Farming genre. Top 7 approaches for creatives.
24.09.21
Want to make a pack of creatives for a farming product, but don't know where to start? We've taken care of everything for you - from conducting analytics to making conclusions based on our findings.
The aim of our research is to find both general patterns that make creatives successful and small clues that increase performance. In this article, we'll tell you in detail how to get started with analytics and how to plan your next moves.
For our review, we used the service Apptica and collected creatives from popular applications in the farming genre.
The aim of our research is to find both general patterns that make creatives successful and small clues that increase performance. In this article, we'll tell you in detail how to get started with analytics and how to plan your next moves.
For our review, we used the service Apptica and collected creatives from popular applications in the farming genre.
Below are the mechanics that work and an example creative for each. Why do we believe these approaches work? Because, the numbers say so - meaning the amount of budget that was poured into these videos.
1. Helping animals.
The majority of the farming audience is women. If this is true for your product, use a variation of this mechanic with your next package of creatives.
This video is enhanced with beautiful fantasy elements - sparkling crystals and gold. In general, the work looks like a fabulous adventure with a full-fledged plot, including an opening, a climax, and an ending with a reward for a job well done - a happy end.
Thanks to the atmosphere and flow of the plot, you'll want to watch the video to the end. The presence of UI elements provokes the viewer to try to complete the task themselves.
Thanks to the atmosphere and flow of the plot, you'll want to watch the video to the end. The presence of UI elements provokes the viewer to try to complete the task themselves.
Family Farm Adventure 2
2. Harvesting
This mechanic is best combined with others to achieve high performance. However, we found several successful videos in which it appears as the only one - this option can also be tested.
In this short video we'll take a look at the atmosphere of the game and its main elements.
The video works due to the dynamics and authenticity of the gameplay without unnecessary flair. A cool feature that attracts attention is the crowing of a rooster in the first few seconds.
The user believes that they've gotten acquainted with the game in just 15 seconds. They recognize the main characters and are filled with sympathy for them - an excellent emotional push towards encouraging downloads.
The video works due to the dynamics and authenticity of the gameplay without unnecessary flair. A cool feature that attracts attention is the crowing of a rooster in the first few seconds.
The user believes that they've gotten acquainted with the game in just 15 seconds. They recognize the main characters and are filled with sympathy for them - an excellent emotional push towards encouraging downloads.
FarmVille 2: Country Escape
In this work, we have an even more streamlined plot - nothing but a joyful harvest. Sometimes just one positive emotion is enough to provide excellent performance.
This approach will hook an audience that does not want to spend a lot of time solving complex problems.
This approach will hook an audience that does not want to spend a lot of time solving complex problems.
Farm Town: Happy farming Day & food farm game City
3. The guy helps the girl
This can otherwise be known as "the Prince and Cinderella," "the damsel in distress," and so on. All these variations are very familiar to the target audience. Combine this idea with other plots and mechanics for even better performance.
In this case, we have "helping" combined with "harvesting" - two popular mechanics in one work.
There are a couple of interesting details in this creative.
First, a rather clumsy harvesting animation. The girl touches the tree and the fruit just disappears. Perhaps it is this kind of awkwardness that catches users' attention. Take note.
The second thing that seemed interesting to us was the "springy" animation which is shown through how trees appear and also in how the building is upgraded at the end of the video.
Combining a romantic plot with technical elements gets us excellent performance!
There are a couple of interesting details in this creative.
First, a rather clumsy harvesting animation. The girl touches the tree and the fruit just disappears. Perhaps it is this kind of awkwardness that catches users' attention. Take note.
The second thing that seemed interesting to us was the "springy" animation which is shown through how trees appear and also in how the building is upgraded at the end of the video.
Combining a romantic plot with technical elements gets us excellent performance!
Family Farm Adventure
4. Sequence of tests with a fail at the end
This mechanic works great in most genres, and statistics show that farming is no exception. There are also many variations of this approach.
This "Harvest Land" video introduces the game world in a fun and interactive manner.
Interactivity is achieved by choosing before each task. Elements are shown on the screen and the viewer is drawn into the plot. The "fail" in the last task increases engagement and encourages downloading the application and trying to do the task better.
An interesting clue is here already in the first few seconds. We are shown the contrast between the peaceful life of a farm and the sudden outbreak of fire.
Moving around the map with an overview of the game world looks interesting. After watching the video, it feels like you already know what to expect in the game.
Interactivity is achieved by choosing before each task. Elements are shown on the screen and the viewer is drawn into the plot. The "fail" in the last task increases engagement and encourages downloading the application and trying to do the task better.
An interesting clue is here already in the first few seconds. We are shown the contrast between the peaceful life of a farm and the sudden outbreak of fire.
Moving around the map with an overview of the game world looks interesting. After watching the video, it feels like you already know what to expect in the game.
Harvest Land: Farm & City Building
5. Level-up
This can have different variations: As a show of character growth or as an improvement to buildings or the entire settlement as a whole, to give a couple examples.
The first 7 seconds of the video is a quality cinematic. We're immediately introduced to the plot, and we see that some humorous elements and carefully traced drops of water have been added. Thus, the plot, the quality of the performance, and the positive presentation all work together towards achieving better retention.
Next comes the fast-paced, rewarding gameplay.
The video captivates both due to the technical component and due to the emotional one.
Next comes the fast-paced, rewarding gameplay.
The video captivates both due to the technical component and due to the emotional one.
