Growth Masterminds: mobile growth podcast: Recent Episodes
Singular
Growth Masterminds is smart user acquisition and mobile growth pros sharing their best insights on UA, retention, mobile measurement, mobile marketing data, IDFA, and much more.
Hosted by John Koetsier, we chat with brands like IMVU, DraftKings, and Mixtiles. We interrogate ad networks like Fyber, Kidoz, AppLike, Vungle, Bluestacks, and more. And we feature global experts like Eric Seufert and Jayne Peressini. Along the way, we hit topics like pLTV, creative optimization, incrementality, granularity, fraud, privacy, success in China ... and much, much more.
CAPIs are everywhere right now. And for some advertisers, conversion APIs are the way to ensure they and their ad partners have enough data quickly enough to optimize campaigns and grow faster.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat about CAPIs in today's advertising landscape with Mike Gadd, Customer Success Director for EMEA & India at Singular.
We explore what CAPS are, why they exist, and their growing importance with platforms like Meta, Google, TikTok, and more. Mike explains how CAPIs offer more efficient ways to manage data and optimize ad campaigns compared to traditional methods like pixels. The discussion also covers the challenges of implementing CAPIs, who benefits from them, and the diverse use cases across web, app, and multi-platform marketing.
Tune in to learn how CAPS can elevate your advertising strategy and streamline your data integration.
00:00 Introduction to CAPIs and Growth Masterminds
01:00 Understanding CAPIs: What They Are and Why They Exist
03:18 The Impact of iOS 14.5 and App Tracking Transparency
05:47 Who Uses CAPIs and Why?
07:30 Challenges and Solutions in Implementing CAPIs
09:37 Use Cases and Benefits of CAPIs
13:03 Getting Started with CAPIs: Tips and Recommendations
15:49 Conclusion and Further Resources
What are the 8 biggest mistakes people make in user acquisition?
(Some are going to surprise you.)
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier sits down with Lorenzo Rossi, co-founder and head of growth at Replug. They delve into crucial aspects such as tracking and measurement, targeting, Apple search ads, Android and iOS strategies, and wrong KPIs.
Lorenzo shares in-depth insights on why having an improperly set up MMP can sabotage your efforts, the pitfalls of lazy targeting especially on platforms like Meta, and why a one-size-fits-all creative strategy can be detrimental.
They also emphasize the importance of a holistic marketing approach and understanding the correct KPIs to track. This episode is packed with valuable tips and strategies for anyone serious about optimizing their paid user acquisition efforts.
00:00 Introduction to Common Mistakes in Paid User Acquisition
01:28 No MMP or Improper MMP Setup
04:29 Sloppy Targeting on Meta
10:26 Over-Reliance on Apple Search Ads
17:15 Platform-Specific Content Strategies
18:32 Adapting Creatives for Different Platforms
20:38 Common Mistakes in Ad Campaigns
23:42 Holistic App Marketing Approach
25:53 Onboarding and User Experience
28:18 Looking at the Right KPIs
31:16 Exploring Diverse Paid UA Strategies
34:37 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
User acquisition via OEM is changing massively. What used to be a simple pre-install that maybe no-one ever saw is evolving into 3 different types of app installs for new device owners and HUNDREDS of ad opportunities in OEM apps and on-device experiences.
Join John Koetsier on Growth Masterminds as he chats with Ashwin Shekhar, CRO of Avow about the differences, cost benefits, and downsides of various install experiences including factory preload, out-of-box recommended apps, and Google's Play Auto Install system.
We also chat about Avow's role in managing Samsung's Galaxy App Store ad inventory in Europe and the implications of the Digital Markets Act on third-party app stores.
00:00 Introduction to Growth Masterminds
01:36 Factory Preload Explained
03:21 Out-of-Box Experience
04:12 Google Play Auto Install
06:01 Targeting and Engagement
09:10 Cost and Metrics
10:50 Samsung Galaxy App Store Management
12:46 Third-Party App Stores and Digital Markets Act
20:16 OEM Ad Networks and Display Ads
23:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Q4 is the golden quarter. It's when many businesses make it or break it?
How can you dominate growth in Q4 2024?
We're doing 3 webinars in 3 days on exactly that ... listen in for what's going on, and find the link to sign up right here:
https://lp.singular.net/dominating-q4
Can you imagine creating a game with your voice? It's kind of the ultimate low code, no code scenario.In this Growth Masterminds, Roblox chief scientist Morgan McGuire chats with host John Koetsier about the future of AI in games. With 380 million monthly users, Roblox is at the forefront of AI-driven game development and community building.They discuss groundbreaking advancements in generative AI, safety moderation, and real-time interactions. They also chat about how AI is democratizing game creation, enhancing safety with voice moderation, and preparing for a future where games can be made entirely with voice commands. 00:00 Introduction to AI in Game Development01:30 Roblox's 4D AI Initiative03:26 Roblox's Impressive Growth07:50 AI and Safety on Roblox10:45 Voice Moderation and Future Plans20:11 Open Model and Voice Safety Breakthroughs20:47 Native Language Translation and AI Insights22:08 Human Communication and Cultural Commonalities23:50 AI Moderation and Future Potential25:22 Generative AI and Content Creation25:53 Roblox's Growth and User-Generated Content28:09 AI Tools for 3D Content Creation31:01 Quality and Community in Roblox34:15 Social Roleplaying and Unique Experiences36:07 Challenges and Future of AI in Gaming39:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
How do you do your most impactful work as a growth marketer?How do you avoid being busy, checking off tasks, doing “good work” … but maybe not doing the most impactful things?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, Host John Koetsier is joined by Hannah Parvaz, an award-winning marketer and the founder of growth agency Aperture. They discuss how impactful work as a growth marketer should be a company-wide focus led by the CEO, and Hannah shares her approach to determining the most impactful tasks, breaking down growth into actionable steps using prioritization frameworks, and the importance of maintaining a seamless flow from ads to the product experience. She highlights her methodologies for idea brainstorming, product flow integration, and cohesive team collaboration to achieve significant business growth. Join them for insights into effective growth strategies and practical tips for scaling your business.00:00 Introduction to Growth Mastermind02:16 Hannah's Recent Activities and Achievements05:52 The Importance of Prioritization in Growth Marketing11:12 Full Funnel Approach and Team Collaboration16:52 Defining the Growth Role18:31 Building a Growth Team20:10 Prioritizing Growth Initiatives24:05 Testing and Iteration26:02 Aligning Ads with Product Experience32:46 Full Funnel Approach33:58 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
What is the super-important topic we are not talking about in mobile gaming?Player motivations.We talk about a lot in growth marketing for mobile games ... retention ... CPI ... core loops ... game economies ... targeting ... and more.But we often forget to take player motivations into account.In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Google's Mobile Gaming Analyst and Apps Lead Mariusz Gasiewski. We dive deep into the crucial topic of player motivations in mobile gaming, analyze why understanding player motivations is essential, how they variy across cultures, and its impact on user acquisition, marketing strategies, and game design. 00:00 Introduction to Growth Mastermind01:33 The Untouched Topic in Mobile Gaming02:50 Understanding Player Motivations04:30 Cultural Differences in Gaming10:52 Impact on Game Publishers14:51 Marketing Strategies for Player Engagement20:03 Challenges and Opportunities in the Gaming Industry27:32 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Fintech funding and valuations are down, but growth is still hot at 21% CAGR. In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Self Financial's growth marketing lead Paul Kovalski.Paul shares insights on the challenges and opportunities of multi-platform acquisitions, measurement complexities, and effective bidding and optimization strategies. They delve into the significant differences between marketing for finance and mobile games, targeting high-demand audiences, and the role of compliance in advertising. Paul also explores the advantages of humor in ads and the potential of generative AI in creating ad copy. 00:00 Introduction to Multi-Platform Acquisition01:14 The Rollercoaster Ride of FinTech02:51 Key Differences in FinTech User Acquisition04:08 Challenges and Strategies in Multi-Channel Marketing06:13 Understanding Customer Behavior in FinTech14:16 Navigating Legalities and Compliance26:39 The Future of FinTech Marketing29:01 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
How do you sell your mobile app?
