How to Make Celebrity Endorsements Actually Work for Your Game

Written by Marion Balinoff , an influencer marketing consultant with over a decade of experience, including six years in mobile gaming. She has worked with top gaming companies like Wooga, Supercell, Bytro and Huuuge Games, running performance-driven campaigns with budgets ranging from micro-influencers to MrBeast. Known for her data-driven approach, Marion specializes in making influencer marketing measurable, scalable, and profitable for user acquisition.

Not many brands can say they've had LeBron James, Shakira, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Hart, amongst MANY other celebrities featured in their ads. But Royal Kingdom can. Dream Games' campaign for their Match 3 puzzle title raises the common question: how much did it cost, and is it worth it?

The reality is, there isn't a standard measure. From the kind of celebrity and their relevance, to deliverables, production complexity, platform, usage, and more - many factors sway pricing. biz provides a great breakdown of what these costs could look like - and raises the big question - But is there a way to MAKE the investment in celebrity ads worth it?

Are all celebrities equal? How do you choose the right kind of celebrity? We've seen celebrities from various tracks in gaming ads - from Movie stars ( Chris Pratt for Monopoly Go) and TV celebrities ( Gordon Ramsay for Hay Day ) to Sports stars ( Erling Haaland for Clash of Clans ), and music artists.

  Naturally, bigger movie stars come with a heftier fee.   Data suggests otherwise. Appsflyer's State of Creative Optimisation Report reveals that while 80-90% of the industry’s spend on ‘celebrity ads’ goes towards Movie Stars , they're outperformed by TV Celebrities and Social Media Influencers on Installs Per Mille (IPM) and Retention Measures across nearly all channels .

Music Artists even outperform Movie stars on D7 Retention on Social & Search by over 50%. When selecting celebrities, it’s key to have objectives clearly defined at the outset. Movie Stars could work when you’re aiming for broader appeal & brand awareness and if you can find a seamless fit.

But for better performance outcomes, TV celebrities, Music Artists, and Social Media Influencers often deliver better results. The data also suggests that while Male celebrities draw bigger budgets, Female celebrities deliver slightly higher retention on Social & Search and comparable IPMs. Image Source: Appsflyer, The State of Creative Optimization – 2025 Edition But whether you’re working with Movie, Music, or TV Stars or Social Media Influencers, it is important to learn to look beyond who’s making headlines at any given time.