2017 EDITION Guide to Marketing GAMING APPS Guide to... · 2019-03-29 · Guide to Marketing Gaming...

Guide to Marketing Gaming Apps 1

Guide to Marketing

GAMING APPSI N S I G H T S F R O M G A M I N G A P P M A R K E T E R S

2 0 1 7 E D I T I O N


Table of Contents

3 Introduction

4 Insights from Gaming App Marketers

4 Tal Turpaz - InfiApps

7 David Yi - Storm8

10 Haydon Young - Crowdstar

14 Matt Widdoes - King

17 Winnie Wen - WB Games

21 Vinícius Gerez - Wooga GmbH

24 What does it take to succeed in mobile marketing?

26 What strategies work best to convert installs into engaged

users?

28 2017 Gaming Apps Report Key Findings

29 The Importance of Re-Engagement


Growing a mobile business is no small

feat, but for marketers of gaming apps,

it’s an even more difficult task. According

to a recently released Global Games

Market Report by Newzoo, 2.2 billion

gamers across the globe are expected to

generate $108.9 billion in game revenues

in 2017. Mobile is the most lucrative

segment, with smartphone and tablet

gaming growing 19% year on year to

$46.1 billion, claiming 42% of the market.

So how can you claim your share of

these revenues?

To succeed in this explosive mobile

gaming market demands you plan user

acquisition strategies based on real

numbers and proven insights. The Guide

to Marketing Gaming Apps, comprised

of interviews with expert gaming Mobile

Heroes, shares best practices and tips

for successfully growing and monetizing

gaming apps.

Read on to find out how marketers

approach user acquisition and retention,

what it takes to succeed in mobile

marketing, and what strategies work best

to convert installs into engaged users.

This guide also includes insights from our

2017 Gaming Apps Report and Beginner’s

Guide to Mobile Re-Engagement.

Introduction

https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/the-global-games-market-will-reach-108-9-billion-in-2017-with-mobile-taking-42/

https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/the-global-games-market-will-reach-108-9-billion-in-2017-with-mobile-taking-42/

http://info.liftoff.io/2017-mobile-gaming-apps-report/

http://info.liftoff.io/2017-mobile-re-engagement/



Q&A with Tal

Tal Turpaz is the Head of Advertising at

InfiApps, based out of Israel. His exten-

sive background in online advertising,

affiliate marketing, and mobile marke-

ting began at Matomy Media Group. He

then switched to lead user acquisition

strategy at InfiApps where he’s been for

over three years.

How did you get into mobile marketing?

My marketing career started at Matomy where

part of my job included handling online web

campaigns. During my time there, mobile

really started to grow and I realized the future

of online marketing was moving to mobile.

I was lucky enough to get the attention from

one of the co-founders of InfiApps who

offered me an opportunity to be one of the

Tal TurpazHead of Advertising

InfiApps

InfiApps, a mobile gaming company,

inspires players with magical, surpri-

sing and entertaining applications.

Slot Bonanza, the company’s flagship

game, is played by millions of people

worldwide as a leading social casino

game.

· Founded in 2012

· Headquartered in Israel


company’s first employees. I am now respon-

sible for the entire user acquisition strategy at

InfiApps.

What do you like most about mobile marketing?

I love the fact that the mobile ecosystem is so

fast paced and evolving constantly. It keeps you

on your toes and forces you to adapt and learn

all the time.

What is the biggest mistake you made as a

mobile marketer?

We have many social casino apps. My biggest

mistake was thinking if a specific source

worked well for one app, that it would auto-

matically work well for another app.

Social casino apps appear quite similar on

the surface, but there are differences – the

theme of the app, the types of games within

the app, the app economy, and so on. Social

casino users tend to be very particular in their

preferences.

When releasing a new app, you should always

carefully test the sources that you work with

and not rely wholly on your historical

knowledge. The results may surprise you.

What do you think are the main differences

between marketing a gaming app vs a non-

gaming app?

People tend to install gaming apps, even if

they don’t need them. If it looks fun, they’ll try

it. With dating, finance, e-commerce, and other

app categories, a user most likely won’t install

the app if they don’t have a need for it.

For this reason, gaming apps tend to have

much higher instal volumes generating more

data faster than non-gaming apps. When acqui-

ring gaming users in volume, you can deter-

mine what sources generate good ROI almost

immediately. This demands faster decision

making and optimizing over non-gaming apps.

What does a quality mobile user look like to

you?

For InfiApps, a quality user is ultimately a user

that pays.

If users don’t pay, we want them to keep

playing our apps as much as possible. Why?