Sometimes you're just not the right person or company to take your app to the next level. You need more cash, or you need marketing expertise that you don't have.
Well, then you might need to sell your app to another publisher, studio, investor, or app aggregator.
Welcome to Growth Masterminds! In this episode, host John Koetsier chats with app sales expert Charlie Ryan, founder of AppFlip. They chat about why publishers might want to sell their apps, who is looking to buy them, and how to value an app.
With insights on evergreen app categories, the shift to subscription models, and the complexities of app acquisition, this episode is a goldmine for anyone interested in selling -- or buying -- a mobile app.
00:00 Introduction to App Aggregators
01:17 Why Publishers Sell Their Apps
02:46 Who Buys Apps and Why
07:07 Valuing Mobile Apps
13:21 Popular App Categories and Trends
19:38 Advice for Small Publishing Houses
22:41 Common Oversights When Buying Apps
24:24 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
How do you achieve a 9-figure exit in mobile gaming?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Daniel Stammler, co-founder of Kolibri Games, known for the Idle Tycoon series. Daniel shares his journey from dropping out of university in 2016 to selling his game studio to Ubisoft for a nine-figure sum. They discuss the appeal of idle games, the challenges faced entering a crowded mobile game market, and key strategies that led to their success, including rigorous research and an agile development process. Daniel also offers insights on the current mobile gaming landscape, investible opportunities, and the importance of balancing commercial sense with creative passion.00:00 Introduction: Is It Too Late for Mobile Gaming?00:54 The Appeal of Idle Games02:15 Starting a Game Studio in 201603:39 Keys to Success: Luck and Strategy06:02 Building and Launching the First Game09:25 The Importance of Agile Development13:18 Current Mobile Gaming Landscape20:46 Investing in Mobile Games26:21 Challenges and Future of Mobile Gaming33:11 Conclusion: Insights and Final Thoughts
What data will you get when Google unleashes Privacy Sandbox for Android? And how will you need to set up your conversion models?Privacy Sandbox isn't fully here yet, but you can already check how you'll want to set up campaigns and what events or revenue you'd like to track.How?Using Singular's new simulator for Privacy Sandbox.As Google Ad ID phases out, the discussion focuses on how marketers can adapt and what data they can expect. In this Growth Masterminds, Singular's CTO Eran Friedman introduces the Privacy Sandbox Simulator tool that helps simulate potential scenarios and optimize data strategy. He and host John Koetsier cover various APIs within Privacy Sandbox, the customizability of data points, and the challenges of balancing data precision with noise. This episode is a must-watch for marketers seeking to understand and navigate the future of marketing analytics in a privacy-first world.00:00 Introduction to Privacy Sandbox01:13 Overview of Privacy Sandbox Features02:40 Deep Dive into Attribution Reporting API06:25 Exploring the Privacy Sandbox Simulator10:55 Customizing Your Privacy Sandbox Setup15:42 Practical Scenarios and Simulations27:11 Conclusion and Next Steps
Do you need a Google-specific creative strategy? In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with a former googler, now UA consultant, about why the answer is ... YES.Her name is Ashley Black, and host John Koetsier chats with her to unravel the complexities of Google's ad platform. Ashley, who spent nearly a decade at Google, discusses the critical importance of having a Google-specific creative strategy, the intricacies of different ad formats on YouTube, and tips for optimizing Google ad campaigns. They also delve into the challenges and strategies related to ad performance, data insights, and new developments like Apple's Ad Attribution Kit. Watch or listen to this episode to learn how to maximize your ad spend on the world's largest ad platform and get insider tips on succeeding with Google Ads.00:00 Introduction to Google Ads and Creative Strategy01:19 Transitioning from Google to Running a Growth Agency04:25 Insights on Apple's Ad Attribution Kit07:16 Understanding Google's Ad Placements and Creative Strategy12:48 Optimizing Google Ads: Tips and Tricks18:21 Optimizing Google Ads Campaigns18:58 Challenges with iOS and Android20:21 The Role of Trust in User Tracking21:27 Comparing Google and Meta Platforms23:48 Privacy Sandbox and Ad Tech30:24 Final Thoughts and Tips for Google Ads
How do you pick an offer wall for your mobile app? There are dozens of tools and services ... how do you decide which one is best for you?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we dive into the world of offer walls and their impact on app monetization and user acquisition. Join us as we chat with Alex Hrankin, CEO of Scrambly, and Massimo Caroli, founder of MAF, to uncover the best strategies for integrating offer walls into your app. Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier asked Alex and Massimo about the benefits, pitfalls, and important considerations when choosing the right offer wall for your audience ... including how and when offer walls could be bad for your app.Discover how to balance monetization without compromising user experience, why the loyalty and offer wall space is booming, and how to create engaging user journeys that drive retention and revenue. Tune in for expert insights on leveraging offer walls for sustainable app growth.00:00 Introduction to Offer Walls01:02 Understanding Offer Walls: Basics and Benefits02:44 Monetization Strategies with Offer Walls05:53 Challenges and Pitfalls of Offer Walls09:46 Designing Effective Offer Walls11:35 Choosing the Right Offer Wall for Your App15:55 The Growing Popularity of Loyalty Apps and Offer Walls19:00 Historical Context and Evolution of Offer Walls24:23 Current Trends and Future Outlook26:45 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
What are the 5 things you need to know to succeed in influencer marketing in 2024?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier discusses the ever-evolving landscape of influencer marketing with Kristina Nikeenko, the Influencer Marketing Director at Zorka. They cover everything from the projected $24 billion market value in 2024 to platform-specific strategies, the importance of data-driven decisions, AI integration, and building long-term partnerships with influencers. Also, you'll learn the five key strategies you need to know to succeed in influencer marketing in 2024 and stay ahead of the game.00:00 Introduction to Influencer Marketing in 202401:09 The State of the Influencer Marketing Industry04:38 YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok10:56 Top 5 Tips for Influencer Marketing in 202413:33 Long-Term Partnerships and Post-Campaign Analysis18:50 Conclusion
What is happening in mobile gaming in 2024?Apparently old people game more than young, casual’s growing everywhere. The market as a whole is growing, and daily engagement jumped back up after a decline last year.I recently saw that Adjoe put out a Mobile Games Index 2024 and I wanted to know more, so in this episode of Growth Masterminds, we discuss the latest trends in mobile gaming with Carly Ostasiewski, director of growth at Adjoe. The find unexpected insights from the 2024 Mobile Games Index report, including older demographics outpacing younger ones in mobile game engagement and the rise of casual gaming across various age groups. Key points include the transition from traditional console gaming to mobile, a surge in adventure and action game popularity among kids, and a significant increase in gaming app monetization through integrated ads. Additionally, the report shows that European players lead in daily app usage and explores the growing role of women in gaming. We also touch on the potential integration of gaming with everyday app usage, hinting at a future where gaming becomes a central component of consumer experiences across platforms.00:00 Introduction and Surprising Gaming Trends01:19 Demographics and Gaming Preferences02:37 Kids and Mobile Gaming: The Reality04:12 Roblox and the Younger Demographic06:12 Gaming Industry Trends and Monetization14:51 Regional Gaming Trends17:05 Future of Gaming: Integration with Everyday Apps19:22 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Goodbye SKAdNetwork, hello AdAttributionKit. Or AAK, or AdKit.
