Apptivate: App Marketing Explained

In this episode of Apptivate’s new gaming series, Farhan Haq returns to the podcast to share his expertise on monetizing mobile games. What intel from your user base could be generating a ton of revenue? In-app purchases versus rewarded video ads? Where are the opportunities for game developers in markets around the world? Farhan answers these questions and more. Farhan is the founder of Hyper HQ, a consultancy for user acquisition and ad monetization for mobile games. Prior to launching Hyper HQ, Farhan was the Head of Growth at SYBO, a mobile game developer in Denmark, the Head of User Acquisition at Nanobit, a mobile game developer in Croatia, and a Product Marketing Manager at Social Point, a mobile game developer in Spain. Questions Farhan Answered in this Episode:What inspired you to start your own consultancy?What are some of the monetization strategies you used with Subway Surfers to convert users that typically play for free?How did the feedback from the Subway Surfers community inform how you marketed the game? Is there a way to make sure you’re feeding users age-appropriate content? Do you have different marketing strategies for different countries and regions? Have you seen any trends in terms of what games might see better adoption in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions?Where do you think the mobile gaming space is going and where is creativity going to be coming from in the future? Timestamp:1:23 Farhan’s background4:05 About Hyper HQ7:34 Monetizing casual games11:28 Fan-made characters13:45 Ad setup for users of all ages17:11 Marketing mobile games around the world21:13 Mobile game adoption for EMEA23:15 Why creativity comes from hyper-casualQuotes:(7:34-7:55) “The key thing about any game, especially in the casual market, is that you need a user base to want to play and be engaged with the game, and come back and play it often. So we don’t really look at game time, or time played, but more on the retention metrics because that gauges how often you have opportunities to make money out of your customer base.”(19:46-20:09) “And now, also the big one [to market mobile games] is Africa because of the fact that there are so many people getting mobile devices. It’s got to be a market that’s relevant. Of course, the lifetime value there is tiny at the moment, but if you have so many hundreds of millions of potential customers, if you can get that large base, and as the LTV starts improving, you’re going to be able to make a lot of money.”Mentioned in this Episode:Farhan Haq’s LinkedInHyper HQ

When marketers think about designing creatives for their mobile games, they usually have their users in mind. But how do you learn about your users? How do you include everyone and ensure your ads are accessible, responsible, and diverse? Claire Rozain, a UA lead of Rovio, joins the podcast to dive deeper into this topic. She says marketing isn’t just about click-through rates – marketers have a responsibility to consumers and society. Rovio is a Finnish game developer famous for its game, Angry Birds. Claire is also the founder and a board member of the Puzzle Society in Helsinki, Finland. Questions Claire Answered in this Episode:What do you think are some things that are really important to consider when building out creatives for your user base?What is the best method for an advertiser to collect feedback on their creatives?Do you organize focus groups internally or do you use a third party to build out focus groups?What is the structure of your team that builds out creatives and the functions of each group?From a creative standpoint, what’s something mobile marketers in the gaming industry should be doing more of in your opinion?What’s an example of creative ads that are inclusive or not inclusive?How do you measure that your ads are addressing this idea of inclusivity?What makes an accessible creative and what should marketers consider?What is the Puzzle Society?Timestamp:1:24 Claire’s background5:15 How Rovio studies its users8:48 Focus groups9:58 Rovio team structure12:00 We need more accessible, diverse, inclusive, responsible creative16:55 Tracking how inclusive your ads are20:00 Accessibility in mobile ads24:21 Puzzle SocietyQuotes:(13:10-13:14) “It’s important to keep in mind that marketing needs to be done in a responsible way.”(21:43-21:55) “Design was made to involve everyone in society and to make everyone capable at the end of the day. It’s not only something beautiful.”Mentioned in this Episode:Claire Rozain’s LinkedInRovioPuzzle Society

