B2C · preschool play app

How Sago Mini World grows

4 tactics and 3 figures from 1 interview.

Sago Mini World is a subscription play app for young kids, the main app of Sago Mini. After iOS 14 cut kids apps off from Meta and Google ad targeting, it leaned on Sago Mini's older apps and on ads inside free kids games, and worked on keeping kids playing as they get older.

Sago Mini used its older apps and its own customer messages to send players to Sago Mini World, bringing about 1 million installs in 2022.Sago Mini
Sago Mini World ran ads inside free kids games on Unity Ads, IronSource and AppLovin; the team said they worked on iOS but much less on Google Play.Sago Mini World
Sago Mini World's ads show gameplay trailers aimed at kids, while its learning app's ads are aimed at parents, who must buy in first; no numbers were given.Sago Mini School
Sago Mini World's core players are 3-4, so it added a character creator and more customization to keep them as they turn five; the team gave no numbers.Sago Mini World

Summary written 2026-10-08 from the tactics below. Figures are as founders stated them.

About Sago Mini World

What it is: Flagship entertainment subscription app, a 'digital playground' for preschoolers
Who it's for: Parents of 3-4 year olds
Business model: subscription with free experience

As described in the interviews, not independently verified.

Sago Mini World's 4 tactics

Sago Mini World · B2C · preschool play app

Advertise inside free kids games that match your age group

Surprisingly good on iOS; weak on Google Play, especially for the learning app

Run ads on game ad networks (Unity Ads, IronSource, AppLovin) in placements inside free-to-play apps that are close in experience and age demographic to Sago Mini. Gameplay trailers excite kids for the entertainment app. Focus spend on iOS.

Mixedpaid-social

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-25

Sago Mini · B2C · preschool app studio

Send players of your older apps to your main subscription app

About 1M installs in a year; filled part of the gap left by lost ad channels

After iOS 14 cut kids apps off from Meta and Google UAC, Sago Mini turned its back catalog of older apps into a lead-generation channel for its flagship subscription app, Sago Mini World, alongside first-party CRM cross-promotion between its products.

Workedportfolioproduct-virality

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-25

Sago Mini School · B2C · preschool learning app

Aim ads for the learning app at parents and ads for the play app at kids

Shifting further toward parents for the learning app; no numbers

For the entertainment app (Sago Mini World), gameplay-trailer ads that excite the kid. For the educational app (Sago Mini School), which needs upfront buy-in from parents, ads are geared toward parents, and spend is indexing further toward parent marketing over time.

Unknownpaid-socialpositioning-niche

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-25

Sago Mini World · B2C · preschool play app

Add a character creator and more customization so older kids keep playing

Guest calls it a major step; no numbers

Core age for Sago Mini World is 3-4, so a kid acquired at 4-5 retains 12 months at most. Rather than acquiring 5-6 year olds, the team adds features to stay relevant to existing players as they turn five: a character creator and more personalization and customization.

Unknownretentionfeature-development

Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-25

Sago Mini World by the numbers

Metric	Value	Context	Said in
paying users	100K subscribers approximate	Active subscribers reached before any account system existed (~2.5 years without one)	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-25 7:32
downloads	1M installs/year approximate	Installs of Sago Mini World driven by cross-promotion from Sago Mini's back catalog of apps in 2022	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-25 29:03
retention	12 months illustrative	Maximum possible retention for a kid acquired at age 4-5 given the 3-4 core age range	Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-25 44:25

Topics

Personalization in onboarding and paywalls1 Running a portfolio of apps1 App virality and word of mouth1 Ad creative and creative testing1 App retention and churn1 Picking a niche and positioning an app1

Interviews

How to Build a Great Kids App with Minimal Data — Brennan Clark, Sago Mini · Sub Club by RevenueCat · 2023-01-25