Changes in the In-App market have pushed teams to look more actively for additional traffic sources. When one DSP stops delivering the same volume, some GEOs become unavailable, and launch conditions change, relying on a single source becomes too risky.

Against this backdrop, Unity Ads has become one of the main options for teams that need to keep volume, continue working with different GEOs, and avoid building the entire launch around one source.

In this case study, we look at an experienced In-App team that came to test Unity with a solid base already in place: its own apps, proven offers, creatives, and a clear understanding of campaign economics.
Instead of going through a long CPI stage, we recommended launching ROAS campaigns from the start. The first 8 days were set aside for a $2,000 test, after which the team continued scaling.

Over the next month and a half, ad spend grew to $73,818.29, while the final ROI across the account reached 27%.

In this case study, we will cover:
— how the first $2,000 test went;
— why the campaigns were launched through ROAS from the start, not CPI;
— how the team scaled GEOs, apps, and budgets;
— which apps worked and which ones failed the test;
— what limitations the team faced during the launch;
— what limits are currently active in Unity;
— and what results the team achieved during this period.

Case overview

Source: Unity Ads
OS: Android and iOS
Vertical: iGaming
GEOs: France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany
Successful GEOs: France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, and Germany
Apps: 12
Successful apps: 8 apps — 6 Android and 2 iOS
Optimization: D7 ROAS from the start
Test budget: $2,000
First test period: 8 days
Further scaling period: around 1.5 months
Ad spend after the test stage: $73,818.29
ROI: 27%

Why the team chose Unity Ads

In mid-May, the team started testing Unity ads as an additional In-App source. At that time, most of the volume was still coming through Moloco, so Unity was not yet being developed at full scale. Some tests were not fully smooth, and the team’s main focus remained on another DSP.

At the same time, the Unity launch was not paused. The team continued testing, collected the first data, and gradually figured out the logic of the source.

After changes in Moloco availability, the team shifted its main focus to Unity Ads. By that point, the source had already been connected and partially tested, so the team could move to scaling faster.

The choice among In-App platforms is limited. Unity became one of the most logical options: the source allows teams to work with different GEOs, launch campaigns on Android and iOS, and use deeper optimization instead of relying only on installs.
The goal was not to learn media buying from scratch. The team already understood In-App and worked with apps. The task was to quickly adapt existing processes to a new account and understand how much volume Unity could deliver over time.

Where the launch started

For the first stage, the team allocated $2,000 and 8 days of testing.

Before the launch, we held a joint call and went through:
— the structure of the Unity account;
— integration with AppsFlyer and other MMPs;
— campaign types;
— basic launch settings;
— effective and ineffective targets;
— technical and analytical specifics of the source.

This helped the team get into the account faster and avoid spending the test budget on basic setup mistakes.

Why the team launched ROAS campaigns in Unity Ads instead of CPI

A CPI campaign looks for users who are more likely to install the app. But a cheap install does not automatically mean a deposit, repeat payment, or high LTV.

For iGaming, this is especially important. A team can get many low-cost installs, but if users do not reach the deposit stage, the campaign economics still will not work.

ROAS optimization goes deeper. The algorithm focuses not just on the install, but on the user’s value after installation.
For example, one user deposits $20, while another deposits $50. For the system, the second user is more valuable, so it will try to find a similar audience in the future.

Following our recommendation, the team launched ROAS campaigns from the start because this approach matched the goal better: not just to get installs, but to find paying users and reach working campaign economics faster.

What to keep in mind when launching ROAS in Unity

ROAS is available from the start
A preliminary CPI warm-up is no longer required. The main condition is a correctly configured MMP integration and proper event transmission.
If events are passed correctly, the team can launch with deeper optimization right away and avoid spending a separate stage on CPI.

You can pass a fixed value
When working with rental apps, it is not always possible to pass the exact value of each deposit.

In this case, it is acceptable to send a fixed value — for example, $10 for each deposit. The algorithm will not be able to distinguish users by payment size, but it will still optimize toward the target action.
In practice, this becomes event optimization, which is often more useful for an affiliate team than classic CPI.

