Mobile gaming is a high-stakes business. While most players might casually log in for a quick round or two, it’s the VIPs, the top spenders and most loyal players, who drive a significant portion of revenue. In fact, in free-to-play games, less than 1% of users can generate over 50% of in-app purchase revenue. These are your high rollers, and keeping them engaged is critical to your game’s financial success.
But every whale has a catch: these users are also the most susceptible to churn if they feel undervalued, overwhelmed, or perhaps worst of all… bored.
If you want to extend their lifetime value (LTV), targeted and thoughtful messaging is your power play.
Why VIP engagement deserves a dedicated strategy
It’s tempting to think of user retention in broad strokes—generic win-back messages, blanket promotions, or daily login rewards. But VIPs don’t want a mass-market experience. They expect tailored treatment, timely nudges, and communication that reflects their unique value to your game.
Without that, even your most profitable players can silently slip away.
Key Pain Points for Gaming Apps:
- High churn: The average Day 30 retention rate for mobile games is under 5%
- Inconsistent monetization: Revenue spikes around events or drops after big spenders churn.
- One-size-fits-all campaigns: These fail to capture the nuances of individual player behavior and lifecycle stages.
The solution? A refined, VIP-focused messaging strategy that acknowledges and adapts to user behaviors in real time.
Understanding your high rollers
First, let’s define the audience. Your VIPs might be:
- Users in the top 1–5% of lifetime spenders
- Players with exceptionally high session counts or session lengths
- Those who consistently engage with limited-time events, guild mechanics, or PvP features
- Players who complete premium battle passes or unlock high-tier cosmetic items
Rather than segmenting by simple demographics, use behavioral signals to identify and rank your top players.
Tools like OneSignal support custom user tags, real-time event tracking, and audience filters that help you group these users with surgical precision.
5 targeted messaging strategies to maximize VIP LTV
1. Deliver real-time recognition moments
The best VIP engagement feels personal and immediate. When a high spender crosses a milestone or completes a tough challenge, send an in-app message or push notification acknowledging the achievement.
Example:
"You've just reached the Diamond League… only 2% of players get this far. We've unlocked a special skin just for you!"
Pair recognition with an exclusive reward, and you’ve doubled your impact. Use push for instant gratification, and reinforce it with a personalized email or IAM the next time they log in.
2. Trigger smart upsell offers based on intent
Rather than blasting all users with your latest in-app purchase bundle, tailor upsell messaging based on:
- Inventory depletion
- Purchase patterns
- Event participation
These upsells tap into key psychological principles: loss aversion, personal relevance, and cognitive ease. When a player is low on resources or mid-event, their motivation to act is already high. Timely, behavior-based offers feel helpful (not salesy), reduce decision fatigue, and increase conversion because they solve a real problem in the moment. Instead of disrupting gameplay, they enhance it and turn a potential churn point into a moment of delight or relief.
Interested in seeing which principles of marketing psychology make your users stick around most? Our Mobile Marketing Psychology Guide explores behavioral perspectives across all mobile channels.
Example Scenario: A VIP user is engaging in a PvP tournament and runs low on stamina. Trigger a push notification offering an exclusive stamina booster pack only for high-tier users—available for the next 60 minutes.
With OneSignal’s Journeys and real-time event tracking, you can create logic-based campaigns that respond dynamically to in-game behaviors.
3. Use omnichannel drip campaigns to deepen loyalty
Don’t rely solely on push. VIP players are often more tech-savvy and selective about what they respond to. Use a mix of push, in-app messages, SMS, and email, especially when guiding users through deeper engagement loops like:
- Seasonal content drops
- Battle pass upgrades
- Limited-time collaborations or character events
Strategy Tip: Sequence your messaging. Start with push to drive urgency, follow with in-app for contextual depth, and reinforce with email if the action hasn’t been completed.
4. Personalize incentives that match player motivation
VIPs aren’t always motivated by discounts alone, especially when they already have high purchasing power and engagement. To truly move the needle, you need to align your incentives with what your VIPs actually care about:
- Exclusivity: Early access to new features, limited-edition characters, or VIP-only events make players feel special and part of an elite group.
- Status: Visible recognition like special badges, leaderboard callouts, or VIP tiers satisfies players' drive for social proof and prestige.
- Convenience: Time-saving perks like auto-play boosts, skip timers, or premium resources cater to players who value efficiency and progress.
Motivational Tip:
Layer your incentives based on a player’s dominant behavior style. For example, a competitive PvP player might value exclusive weapons and leaderboard badges, while a casual spender might prioritize faster progression through convenience features.
Use tools like user tags, custom events, and profile attributes to segment your audience by behavioral patterns (not just spend level), and dynamically trigger incentives that match their motivations.
Example Message:
"As a top 100 guild leader, you’ve earned early access to next season’s Raid Boss. Ready to test your skills before anyone else?"
Test mixing incentive types. For instance, pair exclusivity (“early access”) with a subtle status reward (“exclusive guild badge”) to create layered emotional appeal and stronger long-term loyalty.
5. Win back “quiet whales” with subtle re-engagement loops
The silence of a VIP user is deafening. If a big spender hasn’t opened your app in a few days, initiate a targeted re-engagement journey using subtle and progressively richer incentives.
Example Journey for a Lapsed VIP:
- Day 2: Push notification: “Your kingdom awaits. Your troops are getting restless.”
- Day 4: Email with a recap of recent in-game changes and VIP-exclusive updates.
- Day 6: SMS or IAM offering a special login bonus if they return within 24 hours.
Don’t underestimate the ripple effect of a lapsed VIP. These players often influence leaderboard engagement and even overall spend trends. A well-orchestrated re-engagement journey not only revives individual revenue potential but also restores ecosystem health within your game. The key is timing, tone, and personalization: be subtle, respectful, and valuable at every step to remind them why your game was worth their time… and still is.
Looking for a collection of resources all geared toward user re-engagement? This user re-engagement toolkit includes templates, videos, and articles to help recapture lost attention.
Don’t forget: Test, iterate, optimize
The best-performing campaigns evolve constantly. Use A/B testing to try different messages, reward types, and channels. Measure not just opens and CTRs, but downstream metrics like session time, ARPU, and churn reduction.
OneSignal allows you to test individual message variants, analyze campaign performance, and optimize targeting rules without complex setups.
High rollers deserve a high-touch strategy
OneSignal helps mobile gaming apps turn behavioral insights into meaningful engagement. With powerful segmentation, omnichannel orchestration, in-app messaging, and real-time triggers, you can craft VIP journeys that feel effortless and impactful. Whether you're looking to deepen loyalty, boost revenue, or re-engage your top spenders, we’re here to make high-touch, data-driven messaging easy to launch and scale.
Haven’t had your fill of mobile gaming engagement strategies? Here are a few more resources to dive into next:
- 4 Most Effective Player Retention Hacks for Mobile Games
- 7 Deadly Messaging Sins in Mobile Games (And How to Solve Them)
- Monetization and Loyalty Strategies for Mobile Games
- Game Changers: Your Toolkit to Amplify Player Engagement
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