This article is all about how to write an app promo video script, which is the first step in creating a winning app promo video for a mobile game.
You might be wondering, why are promotional videos for app stores such a big deal?
Most importantly, it gets you more users organically. Secondly, it introduces players to the game which helps with user retention in the long run.
Ready to learn video scripting?
We have mapped out the whole process, so let’s dive right in!
Examples of Great App Promo Videos
Before you start writing an app promo video script for your game, you first need to understand what makes a good promo video.
The best way to do that is to analyze other mobile game app promo videos.
Here are some good ones – we’ll break down what makes them effective.
Brawl Stars
Brawl Stars is one of the most popular mobile games on the planet right now. With more than 100,000,000 downloads just on Google Play, it’s safe to say Supercell knows what they’re doing.
Here’s a short analysis of Brawl Stars promo video.
The video is 30 seconds long, which is the perfect length for an app promo video. It’s enough to explain everything and give users a taste of the game.
The best thing about this promotional video is that it consists exclusively of gameplay footage. We’re introduced to main game mechanics and play modes.
There are no animated/cinematic scenes that misrepresent the game, only authentic gameplay.
However, in order to make the video more interesting, Supercell used different effects and transitions.
For example, there’s a shaking effect that occurs when shots are fired. The purpose of this is to add that feeling of action during gameplay.
Furthermore, there are sound effects and music, both of which make the video more engaging. However, the video is interesting enough even on mute. That’s important for app promo videos since they auto-play on mute on Apple’s App Store.
Additionally, there are transitions between gameplay footage in the form of short animations. These transitions highlight the main game features, e.g., “Team up with friends”, “Brawl in multiple modes”. It is also a good way of making the video more interesting and dynamic. Otherwise, there would be gameplay scenes one after the other, which could get boring.
There’s no written CTA at the end, just the Brawl Stars logo. However, there is a voiceover that says, “Wanna Brawl?” which serves as a call to action.
Gods of Olympus
Another great app promo video comes from Aegis Interactive, for their strategy game Gods of Olympus.
The video is fairly short (20 seconds), but it manages to portray all of the most exciting game features.
It consists mostly of gameplay footage, which is important. There are many strategy games that have elaborate animated videos that make the game look out of this world. But then you download it and it looks nothing like what was shown in the promotional video.
That inevitably leads to a high churn rate and general dissatisfaction among players.
Gods of Olympus avoids this trap by showcasing authentic gameplay. We can see how the game really looks as well as how it’s played.
The only animated sequence in this video is at the four-second mark. Its purpose is to get players familiar with the main characters (Greek Gods), which is a good idea.
From the video, it is obvious that this game has real-time combat and the ability to fully control the characters. We also get to see that each God has unique combat powers.
Every successful app promo video does a good job of explaining the main game mechanics and how the game works.
At the end of the video, there’s a simple CTA – “Download for free”, that’s also emphasized with a voiceover.
Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion
Our final example of a great app promo video is from Assassin’s Creed: Rebellion.
This video does a great job of balancing out gameplay footage and animated scenes.
It starts off with a cinematic scene of the Spanish Assassin mid-battle, as the camera moves away. This creates tension and excitement. It makes you want to continue watching.
The first couple of seconds of a video are crucial, if you mess it up, most likely you’ve lost a potential player.
Always make a good first impression.
As the video continues, we’re introduced to the main characters, i.e., Assassins, and their unique skills and abilities. For a role-playing game, this is very important because players want to be connected to a character. This sequence also lets players know that they can recruit unique Assassins, which is an important game feature.
Then we see gameplay scenes, mainly of different quests and battles.
To further emphasize game features, there are captions on the top or bottom of the screen – “Develop your brotherhood”, “Infiltrate Templar strongholds”, etc.
The video ends with another cinematic scene where the character jumps off a ledge in slow motion. Once again, it is a great technique for creating suspense and excitement. Plus, it reminders viewers of the iconic ledge-jumping scenes from the original series.
That scene transitions into the outro that consists of an animation of the main characters and an Assassin’s Creed logo.
Competitor Research in Practice
Now that you understand what makes a good app promo video, it’s time to go deeper and analyze your competitors’ videos. This allows you to get insight into genre trends, as well as specific strategies that work for your competitors.
Here’s how that’s done in practice.
Let’s say you have a fighting action mobile game.
The first step is to identify top action games on Google Play and Apple’s App Store and look at their promo videos.
You’ll probably notice some patterns emerging – a certain visual style, specific action game features that are emphasized, etc.
Let’s take a promo video for Shadow Fight 2 as an example. This game has over 100,000,000 installs, which places it among the best action games available.
The promo video for this game is almost one minute long and can be divided into two parts. The first 30 seconds are very cinematic and consist exclusively out of animations. They serve as an intro to the whole story and the main character. The beginning is quite captivating and has the power to pull viewers in, which is good.