Firstly, data is a key factor in our industry and

if the user keeps engaging with our apps,

we learn more about what is or isn’t wor-

king. Secondly, we can eventually generate

money out of non-paying users through ad

monetization.

“When releasing a new app, always carefully test the sources that you work with.”

Tal Turpaz, InfiApps


What is the biggest challenge in marketing

your apps?

The biggest challenge in marketing within the

social casino vertical is that there are so many

apps fighting for the same audience. CPIs are

increasing rapidly and the competition is fierce

so you really need to think outside the box in

order to get quality users.

How do you stay ahead of changes in

technology?

I frequently read newsletters and subscribe to

tech blogs. I’m also in contact with many re-

presentatives from the networks and solution

providers we work with. They work with many

companies (some direct competitors) and can

share great insights and knowledge.

How important is diversifying user acquisi-

tion outside of Facebook?

Facebook is great. It combines volume and

quality through targeting options, but it’s crucial

to diversify your acquisition channels. Between

search, affiliates, ad networks and other con-

tent related sites, there are many opportunities

out there that you should always test.

How important are the holidays to your

business and what season is the biggest

time for you?

The holidays are very important to us. In the

3 years I’ve led user acquisition efforts for

InfiApps, I always see a spike in installs, en-

gagement in the app, and IAP during the holi-

days. It is our biggest time of the year. People

have more time to play our apps when they’re

not working and tend to spend more money

because of the ambiance of the holidays.


Q&A with David

Based in the San Francisco Bay

Area, David Yi is the User Acquisition

Manager at leading mobile game net-

work Storm8, where his team manages

global UA and monetization campaigns

for their portfolio of 45+ games. Prior to

pursuing a career in mobile marketing,

David worked as a Financial Analyst.


I started my career in financial analysis, and

after a couple of years, I realized that I wanted

to do something else—something that allowed

me to be more creative, while still having a

strong analytical component. I looked into per-

formance marketing and saw that mobile was

a huge and growing market. Combined, it was

something I found very appealing so I took the

leap and got into mobile.

David YiUser Acquisition Manager

Storm8

Storm8 is a leading mobile game

network that creates a world of play

and discovery for its hundreds of

millions of users. Storm8’s network

includes over 45 mobile games re-

leased across multiple genres, which

have been downloaded more than 1

billion times. Notable games include

the Restaurant Story franchise, Dragon

Story, and Bubble Mania.

· Founded in 2009

· Headquartered in Redwood City, CA


systems that help us detect fraud at its

earliest stages. Something as simple as

setting up email alerts regarding install

activity is helpful. More importantly,

monitoring campaigns closely, especially

when working with new partners is crucial.



gaming app?

Gaming remains to be one of the top 5

activities on smartphones today. A good game

can have users spending hours a day playing,

whereas if a user downloads a non-gaming

app – such as utility apps – the amount of

time spent on it is more finite. The way you

market an app depends on the motivation that

the users have for downloading the app. For

games, you have to showcase that it’s fun and

will keep the user entertained for minutes or

hours at a time; after all, people play games

to pass the time and to be entertained. For

a non-gaming app, you have to highlight

the benefits – whether it’s ease of use, or

time saved, etc. I think that’s one of the key

differences between marketing a gaming app

and a non-gaming app.

What does a quality mobile user look like to you?

A quality mobile user in my opinion would

be someone who’s entertained enough by

our content that they feel compelled to make

a purchase to continue their experience.

Of course, we all want users who monetize


I really enjoy working in a rapidly evolving

space. Some mobile marketing strategies that

worked well a couple of years ago may not be

as effective – or even applicable – today be-

cause the technology advances so quickly. This

means that I get exposed to some of the latest

strategies and techniques in the market, which

means I learn something new all the time. I also

like that mobile marketing can be very data-

driven. Seeing the kind of results you expect

from making good decisions based on data is

pretty awesome.


mobile marketer?

One of my biggest mistakes was probably

not having a system in place to catch fraud.

While it doesn’t happen often, fraudulent

activity can be a pain to deal with if you

don’t catch it early – especially since you’re

spending a considerable amount of money

to attract users and they turn out to be fake.

I learned this lesson first-hand and it inspired

me to be more proactive about setting up

“Understanding and segmenting your audiences is the first step to effectively keeping users engaged.”

David Yi, Storm8


through in-app purchases. Users who exhibit

strong engagement metrics are definitely

valuable, but as a performance marketer, I am

looking for the highest ROI possible. While

these engaged users can later contribute

to that ROI directly (or indirectly), users who

monetize early on are likely to monetize more

down the line.

