many years on the market. They unlocked significant spend on Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads, turning creative performance into tangible growth for months.
What can other mid-core or long-running games learn from this case?
The main lesson is that for mid-core games with a strong brand and community, creatives must be both strategically sharp and deeply authentic. A structured creative strategy (competition analysis, motivators, creative canvas) combined with input from hard-core players can produce ads that perform for the long term—without alienating the fan base.
Why did Clash of Clans still need a fresh creative strategy despite being an established title?
Even a 14-year-old game with a massive fan base can hit a ceiling on UA if the creatives stop evolving. For Clash of Clans, the challenge wasn’t brand awareness – it was creative fatigue and the difficulty at scale. By going back to first principles, AppAgent was able to generate concepts that felt fresh to potential new players while staying true to what the existing community loves. The result was a pipeline of long-term best performers proving that even established titles have untapped creative headroom.