In this special episode of Growth Masterminds, we dive into Apple's new ad attribution kit, announced at WWDC. We discuss the nuances of the new version, not exactly SKAN 5, and its support for third-party app stores and reengagement campaigns.
The episode features in-depth insights from Singular CEO Gadi Eliashiv and CTO Eran Friedman, emphasizing the changes, improvements, and expectations for adoption in the ecosystem. Additionally, they touch upon the future of measurement on iOS, the interplay with Privacy Sandbox on Android, and what it means for app developers and advertisers.
00:00 Welcome to Growth Masterminds
01:09 Understanding AdAttributionKit
02:58 Reengagement and Debugging Enhancements
05:46 Backward Compatibility and Postback Formats
10:03 Deep Dive into Retargeting
17:12 Creative Types and Engagement Types
23:20 Exploring SKOverlay and Its Implications
25:19 Understanding SK interaction Types and Attribution Windows
25:47 Custom Click Ads and Alternative App Stores
28:16 Adoption Challenges and Future Predictions
35:47 The Future of Measurement on iOS
39:34 Privacy Sandbox and Android
41:20 Q&A and Final Thoughts
WWDC kicked off today and SKAdNetwork is nowhere to be found. Instead, we have App AdAttributionKit and Web AdAttributionKit (say that 3X fast, we dare you!) and not much detail about where SKAN is going.
Out guest today, however, thinks that there' won't be a SKAN 5 or a SKAN 6, and that there will just be new AdAttributionKit releases from time to time. And that all the juicy new tech promised for future SKAN versions is actually here ...
So ...
Join host John Koetsier in this episode of Growth Masterminds as he explores the future of ad attribution and privacy compliance post-WWDC with guest David Phillipson, CEO of DataSeat.
They discuss the potential end of SKAdNetwork, the introduction of Apple's App AdAttributionKit and Web AdAttributionKit, and the challenges and implications for the ad tech industry. They delve into the reliability of modeled attribution data from media giants like Google, Meta, and TikTok, and the evolving modeling strategies used to overcome privacy blind spots.
Also, David shares his personal journey into ad tech (which is interesting!), lessons from successful entrepreneurs, and the importance of unified measurement in a privacy-focused world.
If you're looking to understand the impacts of Apple's recent announcements and the future of ad attribution, this episode is a must-watch (and you know this is absolutely 100% true because ChatGPT wrote this part of the show notes ... but not this sarcastic little note.)
00:00 Introduction and Opening Thoughts
00:16 The Reliability of Ad Attribution Data
00:45 WWDC and Apple's New Releases
01:05 Introducing the Guest: David Phillipson
04:45 Discussion on SKAN and Ad Attribution
07:34 Challenges and Adoption of SKAN
12:49 Future of Ad Attribution and Privacy
18:51 Unified Measurement and Market Trends
29:30 Final Thoughts and Predictions
32:53 Closing Remarks
How do you achieve insane mobile app retention rates? One way is magic. Another is pure accident. The third is by applying smart frameworks to science (and magic) your way to better retention.In this episode of Growth Mastermind, host John Koetsier speaks with mobile growth expert Jacob Rushfinn about achieving high app retention rates. They discuss four frameworks for tackling retention: Darius Contractor's Psych Framework, RICE Prioritization (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort), Eisenhower's prioritization matrix, and Elena Verna’s Conversion Rate Decline Diagnostic. Jacob shares insights from his diverse experience at companies like Balance, Level Up, Amwell, and Automattic. The conversation covers the practical application of these frameworks, the value of early user engagement, and the impact of better retention metrics on long-term success.00:00 Introduction to Killer App Retention01:15 The Journey into Retention04:27 Understanding Frameworks for Retention07:26 The Psych Framework Explained14:16 Framework Number Two: RICE Prioritization20:06 Balancing Quick Wins and Big Bets21:14 The RICE Approach to Prioritization21:49 Eisenhower's Prioritization Matrix25:48 Elena Verna's Conversion Rate Decline Diagnostic33:58 The Impact of Better Retention38:32 Final Thoughts and Resources
Should you stop A/B testing creative right now?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Ellad Matarasso, Director of Growth at Alison.ai. They discuss the limitations of traditional A/B testing in growth marketing and how Google and Meta do essentially massively multivariate simultaneous testing. Matarasso shares insights on how AI can analyze creative elements frame by frame and correlate them with performance data, thereby recommending the best combinations to maximize ad campaigns. They also chat about the importance of creative in advertising, common mistakes marketers make, and emerging trends such as generative AI in creative production. 00:00 Stop A/B Testing?00:31 The Evolution of A/B Testing01:54 How Allison.ai Tests07:12 How Important is Creative?12:59 Human Creativity vs. AI15:51 Trends in Creative Optimization17:04 Challenges with Major Platforms19:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Protected Audiences has grown a lot since it was FLEDGE, and even this year. As such, it’s going to be useful for much more than just retargeting, according to 2 experts.In this episode of Growth Mastermind, host John Koetsier explores the intricacies of Google's Privacy Sandbox with a particular focus on the Protected Audiences API. He’s joined by experts Omri Gal, Head of Privacy Sandbox at Singular, and Lucky Harpley, a Product Manager at Remerge.The discussion covers the evolving landscape of retargeting and attribution on Android. They delve into the technical workings, the impact on marketers, and insights from recent testing. The conversation also highlights the challenges and preparation steps for the transition from GAID to Privacy Sandbox, emphasizing the importance of understanding and adapting to new industry standards.Finally, they highlight the key difference between attribution and optimization via GAID right now versus Privacy Sandbox on Android in the future.00:00 Introduction to Privacy Sandbox and Its Evolution04:10 Deep Dive into Protected Audiences API11:32 The Future of Targeting and Retargeting in Privacy Sandbox19:16 Testing and Implementing Privacy Sandbox Solutions27:22 Preparing Marketers for the Privacy Sandbox Transition31:10 Closing Thoughts and Next Steps