What is your biggest challenge in marketing

your apps?

At Storm8, we have a vast portfolio of games

that span genres. Each game is different and

each game should be marketed differently

given varying audience segments. I take time

to understand each new game, who the au-

dience is for each game, and how we’re going

to attract these users based on their profiles.

It can be a challenge to optimize and tailor

marketing efforts for each individual game, but

it is also one of the things I enjoy most about

being at Storm8.


technology?

I set aside time every day to read the latest

news via blogs. I subscribe to a number of

tech and mobile marketing newsletters. If I

read something that catches my attention

and want to learn more, I typically reach out

to a peer who might have more insight on

the topic. Catching up with peers at industry

events and conferences is also a great way to

stay on top of trends.



I think it’s pretty important. While Facebook

provides great tools for targeting and poten-

tially vast scale, it is only one way to reach a

user. A user could possibly be more drawn to

your ad when it is shown to them outside of

Facebook, even if you are showing the same

app. There are many different ad units and ad

experiences out there and some might capture

a specific user’s attention better than others.

How important are the holidays to your business

and what season is the biggest time for you?

Gaming is actually pretty consistent

throughout the year among our players, with

some dips depending on certain seasons (like

back to school). Surprisingly, people tend to

play more during the workweek according to

a recent study we conducted at Storm8. That

said, the holidays remain important, especially

with the gift-giving season. With plenty of

new device activations, there’s always an

opportunity to attract new players to our

games, or to new titles for existing players. We

always put our best foot forward when users

spend more time in our apps.

“People tend to play more during the workweek”

David Yi, Storm8


Q&A with Haydon

Haydon Young is the Senior Manager,

User Acquisition and Ad Monetization for

Crowdstar, based out of the Bay Area. He

oversees a UA team managing overall

budget, strategy, and direction of paid

user acquisition for two Top 50 Grossing

Games: Covet Fashion and Design Home.


My marketing background started in real estate

and project management. I learned traditional

fundamentals of marketing by developing a

deep understanding of my customers and

uncovering what they considered most impor-

tant in their decision making. This experience

helped form my foundation of marketing by es-

tablishing the user’s trust and positioning their

needs first. After real estate, I pivoted to the

online marketing world working at Commission

Crowdstar

Crowdstar is a global leader in mobile

and social gaming developing enter-

tainment for women. The company’s

flagship apps, Covet Fashion and

Design Home, entertains millions of

women daily.

· Founded in 2008

· Headquartered in Burlingame, CA

Haydon YoungSenior Manager, User Acquisition

and Ad Monetization


Junction which opened up my experience to

one of the most competitive forms of perfor-

mance marketing: affiliate marketing. At CJ I

was able to work with Fortune 500 companies

and top-ranked websites to develop and opti-

mize their affiliate marketing strategy.

I saw mobile as the next platform of marketing

and wanted to immerse myself in that world. I

quit my job and decided to pursue my dreams

of developing my own apps. Along the way,

I got connected with developers and artists,

and did UA for small companies. From there,

I was able to take my experience and found

an opportunity at Crowdstar that matched my

background.

What do you like most about mobile

marketing?

Mobile marketing is one of the most rapidly

evolving and competitive platforms in the

world. I love that this industry is at the forefront

of innovation which encourages new methods

and technologies to learn from. Also, ad

performance feedback is near real-time. It’s

very satisfying to see your ad concepts doing

well, especially knowing it’s in one of the most

competitive landscapes in the world.


mobile marketer?

I was hoping that a specific channel of traffic

would work based on their inventory demo-

graphic, ad placement/promotion type, and

how much it aligned with our user base. Since

our game was for female users that loved

fashion, we thought influencer marketing would

be a great channel of high quality traffic. We

especially bet on using influencers focused on

fashion. However, after a couple of different

campaigns, the results weren’t ROI positive.

This was a hard pill to swallow — it was so

counterintuitive to what I thought.



gaming app?

The mobile gaming landscape is very competi-

tive. There is a huge challenge to differentiate

yourself amongst the crowds to gain mindshare

and ultimately get quality installs that provide

ROI. Gaming is a form of entertainment and

there are so many options for a user to choose

from. Developing the right ad concept that

speaks to the user and establish that you are

the right choice of entertainment for them is

what I try to achieve on a daily basis. I tap into

the user’s emotional side in my marketing and

provide a platform of possibilities.

“I tap into the user’s emotional side in my marketing and provide a platform of possibilities.”

Haydon Young, Crowdstar


On the other hand, non-gaming apps have

real world implications with products and

services that the user can relate to on a daily

occurrence. The marketing of those apps can

draw upon practical applications in real world

settings.