The growth and revenue potential of the mobile gaming space continues to explode. Worldwide consumer spending is well into the billions, downloads are reaching record levels, and the time spent in-app has increased. Competition has never been more intense - so how are marketers getting ahead?Welcome to Apptivate’s newest segment on marketing mobile games. Host Brian Altman will be talking to marketers from gaming apps about strategies, best practices, and industry trends for running campaigns across different regions of the world. In this episode, Brian talks to Aaron Pietsch, the Senior User Acquisition Specialist at Rec Room about creative strategies, prioritizing different international markets, and theories about the metaverse. Rec Room is a gaming platform with millions of user-generated rooms for people to hang out and play their favorite games. Questions Aaron Answered in this Episode:What is Rec Room and how would you describe it?Could you classify Rec Room as a metaverse?How does monetization within the app work?Can you describe the structure of your UA team and your role?How do you explain what Rec Room offers in a creative ad? What are the elements that help people understand what Rec Room is the most?How do you prioritize what you’re going to be testing?How do you prioritize international markets?In terms of creatives that you’re running internationally, do you have different strategies by market?Do you see different markets engaging with Rec Room through different platforms, like console versus mobile?Do you have any advice for marketers trying to track people across different devices?How in particular do you see this game fitting into the metaverse trend? Do you share the vision that we’re all going to be living in this metaverse?Timestamp:1:08 Aaron’s background3:15 About Rec Room5:10 Radically cross-platform6:27 App monetization in Rec Room7:45 Rec Room UA team9:18 Creative strategy at Rec Room14:13 Prioritizing geos16:64 Is this country better off by itself?19:57 A word of caution: tracking across devices23:05 Genuine connection in the metaverseQuotes:(11:28-11:38) “You need to be constantly testing. You need to be creating hypotheses, developing some sort of test in order to prove out what you think.”(14:43-15:01) “There’s always those pockets of interests that you might not have expected, like looking at your organics and seeing what is monetizing well outside of your campaigns. You might be surprised to learn that this country or that country that you would have had no idea about is all of the sudden getting real popular. ”Mentioned in this Episode:Aaron Pietsch’s LinkedInRec Room

In this episode of the Women In Mobile series, host Maria Lannon speaks with Vicki Goldman, the Marketing Director at Paramount Streaming under the Media Acquisition and Services Team. Vicki says expanding your network is one of the best things you can do for your career, but admittedly, it can be draining and intimidating. She shares why it’s worth the effort, how to overcome the reasons we give ourselves not to do it, and how to show up to networking events authentically – especially if you’re shy. Outside of her role at Paramount, Vicki co-chairs the women’s division of the nonprofit organization, The Guardians of the Los Angeles Jewish Home. Previous to Paramount, Vicki was a Marketing Manager at Modnique.Questions Vicki Answered in this Episode:Can you tell us about your background?When the company you worked at went out of business, how did you manage moving forward into your next role at CBS?How do you stay competitive with streaming?Tell us about your day-to-day. How do you go about prioritizing your day?How do you go about creating opportunities for others on your team?What does creating opportunities for networking look like?How do you retain top talent?What’s been some of the best leadership lessons that you’ve learned?What’s the best career advice you’ve received? The worst?How can we encourage more women to speak up and have a voice?Timestamp:1:28 Vicki’s background4:51 Lessons learned from a company that crashed9:06 Keys for success as Director of Marketing11:28 Being a supportive boss12:22 Networking: Getting out of your comfort zone15:15 Being clear in the interview process18:06 Leadership lessons22:12 Best & worst career advice24:28 Encouraging women to speak up27:02 ResourcesQuotes:(9:32-9:49) “One thing I do that I feel is crucial is having one-sheeters for campaigns because we do so many different things that can get confusing. So this is helpful, not only for the onboarding but for helping to present things to vendors so you don’t have to repeat things all the time, and just to have everything laid out for you.”(20:30-20:35) “Going back to networking: Be authentic. Build that relationship. You never know what will happen.”Mentioned in this Episode:Vicki Goldman’s LinkedInEmail: vicki.goldman@viacomcbs.comThe Guardians of the Los Angeles Jewish HomeShe Runs It

For this episode our guest is Brian Krebs, the CEO of MetrickWorks, an expert on incrementality measurement and testing. Brian discusses how the use of incrementality has evolved to its present popularity within the mobile marketing industry and the confluence of issues that make it complex to test incremental lift. Brain says Mixed Media Modeling is the way to fill in the gaps with attribution, but it must be validated and calibrated with geo level ground truth experimentation. Find out why and how this works. MetricWorks is a third-party solution for measuring incremental lift. Their solution only uses aggregate data points impervious to privacy changes, making it “future proof.” MetricWorks also provides LTV predictions and full UA automation, driven by machine learning.Questions Brian Answered in this Episode:What drives your entrepreneurial spirit?How has MetricWorks changed over the years and what is your focus today?How have you seen the evolution of incrementality measurement?What’s the process of working with MetricWorks to conduct an incremental lift study?Do you have a solution for apps that are only based in one country?Who stands to gain the most from incrementality measurement? What channels have been undervalued?Timestamp:2:45 Brian’s background7:20 About MetricWorks13:40 The evolution of incrementality15:55 Confluence of issues with testing incrementality19:05 Mixed Media Modeling: strengths and weaknesses20:05 MetricWorks’s incrementality measurement solution24:54 Ground truth incrementality testing28:26 Solutions for apps running in one country only33:33 What channels are being undervaluedQuotes:(18:47-19:02) “Ghost bidding is just a magical solution. And not only is it really hurt by losing the device id, but as a marketer you’re finding yourself trusting the vendor. The vendor is necessary to do ghost bidding or ghost ads.”(19:10-19:36) “[MMM] is complex but it’s simple in fundamental understanding of it, and, completely privacy compatible – doesn’t require any device-level data. And, there’s no need to get rid of incrementality testing. You have to go to a geo level, which is what we do. But, you can still use those signals to calibrate the MMM over time, which is probably MMM’s biggest weakness: not having some truth to ground in.”  Mentioned in this Episode:Brian Kreb’s LinkedInEmail: marketing@metric.worksMetricWorks“Using MMM to Fill in the Gaps with Attribution”

