Apptivate: App Marketing Explained

Eran Friedman, Co-Founder and CTO at Singular, joins Apptivate to talk about what the initial postbacks from SKAdNetwork 4.0 mean for mobile marketers. In this episode, he and host Brian Altman discuss the new features of SKAN 4.0 for mobile advertisers, how to leverage these features, and how to transition from SKAN 3.0 to SKAN 4.0. You’ll also learn about FLEDGE and how to prepare for privacy changes with Google’s Privacy Sandbox for Android. Singular is a next-gen mobile measurement partner and thought leader on SKAdNetwork. Singular’s intelligent SaaS platform enables mobile marketers to unify, analyze and optimize all of their marketing channels through a single dashboard, without any required SDKs. Eran is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Questions Eran Answered in this Episode:Remind us, what’s new with SKAdNetwork 4.0?What postback data are you receiving from SKAN 4.0 and how long have you been receiving it? And is there anything that you can pull from that data that’s actionable?In terms of the changes to SKAN 4.0, what would you say excites you the most based on the initial data that you’ve seen?If you could name one change that SKAN 4.0 has done that advertisers should focus on first, what would that be?Are you currently using SKAN 4.0 to build models that prove ROAS for your customers?What would you advise advertisers on how to best transition to using SKAN 4.0?Have you experienced any challenges or surprises with the initial data from SKAN 4.0?What’s your prediction for what to expect in the next versions of SKAdNetwork?What is FLEDGE, and how does it differ from SKAN?How is Singular preparing right now for Android’s Privacy Sandbox?What is the best thing advertisers can do to prepare for the impending changes with Google?Timestamp:2:20 What’s new with SKAN 4.0?4:04 Initial postback data from SKAN 4.06:43 Use cases for SKAN 4.0 for small and large advertisers11:11 Singular solutions for analyzing your ROAS with SKAN 4.014:56 Transitioning from SKAN 3.0 to SKAN 4.019:10 What advertisers can do to leverage SKAN 4.0 features22:41 Introducing more randomness in longer-window postbacks26:19 Eran’s predictions for the future of SKAdNetwork29:00 Google’s approach to privacy changes with Privacy Sandbox on Android35:13 Preparing for Andoird Privacy SandboxQuotes:(9:27-9:51) “The feature that’s been most discussed and the most exciting for the large-scale advertisers out there is definitely the longer windows and the multiple postbacks. So, the 35-day window you mentioned is a potential game-changer for working with SKAN, especially for the companies who see more of the signal and value of the user after more than 24 hours.”(19:40-19:59) “Technically, you don’t need to do anything as an advertiser to start getting SKAN 4.0 postbacks. It’s the network that actually has to make a change. The advantage of updating your MMP SDK to support SKAN 4.0 is that you would leverage the features coming from it.”Mentioned in this Episode:Apptivate Episode 141: Tips for Overcoming SKAd Network’s 3 Biggest Issues - Eran Friedman (Singular)Eran Friedman’s LinkedInSingular

Joel Debus is the Marketing Automation Manager at Klarna, a “buy now, pay later” shopping app. In this episode, Joel breaks down what good marketing automation looks like and how to implement the best approach. Joel discusses identifying trigger points in the customer journey, scaling automation, personalization based on user behavior, and using a “working backward” methodology.Questions Joel Answered in this Episode:What got you into CRM? And what brought you to Klarna?What does Klarna focus on?What does marketing automation mean to you? And what does good marketing automation look like?How do you identify a trigger point and create a marketing automation sequence behind it?Does the mapping out of the trigger points help determine the personalization strategy?How do you create easily scalable marketing automation?Is there anything you do to take qualitative data into account? Have you ever found that something you thought made sense based on the data didn’t work out in the end?Do you have a framework for A/B testing that uses data science to ensure you’ve reached some degree of statistical significance so you can draw conclusions?What is the hardest part of your job? What’s the part you love the most about working in CRM?Timestamp:3:20 Joel’s background6:33 What is Klarna10:07 What is marketing automation?11:05 What makes good marketing automation?12:23 Contextual mapping of trigger points15:24 Scaling marketing automation17:30 Qualitative data & testing23:15 Challenges of the job: contamination and cohesion25:46 What Joel loves about working in CRMQuotes:(11:07-11:14) “The best marketing automations are the ones that can scale quickly, meaning it doesn’t require a lot of manual maintenance.”(12:24-12:48) “A good way to think about what consumers are doing on your app or website is the working backwards methodology. In my case, for example, I look at when a user makes a purchase. With data that I get or with analysts I can see what’s the thing they do right before that, what’s the thing they do right before that, and etcetera.”Mentioned in this Episode:Joel Debus’s LinkedInKlarna

