In this insightful interview, Nathalié Bjurenborg Wirf, Head of Commercial at Wedia Group, challenges the industry’s traditional acquisition-heavy mindset and makes a compelling case for a retention-first strategy. While first-time depositors remain important, she argues that sustainable growth comes from building experiences that keep players engaged long after the initial conversion.
Acquisition still matters, but it isn’t enough. At Wedia, “retention-first” means putting players first and partnering with brands that share that ethos, optimising not only for first-time depositors, but for the full experience that keeps people coming back. When players enjoy the journey, everyone benefits: operators see durable performance, game providers get continuous visibility, and communities stay active rather than spiking and fading. As I often put it: “We focus on the long game, make the experience good, and the results follow.”
What retention-first looks like in practice
Post-launch, we build simple, repeatable actions that encourage return visits rather than one-off peaks. The exact plan flexes by market and partner, but the principle is constant: meet players where they are, with reasons to reconnect. We run a 360° approach: search content to answer intent, creator streams to generate live momentum, social posts to stay present, and community touchpoints that invite people back at the right moments. That loop allows brands to attract, reactivate and, importantly, retain loyal players over time.
The channels that bring people back
Three channels consistently outperform for re-engagement: streaming, Discord and social.
Streaming is the strongest driver because trust accumulates in public. Live sessions create immediacy and a shared moment, and the relationship our team has built with its audience makes people reconnect almost instantly. Discord is where our most loyal community members actually spend time. It’s fast, conversational and creates belonging, doubly powerful when an operator also hosts a dedicated group which we can align with. Social does the daily work of staying visible so that when a campaign, update or new title drops, players are reminded to jump back in.
Used together, these channels form a reliable cadence: live energy to spark interest, community to sustain it, and social to keep the drumbeat going.
Measuring what matters (beyond FTDs)
We look well past first-time depositors. The point of a retention mindset is to understand whether the journey is working for real people, not just whether a campaign cleared an initial KPI. Three indicators anchor our view.
Click-to-FTD shows funnel health and whether the message and offer make sense once someone engages. Reg-to-FTD tells us if we’re attracting the right players, not just volume. Average deposit per player offers a read on long-term value and whether the customer journey and product are doing their job. And, above all, we listen. “The most important signal is player feedback,” I tell partners. Numbers show movement, players provide the context. Their comments help us adjust quickly and feed insights back to the brand.
How we choose partners and help with underperformance
We handpick partners that are fully localised, trustworthy and aligned with what our audience responds to. Fit matters – if a launch underperforms, we do not wait it out. We proactively reach out with specific, constructive recommendations, grounded in what we’re seeing.
First, we examine the sign-up flow and look for friction points such as copy, steps and verification timing. Then we review the broader customer journey, from landing page to lobby to first session, and ask whether the campaign promise is reflected in the experience. Finally, we add community feedback: what players liked, what confused them, what would get them back. From there we present clear, actionable improvements across localisation, UX and offers. It’s always the operator’s choice to implement, but our role is to surface the fastest path to better performance.
The next 12 months
When players feel seen and heard, when they can ask questions, suggest content, or share wins, they are far more likely to re-engage.
As such, we’ll be putting more weight behind community building across social, streams and on-site. The trend is clear: players value real connection and a voice in the experience. That suits us. It’s a Wedia strength, and we intend to lean into it. Retention-first isn’t a slogan; it’s a way of working that aligns partners, creators and players around outcomes that last.
If you’re an operator or provider looking to shift from short-term spikes to long-term value, start with the player experience and measure what brings them back. The rest, including stronger benchmarks, steadier revenue, healthier communities, flows from there.