Sharon Romang, Vice President of Creative at Headlight, joins Maria Lannon on Apptivate’s Women in Mobile segment for an uplifting conversation about how to keep your creative team engaged with monthly design challenges. Sharon also talks about why dealing with the pain of networking is worth it and how to build an inspiring entourage for your personal and professional growth. Headlight is a New York-based marketing agency offering full-funnel performance media management, creative services focused on mobile-first, data-driven ads, and integrated analytics built for the privacy-first era. Sharon has a background in digital advertising, branded content, and visual storytelling, and has worked for companies like Smartly.io, New York Magazine, United Virtualities, to name a few. Sharon is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina.Questions Sharon Answered in this Episode:Tell us about your transition from Smartly to Headlight. How did you get to where you are today?Walk me through your day. What do you need to be successful?Have there been other influences or mentors that helped you get to where you are today?What advice would you give to anyone having trouble putting themselves out there and networking? Have you always felt comfortable networking?How do you encourage your team to take time off and rest when they need to? Do you lead by example, take your time off?What’s some other advice you’d give to women just starting their careers?Do you have any books or podcasts you recommend to our listeners?Timestamp:2:10 Sharon’s background4:25 Everyone has something to teach7:08 Her day-to-day9:12 How to keep a creative team engaged13:00 Influential mentors16:36 Networking is painful, but…20:04 Model taking breaks27:54 Advice for women starting their careers35:56 ResourcesQuotes:(4:25-4:38) “I think everyone has something to offer. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been working in your career. Especially because if we look at some of the most successful TikTok campaigns, it’s really Gen Z that’s taking the lead there.”(17:30-17:38) “In any opportunity you don’t know who you’re going to meet, who’s going to change your life or provide the next career opportunity.”(28:34-28:44) “Another thing I’m super passionate about is surrounding yourself with women you admire. There’s nothing more beautiful than women supporting women.”Mentioned in this Episode:Sharon RomangSharon’s portfolioHeadlightAbove Design Digital AgencySmartly.ioEmail: sharon@headlight.co

Alexey Gusev is a lead performance marketer at Goodgame Studios, a mobile and browser game developer and publisher based in Hamburg, Germany. In this episode, Alexey shares his team’s journey to adapt its performance measurement strategies with SKAdNetwork, not only for their range of mobile game titles and genres but for each game. He also gets specific about the differences of working with SKAdNetwork 4.0. Questions Alexey Answered in this Episode:What does it feel like when a new game launches?How long after you launch until you have good KPIs?Have certain titles been difficult to manage with SKAdNetwork?Across your titles, have you tried to create a uniform way of measuring conversion values with SKAN? Do you apply the same logic across all your titles?Is it fair to assume that even if you’ve built out a great infrastructure for SKAN on hardcore titles you still have fewer insights than you used to two years ago?At what point when you lose that granularity of data do you just look at macro effects and media mix modeling to determine the effectiveness of your overall strategy?What are a few of the major changes to SKAdNetwork that you’ve recognized?Timestamp:2:02 On launching a new game4:36 Alexey’s background8:00 About Goodgame Studios10:28 How Goodgame Studios managed changes with ATT14:32 Why every game needs its own measurement strategy18:00 What determines the profitability19:43 Adapting to SKAdNetwork 4.0Quotes:(14:33-14:43) “What we learned during this whole process is that every title, every game–not even every genre–every game needs to be approached very differently.”(15:12-15:36) “If it’s a hyper-casual genre, within 24 hours you have plenty of events. It gets a bit tricker when we’re stepping into the mid-core, hardcore genres where just the volume of the events is completely different and the user behavior patterns are way more complex in comparison to the rather straightforward casual user flow. (16:10-16:17) “Given the fact that we don’t get as granular information, we try to look at way more information in general.”Mentioned in this Episode:Alexey Gusev’s LinkedInGoodgame StudiosBitLife

