Lift monetization of a Facebook farming game by 10 to 15 percent

Imagine you are the product manager for Farmville, the social farming game played on Facebook and in a mobile app, where players build and tend a farm and share progress with friends. Leadership wants monetization to grow by 10 to 15 percent beyond what the game's current features already earn. How would you get there? ```hint Break revenue into drivers Write revenue as a small equation of players, payers and spend per player or per ad view, then ask which factor can move 10 to 15 percent without hurting the fun that keeps people playing. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What does the game earn from today: in-app purchases of game currency, advertising, or both, and roughly how is revenue split between them? - Which platforms are in scope: the Facebook web game, the mobile app, or both? - Which metric defines "monetization": total revenue, revenue per daily active player, or share of players who pay? - Is the target a one-time lift or a sustained increase, and is there a limit on how much the experience may change, for example no more ad interruptions? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - The game's purpose for players and a concrete definition of the revenue goal and its metric. - A decomposition of revenue and a broad list of monetization options, compared on opportunity size, effort and effect on players. - A reasoned choice of a few options, with a rough estimate of how they add up to the 10 to 15 percent target. - A plan to validate demand and pricing before building, and the metrics and guardrails for the launch. ### Follow-up Questions - If you propose an ad-free subscription, it may mostly attract players who were already your biggest spenders. How do you detect and handle that cannibalization? - How would you design an experiment to choose the price of a new subscription? - If engagement falls after the change, how do you decide whether to keep the revenue gain?