We have a very passionate community of

users. They are very vocal on our social

channels and within the game’s chat room.

A quality user shows high engagement with

our events and believes in the value of the

product by monetizing. In addition, they also

provide value by being involved in the com-

munity by helping each other out and being

an advocate for the game.


your apps?

One of the biggest challenges is to uncover

more sources of traffic that will deliver high

ROI installs for a very gender specific user

base that is interested in fashion, makeup,

and beauty. Ad exhaustion and audience

saturation are a constant battle. A rigorous

A/B testing plan with new concepts that cater

to deeper audience understanding helps

mitigate those hurdles.


technology?

I read many industry newsletters and blogs. I

also stay connected with colleagues within the

industry and ask a lot of questions. Vendors


and ad reps also help me stay up to date

with the market as they present beta testing

opportunities with their new tech. Attending

conferences and seminars is also another

great way to learn about new changes.



Inventory diversification is very important.

Relying on just one source of traffic could

chain you to unnecessary risk such as a dra-

matic increase in acquisition cost giving you

no option to shift strategies.

Diversification also gives you a more holistic

understanding of the industry and will allow

learnings from different channels which you

can apply to different campaigns. It’s important

to keep in mind the user intent of the plat-

forms which you advertise on and reaching

those users at that moment which they are

most receptive to your marketing message.



time for you?

During gift giving and major consumer

holidays, there’s pockets of opportunity to

capture the influx of new device inventory

which could lead to lower user acquisition

cost. Also, the flood of appstore giftcards

along with more free time all contribute to

a higher propensity for users to monetize.

We also align major fashion content updates

along with the changes in seasons: Summer/

Fall/Winter/Spring. This cycle keeps the game

constantly updated with amazing artwork and

style challenges which keeps our users highly

engaged.


Q&A with Matt

Matt Widdoes is the Director,

Performance Marketing at King.

Although King is headquartered in

London, Matt is based out of their

San Francisco office. He provides the

strategic direction of the performance

marketing organization as it relates

to partnerships, ad tech, emerging

platforms and digital/traditional media

buying.


My first experience was helping various

SMB’s with promoted posts and growing

followers on social channels. This quickly

transitioned to mobile campaigns focused

on installs, purchase events and some lead

generation stuff.

Matt Widdoes Director, Performance Marketing

King

King is a leading interactive mobile en-

tertainment company. They’ve develop-

ed more than 200 fun titles, and offer

games that are enjoyed all around

the world. King is an independent unit

of Activision Blizzard Inc. (Nasdaq:

ATVI), which acquired King in February

2016. Popular game franchises inclu-

de: Candy Crush, Farm Heroes, Pet

Rescue and Bubble Witch.

· Founded in 2003

· Headquartered in London



marketing?

Mobile marketing is constantly evolving and

when platforms release new products I enjoy

the process of figuring out the best way to lev-

erage them. I’m a lifelong gamer and in many

ways, mobile marketing is one big puzzle.

What is the biggest mistake you’ve made as

a mobile marketer?

I’ve made so many mistakes it’s kind of difficult

to pick the biggest. Thankfully, I’ve never had

an “I clicked a button and accidentally spent

$1M” type of mistake, but plenty of small mis-

takes along the way.

The first time I spent money on Facebook,

I was trying to grow a startup’s likes to help

develop a little social proof before entering

the market. I bought a bunch of likes in the

US for roughly $1.00/user. A few days went by

before I realized that I could purchase likes

for $0.01/user if I targeted places like Thailand

or Guyana to get the same value. It’s through

mistakes that we learn, so I’m a big proponent

of testing, making mistakes, learning from

them and getting back in the ring with a new

plan.



gaming app?

I’ve never really marketed a non-gaming app,

so I’m not really qualified to say. My guess

is that for a lot of apps they’re much more

focused on getting sign-ups and keeping

retention metrics high given that they often

will be driving revenue from the size and

activity of their user base vs IAP.


you?

It really depends on the goals of the cam-

paign and what type of app I’m promoting.

In general, when it comes to gaming, it’s

someone that downloads the app, frequently

returns to play, frequently makes in app pur-

chases, tells their friends, engages with the

game on social media channels and goes on

to download other games in the company’s

portfolio.


your apps?

The market is insanely saturated with a lot of

really great apps. People only have so much

time in their day so finding new ways to stay

relevant and stand out in a sea of great

games is, and will remain, a challenge.

“You need systems in place to ensure you understand how the inputs you’re adjusting are impacting results.”

Matt Widdoes, King



technology?