After five years working for retail industries ranging from fashion and beauty to toys, Tiffanie Chau decided to look for opportunities as a marketer in a new vertical. She landed in the mobile gaming industry, first as the Digital Marketing Specialist at Playtika, and more recently as Senior User Acquisition Manager at Mistplay, a loyalty app for mobile gamers. In this episode, Tiffanie talks about making the switch, the skills she transferred, what she had to learn, and differences in marketing strategy.Questions Tiffanie Answered in this Episode:Do you prefer working on more established games or launching new titles?Did you have any games not make it?Why did you decide to make the shift from the retail industry to gaming?What was the hardest thing for you to pick up moving into the mobile gaming vertical?What skills translated into the mobile gaming space? Do you have to educate your consumer base for Mistplay’s loyalty program?What has you most excited about your future at Mistplay?Timestamp:3:30 Tiffanie’s background5:11 Big titles vs new titles7:19 When do you let go?8:34 Mistplay11:26 The shift to mobile games13:05 Challenges coming into the industry14:46 What skills and knowledge transfers16:42 Creative strategies for Mistplay20:26 What Tiffanie’s excited forQuotes:(7:25-7:37) “In today’s world with TikTok where things can instantly become viral without you even trying, I think it makes things exciting but it also makes things hard because there is no recipe to follow.”(13:27-13:49) “If I had any advice for people going into [the mobile gaming industry], it’s don’t be afraid to ask questions and learn. As much as we read up on it and think you should know it, there’s no harm in asking. Everyone works differently and has different definitions of abbreviations. I always just ask. It’s better to clear it out and move on from there.”Mentioned in this Episode:Tiffanie Chau’s LinkedInMistplay

Phil Golas is the Vice President of Technology and Activation in Ad Operations at Spark Foundry, a global media agency brand under the Publicis Groupe. He consults some of the world’s largest brands on advertising technology. In this episode, Phil shares an agency’s perspective on big brands and mobile measurement, including education, dispelling fears, shifts in advertising spend, and key growth areas to get excited about for the future.Questions Phil Answered in this Episode:What got you to your current VP role at Spark Foundry?Do you find yourself spending more time on one medium of screen?How do you stay educated on every media?Is there a particular subject matter that you really love to talk about these days?Are there good solutions for brand safety?When it comes to mobile, tell me about what you’re working on the most these days or maybe some big changes that you’ve seen over the last year?What’s the hardest thing for brands, like Quick Service Restaurant brands, to understand about mobile measurement? What requires the most education?How do these brands respond to getting such granular levels of performance metrics?How do you find your partners’ ability to adapt to Apple’s privacy changes? How do you reduce the fears?Did a lot of brands shift their advertising funds from iOS to Android when Apple’s privacy changes first hit? And if so, has it changed since?What are you excited about for the future?Timestamp:3:17 Phil’s background6:07 Ace of the screens8:55 Brand safety12:11 Uptick with mobile measurement16:50 The ah-ha moment with mobile measurement18:55 Giving clients the bigger picture22:30 Advertising spend in response to privacy changes26:01 Key growth area of the futureQuotes:(9:18-9:29) “With everything going on in the world, everyone wants to have their ad be seen but also not seen against certain content. [Brand safety is] a very touchy subject but one that’s top of mind and always evolving.”(12:16-12:33) “I think over the past year-and-a-half or two years, a lot of businesses have had to pivot the way that they conduct business. So, we’re seeing a lot more advertisers, brands, and clients thinking about, asking about, and trying to get educated on mobile measurement and how to do that.”Mentioned in this Episode:Phil Golas’s LinkedInSpark Foundry

Mariana D’Avila is a natural at being a leader and confronting inappropriate behaviors towards women in the workplace. In this episode, she shares more than one occasion in which she had to pull a coworker aside to address their disrespectful behavior. She gives her tips on how to address this situation in a productive and compassionate way.Mariana D’Avila is the Head of Growth at Appreach, which consults app companies on holistic media strategies. She is based in Ceará in Brazil by the beautiful beach of Taiba where she kitesurfs in her free time.Questions Mariana Answered in this Episode:Tell us about starting your career in mobile and moving into a management position at a young age?Managers often feel like they’re supposed to have all the answers. How do you deal with that?What do you need in your day-to-day to do your best work?What is a leadership lesson that’s transformed your thinking?What’s been the most challenging part of your career so far?Who do women speak up in a situation where male colleagues are being condescending?How have you been able to build your support net?Timestamp:3:44 Appreach & Mariana’s role9:10 Awareness as a manager13:41 Must-have for success17:31 Biggest leadership lessons22:57 Mariana’s biggest challenge so far27:35 Speaking up to disrespectful colleagues33:54 Build your network of women professionals37:00 Getting your message throughQuotes:(10:26-10:33) “I think you need to always be able to raise your hand, to be humble, to say, ‘I don’t know.’”(12:40-12:56) “Self awareness is one of the most important things to have because if you don’t know yourself, if you don’t know your triggers, you’ll find yourself lost. Not just professionally but what you want for your life.”(17:40-17:48) “Knowledge is the one thing no one can take from you. So be committed to developing it every day.”Mentioned in this Episode:Mariana D’Avila’s LinkedInAppreach