Most teams still treat rewarded ads like a cheap install machine. They pay for the install, hit an early event, measure fast, and move on. That mindset is now a liability. 

Rewarded ads have grown into something far bigger. And the studios that miss the shift are about to feel it. Therefore, in this recent PocketGamerbiz podcast hosted by Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, Zino Rost van Tonningen sits down with Arseny Lebedev, CEO of Original Games. He broke down the rewarded ads strategy and why some users spend four to five times more than users from other channels. He also explains how you can actually find them in your data. 

If you want to hear the full conversation, find the complete podcast here.

How Does the Modern Rewarded System Work?

The rewarded ads strategy started simple. You bought installs and your app climbed the charts. This was considered a win. Even some studios paid players to leave five-star reviews, so weaker ratings get buried. Then it became event-driven and now, it runs on data.

Zino explained the shift simply:

“What we really see at the moment is that rewarded is really evolving with data as the main factor that creates the funnel, involves the funnel and actually activates the user to actually get things done.”

So the question is no longer how many installs you can buy. It is how you engage a user at the right moment, segment that user, and activate them. The offerwall is only the start. Everything around the offerwall does the real work.

Here is the part that should get your attention. The studios stuck in the old playbook are running out of road. Zino put it bluntly:

“It’s going to be a brutal year for rewarded for the partners that don’t do this; they’re going to have a very difficult time to survive.”

You can see the proof in the market. Bigger platforms are buying smaller ones. Two years ago, every industry event was packed with new rewarded vendors. Now there is a correction, and the companies with the most data and the cleanest structure are the ones left standing.

Why does data structure matter so much? Because of AI. If your data is not organized so that a model can learn from it, you fall behind quickly. As Zino said, 

“Data is everything. The structure of the data is also just as important.”

The takeaway here is direct. Treat rewarded UA as a real growth channel built on clean, well-structured data. That is the price of entry now.

Why Do Rewarded Users Spend 4x More?

Now to the number everyone wants explained. Rewarded users generate around four to five times higher ARPDAU than users from traditional acquisition channels.

First, look at how users behave in the first week. Arseny Lebedev shared real figures from his studio. Normal in app purchases conversion in the first seven days sits around five percent. And with rewarded users, it can even jump to 10%. That is double to four times the engagement.

The main reason for that is motivation. These players arrive with a goal already in their heads. They want to hit a milestone, so they spend early to get there. Arseny described the mindset like this:

“Some people just get in there and it’s like just the concept of if you can do this within this many sessions or this many days, you know, they’re just all in. It’s like, yeah, I accept the challenge. I’m all in.”

Those are the players you want. A new user opens your game, sees a clear target, and drops $5 on a welcome offer. Then, they race ahead. This early aggression helps with the higher ARPD. 

But there is a catch. ARPD only matters if retention holds. A big spend in the first week means little if everyone vanishes by day 30. 

Therefore, treat the 4x as real but conditional. The spend only pays off when the right users stick around.

What are the Four Rewarded User Personas?

Here is what Zino’s view of the platform becomes the practical part. Not every rewarded user is the same. It is a really big mistake to treat them as one audience because it can affect your long-term results. 

Zino sees four rewarded user personas. He also emphasises that the mix between them decides if a campaign wins. Here are those four personas:

• The Rewards Hunter

The rewards hunter chases the best deal, full stop. Picture a coupon shopper who scans every store for the biggest discount. Zino described it as:

“This user will shop for the best deals out there and will find the one that makes him the most amount of money in the shortest amount of time and we’ll go to the next offer.” 

In short, reward hunters are aggressive and fast. The only problem is if they are all you have.

• The Casual Player

This user sees an ad and thinks they will play a few games and earn a little extra. Then something different happens. They actually enjoy the game. As Zino explained:

“This player will start playing it and actually enjoys it and you know they might not get the big reward that is coming there at the end but they’ll still play it and keep playing it for years to come.”

This persona helps with your long-term results. They stay because they like the game or the community.

• The Gambler

This persona keeps growing. A gambler usually goes after a big payout. They are valuable in the right amount. But too many gamblers, and the rewards model stops being profitable for the partner to pay out.

• The New or Unfamiliar User

These players do not yet know how rewards work. Zino notes that:

“They are trying out some games that might drop off early.”

However, some of these users do convert into one of the other three personas. Many do not. That is normal, just early stage behavior.

How Do You Balance User Segments for Profits?

The balance matters because each persona pulls your numbers in a different direction. Zino was clear about the danger of a single dominant segment:

“If you only have one type of user that is like only going for the rewards, only going for getting those rewards as quickly as possible and nothing else of substance, right? It’s not really going to result in good performance over the long term.” 

Here’s a quick explanation:

• Too many reward hunters can make your early numbers look strong while the trail collapses.
• Too many gamblers can make the payout economics break.
• Too many casual players can make your early cohort look soft.

The goal is balance. Zino calls it equilibrium. For example, a little of everything, but without a single user segment that swamps the rest. That small slice of loyal users is where the long-term curve lives.

You should take these steps:

• Watch for too much indexing. One persona that dominates a cohort is an early warning not a win.
• Protect the loyal tail. The small group that stays past 30 days is your profit engine.
• Judge early and late together. Strong numbers from the first day mean little without a retention story behind them.

How Do You Identify High-Value Rewarded Users Early?

You can identify high-value rewarded users early if you want the behavior not just installs. These users show clear signals fast. 

Here are some signs you can identify rewarded users:

• If rewarded cohorts hit roughly double your baseline, you have found motivated buyers.
• Early, aggressive spending signals a player who is all in.
• Check that one persona is not flooding the cohort. Too many hunters early often means a weak tail.
• The small group that stays past 30 days carries your profit.

There is also a strategy trap you should know. For instance, some teams see the 4x and try to rebuild their whole ROAS model around a short window. But that is a mistake.

For example, if players are mostly gone by day 60, forcing a 60-day payback target will cause your scale to drop.

Discovery and Community: The Hidden Value

Rewards are not only about mobile game monetization. Two other forces make it stick.

App store search is rough right now. Open the iOS store and you see the same handful of games on repeat. A rewarded platform becomes a place where players actually find games worth playing. That solves a problem the storefronts have stopped solving.

Secondly, there is community. Casual and social players want a home, not just a reward. Zino talks to his own users, and sometimes it is simply someone who wants a chat and a small break in their day. These players talk about the rewards. And that community makes a community. As Zino put it:

“It’s like I’m playing this game today. Oh, you’re playing that game today. Right? And that’s really where you see a lot of that engagement also coming in for a longer period of time.”

Then, there is even a VIP effect, like a physical casino. That means spend more, get treated better. That recognition pulls casual players toward deeper engagement over time.

That is why rewarded is more than just app monetization. It is how players find your game, why they stay, and how a curious casual person turns into a loyal user.

What to Do Next

The 4x spend is real, but only if you build for it. The core lesson from Zino is simple: rewarded is now a data-driven channel where the persona mix decides your outcome, not the install count.

Here’s how you can do rewarded ad optimization:

• Structure your data first.
• Chase the right balance not raw volume
• Read early signals
• Match your payback window to your game

You should not judge a rewarded ads strategy on early numbers alone. This is a common mistake. Instead, look at the balance and the mix together. When you do this, you start to see the users who spend 4x more, and then focus on retaining them. 

Furthermore, if you need any assistance, then get in touch with us. TyrAds’s team is always here to help you get the most out of your rewarded ads strategy and boost your ad revenue!