I read articles daily and have a few RSS feeds

set up for different things. Friends and co-

workers send a ton of articles my way as well.

At King, I’m hyper focused on finding the latest

and greatest tools, tech, and companies that are

supporting the mobile marketing industry. If you

know someone that’s doing something really

cool in ad tech or data, tell them to email me.



It’s insanely important to be diversified, and you

could ask this same question about any plat-

form/network. Ultimately our industry is about

performance, whatever performance means to

your app. I wouldn’t diversify solely for the sake

of being diversified, if that makes sense.

If you’re using Facebook and they’re giving

you a higher quality user than you can find

anywhere else at a specific cost, then diver-

sification is less important, so long as you’re

continuing to test other channels and they

continue to do worse. However, in most any

venture, I would avoid having all of my eggs in

one basket.



time for you?

Really, every day is important for us. Tons of

new devices are bought/received during the

holidays so for most any app it’s a good win-

dow of time to get noticed and on someone’s

phone. As a result, a lot of companies are very

active during that time period, so it can get

pretty competitive in terms of cost.


Q&A with Winnie

Winnie Wen is the Senior Manager,

User Acquisition for WB Games, based

out of the San Francisco Bay Area.

She manages overall budget, strategy,

and direction of paid user acquisition

for many games in the Warner Bros.

coffers including DC Legends, Mortal

Kombat X, and Injustice: Gods Among

Us.


Interesting story. Prior to my first role as

a mobile marketer, I had zero knowledge

about the mobile space. I was working in

traditional corporate finance & healthcare

marketing and I didn’t feel passionate about

the product. I noticed that there was a surge

of mobile marketing roles on LinkedIn and I

discovered the mobile industry. It was very

Winnie WenSenior Manager, User Acquisition

Warner Bros. Entertainment

Warner Bros. Entertainment is a global

leader in all forms of entertainment

and their related businesses spanning

current and emerging media and plat-

forms. In the mobile gaming vertical, po-

pular mobile game titles owned by WB

include: DC Legends, Mortal Kombat X,

and Injustice: Gods Among Us.

· Founded in 1923

· Headquartered in Burbank, CA


difficult to get my foot in the door as I was

doing traditional direct mail marketing.

Most, if not all, of the mobile opportunities were

looking for someone with experience in mobile

or transferable knowledge from web marketing.

I was almost ready to give up after getting

only a few responses, all rejections, but then

I received a response from a gaming start-up,

ngmoco, and everything else is history. Leaving

the traditional marketing space behind was one

of the best decisions I’ve ever made.


marketing?

I love that there are no rules in mobile

marketing. Coming from a heavily regulated

corporate marketing space, it was a breath

of fresh air having the freedom to test and try

different creative and copy. Mobile marketing

encourages creativity and originality, and

adding innovative technology to the equation,

it makes the industry one of the fastest

growing of our generation.


mobile marketer?

Where do I begin? Haha. One of the most

common mistakes I noticed in the industry,

one I’m guilty of committing early in my career,

was making decisions too soon without

sufficient data or enough time. It’s easy to get

excited or discouraged with early performance

metrics. I learned early on to never repeat this

mistake as I’ve seen cohorts mature over

time, ending in a different result from the

early read.



gaming app?

Non-gaming apps generally serve specific

functions, so it’s very different from gaming

which has more broad appeal. I believe

there’s a significant difference between

gaming and non-gaming creatives. Gaming

creatives tend to focus on entertainment

value and wow factor, whereas non-gaming

creatives concentrate on the value proposi-

tion and often touch on human emotions to

convey how the products add value.

The key differences probably surface with

regard to metrics, such as retention, first time

purchase, user life cycle, etc. Depending on

the product and its purpose, there may be

varying daily/weekly retention levels (i.e. a

hotel rental app vs Amazon). In addition, first-

time conversion value will likely be higher for

“I love that there are no rules in mobile marketing.”

Winnie Wen, Warner Bross Games


non-gaming apps. With a higher financial inves-

tment, it’s likely users are more committed to

the product. Lastly, seeing that these apps add

value to the user’s lifestyle, the lifecycles of

non-gaming apps are generally longer than the

gaming average of around 180 to 365 days.


On top of looking for payers, I look for users

who engage with the app on a regular basis.

Ideally, these users pay as well, but there’s

value in retained non-payers as we can

monetize them through other means, such as

ad revenue.

What is your biggest challenge marketing

your apps?