You need to choose the optimization window: D7 or D28
When launching ROAS campaigns, it is important to choose the optimization window.
D7 passes the learning phase faster and is usually more suitable for affiliate teams that need to get data quickly, evaluate funnels, and scale ad spend.
D28 allows the system to account for a longer user lifecycle and focus on higher LTV. This option is more often used by product teams.
In this launch, the team used D7 ROAS.

ROAS Goal should be lowered gradually
At the start, we recommend setting the goal at 40–60%.
If a campaign is not spending its daily budget well, there is no need to change the entire structure sharply. It is better to lower the target gradually:
40–60% → 30% → 20% → 15%
The lower the target ROAS, the wider the audience the algorithm can search for, and the easier it is for the campaign to increase spend.

Kostya, Support Manager at Profit Rental:
“Over the past few months, ROAS has become the main optimization type for most teams working with Unity. In practice, it usually gives the best balance between traffic quality, learning speed, and the ability to scale spend. That is why we now recommend starting with ROAS if the integration and event transmission are configured correctly.”

How the first $2,000 test went

At the start, the team used proven offers and creatives that had already shown results in other In-App launches.
The total budget for the first stage was around $2,000 over 8 days.

All campaigns were launched immediately with ROAS In-App Optimization on broad settings. The starting D7 ROAS Goal was set at 40–60%.

For the first two days, the daily budget was kept at $100 per campaign. This was a careful start: the team first needed to make sure that the app was connected correctly, events were being passed, and campaigns were steadily entering delivery.

After the first deposit and integration check, the budget was increased to $200–250 per day per campaign.

For the test stage, this turned out to be a good middle ground: there was already enough volume for learning and performance evaluation, but the team did not force scaling before confirming traffic quality.

What creatives were used in Unity Ads

The test used two main creative formats: video + end card and playable.

Video + end card
In videos, the team tested game mechanics familiar to the audience:
— crash mechanics: chicken and tower;
— classic slots.

The main approaches were gamification and UGC. The creatives showed the game mechanics, round dynamics, and user emotion, while the end card strengthened the offer and led the user to the target action.
This format works well for In-App traffic: the user quickly understands the mechanics, sees the emotion, and gets a clear call to action at the end.

Playable
For playable creatives, the team used chicken and Zeus mechanics. The format was built as a short game demo where the user could try the core mechanic before installing the app.
The scenario included:
— spins or a game round;
— balance top-up;
— loss animation;
— a bonus for new players;
— a clear call to action.

Playable creatives are especially important for iGaming because they give the user quick contact with the product mechanics and can warm up the audience better before the install.

How the team scaled the launch

After the first eight days, the test showed that Unity Ads could be developed further.

The team started adding new apps, GEOs, and campaigns. In total, 12 apps were tested during the period.

The results were distributed as follows:
— 8 apps worked and continued running;
— 6 of them were Android and 2 were iOS;
— 2 apps were blocked after four days and one week;
— another 2 apps did not show the required dynamics from the start;
— among the tested GEOs, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, and Germany worked;
— Denmark and Sweden did not reach the required performance, so further delivery there was stopped.

This is a normal picture for In-App scaling. Not every app passes the test, not every GEO reaches working economics, and not every funnel becomes stable.

That is why it is important to evaluate not one launch, but the full pool of apps, campaigns, and directions.
France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, and Germany remained in active work.

As the team collected more statistics, they:
— gradually increased daily budgets;
— lowered D7 ROAS Goal for campaigns that lacked volume;
— redistributed budget between GEOs;
— turned off weak apps and campaigns;
— continued scaling funnels that kept stable economics.

Over the next month and a half, ad spend grew to $73,818.29, while the final ROI stayed at 27%.

What difficulties the team faced

The case was successful, but the launch was not completely smooth. The team had to work through integration issues, reporting delays, and analytics specifics inside Unity.

Unity Ads integration with AppsFlyer and MMP
The first difficulties appeared at the integration stage.
Unity showed yellow and red statuses in the MMP settings. Since the logic of connecting apps differs from other sources, the team had to separately check the AppsFlyer configuration, integration correctness, and event transmission.
Together with the team, we reviewed the statuses in the account, adjusted the settings, and brought the integration to a working state.

Event display delay
The second issue appeared after the launch — a delay in event display.
The first deposit came on the second day and immediately appeared in Keitaro and AppsFlyer, but it was displayed later inside the Unity account. Postbacks in the source can arrive with a delay of up to two days, so real-time analysis was built through external tools.