Connected TV (CTV) as an advertising channel for apps is exploding onto the mobile marketing scene. How does CTV fit with your other mobile marketing channels and how can you measure its effectiveness? Gijsbert Pols, the Director of Connected TV and New Channels at Adjust, a mobile attribution and analytics company, joins the show to answer these questions and more. Gijsbert led Adjust in developing the first measurement product that allowed app marketers to measure their efforts on CTV devices. Questions Gijsbert Answered in this Episode:Have you always been on the product side?Why do you think we’ve seen Adjust and the industry as a whole emerge into CTV in the past year to two as opposed to prior to this point?What are some of the challenges you’re able to help marketers with in regard to getting a better understanding of the efficacy of their programs?Do you find that when people see correlations between CTV and another medium it’s enough for them to invest more in it? Or is it hard for people attached to last-touch attribution to accept CTV Assist as a mechanism that can determine the efficiency of their campaigns?Are your partners leveraging QR codes and seeing good results? Or are they seeing CTV as a way to get a message out in a more clear way beyond a QR code?What kind of growth have you seen in the Connected TV space?What is the biggest channel that CTV faces in the near future?Timestamp:3:08 Gijsbert’s background4:38 Pioneering mobile measurement for Connected TV8:33 Why Connected TV has blown up in app industry12:49 Evaluating mobile marketing efforts with CTV17:12 Delivering those correlations between two different mediums20:03 Last touch attribution and CTV Assist22:49 Beyond QR codes25:45 Growth in the CTV space28:36 Challenges for CTVQuotes:(8:41-8:58) “Due to the pandemic, people fled into entertainment, basically, and started turning their living rooms in unprecedented levels into home cinemas. So, they were investing a lot in Connected TV.”(9:00-9:33) “Particularly for the U.S., yes, Netflix had been around for a while, Hulu had been around for a while, but we reached critical tipping points when it came to cord-cutting. So there was all of a sudden a critical mass of people who had canceled their expensive cable subscriptions and were streaming only on their CTV devices at home. And advertisers started to realize that if they limit themselves to linear television that they’re going to miss out.”Mentioned in this Episode:Gijsbert Pols’s LinkedInAdjust’s CTV AdVision

Maria Lannon, your host of Apptivate’s Women in Mobile series, brings listeners a roundup of some of the best bits from interviews with women working in the mobile marketing industry around the world. Find out their biggest leadership lessons in this special compilation episode featuring Sharon Romang, the Vice President of Creative at Headlight; Vicki Goldman, the Director of Marketing at Paramount Streaming under the Media Acquisition and Services Team; Mariana D’Avila, the Head of Growth at Appreach; and Laura Spikermann, the Client Services Lead at Customlytics. Find links to all the full-length episodes from the Women in Mobile Series here:Ep.132 Keep Your Creative Team Inspired with Sharon RomangEp.134 Authentic Networking for Introverts with Vicki GoldmanEp.128 How to Address Disrespectful Co-workers with Mariana D’AvilaEp.119 Springing into Mobile Marketing Leadership with Laura SpikermannEp.125 Building a Brand Cause for Your App with Juliana BiasiEp.118 Experience the Uplift of Work-Life Boundaries with Liia PalipeaEp.117 When Women In Mobile Speak Up and Unite with Camila CarneiroEp.116 Women in Mobile: Your Ideas In Your Voice with Fabiana Ayala

Brian Altman, your host of the Apptivate Podcast’s Mobile Gaming series, brings listeners a roundup of some of the best bits from interviews about how to market your mobile game internationally. In this special compilation episode, you'll hear from Aaron Pietsch, the Senior User Acquisition Specialist at Rec Room; Claire Rozain, a User Acquisition Lead at Rovio; Farhan Haq, Founder of Hyper HQ; and Cordel Robbin-Coker, the Co-Founder and CEO of Carry1st. Find links to all the full-length episodes from the Gaming Series in the notes.Mentioned in this Episode:Ep135 Is There a Winning Formula for Marketing a Mobile Game? with Aaron PietschEp136 Mobile Gaming: Are Your Creatives Inclusive & Accessible? with Claire RozainEp137 Monetization Strategies for Casual Mobile Games with Farhan HaqEp143 Cracking Africa’s Mobile Gaming Market with Cordel Robbin-CokerEp138 Marketing Strategies for Launching a Mobile Game with Dmitry GubanenkovEp144 Prioritizing Countries for an International App Launch with Mert Çamur

