The Mobile User Acquisition Show

Ever wondered what it takes for a Round B startup with no mobile marketing function to get to an IPO and be featured on best-of lists? Or perhaps you’ve been struggling to hire key growth marketing people for your own start-up. In this episode, Simon Vishnevskiy, Head of Paid Acquisition at Dave, shares his methods on building a mobile marketing team from scratch, and the qualities he looked for in every hire he made. He’s also got some key advice for those of you struggling with UA in a post-ATT world. Check out the episode for a deep dive into the mind of a growth marketing leader. KEY HIGHLIGHTS👁️ Why you should keep an eye on your app’s initial organic traction🎬 When you should start investing in your startup’s UA functions📈 The highest-ROI activities you should focus on initially🗝️ Creative – a key component of UA👴🏻 Why many companies still run legacy systems👀 The best time to start hunting for the best MMP📊 You really need a sophisticated reporting system☝ The one piece of infrastructure you need to scale up⛐ Why acquiring to your current LTV might not be the best strategy🤝 How a MarTech manager can help in your UA post-ATT👨‍👦 The best proxy for the attribution of the past👍 Using SKAN data to get the best possible estimates😥 Building a long tail of channels might not be a good idea🙋 One of the first roles you should hire for💪 Essential qualities to look for when hiring talent for your UA team🔮 Agencies vs full-timers vs contractors 🏃 What’s better than hiring someone junior just to execute✔ Overseeing the agency relationship – things to watch for🎨 When hiring an agency for your creative production makes sense➕ Incrementality in a nutshell🔌 What an early stage company can do with incrementality that a mature company can’t**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/how-to-build-a-mobile-marketing-function-from-scratch-with-simon-vishnevskiy-head-of-paid-acquisition-dave/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

How do you make cross-promos work in a post-ATT world?David Philippson, CEO and co-founder of Dataseat, gives us the lowdown on how exactly cross-promos can be deployed effectively. In a post-IDFA reality, with ad networks having pretty much lost the third party data advantage, David says cross-promos can help game studios monetize and retain their users better, even those users who are already high value users. Check out the episode to get the low down on exactly how the post ATT landscape has changed the outlook for cross promos. KEY HIGHLIGHTS⏳ Cross-promos have been around for over a decade🏡 Why is it becoming important for gaming companies to move cross-promos in-house💪 How the post-IDFA world has been a catalyst for cross-promos⇩ When it makes sense to show cross-promo ads even to your high value users.➰ Why cross-promos within a gaming company should be reciprocal🔎 Why companies should focus on portfolio LTV rather than gaming LTV👍 How can first party data help in cross-promos💭 Why game companies need to rethink their marketing strategy around cross-promos👀  It’s going to be important to have a consistent, universally understood index for first party data💣 Why your mediation company’s lack of support for all SDK can harm cross-promos🔌 What exactly is an ‘adapter’, and how does it work in mediation📈 The return on opportunity cost as an important metric**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/the-ascendance-of-cross-promos-in-a-post-att-world-with-david-philippson-ceo-and-co-founder-dataseat/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

Ever thought that each SKAN update from Apple is making measurement more and more ambiguous?We’re back to delving into SKAN in this latest episode with Piyush Mishra. Piyush talks about the evolution of SKAN, predictions based on conversion values, performance comparison between channels and much more. He also tells us about the changes coming about in iOS 15 and how that makes the landscape even more complex. He encourages marketers to be smart about measuring the data that’s being brought in through different channels and campaigns.If you’re ready to nerd-out on SKAN, there’s nothing better than this episode right now!KEY HIGHLIGHTS🌱 The beginnings: SKAN 1.0☂️ Evolution of SKAN from 2.0 to 3.0🕶 When SKAN gained popularity🐣 Learnings from conversion value testing🎊 The shift towards prediction based events 📝 Revenue based vs. non-revenue based predictions🔎 The reason why probabilistic is sticking around📉The challenges in comparing different channel performances👀 How are some advertisers working with conversion values🔍 Attribution models that are worth looking in to🎁 The changes coming with iOS 15🩺  Postbacks and their significance**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/skan-a-playbook-for-today-and-the-future-with-piyush-mishra-lead-growth-manager-product-madness/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