The team analyzed data as follows:
— campaigns and offers were evaluated through Keitaro;
— events, creatives, and user quality were checked through AppsFlyer and Keitaro;
— Unity was used to manage campaigns, budgets, and optimization.

This allowed the team to make decisions based on up-to-date data without waiting for the statistics inside the account to refresh.

New Unity limits on creative uploads
It is also important to consider a new Unity restriction that appeared after the launch described in this case study.

Current accounts now have limits on creative uploads:
— Playable — up to 15 uploads per month;
— Video — up to 10 uploads per day.

These restrictions were not in place during the case period. Now they should be taken into account when planning launches and campaign scaling.

The limit is especially important for teams that actively test playable creatives, frequently update creatives, and work with several apps and GEOs in parallel.

What about gambling creatives in Unity

Through the Unity accounts we provide, teams can launch iGaming offers.

Under the current conditions, gambling creatives with words, winning amounts, and money-based mechanics can pass moderation. Of course, each creative is still reviewed, and the result depends on the specific GEO, app, and presentation.
That is why before launch, we recommend showing creatives to the support team in advance.

This helps understand which approaches can be used and which elements should be adapted before uploading.

Case results

During the launch, the team achieved:
— $73,818.29 in ad spend after the test stage;
— 27% ROI;
— 12 tested apps;
— 8 working apps: 6 Android and 2 iOS;
— campaigns in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Malaysia, and Germany;
— an additional source of In-App volume;
— the ability to scale campaigns through ROAS from the start;
— experience working with Android and iOS inside one source;
— an Android blacklist of 37 publishers.

After the test stage, the team moved to systematic work with publishers.
Every 3–5 days, traffic was analyzed separately for Android and iOS, because Unity uses different publisher IDs for each OS.

At the start, there was not enough data for separate apps and GEOs, so the blacklist was built at the operating system level: separately for Android and separately for iOS, combining data from all launched GEOs.

A more precise approach is to build a blacklist for each specific GEO, but this requires a much larger traffic volume for every direction.

By the time the results were recorded, the team had collected an Android blacklist of 37 publishers. They continue expanding it as spend grows and new statistics are collected, gradually excluding placements that do not provide the required traffic quality.

As a result, Unity delivered volume, allowed the team to scale working funnels, and helped keep ROI a

Ad Spend on the Promoted Apps

Ad Spend on Apps Where the Ads Were Shown

Number of Blacklisted Apps

Launching Unity Ads through Profit Rental

Profit Rental has been working with Unity Ads for a long time and supports teams at every stage of the launch.

First of all, we help with initial tests and scaling:
— we explain campaign structure and starting settings;
— we help choose the right optimization type;
— we advise on budgets and ROAS Goal;
— we analyze the first results;
— we help connect new apps, GEOs, and campaigns.

We also support the technical side: app connection, MMP setup, event checks, and integration status review.

Through our accounts, teams can work with iGaming offers and launch gambling creatives within the available conditions.
After changes in the In-App market, Unity has become one of the most in-demand sources for teams looking for additional volume, new GEOs, and an opportunity to scale without depending on a single DSP.

To check account availability and connection terms, contact us in the Profit Rental bot.

Conclusion

In this case, Unity Ads worked as a full-fledged In-App source for scaling iGaming campaigns.

The team started with a $2,000 test budget, launched D7 ROAS from the start, checked integration, first deposits, and traffic quality, then gradually increased budgets, connected new apps, and scaled working GEOs.
Over a month and a half after the test stage, ad spend grew to $73,818.29, while the final ROI stayed at 27%.

The key factors behind the result were:
— launching through ROAS instead of CPI;
— working with already proven offers and creatives;
— gradually increasing daily budgets;
— scaling through new apps and GEOs;
— analyzing data through AppsFlyer and Keitaro;
— working with publisher IDs and blacklist;
— support during integration and campaign setup.

Unity Ads is a working In-App source for teams that want to launch and scale traffic in iGaming. And if you do not have experience with Unity yet, Profit Rental will help you move through the launch faster: we will provide the right account, help with integration, settings, the first test, and further scaling.