A Case Discussed Live at SiGMA Central Europe 2025
When PIN-UP Global approached us with a challenge highlighted by Leonid Punin on the SiGMA Central Europe 2025 stage, the situation was clear: a significant share of their user base had gone silent, – a common problem for the gaming industry.
As an international company operating across multiple regions, PIN-UP has a sophisticated product ecosystem, but even the strongest brands face the same issue sooner or later. A significant share of users who had once been active simply stopped playing.
And this time, instead of asking, “How do we acquire more users?” the team asked a different question: “What if we re-engage the ones who already know us?”
That shift in perspective became the starting point of our collaboration.
The Challenge: Turning Silence into Engagement
Across one of the CIS markets, PIN-UP detected a clear pattern: a large pool of users who hadn’t interacted with the platform for about 30 days. They weren’t new, they weren’t cold. They simply paused, and stayed on pause.
Before investing in new traffic, PIN-UP wanted to test whether reactivation could deliver a better ROI.
Our mission was to validate that hypothesis through a focused test and, most importantly, craft a creative approach that could genuinely spark return behavior.
The Strategy: Retargeting Over New Acquisition
We decided to run a controlled experiment in a single CIS region, with a straightforward KPI: Cost per Reactivation (CPR).
The idea was simple: Reactivation should be cheaper than acquisition. To make that true, the creative had to do more than remind, it had to reconnect users with the experience they once enjoyed.
Our framework relied on three pillars:
- Precise segment: Users inactive for ~30 days
- Clear KPI: Cost per Reactivation (CPR)
- Creative tailored to memory triggers: Visual triggers tied to familiar game mechanics
The Creative Concept: When a Banner Feels Like a Game
To re-engage an audience that has drifted away, we needed something instantly recognizable, emotionally familiar, and rooted in why users joined the platform in the first place.
Specifically for this segment our team developed an animated GIF banner built around three spinning retro-slot reels. It became the central asset of the reactivation flow.
What Made This Creative Stand Out
- Real slot dynamics, not UI effects
Instead of simple blinking elements, the banner featured three fully animated retro-slot reels. The movement immediately evoked game mechanics the audience already knew. - Bright, playful visual style
Fruit icons, bold colors and dynamic movement created a sense of energy — making the banner feel alive and hard to overlook. - A fresh format for the industry
This was our first time deploying such a creative format, and for the iGaming market, it stood out as genuinely fresh. - Emotional engagement
The spinning reels created momentum; the CTA sealed it with a subtle nudge. - Contextual messaging
The text didn’t pressure the user. It simply reminded them, gently and naturally, that they hadn’t played in a while. Static adaptations were also deployed for formats where animation wasn’t supported, ensuring consistency across the media mix.
The Results: A CPR That Speaks for Itself
The hypothesis proved true, and convincingly so.
CPR: $0.8 per reactivated user.
For PIN-UP, reactivating dormant users in the CIS region turned out to be several times more cost-efficient than acquiring new ones.
Even users inactive for weeks returned as soon as they saw the creative.
Smart retargeting + strong creative = efficient revenue recovery.
What We Learned
Three insights stood out throughout this project:
- Reactivation beats acquisition. Especially when your audience is large and your product is established.
- Creative relevance drives outcomes. The closer the visual is to the original experience, the stronger the return intent.
- Innovation pays off. Even simple mechanics, when executed with care, outperform standard formats.
Final Thoughts
We’re proud of the results achieved together with PIN-UP Global. This case demonstrates how retargeting campaigns can unlock measurable value within existing audiences, and how creative strategy can amplify that effect.At mr.Booster, we build systems that reconnect users with the experiences they already love.
If you’re looking to boost retention or reactivation for your product, reach out – we’re ready to help.