Our first guest of 2022 is Faith Price. Faith heads the paid UA team at DoubleDown Interactive and has spent a large part of her career managing UA and ASO. She has managed over 20 soft launches throughout her career. Yet, her most recent launch was a very unique challenge for her – because this was the first one she managed after Apple’s introduction of the ATT. It was impossible to estimate results with no prior data points. Measurement was broken with SKAN. These were among the very many challenges which Faith had to address. Today she pulls the curtains back on the many learnings which she shares in this interview.For a very instructive look at how the soft launch playbook has changed post ATT, please check out this episode with Faith Price.KEY HIGHLIGHTS🔍 The research that went into estimating CPIs for Faith’s latest soft launch⬆️ The impact of higher CPIs on the soft launch process🧮 The disruption of measurement post ATT impacted soft launches🗝 Why launching post ATT meant having fewer partners📤 How to approach conversion values📱 The challenges with conversion values for an IAP based app💎 Why custom conversion values worked better🧱 How conversion values are architected🎞 How to approach optimization for social channels📊 How a BI team can significantly help improve measurement📝 Comparing between measurement techniques🎢 What was different during the recent soft launch vs. pre ATT☎️ What were some conversations within teams like when soft launch metrics were so different from predicted or projected?🔖 Faith’s advice for marketers for a successful post-ATT launch.**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/how-to-run-a-soft-launch-in-a-post-att-world-with-faith-price-doubledown-interactive/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

Why is the buzzword for 2022 “retention marketing”? How is the play-to-earn model going to grow next year?Cross promotions are on the rise. Will the move to self-publishing be worth it?We are here with the final episode of the Mobile Growth Crystal Ball series. Today we have Peggy Anne Salz (Mobile Groove) going into retention marketing, Keith Kawahata (AppLovin) who tells us about the play-to-earn model in games, Cameron Thom (Adikteev) who shares his thoughts on cross promotion and Jon Hook (BoomHits) bringing to the table his take on developers self-publishing their games.KEY HIGHLIGHTS🎈 Retention marketing – the new buzzword of 2022🔋 The economics behind retention vs. acquisition🛎 Retention strategies for 2022 🔍  Web 3 – the latest emerging trend🌊 The popularity of crypto gaming🏹 The business model that allows all stakeholders to monetize a game📣 Factors that contributed to the rise of cross promotion💰 Performance retargeting was not universally adopted🎤 Data science can help predict user behavior🚴🏻‍♂️ The presence of self-serve tech platforms to facilitate self-publishing🧦 A community to help fund game developers to self-publish**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/the-mobile-growth-crystal-ball-2022-predictions-part-3-peggy-anne-salz-keith-kawahata-cameron-thom-jon-hook/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

Will creative processes march back in-house?Is the grass greener on the other side of Facebook UA?How are game developers going to look at payments on gaming apps?The second episode of the Mobile Growth Crystal Ball series is out. Today we’re thrilled to share predictions by Melissa Zeloof (ironSource) on bringing creative processes in-house, Nataliia Drozd (Fabulous) on newer UA channels and Jerome Turnbull (AppLovin) on alternate payment options for gaming apps.KEY HIGHLIGHTS🕶 Creatives become more important with the automation of UA 💼 End-to-end control over creative process with an in-house team🧦 Data sharing internally is easier and without risk 🚴🏻‍♂️  Faster production time with an almost simultaneous feedback with an in-house creative team🌊 Why web-to-app strategies will get a boost going ahead🏹 The switch from Facebook to other platforms for UA🎤 How Tik Tok leverages creatives💰 The beginnings of alternate payment methods on mobile games**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/the-mobile-growth-crystal-ball-2022-predictions-part-2-homecoming-of-the-creative-process-newer-ua-sources-in-the-gang-alternate-payment-methods/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

