It’s that time of year again. The 2025 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, September 4, with the defending champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, taking on the Dallas Cowboys under the bright lights. Across the country, fantasy football managers are huddled over their draft boards, debating whether to go heavy on running backs or grab that elite tight end early.
And if you’re a brand in today’s market? You should be thinking the same way.
Because just like a championship fantasy roster, your growth stack needs balance, versatility, and players who can deliver under pressure.
Fantasy football is part art, part science. You analyze player stats, matchups, bye weeks, and injury reports. You know when to grab a surefire QB1 and when to take a flyer on a sleeper pick. You consider the right balance of big-play potential and dependable point-getters.
Your mobile growth strategy should work the same way.
Just like in fantasy football, a weak roster leaves you scrambling on Sundays. In mobile, that translates to wasted spend, poor ROAS, and campaigns that get knocked out before playoffs.
Gone are the days of mobile marketing being a friendly pickup game. We’re in the NFL now: full speed, full contact, no mercy.
Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2025 report shows just how fierce the competition has become:
This is the part of the season where every GM is pulling out the playbook and making moves. Your competitors are picking up high-performing players off the waiver wire, adjusting their formations, and spending big to stay in playoff contention.
If your lineup isn’t elite, you’re playing from behind.
Here’s our draft board for the ultimate mobile marketing squad:
The play-caller. With visibility across the rest of the roster, CRAFTSMAN+ analyzes the field and knows which creative strategy can move the ball. In a game where fatigue is constant, it’s the QB’s ability to make the right read that keeps campaigns scoring. AppsFlyer data backs it up: the top 2% of gaming creatives drive 53% of spend, while in non-gaming it’s 43%—proof that winning today requires smart play-calling, continuous testing, and creative diversification.
Adikteev, aka your every-down back. This retargeting workhorse consistently moves the chains, turning short-yardage plays into first downs and keeping your ROAS drives alive.
Every roster needs a power back. That is, a player drives global scale and muscle to punch through saturated markets. With massive scale and a dominant all-in-one platform, AppLovin powers through defenses and opens lanes for big gains.
Dataseat is your precision route-runner DSP with SKAdNetwork-compliancy and privacy-first targeting. When you need to thread the needle in a post-IDFA world, DataSeat runs the perfect route.
The field-stretcher. Liftoff is your performance UA player with the speed to open up new scoring chances. They can take the top off the defense and bring in the big plays.
The versatile wideout. With global scale and reach across verticals, InMobi finds openings and turns them into long-yardage gains.
Your trusted hybrid. Moloco is your go-to DSP with the versatility to block, protect, and make clutch catches. This is the player who keeps the pocket clean for your QB and still hauls in the touchdown in the red zone.
The defense that keeps pressure on the field. With massive reach and format diversity, Meta dictates matchups and forces competitors to adjust.
The lockdown defender. With supply-side dominance and control of key inventory, Google commands the field and dictates where the plays can happen.
The kickers. Attribution specialists who put critical points on the board. When they’re accurate, they win games; when they miss, it’s a costly flop.
The wildcards. Sometimes overlooked, but capable of flipping momentum with creative formats, community engagement, and surprise plays that swing outcomes.
A winning fantasy team isn’t about collecting the most star players, but making sure you’ve got coverage across the field.
This lineup covers every yard:
Miss one of these positions, and the whole offense sputters. It’s like benching your RB1 and hoping your kicker can make up the difference (spoiler: they can’t). Weak lineups get punished in fantasy football with embarrassing last-place penalties, and in mobile marketing, that punishment is wasted spend, poor ROAS, and campaigns that never make the playoffs.
Ready to draft your championship-caliber growth lineup?
Let’s help you kick your creative into high gear, because when the fourth quarter hits and the game’s on the line, you want the kind of clutch performance that wins championships.