Everyone needs better app retention. Especially in health and wellness categories.One app, Welltory, has an insane 56% retention rate for users over the last 3 years. As in ... people installed 3 years ago, and THEY ARE STILL USING THE APP today.How?Perhaps some Jedi mind tricks, which Asya Paloni, VP of Strategy, shares with us in this episode of Growth Masterminds.We chat about Welltory's success in overcoming the notoriously poor retention rates in the fitness and wellness app industry by implementing innovative strategies. We also talk about making the app experience magical, hyper-personalizing content, offering new experiences with each app interaction, and ensuring users never feel bad for not meeting their goals. With a focus on making mundane data engaging and displaying it in real-time in a way that makes sense to users, Welltory has achieved a remarkable 56% usage retention rate over three years. The conversation highlights the importance of user engagement, the psychological aspects of app design, and the power of keeping users interested without relying on notifications or making them feel inadequate.00:00 Introduction to Jedi Mind Tricks for App Retention00:53 Unlocking Jedi Mind Tricks: Insights from a Content Creator02:37 The Wellness App Dilemma: Retention Challenges and Solutions07:31 Welltory's 5 Core Strategies for User Retention08:48 Exploring Welltory's Innovative Features and User Engagement22:47 The Impact of Welltory's Strategies on User Retention28:48 Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Should you have an AI agent assigned to every single app user?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John interviews Shaun Wheeler, a data scientist at Aampe. They focus on mobile user engagement and the innovative approach of assigning an AI agent to each app user. They discuss the limitations of traditional user engagement strategies, such as generic pop-up messaging, and the power of AI agents in providing tailored interactions based on individual user behavior. Through examples, including a nursing scheduling app and e-commerce platforms, they explore how AI-driven personalization can significantly impact user retention, monetization, and overall satisfaction, while also reducing communication volume. The conversation highlights the use of surrogate models to predict user behavior, the importance of first-party data, and the future potential of AI in enhancing mobile user experiences.00:00 Introduction to AI in User Engagement01:15 A Deep Dive into Messaging Strategies07:01 The Power of Personalization with AI Agents09:50 Exploring the Impact of Over-Instrumentation20:05 Case Studies and Real-World Applications29:20 Concluding Thoughts on AI-Driven Engagement
What are the most common blockers to growing games profitably? In other words, why won't your game grow?You built a game and it’s awesome, but it’s not growing like you want it to. What’s wrong? Maybe this episode of Growth Masterminds holds the answer.Today we’re chatting with who reminds me of Ben Affleck in The Consultant, because she’s called in when nothing else is workingHer name is Sara El Bachri. She runs ShamsCo, does the mobile gaming growth masterclass, and has worked with 40+ gaming studios over the last few years including EA, Rovio, Gameloft, DoubleDown, Netflix Games, and TutoToons.All of that means: she’s seen a few things. And fixed a few things.We hear about the biggest blockers for growth for games both big and small ... and a little about Sara's journey to becoming an internationally renowned UA consultant.00:00 The Growth Dilemma00:33 Introducing Sarah El Bachri01:27 Mobile Game Growth: Strategies and Insights11:44 Bridging the Gap: Communication and Creativity in Game Studios18:10 Unlocking Organic Growth: The Power of Testing and Education21:49 The Importance of Internal Education and Collaboration27:12 The Complexity of User Acquisition
Where is IAP spend going in 2024?It’s tough out there: inflation is still high, ad revenue is underpacing GDP, and GDP growth is softening in key countries including the USA.So what can we expect from in-app payers in 2024?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier delves into the future of in-app spend and gamer loyalty with guest Jason Heller, CEO of Mistplay. The conversation covers the expected decrease and concentration of in-app spending in fewer games, the importance of understanding consumer spending motivation, and the use of data to drive personalization and engagement. Insights reveal a shift towards more thoughtful spending among gamers, potentially leading to a landscape with fewer winners among game publishers. The discussion also explores loyalty and monetization strategies, user acquisition challenges, and the rising interest in the loyalty and engagement space for mobile gaming.00:00 The Future of In-App Spending: Winners and Losers00:32 Diving Deep into the Spend Report with Jason Heller01:58 Analyzing Spending Trends and Predictions for 202408:59 The Importance of Personalization in Gaming Offers13:07 Exploring Loyalty and Incentives in Mobile Gaming30:43 The Rise of Loyalty Platforms in the Gaming Industry
How can you kill it on TikTok, generate more organic downloads, and build your community quickly? Oh ... and by the way ... you don't have a huge budget.In this episode of Growth Masterminds we meet Sarah Neill, founder and CEO of Mys Tyler, a platform connecting women with 'body doubles' to find clothing that fits perfectly, thus solving the common problem of shopping disappointment. Sarah shares her growth story, explaining how they use Meta ads, paid PR opportunities with major publications and what they've done in an experimental but highly successful use of TikTok for organic growth. She shares an insightful strategy involving unpaid internships, where interns created TikTok content that significantly boosted app downloads and engagement, demonstrating the power of authentic, user-generated content in digital marketing.00:00 Exploring Paid Performance Opportunities in Digital Media01:07 Introducing Ms. Tyler: A Revolutionary Fashion Platform03:46 Growth Channels and Strategies for Startups08:34 Mastering TikTok: A Unique Internship Approach20:28 Reflecting on Marketing Insights and Future Plans
In this episode of Growth Mastermind, host John Koetsier discusses the challenges of iOS mobile measurement in the era of privacy updates, focusing on the difficulty of distinguishing between organic and paid acquisition and the fragmentation of measurement across different methods: SKAN, IDFA, IDFV, MMP, and more.Guests Evyatar Ram and Kelsey Lee, product and marketing managers, introduce Singular's solution to these challenges: unified measurement. This innovative approach combines SKAdNetwork and tracker data to provide marketers with a single, de-duplicated, and accurate view of user acquisition (UA) activity on iOS, tackling issues like over/under counting and data fragmentation. The solution enhances decision-making by offering comprehensive insights into installs, revenue cohorts, and event tracking without the typical delays or inaccuracies stemming from data fragmentation. Beta testers report significant improvements in campaign performance and attribution accuracy thanks to unified measurement, indicating a strong step forward in resolving iOS attribution woes.00:00 Navigating the Chaos of iOS Mobile Measurement01:32 The Fragmentation Problem in iOS Attribution04:37 Unified Measurement: A Revolutionary Solution07:18 Beta Testers Validate Unified Measurement's Impact11:12 Differentiating Unified Measurement from Other Solutions13:54 The Future of Unified Measurement and Its Evolution17:29 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions
This special episode of Growth Masterminds features an all-women panel discussing their experiences and challenges in the growth industry. The guests share their career paths, biggest triumphs, and the key challenges they've faced, offering advice for women considering a career in growth. The panel comprises of five accomplished women from various companies who delve into topics such as the importance of self-advocacy, the value of mentorship, and the need to be adaptable and data literate in a fast-evolving field. The conversation also highlights the significance of community and support among women in tech and growth sectors.