The rising costs of acquisition. The mobile

space is heavily saturated with millions of

apps and it’s getting more and more expen-

sive to acquire users. For the most part, user

acquisition is basic math: is value > cost? Is the

projected ROI net positive? Not every title/pro-

duct is going to be a hit with high LTVs, and

if your title isn’t one of them, it’s very difficult

to execute positively and at scale given the

competition in the market.


technology?

The industry is constantly evolving so it can

be difficult to keep up with the changes and

latest trends. It’s helpful to stay connected

with fellow UA peers to discuss the latest

trends, tips, and new channels. Also, it’s bene-

ficial to maintain good relationships with part-

ners to get first dibs on any new or emerging

technologies.



Facebook is a proven key channel for success

in UA, but there are still plenty of opportunities

outside of Facebook.

First, I never believe in putting all of my eggs in

one basket as it creates potential risk should

that one option fail. Second, believe it or

not, not everyone is on Facebook. It’s silly to

think that we can reach the full potential au-

dience using just one source. Third, because

Facebook is a proven channel for the entire

industry, it’s highly competitive, costly, and has

seasonal highs and lows, so it’s best to explore

other channels when Facebook metrics aren’t

backing out. Lastly, I’ve had success and seen

performance on par to Facebook with other

sources, so while Facebook is an obvious

choice, it’s not ideal to invest 100% in it.

“Although you may understand the audience, creative optimization is a job that never ends.”

Winnie Wen, Warner Bross Games




time for you?

The holidays are the most expensive time as

we’re not only competing with big developers,

but with big brand marketing as well, so I ad-

vise my team to avoid spending at the holiday

peak. I try to allocate budget within the first 3

weeks of the holiday months to avoid over-

priced bids. Unless I’m working with a large

budget and/or if the product is strategically de-

signed to launch during the holidays to garner

organics, I prefer to lay low during the holidays.

UA is usually cheapest in January, after

the holiday rush, so that’s the best time to

scale and get the most bang for your buck.

However, the UA strategy is a moving piece

as it continuously changes depending

on performance data. For instance, if the

metrics in January are performing below

expectations, I’ll withhold from taking

advantage of the lower rates.

Aside from product launches being the

“biggest” time for UA, post launch spend is

dependent on performance.


Q&A with Vinícius

Vinícius Gerez is a Senior Marketing

Manager for Wooga. In this role, he

manages testing and optimization

of RTB buying, expansion of global

markets, contract and IO negotiations,

C-level reporting, and much more.

Vinícius broke into app marketing as

a marketing intern at Wooga, and has

steadily climbed the ranks for the past

several years until reaching his current

role.


I started as a translator at Wooga in

2010, localizing our games into Brazilian

Portuguese at a time when Wooga was still

making games for Facebook.com. Back then,

the localization team was working closely

with the marketing team, helping out with

Wooga GmbH

Founded in 2009, Wooga has become

one of the most popular developers

of casual mobile games in the world.

Based in Berlin, employees from more

than 40 nations develop high quality

puzzle, simulation and hidden object

games for a global audience. Wooga’s

focus is on regularly creating free-to-

play hits such as Jelly Splash, Pearl’s

Peril, Diamond Dash and Bubble Island 2.

· Founded in 2009

· Headquartered in Berlin, Germany

Vinícius Gerez Senior Marketing Manager


Facebook ad copy for desktop apps. Half a

year later, in 2011, I moved over to the user

acquisition team and specialized in acquiring

users for our games. That was also the time

when Wooga shifted focus from desktop to

mobile marketing, which was a really great

experience to learn from.


It’s a very fast paced field. There’s frequent

change and I’m constantly learning new things.

What works today might not be so meaningful

tomorrow, and there are always new technolo-

gies coming into play that add up to the novelty

of the industry.


mobile marketer?

Due to the fast paced nature of mobile mar-

keting, I learned the hard way about how

important it is to always organize things in

advance. Having a back-up person if you step

out is key. This back-up person must have a

proper handoff to continue from where you

leave off. If that is not possible for any reason,

I’d always recommend to set up a routine plan

with regular check-ins.



gaming app?

The first thought that comes to mind is the

approach towards paid re-engagement. From

my experience, if you compare gaming and

e-commerce apps, for example, the value

coming to the latter is higher for paid re-

engagement than for gaming. Reminding a

user that there was this item that they almost

purchased, but didn’t, tends to show results

quicker and more efficiently than if you pay to

bring a user to play your game. Keeping game

players engaged by means of community

or forum efforts feels more natural and less

imposing for the users.


you?

Speaking in a simplified way, it all boils

down to a combination of retention and

engagement. If a user comes back to play

our apps every day, engages in various ways,

puts time and investment in, that is a great

user. This person would then consequently

also become a spokesperson for our product,

making recommendations to friends, who

would in turn end up playing the game as

well. In this case, the original user would be

an amazing quality user to us.