The last 30 seconds are all gameplay and include all the main game features – amazing animations, unique fighting styles, tons of gear, powerful magic, etc. We’re also introduced to different characters, i.e., enemies.
Now think about your game’s story. Perhaps you can also start the video in a similar way where you introduce the main character and his/her background.
Another good lesson that can be learned from this video is the use of exciting gameplay footage. While animations can look cool, only real gameplay footage can truly represent a mobile game. That’s why the focus should always be on it.
Overall, the Shadow Fight 2 video is very dynamic, which is suiting for an action game. The reason why this promo video is so effective is that the gameplay footage is exciting and full of adrenaline. We can conclude that promo videos for action games need to be fast-paced and thrilling because that’s the main attraction of that genre.
The only thing this action promo video lacks is a CTA at the end.
This is a missed opportunity, but it’s a great lesson for you. Not only can you see what works, but you can also identify what doesn’t work from your competitors’ videos.
You can notice a similar video style in Shadow of Death: Dark Knight – Stickman Fighting, another successful action fighting game.
In the intro, we’re introduced to the characters and their play styles. After that, we’re shown footage of incredibly exciting gameplay. The fights are adrenaline-pumping and intense, which makes you want to download that game right now.
However, just like with the previous video, a CTA is lacking at the end.
When doing competitor research, also try to identify certain visual trends. For example, both videos are quite dark. That’s suitable because both games have the word “shadow” in the title.
When you do this type of competitor research, you’ll be able to get a better understanding of how your app promo video should look. Not saying you should straight up copy your competitors, but it’s a good way of getting a feel for what works and what doesn’t. It’s a great starting point.
Understand Your Audience
The next step is target audience research. Different mobile games attract different types of players and this should be reflected in the video.
If you already have a substantial number of users, you can use that data to construct accurate player profiles.
Start by identifying the age, gender, location, interests, and behavior of your target audience. Make sure to consider your game’s genre.
For example, if you have a hyper-casual game, understand who casual gamers are. Or if you have an RPG, go deep into the motivations and interests of RPG players.
Additionally, think about how to get the attention of those users. For example, you can look into some persuasion techniques like Cialdini’s Principles.
All of that will help you write a better script and ultimately create an app promo video that gets you more users.
Write a List of Game’s Features
Another step you need to complete before actually writing an app promo video script is listing your game’s features.
This might seem easy, but really take a moment to think about what the best and most unique features of your game are. What is it that would entice gamers to download your game?
Here’s how you would do it in practice.
Identifying the Most Important Features
Let’s say you have an RPG game. In order to come up with a list of game features, you could ask yourself these questions.
What makes the main character interesting and different from others? Does your game have a unique storyline? What are the main game mechanics?
Then you would write down the features.
For example:
- Dozens of unique quests
- Relatable main character
- An array of different monsters and bosses to fight
- The ability to upgrade/craft gear and gather resources
- The ability to improve character skills
- Different skins available
- Different playing styles
- Collectible items
- Time-limited events
All this information will be very useful when writing a script. But before that, it’s also useful to strategize about how to showcase those features in the most interesting way.
Think About How to Present Them in the Best Way
Let’s stick to the previous example of an RPG game and its features. Look at each feature and think about what would be the best way to visually present it in a promo video.
Let’s take the ability to improve character skills as an example. This feature can be showcased by depicting a certain character and creating an animation where their skills are upgraded, making it more powerful. You can add a caption that says, “Upgrade your character”.
Another way of presenting this feature is to show gameplay footage of a battle. Then a short sequence with a character card and an animation that upgrades its skills, along with a caption “Level up”.
Perhaps you want to show off different character skins that are available. You could create an animation where a character spins around, and as it does, the skin changes.
Anyway, you get the idea.
Just be creative and think of interesting ways of making game features stand out.
Write the App Promo Video Script
Now that all preparation and research is done, it’s time to actually write the app promo video script.
Here’s a simple step-by-step process you can follow.
Describe the Visual Aspects of the Video Scene by Scene
This is where good preparation pays off. If you already thought about how to best showcase game features, this step will be pretty easy.
What you do now is write down every scene for your video. Think of it as a scenario or a storyboard.
Be as detailed as you want and describe all aspects of the video – gameplay footage, animations, effects, captions, sounds, music, etc.
Since you are writing a script for a promo video, you have to be careful of one trap that many people fall into – only relying on visuals to conduct a message.
Yes, video is a visual medium, but there are so many more other elements that you should utilize and pay attention to.
For example, as mentioned before, you could describe the audio part. Think of what music you could put in your ad, and make sure that you don’t violate any royalty rights or break any laws. Also, try to imagine what kind of sound effects can follow the action happening in your video.
Furthermore, you might want to include some voiceovers. A voiceover artist also requires a script, so that is one more thing that you would need to write.