Guests include:
Adrienne Rice, Performance Media Director, M&C Saatchi Performance
Dr. Matina Thomaidou, VP data science, Dataseat
Tamanda Itaye, Senior Global Performance Marketing Manager, WFP - ShareTheMeal
Saadi Muslu, VP Marketing, Singular
Susan Kuo, Chief Operating Officer, Singular
00:00 Welcome to the Women in Growth Special Episode
00:32 Introducing the Panel: Leaders in Growth
02:26 Journey into Growth: Panelists Share Their Stories
12:50 Biggest Career Triumphs: Stories of Success
22:53 Overcoming Challenges: Insights from the Panel
25:53 Cross-Functional Collaboration in Data Science
27:07 Navigating Leadership and Personal Growth
31:30 Challenges of Balancing Professional and Personal Life
36:47 Empowering Women in the Workplace
45:21 Advice for Women Considering the Growth Space
52:45 Closing Remarks and Appreciation
How do you get more data from ad platforms than they offer? Simple: use Singular.No, we're not talking about anything underhanded or tricky. We're simply getting multiple dimensions and breakdowns that are individually available but not generally visible together. That lack of visibility has a cost: complexity, time, and your ability to see optimization or targeting capability.In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Singular product manager Maayan Shor about the companies' new feature to bring as much data into your BI system as possible, allowing marketers to make the smartest optimization and allocation decisions.Multiple Breakdowns helps marketers by enabling access to a broader range of data breakdowns without the need to switch views constantly. This capability allows marketers to uncover hidden trends, fine-tune targeting strategies, and make more informed decisions by providing a more comprehensive view of campaign data across platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat. We also chat about how specific breakdowns, such as age and gender, can lead to more precise targeting and identification of unexpected audience segments.00:00 Navigating Data Challenges in Ad Platforms00:28 The Struggle for More Data: Challenges and Solutions03:15 Introducing Multiple Breakdowns: A Game-Changer for Marketers04:55 Unlocking New Marketing Strategies with Enhanced Data06:21 Optimizing Creative Strategies with Targeted Insights07:11 Frequency and Impact of Data Analysis in Marketing09:09 Exploring New Dimensions: DMA Breakdowns and Their Impact11:07 Selecting the Right Data Breakdowns for Your Marketing Goals12:37 Closing Thoughts and Appreciation
Welcome to a podcast crosspost from SplitMetrics' App Growth Talks. Host Lina Danilchik chats with usual Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier as they talk about Singular's ROI Index for 2024 highlighting the best ad networks on the planet.I chat about the significance of Singular's ROI Index, detailing the best mobile ad networks across various geographies and verticals. Lina asks me about my background in mobile ad tech and my path from journalist to VP of Insights at Singular, plus my philosophy on app growth and user acquisition. Key topics include the effectiveness of various ad networks like Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, and ironSource, the surprising success of smaller networks like Moloco, the potential of Apple Search Ads, and the strategic use of artificial intelligence in marketing. We also talk about future innovations in the mobile industry, including multiple app stores and ads personalized through generative AI. See a full transcript on SplitMetrics' website:https://splitmetrics.com/blog/category/app-growth-series/00:00 Welcome to a Special Crossover Episode!00:43 Introducing John Koetsier 03:58 Unveiling the ROI Index: A Deep Dive into Mobile Ad Networks05:21 The Golden Six: Top Ad Networks Uncovered08:40 Exploring Apple's Search Ads Performance15:08 Reddit's Unique Position in the Ad Space19:10 Exploring AI's Impact and Future in Tech21:15 The Evolution of Advertising with AI24:49 Emerging Technologies and Innovations in the Industry28:47 Insights from the ROI Index Report30:55 Advice for Small and Growing Mobile Businesses36:09 Concluding Thoughts and Future Sessions
How will Google’s new consent management platform requirement impact mobile app and game publishers? You now need a CMP ... what's that all about?In this Growth Masterminds we dive into the complexities of managing user privacy and consent in mobile apps and websites. Google's new consent management platform requirements for AdMob, AdSense, and Ad Manager users are in effect right now.So we chat with Gabe Morazan, a product director, and Achraff-Nour Meski, a client services leader from Source Point, a CMP provider. Together, we explore what CMPs are, their role in ensuring compliance with privacy laws like GDPR, and how they can be seamlessly integrated into the user experience without negatively impacting app engagement. 00:00 Introduction to Privacy and Consent Management00:36 Understanding Google's New Consent Management Platform Requirement00:51 Expert Insights: The Role and Functionality of CMPs04:53 Customizing Consent Messages for User Experience09:09 Global Privacy Control: Simplifying Consent Across Platforms15:16 The Future of Privacy and Consent Management18:37 Closing Thoughts and Acknowledgements
Why do gamers like certain games and not others? GameTree is a LFG (looking for group) app that connects gamers to play together. To do that, GameTree leverages psychology to build Gaming DNA, which analyzes why certain players like specific games. Gaming DNA shows what kinds of gamers there are, who likes which games, and who might enjoy playing with others.In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with GameTree founders Dana Sydorenko and John Uke. Their conversation reveals insights into how gaming preferences differ across genders, ages, and platforms, touching on the social dynamics of gaming, the role of gamer psychology, and the implications for game design and marketing. Key topics include the surprising patterns of gaming among men and women, the importance of social connections in gaming, and how GameTree's technology is pioneering personalized gaming experiences. Additionally, the discussion delves into the potential of mobile gaming, the impact of VR and Web3 on the gaming landscape, and the significance of supporting diversity in gaming, particularly the inclusion of women in gaming communities and development.00:00 Introduction to Gamer Psychology00:59 Introducing GameTree and its Founders01:34 Gender Differences in Gaming03:22 Platform Preferences and Gaming Patterns04:58 The Importance of Gaming DNA06:21 The Social Aspect of Gaming15:30 The Role of Mobile Gaming22:38 The Future of Gaming: VR and Blockchain26:39 Women in Gaming31:51 Conclusion
Where is web3 in 2024? Investment is down, but there is still $91 billion of funding and 95 current unicorns in the space. Asaf Nadler, CEO of Addressable, says the game has shifted from hype to build mode.In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Asaf to discuss the current state and future of web3, especially in relation to marketing and gaming. They delve into how blockchain can revolutionize game ecosystems by enabling asset sharing across different games and discuss the integration between Singular and Addressable. This integration aims to bridge the gap between marketing data and blockchain conversions, potentially transforming web3 advertising and marketing strategies. Also, Nadler provides insights into the challenges and opportunities of marketing in the web3 space, the transition towards mobile in the web3 ecosystem, and the potential future of app and game development on blockchain technology.00:00 Introduction to Web3 and Gaming Ecosystems00:36 Welcome to Growth Masterminds Podcast01:49 The Current State of Web3 and Blockchain03:56 The Impact of Web3 on Gaming07:33 The Role of Web3 in Decentralized Finance (Defi)09:51 The Challenges and Opportunities of Web3 in Mobile10:29 Addressing the Disconnect Between Data Sets in Marketing19:37 The Future of Web3 and its Penetration in Various Verticals28:16 Conclusion: The Potential of Open, Decentralized Data
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Singular product manager Gali Housman and product marketing manager Kelsey Lee about the complexities of cross-platform performance marketing. They discuss the necessity of tracking customer journeys across platforms to gain full return on investment and to adhere to user privacy concerns. Singular, their platform of choice, has increasingly evolved to address these intricacies providing tools to measure gaming engagement and the effectiveness of marketing strategies across platforms. Kelsey emphasizes the need for an end-to-end solution to manage the influx of data while ensuring full measurement by marketers.00:00 Introduction to Journey Tracking in Marketing00:27 Welcome to Growth Masterminds00:56 Challenges in Cross-Platform Marketing01:30 Changes in the Gaming Industry01:45 The Impact of the Pandemic on Gaming02:27 The Shift to Mobile Marketing03:05 The Role of Privacy in Marketing03:24 The Future of Cross-Platform Games05:06 The Challenges of Cross-Platform Marketing06:17 The Importance of User Tracking10:58 The Role of Conversions API in Marketing16:13 The Benefits of Cross-Platform Solutions20:52 The Future of Cross-Platform Marketing22:17 Conclusion and Wrap Up