“Make sure your teams are on the same page sharing one goal to create the best possible user experience.”

Vinícius Gerez, Wooga


What strategies work best to convert in-

stalls into engaged users?

From a UA perspective, you have to be candid

about your product. Since the advertisement

is the first step in the user journey, you have

to make sure that they know what they are

going to get once they download your app.

Otherwise, they will abandon it if they feel

mislead. For existing players, it is all about

keeping up their positive experience and

providing happy play moments. That’s when

our community and player experience teams

mostly interact with players.

What is the biggest challenge in marketing

your apps?

The amount of competition that exists in our

ecosystem. There are many gaming apps com-

ing out every day. Everyone is trying to attract

players, so convincing users that they should

play our games over others can be tricky.


technology?

I keep up by reading industry newsletters

and blogs (like Venturebeat, TechCrunch,

PocketGamer.biz), attending events, and

talking to peers and network account

managers in general. I also like being an early

adopter of new products where possible.



It is definitely important. Facebook brings

amazing targeting capabilities to marketers

and thus is a very important channel to every-

one in the industry. That, however, literally

comes with a price. There are so many others

trying to reach out to the same audiences

as you, that prices keep increasing and it

becomes hard to keep ROI at a profitable

level. With that in mind diversification is clearly

one important aspect of advertising outside

of Facebook. Another one is that while many

users are connected to Facebook, not ever-

yone in the world is. So having other means of

reaching the players broadens your potential

target audience.



time for you?

Holidays usually mean many large brands

invest heavily to be seen by everyone. So

this period is actually more difficult for us than

other times of the year. The beginning of the

year, when many large brands have scaled

down from Christmas, is a good period. That’s

when potential players who found a new

device under the Christmas tree are looking

for apps to install.

“I like being an early adopter of new products.”

Vinícius Gerez, Wooga


What does it take to succeed in mobile marketing?

So many things. First and foremost you

have to be okay spending a lot of time

in spreadsheets or at least looking at

numbers on a dashboard.

You also need to have a high degree of empathy for your audience in order to make

sound assumptions about how they

might react to a piece of creative or a

particular message. You have to be risk

tolerant, willing to make mistakes, and

closely adhere to the scientific method

in order to succeed.

I don’t believe in a perfect formula or “secret sauce”

in mobile marketing, but there are a few traits that are

critical to success.

1. Attention to detail – there are many moving pieces

with campaigns, and half the work happens before

the campaign goes live. It’s easy to lose track and

for things to fall through the cracks, so make lists of

important requirements and prioritize accordingly.

2. Creativity – the sky’s the limit. Don’t be afraid to explore and test outside the boundaries, within reason. If the test

fails, there is still value in the lesson because we’ve

identified what doesn’t work, not all is lost.

3. Be nimble – always have plan B and C ready

to go. Things will often not go according to plan,

encountering problems like tracking issues, under

performing metrics, scalability issues, etc. It’s best to

prepare for various unexpected scenarios so that in the

event that issues arise, you’re already one step ahead

and working on solutions.

4. Be analytical/data driven – conduct regular

analysis to identify potential trends and opportunities.

Campaign metrics and downstream KPIs provide

meaningful insights. Also, it doesn’t hurt to approach

metrics with a dose of skepticism; if metrics looks too

good to be true, it probably is.

Being able to adapt is critical

to success in our industry. The mobile

market, technology, and your product can

change so quickly and drastically that you

need to be able to keep up and adjust

your marketing efforts accordingly.


You have to have an analytical, inquisitive

mind. You have to be interested in the data itself, analyzing it and making

informed decisions. You should also be open

to learn new technologies and strategies.

What does it take to succeed in mobile marketing?

I think there’s 3 main areas that will help in

being successful.

1. Being analytical, having the ability to make data-driven decisions, and adjusting your marketing

mix to achieve those goals.

2. Being creative and constantly thinking

about how to better deliver your message to

the right people on the right channel at the

right time.

3. And lastly, being adaptable to market

changes and learning quickly to what works

as this industry evolves. Methods and

technologies in use one month could be

obsolete the next.

CPIs are always increasing so you need to

analyze data quickly and in a smart way in order to understand what ROI

you’re generating (or going to generate) with a

specific source.

At the end of the day, you need to look at the

bottom line and spend your money wisely.


What strategies work best to convert installs into engaged users?