Can AI breathe life into creatives? What does 2022 look like for subscription apps?Will there be a blow up because Apple hasn’t really kept its word on “no fingerprinting”?Welcome to the first episode of our Mobile Growth Crystal Ball series, in which we ask the smartest folks we know in Mobile Growth about their predictions for 2022. In our first episode today, please welcome our featured guests Danika Wilkinson(SocialPoint), who talks about how creative automation will proliferate(and the place for human insight in the landscape); Andy Carvell(Phiture), who holds the magnifying glass to the components of subscription optimization that will emerge; and John Koetsier(Forbes), who predicts a blow up on iOS due to fingerprinting grey-areas. Danika, Andy and John have some fantastic forecasts for the year 2022. Take notes as you make plans for 2022.KEY HIGHLIGHTS🛠 The new breed of tools to help automate creative strategy🎨 How the tools will impact creative strategy👩🏻‍💻 The importance of human insight to get creative wins🏂🏻 The evolution of growth marketers in 2022🎧 What does the competition look like for subscription apps🎰 How to ace subscriber acquisition🛋 The rise of predictive modeling📝 Retaining your users through valuable content☎️ Re-targeting churned users📱 A list of tech and tools that will help with subscription optimization📬 Did Apple stick to “no fingerprinting”? What about app tracking transparency?📜 How do marketers still get the data if not from Google & Facebook?**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/the-mobile-growth-crystal-ball-2022-predictions-part-1-creative-automationdanika-wilkinson-socialpoint-subscription-optimizationandy-carvell-phiture-an-ios-scandaljohn-koetsier-forbes/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

Our guest today is Jayvian Hong. Jayvian heads Strategic Partnerships at Miniclip. Over the past few years, Jayvian has developed deep partnerships with the App Store and Google Play Store. These partnerships obviously weren’t formed overnight but took time, effort and patience. While initially she and her team had to work hard to find their footing with the big platforms, Jayvian and her team’s persistence and strategy eventually paid off.  Today, she is a mentor on a program that the Play Store has in place to support indie studios.Jayvian also co-founded Game Changers, a monthly webinar series that features exceptional women in the gaming industry and revolves around leadership, game design, marketing and much more. In today’s episode, Jayvian recalls the initial years of her partnership with both the App Store and Google Play Store and shares some strategies for game developers to build crucial relationships with the big platforms that can drive more than just featuring-based installs.KEY HIGHLIGHTS:🥁 The beginnings of Jayvian’s collaboration with app platforms 🕋 Why app platforms are considered to be black boxes 🤗 When did app platforms become receptive of Jayvian’s communication🎰 The criteria to qualify for a shot at getting featured on the app platforms 📉 What has more impact while pitching? Stories or metrics📓 How to prep app platforms for an app launch💪🏼Is featuring on an app platform as powerful as it used to be? 🎮How Jayvian worked with Google Play to tap into the Indian gaming market🎭 Common mistakes made by developers when pitching their products to app platforms👩‍🎤 How indie developers can take the first steps to establishing an association with app platforms**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/how-to-build-lasting-partnerships-with-itunes-and-google-play-app-stores-with-jayvian-hong/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

A few weeks ago, we released an episode on balancing monetization and retention. We talked about improving user experience to enhance retention by getting rid of monetization. However, this does not always work. We did say that it’s not a one size fits all solution. In this episode, we talk about another hack that can be used to improve your app’s retention – adding monetization barriers. Sounds confusing, but it’s a strategy that has worked successfully.**Check out the show notes here:https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/how-monetization-barriers-can-improve-retention/ **Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog

MMM based incrementality models: Is it the light at the end of the tunnel?Post IDFA, we were quite skeptical about employing MMM based incrementality analyses in our measurements. Our opinions have changed over time and today, we believe that these models have helped us in our measurements significantly. However, it’s not always hunky-dory. There have been quite a few challenges that we encountered on the way. On the upside, we’ve also figured out how to overcome these challenges.In this episode, we go over the key limitations of employing MMM based incrementality analysis and include steps to mitigate these limitations.**Check out the show notes here: https://mobileuseracquisitionshow.com/episode/4-challenges-of-mmm-based-incrementality-models-and-how-to-mitigate-them/**Get more mobile user acquisition goodies here:http://RocketShipHQ.comhttp://RocketShipHQ.com/blog