How can you get pre-ATT levels of behavioral targeting in a privacy-safe way? Can you?In this Growth Masterminds we’re chatting with the co-founder of an AI-powered tool that says it analyzes game play and user behavior to understand gamers and what they do. Then it recommends games that they’ll like, while rewarding them for playing recommended games.Our guest is a co-founder of Gamelight, Gunay Aliyeva. Host John Koetsier interviews her about Gamelight, an AI-powered tool that analyzes user behavior and gameplay for targeted recommendations. The tool utilizes AI algorithms and a user's data (with given permission) to suggest games based on their preferences. Gamelight endeavors to minimize game downloads and maximize user retention through personalized recommendations. They also discuss Gamelight's arbitrage strategy of acquiring users at a generalized level, then offering highly targeted advertising opportunities to their partners, focusing on long-term user quality and satisfaction. They also touch on the company's expansion into non-gaming apps, the use of a consumer rewards system, and their global reach.00:00 Introduction01:15 Exploring the Functionality of Gamelight03:02 Discussing the Privacy Aspect of Gamelight04:32 Understanding the User Acquisition Strategy05:12 Challenging the Traditional Ad Network Model06:14 The Long-Term Vision of Gamelight07:08 Understanding User Behavior and Gamelight's Approach10:03 Discussing the Pricing and Value Proposition of Gamelight11:08 Expansion into Non-Gaming Apps15:14 Understanding the Loyalty Program of Gamelight16:56 Discussing the Global Reach of Gamelight18:35 Wrapping Up the Discussion
Ever wish somebody had written the book on making mobile app businesses work? Wish no more: the job has been done.In this Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier chats with Russell Ovans, game OG, prof, brewery owner, entrepreneur, data scientist, and current Director of Analytics at East Side Games. Russell discusses his journey from social gaming through to mobile gaming. We delve into a range of topics such as the importance of understanding game analytics and monetization in mobile games, challenges in HR, managing company growth, the impact of pricing strategies on a global scale, the value of A/B testing and player retention. But the big story in this podcast is Russell Ovans' book 'Game Analytics, Retention, and Monetization in Free Play Mobile Games' which is a comprehensive guide to the mechanics of mobile game businesses.00:00 Introduction and Background00:00 The Challenges of Running a Mobile App Business00:44 Introduction to the Guest Speaker: Russell Os01:17 The Journey into Mobile Gaming05:26 The Evolution of Facebook as a Gaming Platform07:48 The Transition from Facebook to Mobile Gaming09:59 The Importance of Analytics in Mobile Gaming10:41 The Decision to Write a Book on Mobile Gaming15:09 The Power of Building an Abstract Schema on Top of Your Data Warehouse19:32 Understanding the Big Mac Index and AB Testing20:01 Applying Purchasing Power Parity and Exchange Rates20:34 Testing Market Response in Mexico21:11 Adjusting Pricing for Different Markets22:14 The Challenges of AB Testing22:46 The Importance of Proper AB Testing28:53 The Role of Retention in Gaming33:52 The Complexity of ROAS36:58 Final Thoughts and Conclusion
In this intriguing episode of Growth Mastermind, host John Koetsier chats with industry veteran Farhan Haq, founder of independent growth agency Hyper HQ. They explore crucial strategies to enhance CPMs, discussing the importance of manual calls and real-time bidding in optimizing ad ops within a real-time bidding world. Farhan provides an in-depth look at how games developers and publishers can navigate these processes for effective growth in the mobile gaming landscape. He further delves into ad placements, A/B testing, market strategy, and innovative methods like adjusting in-game rewards based on real-time user worth. The conversation wraps up with an exploration of emerging trends and projections for the future of in-app purchase, subscription, and ad monetization models.00:00 Introduction and Guest Presentation01:05 Understanding Ad Operations in an RTB World01:57 The Importance of Manual Calls and Realtime Bidding03:46 Optimizing Networks and Running AB Tests04:05 The Role of Competition in Ad Monetization04:27 Understanding the Fundamentals of AB Testing05:53 The Impact of Ad Placement and Pricing on Monetization06:02 The Importance of Ad Units in Monetization07:27 The Impact of Automation on Ad Monetization07:27 The Importance of Hands-On Approach in Ad Monetization08:48 The Role of Google Ad Manager in Monetization10:17 The Role of User Acquisition in Monetization20:23 The Impact of Geographical Location on Monetization26:59 The Future of Ad Monetization32:13 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
If you're on the App Store or Google Play, you're paying the platform tax: 30% on all your IAP revenue. But can you legally AND SAFELY escape that?Maybe yes.In this episode of Growth Masterminds, John Koetsier interviews Archie Stonehill, Head of Product at Stash Gigi, to discuss the digital games industry and the evolution of direct-to-consumer platforms. They discuss the rise of third-party app stores, Apple and Google's 'app store tax', the Digital Markets Act in Europe, and how developers can shift towards alternative distribution channels. Stonehill explains the motivation behind Stash.gg, a platform that supports gaming developers in becoming their own platforms and processing their own payments, and shares insights on how developers can engage with their users directly to optimize profitability and improve overall gaming experience.00:00 Introduction to the Gaming Industry's Challenges00:43 The Role of Third-Party App Stores01:29 The Impact of the Digital Markets Act02:23 The Three Vectors of Pro-Competitive Pushes04:23 The Importance of Direct Relationships with Players05:11 The Evolution of the Games Industry12:36 The Role of Stash in the Gaming Industry32:26 The Future of the Gaming Industry36:36 Conclusion
How do you become Apple's iPhone app of the year?In this episode of Growth Masterminds, John Koetsier sits down with Ron Schneidermann, the CEO of AllTrails, an outdoor exploration app. Out of all the millions of apps on the App Store, AllTrails won iPhone app of the year in 2023.How?How does AllTrails grow?How does AllTrails achieve 7X better retention than the average appWhat decisions boosted AllTrails growth?Schneidermann talks about taking over from the founder in 2015, growing the user base and revenue, and the critical role of their community. We also chat about the importance of continual product developmentWe end with Schneidermann's thoughts on success, staying humble, and surrounding oneself with smart, passionate people can drive success.00:00 Introduction to the Journey of Success00:25 The Making of an iPhone App of the Year01:45 Understanding the Significance of Being iPhone App of the Year04:10 The All Trails App: A Closer Look05:18 The Journey from Startup to Success07:24 The Decision to Reject Quick Flip and Aim for Long-Term Growth07:44 Key Decisions that Ignited Growth12:14 The Role of Product Development in Growth25:33 The Importance of Regular App Updates27:50 Advice for Aspiring App Developers28:15 Conclusion: The Importance of Humility and Openness
In this episode of Growth Mastermind, host John Koetsier chats with Faheem Saiyad, director at App Samurai, about the intersection of AI and user acquisition. They dive deep into topics like the role of AI in game development, how AI aids in campaign optimization, and the application of generative AI in the creative process of ad creation. Faheem also shares details about App Samurai's new ad unit, Rewarded Playtime, that incentivizes users for every minute they spend engaging with a game. However, the chat concludes on the idea that AI is still not perfect; it requires human guidance for optimal performance.00:00 Introduction and welcome00:14 Getting to know the guest01:19 The role of AI in game development03:35 The Impact of AI on user acquisition06:22 Challenges of campaign optimization10:25 Introducing rewarded playtime: a new ad unit13:44 The future of AI in marketing and game development16:38 Wrapping up the discussion