Popular strategies include generating LAL audiences on Facebook, optimizing creatives,

and targeting day X ROAS goals, but equally important is a close relationship with

the product team. It’s imperative that there is communication between Product and UA regarding the health of the app,

upcoming features, sales, promotions, etc, so that the UA team can coordinate their

strategy to align with in app events. Users are more likely to engage when there’s

something new and exciting happening.

I think the most important things are to

understand the core values and benefits of your

product, and then to advertise to that target

user segment that will derive the most value

from it. This involves developing your user profiles and catering your marketing messaging to address that

specific demographic and psychographic needs.

The product would also need to have a great

new user flow, provide interesting and valuable

content, along with in-app messaging to keep

the user engaged.

This isn’t an answer a lot of people want to hear, but

the best strategy is having a killer game/app. Ultimately the product is what’s

going to drive long-term engagement. With marketing

we can gently nudge people further down the path

with incentives or highlighting new features, but

ultimately the product has to be excellent.


What strategies work best to convert installs into engaged users?

Understanding and segmenting your audiences is the first step to

effectively keeping users engaged. Not all users

will behave in your app the same way, nor will all

users react to your engagement strategies the

same way. Once you have a good understanding

of your users, you can then come up with different

strategies that will be impactful and effective.

I consider different tactics during various stages of the funnel for converting installs

into engaged users:

1. App Messaging – during the

acquisition phase, ad and app store

messaging should be intriguing and get

users to download the app.

2. First experience – pre-install and

shortly after, give the user an easy and

fun first-time experience.

3. Re-engagement – post-install,

segment your users based on their

actions and notify them when something

that they might like happens in the app

in order to bring them back and remain

engaged.

4. Drive revenue – down funnel,

segment your users and suggest

different deals according to their

purchase history in the app.

From a UA perspective, you have to be candid about

your product. Since the advertisement is the first step

in the user journey, you have to make sure that they know what they are going to get once they download your app. Otherwise, they

will abandon it if they feel mislead. For existing players,

it is all about keeping up their positive experience

and providing happy play moments. That’s when our

community and player experience teams mostly interact

with players.


The 2017 Mobile Gaming Apps Report

tracks the cost of installs, registrations, and

in-app purchases (IAP), and breaks down

data by platform, user demographics, and

region. The report also compares data

across a variety of gaming categories,

including action-adventure, card, casino,

puzzle and strategy. Here are the key

findings from the report:

• The overall install-to-purchase

rate (the rate of users that convert,

going from install to purchase for

the period October 2015 - October

2016) for gaming apps is higher than

average when compared to other app

categories.

• Acquiring users who will register in the

gaming app, the key action that will

allow app developers to engage and

re-engage with their audience over

the lifespan of the app, costs nearly 2x

more on iOS compared with Android.

• It costs more to acquire males who

register in gaming apps than it costs to

acquire females.

• In North America, the install-to-

purchase engagement rate is nearly 4x

higher than in EMEA.

• The cost associated with acquiring

a user that converts from install to

purchase for casino games is roughly

4x more than casual games.

• Players are nearly 3.5x more likely to

make an in-app purchase in a mobile

card game than they are in an

action-adventure mobile game.

2017 Gaming Apps Report Key Findings

http://info.liftoff.io/2017-mobile-gaming-apps-report/


Over 90% of app installs will stop using

an app within 30 days. Engaged users

are the key to generating revenue for

any mobile app, from any category —

especially competitive gaming apps

where marketers likely promote new

features, levels, lives, or skills to keep

users spending.

A well-planned, diverse re-engagement

strategy allows marketers to turn missed

opportunities into active users by wisely

using their data to bring users back into

a gaming app. Whether you are new to

re-engagement or need to brush up on

the basics, download the Beginner’s

Guide to Mobile Re-Engagement.

The Beginner’s Guide covers what

mobile re-engagement is, why it’s

important to re-engage users who have

installed your app, the basics of how to

setup re-engagement campaigns, and

various methods of re-engagement.

Stop leaving money on the table, and

start retargeting unengaged users.

The Importance of Re-Engagement




Liftoff is a full-service mobile app marketing and retargeting

platform which uses post-install data to run true CPA-

optimized mobile user acquisition and retention campaigns.

With Liftoff, campaigns are optimized to drive specific

actions beyond the install, to acquire users who engage

in more profitable post-install events like booking a hotel,

subscribing to a service or making a purchase.

[email protected] heroes.liftoff.ioliftoff.io

Visit heroes.liftoff.io to learn from more mobile

marketing professionals.

2017 EDITION Guide to Marketing GAMING APPS Guide to... · 2019-03-29 · Guide to Marketing Gaming...

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