Matej Lančarič has been in the gaming industry for 10 years. He’s launched 32 mobile games in the last five years as a user acquisition and marketing consultant, and soft launching mobile games is one of his specialties. In this episode, Matej shares some of the biggest mistakes companies make when soft launching their mobile games. Matej is also one of the hosts of the 2 & a Half Gamers podcast. He and Tommy talk about the show and other mobile marketing industry topics at the top of Matej’s mind.Questions Matej Answered in this Episode:What made you want to switch to working as a consultant as opposed to staying with a major publisher?Do you gravitate towards certain genres or verticals that you seem to have a better grasp of than others or that you enjoy working with more than others?What are some of the big mistakes companies make when strategizing a soft launch for a mobile game?What are fake ads?Why did you launch the 2 & a Half Gamers Podcast? What was the goal? What does it mean to be “no bullshit”?What’s been top of mind for you in the industry? Who is the “half-gamer”? Will you continue focusing on games in your show?Timestamp:2:54 Matej’s background4:21 Why Matej was drawn to consulting6:06 Specializing in soft launch strategies8:00 Mistakes companies make on soft launches9:20 Misleading gameplay ads taint data12:32 Countries where everyone tests tech phase13:31 Building the predictions16:33 About 2 & a Half Gamers PodcastQuotes:(8:01-8:24) “Companies sometimes think they can soft launch a game in one month, and then a global launch, then scale to millions. Well, it’s not how it works. Even if you are in the development of the game for one year, the first build you get out there can have very low numbers in retention, unfortunately, but it’s part of game development.”(8:25-8:47) “Companies try to skip the technical phase and jump right into running a UA in Tier 1 countries where it’s really expensive. You need to be sure you have your tech stack – not 100% – but 200% correct; because there’s nothing worse than making decisions based on false data.”Mentioned in this Episode:Matej Lančarič’s LinkedInlancaric.me - Matej’s Consultancy“How to soft launch a mobile game in 2022” Article by Matej2 & a Half Gamers Podcast

This week we’re rebroadcasting a Growth Masterminds podcast episode with Pan Katsukis, Remerge’s founder and CEO, who talks about contextual targeting – where it works, where it's strong, and where it is weak.  Learn the psychology of contextual versus behaviorally targeted ads, the future of targeting, and how in some cases contextual targets can use up to 100 parameters to get even better than behavioral targeting.Pan's expertise lies in the display advertising market, in particular the field of mobile advertising and programmatic buying. He is well experienced in building technologies, working closely with developers, and fostering company culture during periods of rapid growth.Mentioned in this Episode:Pan KatsukisGrowth Masterminds Podcast

Mert Çamur leads the user acquisition and creative marketing teams at GameGuru, a casual and hyper-casual mobile game publisher based in Istanbul, Turkey. In this episode, Mert shares how he decides which international markets to prioritize and how much of his marketing budget to allocate when launching a casual or hyper-casual mobile game. He also shares his biggest pieces of advice to mobile marketers who are making the switch from working with publishers to self-publishing.Questions Mert Answered in this Episode:How do you optimize your app based on user behavior in different countries and regions?How do you prioritize regions when it comes to games?How do you decide how to allocate your marketing budget?What have been the hardest markets to break into?What advice would you give other marketers who are considering making the switch from working with publishers to self-publishing? What are some things you wish you’d known beforehand?What are your thoughts on creative strategies for international markets?Do you have a favorite country to break into? Least favorite?Timestamp:1:38 Mert’s career journey3:04 About GameGuru5:00 Tracking the right events6:16 Marketing to different geos8:07 Deciding what countries to prioritize9:24 How to allocate your marketing budget10:35 The hardest market to break into?12:18 Making the switch to self-publishing13:45 When to localize your creative strategy15:46 Favorite countries to break intoQuotes:(6:20-6:36) “With our campaigns we try to reach users from different cultures, income groups, genders, education levels, and interests. That’s why we differentiate our creative strategy, media planning, and monetization strategy according to countries.”(9:30-9:43) “The first issue you should pay attention to when you’re allocating your budget between countries is can you allocate a budget that meets the minimum learning threshold in the networks in which you’re working?”(12:18-12:22) “Be brave – Make mistakes and learn from your mistakes.”Mentioned in this Episode:Mert Çamur’s LinkedInGameGuru

