Social & Content Marketing
I expanded our owned media footprint when most gaming companies simply weren't using social and content marketing to promote games.
CASE_STUDY: 005Kill3rComboGrowth
Where Marketing Meets Data
I shifted from product coordination into marketing at Kill3rCombo (KOG Games) to scale Elsword past CPM limits: pioneering owned media, expanding paid channels, building a unified analytics platform, and tailoring monetization until the studio reached profitability.
USER ACQUISITION
60%+
Month-over-month growth after marketing pivot
The Challenge
Growth Without Profitability
Elsword Online had a strong, growing player base and a passionate community. The launch had worked. The business had not caught up yet.
We were heavily reliant on CPM game networks for user acquisition, and it was not enough to scale. We were not driving enough revenue to sustain a startup in a highly competitive free-to-play market.
I shifted into marketing to help solve that problem and push the company toward profitability. That pivot is where my love for marketing and data started: the perfect combination for a career I have been building for more than 15 years.
Phase 01
Pioneering Owned Media
Gaming companies were not using social media to promote games the way we needed to. Promotion still lived on blogs and community forums. Twitch was early and mostly community driven. We moved into those channels while most competitors ignored them entirely.
Forums, Blogs & Early Twitch
I showed up where anime MMO players already gathered — forums, blogs, and early Twitch — before most publishers treated those spaces as real promotion channels.
Phase 02
Scaling Acquisition Channels
Owned media gave us momentum. Next we expanded paid channels for scale while lifecycle retention programs kept players active between acquisition pushes.
Paid Search
I expanded our paid media mix into search so we could capture players actively looking for anime MMOs, guides, and community content around Elsword.
Paid Social
When Facebook launched their ad network, I added paid social to our stack and built campaigns that complemented the anime positioning we had already established.
Phase 03
Data, LTV & US Monetization
Marketing without quality data only optimizes for cheap traffic. I partnered across marketing and development to connect acquisition, retention, and revenue in one system.
Unified Gaming Analytics
I designed a unified gaming analytics platform so we could optimize paid spend by channel, LTV, and churn reduction. The marketing team had only been able to see CAC per channel, not the quality of the traffic behind it.
US-Tailored Virtual Items
I worked with developers to create virtual items that fit the US audience versus the South Korean catalog. The game felt more personal to NA players and pushed revenue well past our monthly goals.
The Results
Growth That Reached Profitability
Owned media, expanded paid channels, analytics, and US-tailored monetization pushed ARPPU past $30 and the business toward profitability in a crowded F2P market.
USER ACQUISITION60%+
ARPU120%+
FREE-TO-PAID30%
Need growth that pays for itself?
I build the marketing and analytics systems that connect acquisition, retention, and revenue for live-service products.
Engagement Series
Kill3rCombo (KOG Games)
Live-service growth across player acquisition, paid conversion, ARPU, and CAC efficiency.
