How We Doubled Twitch Conversions with an Interactive In-Stream Ad Format

02/07/2025

4 min. read

Twitch is one of the most immersive platforms in digital — but immersion doesn’t guarantee performance. Over the past two years, we saw a sharp drop in ROI from traditional ad placements. Static banners were being ignored. Tracking was weak. Fraud became harder to control.

At mr.Booster, we don’t write off channels — we rebuild them. This is the story of how we turned Twitch back into a performance engine. One format. One simple shift. 2x in deposit conversions.

The Problem: Twitch Performance Was Declining

Twitch has always been a high-attention environment: users watch for 40+ minutes, engage in chat, and form a strong emotional bond with streamers.

That made it an ideal acquisition channel — until it wasn’t.

What went wrong:

Standard banners became invisible.
Streamer shoutouts were low-effort and untrackable.
Conversion paths were long and full of drop-offs.
Fraud and incentivized traffic blurred performance data.

We tested dozens of streams using traditional formats. The results? Just on the edge of break-even. That’s when we asked a better question:

What if the ad didn’t live around the stream — but inside it?

The Solution: Build the Format Into the Experience

Instead of fighting for attention, we built a format that worked with the stream — not against it.

Magic Wheel is an interactive in-player widget that blends into the stream layout and invites viewers to engage at just the right moment. Here’s how it works:

A small, non-intrusive widget appears mid-stream.
The viewer clicks to spin a digital prize wheel.
After the spin, they receive a bonus with a CTA: Claim your reward.
The banner expands natively inside the player — no redirects, no friction.
Streamers announce the wheel’s activation live on stream:
“Guys, Magic Wheel is dropping in 10 minutes — don’t miss it.”

The ad becomes part of the content — not a distraction from it.

To support the core format, we also added:

A clickable corner banner (finally replacing legacy, non-clickable ones).
A branded L-banner for stronger visual impact across the stream layout.

Left: Old setup. Right: New setup.

The Test: 6 Months, 250+ Streams, 1 Goal

We launched an A/B test campaign across the CIS market:

$100,000 budget
250+ Twitch streams
300–500 CCV streamers
Legacy vs. Interactive format

What we did differently:

Created streamer scripts to drive anticipation.
Used countdown timers and chat-based mini-games.
Collected feedback in real time to iterate quickly.

On several streams, chat exploded with users sharing prizes and asking the streamer to “run the wheel again.” The ad had officially become part of the entertainment.

Key Results

+23% in click-to-registration
2x Reg-to-Dep conversion
-50% cost per FTD
+15–20% increase in watch time per user
Positive sentiment across audience feedback

And unlike legacy Twitch ads, every result was trackable — down to the user.

3 Reasons Why It Worked

Gamification. The “spin to win” mechanic is intuitive, fun, and proven to convert.
Contextual integration. The banner wasn’t a pop-up — it was part of the stream narrative.
Seamless flow. No redirects. No confusion. Just spin, win, click, convert.

What’s Next: Native Ads, Everywhere

Magic Wheel was just the beginning. We’re already testing:

Interactive banners inside gameplay (e.g. GTA streams with branded elements in-game).
Real-time stream overlays that adjust based on viewer behavior.
Native quests tied to promotions and streamer challenges.

Our goal is simple: Make performance ads feel like part of the content.

Takeaways for 2025 Twitch Performance

Energy > reach. The streamer’s presence drives results — not just their numbers.
Interactive beats passive. Engagement keeps viewers locked in, even when numbers dip.
Give people a reason to act. Bonuses and incentives bridge the gap between watching and converting.