Carry1st is on a mission to be the leading consumer content platform in Africa, focusing on mobile games and fintech companies. In this episode, the co-founder and CEO of Carry1st, Cordel Robbin-Coker, shares his firsthand experience with marketing mobile games to the new, emerging markets of Africa. Learn about African trends, influencer marketing, user behavior, and how the African market compares to the world.  Cordel began his career in finance at Morgan Stanley and then the Carlyle Group, where he led a $700 million private equity fund in sub-Saharan Africa. He started investing in tech startups for fun on the side, which led to Carry1st, a marriage between his childhood passion for gaming and the massive potential he saw for mobile content in Africa. He is based in Capetown, South Africa.Questions Cordel Answered in this Episode:How did you get to where you are today? What do you focus on in your role at Carry1st?What types of partners do you work with?What trends do you see in the adoption of mobile games in the African market? What kind of games resonate with users in Africa?How does that demographic affect which gaming titles you choose to support?Does someone on your team do market research on popular games in different regions?If you were to compare Africa to the US mobile market, what year would you say Africa is in currently?How does the access to internet affect the mobile games that you’re putting out on the market?Can you tell us about your experience with influencer marketing in Africa?What are the challenges and solutions with payment services in the African region?Timestamp:1:36 Cordel’s background & Carry1st8:30 What mobile games are trending in Africa10:32 Why Carry1st isn’t depending on performance marketing12:05 Consumer insight strategy13:25 Comparing Africa’s mobile gaming industry17:13 Infrastructure & accessibility22:06 Influencer marketing in Africa27:55 Challenges & solutions with paymentsQuotes:(8:45-9:00) “There are 1.4 billion people in Africa but 1.1 of those are under the age of 40. So you have a median age of 19 years old, which compares to something like 42 or 43 in Western Europe.”(10:49-11:05) “We believe that there is a lot of low-hanging fruit, particularly in a new, emerging region, with organic – finding different ways to drive organic installs, driving community-led growth, influencers, and so on.”(13:34-13:39) “Africa’s mobile game industry is essentially where Southeast Asia’s was six or seven years ago.”(30:05-30:26) “I think crypto and Web3 will be more impactful in Africa than anywhere else in the world. The reason is because there are legitimate day-to-day use cases for the majority of folks whereas, in the West, it tends to be, up until now, primarily a tool for speculation.”Mentioned in this Episode:Cordel Robbin-Coker's LinkedInCarry1st

With Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in rates at less than 50%, mobile marketers must think outside-of-the-box to decrease signal loss. In this episode, Josh Alvernia, the CEO and co-founder of Clue, shares a novel approach to media campaigns: Rather than launching a campaign, serving ads, measuring, and then optimizing, he suggests working from measurement backward. Josh explains that maximizing the structure of first-party data first makes cookies replaceable, meaning marketers can waste less ad spend.Clue is a leading data analytics and media solution for insights-driven marketing across search, social, and programmatic channels.Questions Joshua Answered in this Episode:How did you get to your current position as CEO and co-founder of Clue?What are companies getting with Clue that they’re not getting somewhere else?What specifically are you measuring before you launch a campaign?How are privacy changes impacting what you do?Is one of your first steps with clients to augment their first-party data?What does good first-party data structuring look like?Does your approach still hold true in a mobile app environment despite more signal loss or are there other strategies that you’ve used to help app businesses?Was it terrifying to become CEO?Timestamp:5:34 Josh’s background and Clue’s journey9:43 The theory behind Clue’s approach14:17 The benefits of migrating from pixels16:26 Augmenting first-party data17:19 Good first-party data structuring20:47 Adaptations for mobile24:28 Taking the leap into CEO roleQuotes:(8:33-8:46) “Anytime you try to enter a new echelon for your business and try to compete at a new level you have to make decisions that drive 10x value. If not, you probably won’t make it there.”(9:51-10:03) “Most people and most media plans start first with how you’re going to buy rather than how you’re going to measure–and that’s the problem.”(15:13-15:32) “If you can figure out a way to structure your first-part data really, really well, there are legitimate replacements right now, today, for cookies. A lot of them have to do with managing customer profiles effectively. A lot of them have to do with augmenting those customer profiles with events that are happening all over the place.” Mentioned in this Episode:Joshua Alvernia’s LinkedInClueClue’s LinkedIn