Naturally, you should follow your game’s genre and style in order to see whether the voiceover should be a female or male voice.
You can go and follow the stereotypes – if it’s an action game, choose a strong male voice. But, you can also try and present your action-packed game by hiring a woman with a soft, high-pitched voice.
Of course, don’t forget the captions. Captions can be helpful to conduct your message in a promo video, but still, you shouldn’t include too much text.
Also, even if you are not a video editor, you can research some transitions, filters, and effects that you would like to see in your promo video.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you have a casual game about interior design.
The script would look something like this.
Scene 1
An image of a living room that looks really ugly, dark, and full of spider webs. The couch is old and full of stains, the coffee table is broken, and paintings are crooked.
The caption says, “Renovate”.
Scene 2
With a transition effect, the room transforms into a bright and beautiful living room.
A caption appears – “Design Your Perfect Home”.
Scene 3
Three couch options appear in the living room. As a hand selects one of them, the couch is changed.
Etc.
Do this for every scene.
Depending on the game genre, the script may look slightly different, but you get the point.
You also need to have an idea of the target video length. That’s why it’s useful to write how many seconds each scene should last. The video producer will then keep your scene durations in mind when creating the video.
Pay Special Attention to the Beginning of the Video
When writing an app promo video script, pay special attention to the first couple of scenes, i.e., the beginning of the video.
The first couple of seconds of a promo video are crucial. This is the deciding factor in whether someone will continue watching or move on.
Think about what techniques you can use to grab the viewer’s attention instantly. Highlight your USP right away.
Here are some examples of good app promo video intros that capture attention.
The first few seconds of Roblox’s promo video are dynamic, fast, and intriguing. We see a quick scene of the Roblox logo. Since this is already a popular brand, it makes sense to include it.
Then there are two scenes of gameplay action of a Roblox character running and chopper mid-air. At the four-second mark, there’s a caption – “Discover millions of worlds.”
It makes you want to see more.
There are also effects, sounds, and music that add another layer of excitement.
The intro for the Dragon Ball Legends promo video is quite unique. It pulls you in right away.
The first two seconds with the person holding the phone create suspense. There’s also the “Join the battle” caption. Then we see Gohan, a Dragon Ball character, and hear him screaming. This creates even more tension and hype for the video.
It’s hard to stop watching right now – you want to see what happens next.
That’s what every app promo video should accomplish.
Make Sure to Include a CTA
The beginning of the video is not the only important part – you need to pay special attention to the ending as well.
While the video intro should pull viewers in and make them start watching the video, hopefully until the end, the outro should make them install the game. This is when most conversions happen.
For that reason, we advise you to add a call to action in the outro scene. That way, you’re clearly instructing the viewers what to do next (download the game).
The most common CTAs are “Download free”, “Install now”, “Play now”, “Try for free”, “Join now”, etc.
However, a CTA can be personalized and reference the game itself. For example, “Design your dream home now”.
Write Multiple Scripts
If you think your job here is done, you would be mistaken.
It’s not enough to write just one script – you need multiple scripts for your app promo video.
Why?
The answer is simple – because you need multiple app promo video variations so that you can test them.
Get the Variable Video Script Template
To make things easier for you, we have shared a script template you can use with an actual example following this script. It’s based on our extensive experience in creating app promo videos for an array of mobile games.
Work With the Video Production Team
Once you have written a couple of video script variations, you need to send them to your video production team.
The script should be clear enough so that the video production team understands how the video should look.
Work with your team closely as the video is made and make some adjustments if necessary.
Usually, when you see the visual representation of what you’ve written, you notice that there are some tweaks that can be made. It can also happen that the video simply doesn’t work the way you wrote it. In that case, it’s back to the drawing board.
Consult With the Marketing Team
You should also work closely with the marketing team, whether you have an in-house marketing team or you hired an agency, like us.
Split Test a Couple of Different App Promo Videos
What’s important after you’ve created a couple of versions of the promo video is to test each one.
You or your team can have subjective opinions of which one is better. But mobile game marketing relies heavily on scientific methods, not just creativity.
One such method is split testing – it can show you which version of the app promo video works better, i.e., which one has a better conversion rate.
Above you can see an example of a test we’ve done in Google Experiments. It’s for our client Bubadu and their casual game Bubbu – My Virtual Pet.
As you can see, two videos boost installs significantly, while the third one is the same as the control. However, the second version was the definite winner.
While we’re at it, you can also read a testimonial from Milanka from Bubadu:
“Good job with everything! Very professional and fast in delivery. Easy communication and good understanding of remarks. Made all our revisions very quickly. Would definitely recommend it.”
Final Thoughts on Writing an App Promo Video Script
If you follow this guide, you’ll be writing fantastic video scripts in no time! However, if you want expert help, make sure to reach out. We have years of experience in creating promotional videos that convert. User acquisition for mobile games is our specialty!
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