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier talks with Ayush Choudhary, senior product manager of GenWise. They discuss the development and growth of the GenWise app, a multifaceted platform designed specifically for elders, which is making a big impact in India. Other topics covered include the challenge of marketing to an older demographic, combining AI with real human interaction, the concept of a 'super app', and emerging monetization models. Tune in to explore how GenWise is revolutionizing the way elders interact with technology ... and how to market an app in non-traditional ways for a non-traditional audience.00:00 Introduction and Welcome00:18 Introduction to GenWise App00:26 Interview with Ayush Choudhary00:45 Understanding the Concept of GenWise01:16 The Gap in Elders' Navigation of the Digital World02:03 The Two Main Focus Areas of GenWise02:47 The Role of Technology in Combating Loneliness03:13 The Real-life Impact of GenWise03:46 The Features and Services of GenWise07:49 The Growth and Funding of GenWise07:58 Marketing Strategies for GenWise15:00 The Concept of Super App in the Context of India19:00 Monetization Model of GenWise22:33 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier speaks with mobile marketing expert Lucas Moscon. They discuss strategies to drastically increase app revenue through smart ad monetization and subscription plans. Lucas explains how he has quadrupled revenues for several apps using remote configuration logic. They also explore SKAN 4 and the use of OpenAI in generating conversion models and informing monetization strategies. Furthermore, they touch on the changing landscape of measurement platforms and the importance of understanding user psychology and behavior in subscription-based apps. The conversation wraps up with a brief discussion on the intricacies of SKAdNetwork.00:00 Introduction00:26 Welcome to Growth Masterminds00:48 Guest Introduction: Lucas01:21 Discussion on AdMon and Subscriptions01:42 Balancing Full-Time Work and Side Projects02:15 The Importance of AdMon for Subscription Apps04:42 The Journey of Building AdMon Framework11:26 Benefits of Implementing AdMon Framework16:02 Introduction to SKAN 416:05 Building a Custom GPT for SKAN 425:44 The Impact of Scan Four on Small Developers28:45 Conclusion and Future Discussions
According to a recent study, half of all CTV ad targeting is wrong. In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier and expert Chris Kelly, CEO of Upwave, talk about:- CTV targeting- CTV benefits (and limitations)- CTV affordability for smaller advertisers- CTV ads real-time optimization capabilitiesWe also talk about performance versus brand marketing, and the need to both pick apples that are ripe for the harvest as well as plant apple trees to enable future harvesting as well.Look for the blog post and learn about about Singular here:https://www.singular.net/blog/Check out Upwave here:https://www.upwave.com
Can you play games and save the planet? Maybe, with Dots.eco's new rewarded ad experience that isn't like anything else I've seen. Wooga, Wild Life, and Playtika are using it, so I thought it'd be worth checking out.Maybe you will too :-)In this episode, host John Koetsier chats with Dots.eco chief growth officer Daniel Madrid.Episode summaryDots.eco is a platform that offers real-world environmental rewards to incentivize players in games. The platform allows players to engage in activities such as planting trees, cleaning plastic from the oceans, and saving sea turtle babies while playing their favorite games. The cash for these rewards comes from game publishers and other businesses who pay for the impact. By integrating these environmental rewards into games, publishers can increase engagement, retention, and monetization. Dots.eco has seen significant growth and has partnered with major gaming studios and brands to implement their platform. The results include improved player satisfaction, increased transactions and revenue, and enhanced brand reputation.TakeawaysDots.eco offers real-world environmental rewards to incentivize players in games.Publishers pay for the impact, and the cash comes from game publishers and other businesses.Integrating environmental rewards into games can increase engagement, retention, and monetization.Dots.eco has seen significant growth and has partnered with major gaming studios and brands.Chapters00:00 Introduction01:09 Overview of Dots.eco02:12 Monetization and Business Model03:06 Implementation in Games04:34 Engagement and Retention Strategy08:17 Results and Growth12:43 Expansion to Other Industries16:40 Partnership Process20:38 Metrics and Results24:48 Conclusion
Remember Office Space where the consultants came in and asked the QA manager what he actually did around here? (If not, drop everything and go watch it!)In this Growth Masterminds, we chat with Luis de la Camara, VP of Marketing at Rovio, about product marketing managers vs user acquisition managers: what they are, what they do, and why it matters.We also chat about aligning teams for success, crafting joy and a lot of other things, and more, including:- Introduction to Rovio - The difference between product marketing managers and user acquisition managers - The concept of crafts in marketing - The importance of empathy for the player - The roles of CMOs and CGOs in modern app marketing
How do you manage hundreds of apps? Especially when some are D2C, some are B2B, and many are internal?
In this very special Growth Masterminds, we chat with Athina Kanioura, the Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer for PepsiCo. She's managing a digital transformation for PepsiCo to ensure each end customer gets exactly what she or he needs ... but also that every level and layer of a complex multi-billion multinational corporation works together seamlessly.
We chat:
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Strategy
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Apps
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AI
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Generative AI
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Human-centred approach
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Managing internal and external customers
How do you make SKAN work for retail? Games? IAPs? Finance? Subscriptions? Ad monetization?
In this Growth Masterminds we chat with 2 Singular experts who work with hundreds of clients, helping them get their SKAdNetwork models right.
We go through SKAN for:
Games & apps
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admon
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IAP
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subscription
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hypercasual vs mid-core
Verticals for apps
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retail
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fintech
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fast food
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on-demand
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travel
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social
... and more!
The world’s hundred biggest advertisers spent $347 billion in 2022 ... and not much of that hit mobile games, despite the fact that almost 4B people play games worldwide.
The billion-dollar question: how can games access those billions?
There’s been this sort of sad joke about mobile game monetization over the last few years: in other to monetize your game, you advertise other games. That funds your own UA budget, which then mostly gets spent in … other games.
And the $$$ just go on a merry go round, round, and round, and round.
We’re starting to see brands advertise in mobile games now, but it’s not huge.
Andris Merkulovs, the CEO of Monetizr, thinks he has a way to get those big brand dollars into mobile games. In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat about exactly how he thinks that could be done.
He helped sell and launch the first-ever banner ad: the (in)famous AT&T "have you ever clicked here ... YOU WILL" ad. Now he's focused on generative AI in advertising in marketing.
In this Growth Masterminds, we chat with Data Axle's Tom Zawacki about the history and the future of marketing and advertising. Ultimately, we chat about generative AI and how it will impact the creation and personalization of ads.
We also hit social media, influencers, Taylor Swift -- yes, once a client -- and that good-old-fashioned marketing methodology: omnichannel.
Entertainment apps most often monetize via interstitials. Same with news and weather apps. For hypercasual games, it's much more about banners than rewarded ads.
I recently saw that Kayzen released a Programmatic Inventory Index based on an analysis of:
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24 trillion bid requests
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630,000 apps
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1.4 billion daily active users
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10 billion machine learning decisions every day
I’m a sucker for stuff like this, so I thought ... I have to talk to these guys and learn what they found out. So I did ... and now you can too!