6. Upgrade your raft
This is a "fake-ads" mechanic. This approach is suitable if the product already has a core audience and you are looking for new and original mechanics to attract users. Use this with caution for new products to avoid getting low store ratings and irrelevant audiences.
The raft upgrade idea isn't new - why does it still work well?
First of all, such videos indicate the problem of the character right from the first few seconds. They also usually have a quick upgrade that's fun to watch.
This work is perfectly traced in terms of detail and the amount of images.
All told, we get an interesting video that you want to watch to the end.
First of all, such videos indicate the problem of the character right from the first few seconds. They also usually have a quick upgrade that's fun to watch.
This work is perfectly traced in terms of detail and the amount of images.
All told, we get an interesting video that you want to watch to the end.
Family Island™ - Farm game adventure 2
Another plot with the raft upgrade mechanics.
The cinematic intro turns the creative into a mini-movie, but the UI elements remind you that this is a video about a game. Moreover, these elements are the same when traveling on water, and together with the carefully laid-out farm, it's possible to believe in the realism of the gameplay.
Plus, there is great detail and funny anime-style voice acting.
The cinematic intro turns the creative into a mini-movie, but the UI elements remind you that this is a video about a game. Moreover, these elements are the same when traveling on water, and together with the carefully laid-out farm, it's possible to believe in the realism of the gameplay.
Plus, there is great detail and funny anime-style voice acting.
Dragonscapes Adventure
7. Reference to the plots of fairy tales
In general, a reference to well-known stories is a successful move. However, if we're talking about farming, then the best solution here would be to refer specifically to fairy tales - this is organic for the genre and is relevant to the audience.
The video has a simple message - raise an animal. It features level-up mechanics, but in the style of a fairy tale.
The plot is perfect for the target audience. The visual series refers to familiar plots, and even a child can solve the puzzle.
In the end, we get engaging interactive elements of choice, rapid character development, and a sense of success.
The plot is perfect for the target audience. The visual series refers to familiar plots, and even a child can solve the puzzle.
In the end, we get engaging interactive elements of choice, rapid character development, and a sense of success.
FarmVille 2: Country Escape
Conclusions
Let's recap.
We described 7 approaches that are found among market leaders:
1. Helping animals.
2. Harvesting.
3. The guy helps the girl.
4. Sequence of tests with a fail at the end.
5. Level-up.
6. Upgrade your raft.
7. Reference to the plots of fairy tales.
In addition, we found interesting technical aspects that increase engagement:
1. Using cinematics without UI elements at the beginning of the video.
2. High-quality details. For farming, immersion in a fairytale atmosphere is important, and the aesthetic component plays a big role here.
3. Cohesion of animation elements. Such things are most often catchy on a subconscious level and, again, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In our selection, this is an example with "springy" animation of the appearance of trees. Then, with the same animation, a building is upgraded. Another example of such logic can be a single animation of similar objects when the character interacts with them.
4. Unexpected contrasting transitions. This mainly concerns the visual range - the transition from a calm scene to a scene in which trouble has occurred. However, sometimes these can also be sudden sounds, such as the cry of an animal or a child. It should be remembered that sound effects should always be perceived as an additional creative aspect, and not the main one, since many people watch ads without sound.
5. Clumsy animation. We found this in one piece from Family Farm Adventure. It should be noted that, according to analytics, a huge budget was poured into this creative, and the game itself has been installed over the past month over a million times - which means you should study it in detail. It's this component that can be the key to success, so it's necessary to test.
6. Quickly acquainting the viewer with the game world. This technique is good for feeling familiarity - the user is more willing to download the application if they already know the game world, its main features, and its difficulties.
As we said at the beginning, this is only the first step of analytics. In addition to studying the market, we look at what creatives the client made and we study previous packs. The result of all this work is a storyboard with ready-made solutions - 10 videos with written hypotheses, plots, and hooks.
Want to get analytics for your product? Contact us!
We described 7 approaches that are found among market leaders:
1. Helping animals.
2. Harvesting.
3. The guy helps the girl.
4. Sequence of tests with a fail at the end.
5. Level-up.
6. Upgrade your raft.
7. Reference to the plots of fairy tales.
In addition, we found interesting technical aspects that increase engagement:
1. Using cinematics without UI elements at the beginning of the video.
2. High-quality details. For farming, immersion in a fairytale atmosphere is important, and the aesthetic component plays a big role here.
3. Cohesion of animation elements. Such things are most often catchy on a subconscious level and, again, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. In our selection, this is an example with "springy" animation of the appearance of trees. Then, with the same animation, a building is upgraded. Another example of such logic can be a single animation of similar objects when the character interacts with them.
4. Unexpected contrasting transitions. This mainly concerns the visual range - the transition from a calm scene to a scene in which trouble has occurred. However, sometimes these can also be sudden sounds, such as the cry of an animal or a child. It should be remembered that sound effects should always be perceived as an additional creative aspect, and not the main one, since many people watch ads without sound.
5. Clumsy animation. We found this in one piece from Family Farm Adventure. It should be noted that, according to analytics, a huge budget was poured into this creative, and the game itself has been installed over the past month over a million times - which means you should study it in detail. It's this component that can be the key to success, so it's necessary to test.
6. Quickly acquainting the viewer with the game world. This technique is good for feeling familiarity - the user is more willing to download the application if they already know the game world, its main features, and its difficulties.
As we said at the beginning, this is only the first step of analytics. In addition to studying the market, we look at what creatives the client made and we study previous packs. The result of all this work is a storyboard with ready-made solutions - 10 videos with written hypotheses, plots, and hooks.
Want to get analytics for your product? Contact us!
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