Nexon Sees Incremental Impact of Moloco Performance CTV, Driving Up to 3x Higher New User Sign-ups
About
Nexon
After seeing initial success with Moloco Performance CTV, Nexon wanted to understand its true incremental impact. The results showed significant incremental lift, supporting that CTV is a performance driver for Nexon. Specifically, based on Nexon’s analysis:
- Up to 3x higher incremental lift in new user sign-ups vs. attribution-based results*
- 1.6x higher incremental lift in returning users vs. attribution-based results
(Campaign period: 2026 January)
*Traditional attribution models assign credit to the last ad channel a user interacted with before conversion, which may not fully capture the true incremental impact of CTV.
Through this CTV incrementality test, we were able to measure the true causal impact of Moloco Performance CTV, which delivered strong performance that met our internal standards. — Seungjae Jin, Data Analyst of the Marketing Science team, Nexon
Moloco’s CTV incrementality test was a turning point that helped us move beyond the perception of CTV as a branding channel and demonstrate its potential as a performance-driven user acquisition channel through measurable incremental impact. — Jihyun Oh, UA Manager of the Advanced UA team, Nexon
Founded in 1994, Nexon is a global gaming company with a strong portfolio of successful IPs across PC and mobile, including MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, FC Online, and Blue Archive. Backed by scalable IP and data-driven live operations, Nexon continues to drive sustainable growth. MapleStory M, the mobile version of the franchise, brings its signature side-scrolling MMORPG experience to the U.S. across both mobile and PC platforms.
Challenges
To sustain the growth of its live-service game, Nexon needed to continuously acquire both new and returning users. As they explored CTV as a new channel beyond mobile UA, their key question was simple: Can CTV truly drive new users?
Answering this was not easy. Nexon’s measurement framework focused strictly on incrementality, only counting outcomes that would not have happened without advertising. In addition, users can be exposed across multiple environments, making it challenging to cleanly separate test and control groups.
On top of that, CTV operates at the household (IP) level, while Nexon measures performance at the individual game account level. This mismatch made it difficult to accurately measure impact. This required a highly rigorous and carefully designed testing approach.
Solution
To address this, Nexon partnered with Moloco to design a rigorous incrementality test tailored to the CTV environment and validate the impact.
1. Measuring Incremental Impact with Ghost Bidding–Based RCT
Moloco’s Data Science team worked closely with Nexon to design a randomized controlled trial (RCT) using a Ghost Bidding framework. While alternative methods exist, RCTs provide a higher level of accuracy and reliability compared to alternative approaches. At the time, for Nexon, Moloco was the only partner capable of supporting this structured test in CTV, making it a key factor in their partner selection.
The audience was split evenly into test and control groups. Moloco’s system participated in auctions for both groups but served ads only to the test group. For the control group, “ghost bids” were submitted without showing ads. This ensured both groups experienced the same auction conditions, while isolating the true impact of ad exposure.
2. End-to-End Collaboration from Test Design to Analysis
Moloco and Nexon worked together to design and maintain a clean and reliable test environment, minimizing potential bias and ensuring the results could be trusted. Nexon focused on minimizing contamination between test and control groups, while closely collaborating with Moloco to ensure the test setup aligned with their measurement approach.
Moloco’s Data Science and Growth teams provided end-to-end support - from initial MMP integration and campaign execution, test design, and data analysis - enabling Nexon to run the test smoothly and confidently evaluate the true incremental impact of CTV.
Results
- Nexon’s test indicated that CTV can drive incremental new users and expand reach beyond mobile UA, validated through the incrementality testing.
- This requires a trusted partner like Moloco that does robust, reliable incrementality testing.
As incrementality becomes increasingly central to sustainable growth, establishing the right testing framework - and working with partners equipped to support it - will be key to unlocking the full potential of CTV advertising. Get in touch to learn how Moloco Performance CTV can drive true incremental impact.
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