If you're doing ad monetization in your app or game, you need that data in your MMP. And you need granular data so that you can calculate accurate ROI, LTV, and ROAS.
In this Growth Masterminds, we chat with Singular director of product Lisi Gardiner about admon insight the Singular product. The key new thing: thanks to a recent product innovation it's now available in Singular's free tier of service.
We talk about how it works, what's supported, why it's now in the free tier, and much more!
What are the 15 worst, most awful, horrific mistakes you can make in mobile user acquisition?
I saw something interesting on LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago: someone posted and said they managed 26 million euros in ad spend to scale apps over the last 12 months.
And ... they had learned 15 of the worst performance-killing mistakes
Well, after that I had no choice: I had to invite them on to Growth Masterminds and discuss them all.
So for this Growth Masterminds we have Pablo Gonzalez, the author of that LinkedIn post. He is a performance marketing director for Admiral Media and has worked in performance and digital marketing for over a decade with clients like Mercado Libre, Banco Galicia, and multiple other brands.
What can you definitely not do while scaling UA spend?
Watch and listen!
How does Privacy Sandbox on Android work? What will you get back? How much noise will Google add? When will it be launched? When is Singular testing Privacy Sandbox? How can I test Privacy Sandbox?We answer these and many more questions in the second part of our Privacy Sandbox on Android show with Singular CTO Yuval Carmel and software architect Ron Shub.Among the topics we discuss ...What did running tests in Privacy Sandbox teach you?- Any gotchas?- Major challenges?- Walk us through the process- What happens … where … from ad placement to install to conversionsWhat data will marketers get?- User-level imitations on that data?- Noise?SDK Runtime- Thoughts?- Preventing fingerprinting?- Will it hurt anything legit?- Will it make publishing apps easier? - Will it create more security?What’s new in Privacy Sandbox in the last couple of months?- Protected audiences?1% of Android devices are Privacy Sandbox ready … when will that grow?Impact of Privacy Sandbox vs SKAN?- Initial?- Could there be a flight to iOS?- Learning curve for marketers?More Singular testing coming ...- Can others get in on that?
Everyone needs more creative, but building it at scale is hard and expensive. Can generative AI do the job for you?
In this Growth Masterminds, we chat with Winclap general manager Avi Ben-Zvi about building mobile user acquisition ad creatives via generative AI.
We discuss:
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what tools he's using
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how he's using them
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what he's building: video/stills/audio
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the big shift he's seeing in creative right now
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and the results generative AI is ... well ... generating
How can you maximize one of the top 3 user acquisition platforms on the planet?
Imagine boosting your conversion rate by 100%. Or cutting CPI by 50%. All while massively boosting how many people see your ads ... essentially for free.
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with ASO expert Emre Bilgic from Mobileaction about cutting-edge App Store optimization plus paid marketing tips on Apple Search Ads, a must for any serious user acquisition pros on iOS.
We also talk about:
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Hidden secrets on ASA
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Common mistakes on ASA?
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Metrics that matter most on ASA
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Recommended budgets and drip campaigns
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The correlation between good ASO and paid UA on ASA
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Media mix modeling and ASA … what’s interesting here
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and much more!
As always get all the details on Singular's blog when we post:
https://www.singular.net/blog/
So you want to grow to $50,000 or $80,000 a day in ad monetization revenue? In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with admon and UA expert Felix Braberg about everything ad monetization.
On the menu:
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Google Ad Manager
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AdMob
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Amazon Publisher Services massive growth
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Losing 8-18% on ad arbitrage
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Using Moloco to gain an 8-11% ad ARPDAU
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Getting value from 100% of your users, not just 1%
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Duolingo's massive ad monetization success
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The move away from subscription revenue
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How to get big in ad monetization
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Keys to organic growth
... and much much more! This episode is part of our "How do you acquire your first million users" series, so there's lots in here for those who are early in the app growth journeys.
As always, check the Singular blog for more:
https://www.singular.net/blog/
Subscribe to the audio version of this on any podcast platform:
https://www.singular.net/growth-masterminds-podcast/
And chat with us about how Singular can help you!
https://www.singular.net/lp/demo/
Kids apps can be tough. But there's also a ton of opportunity.
Whether you're in an official Kids Space on Google Play or Made for Kids section on the App Store, or just an app that is designed to appeal to kids, there are special rules and guidelines from governments and platform owners.
Knowing these and following them unlocks a world of opportunity, however.
We recently hosted some experts, including:
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Celeste Rollason, Senior Child Privacy Expert @ Privo
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Stefano Accossato, Head of UA & Ad Monetization @ TutoTOONS
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Mike Gadd, EMEA Customer Success Director @ Singular
... to find out:
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what is a kids app?
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what do GDPR and COPPA say?
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what other legislation is out there?
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how do different geos deal with kids apps?
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marketing to both kids and parents
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level of competition in kids apps
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compliance as an enabler
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what the rules are
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tools and tech to make kids apps marketing work safely
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monetization for kids apps
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subscriptions for kids apps
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in-app purchases for kids apps
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building trust with parents
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and much more ...
There's a lot new in the world of SKAdNetwork, even if we're not talking about SKAN 4 or SKAN 5.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Singular product manager Omri Barak about everything that's new, including:
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the SKAN 4 conversion value reset bug
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the state of SKAN
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model migration: how to change SKAN models easily & quickly
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upgrading to SKAN 4
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SKAN cohorts
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modeled revenue
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the Google conversion API
... and much more, including what we can expect from Singular in the coming quarter.
How do you scale a game from zero to hero? And how does your growth job change as the game gets bigger?
In this Growth Masterminds we chat with Itay Milstein, VP of growth at Braingames. He's formerly from Wivo and was head of growth at Huuuge Games. Braingames makes Word Farm Adventure, a fast-growing game that is a mashup of word puzzles and a world-building farm sim.
We chat about:
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scaling growth
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when to scale
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the hardest part of the cold start
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how growth is different now than 2 years ago
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how performance marketing changes over time
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organic growth
How do you get your first million users?
I'm starting a new series in Growth Masterminds, and it's about getting your first million users for a new app. There are huge challenges for big apps and big brands to grow, but they’re different: they have resources, a brand, and maybe some existing users/players/customers.
Starting from zero is a different challenge.
I think there’s a lot to learn for both types of app marketers from both sets of challenges, but this series will focus on early-stage growth.
To start, we're chatting with Hannah Parvaz, who is literally an “app marketer of the year” and also a “biz strategy consultant of the year.”
She’s worked in tons of growth roles and now runs her own growth agency, Aperture, helping apps grow and mobile businesses work.
The golden age of mobile is over ... at least the golden age of gigatons of free data for marketers and adtech companies.
Thanks to IDFA and GAID app marketers had near-free access to huge amounts of behavior data. That was great for acquisition, but also engagement & retention of users/customers/people.
That era is almost over. What’s going to win now?
In this Growth Masterminds I chat with Thomas Butta, CMO of Airship. Airship just completed a survey of 11,000 consumers, and Butta shares what they learned. We also chat about the one-to-one relationship apps still offer brands AFTER they've managed to get customers into their apps and signed up or subscribed.
MMM is hard.
Whether you like media mix modeling or marketing mix modeling, getting all your data is hard, onboarding to an MMM tool is hard, comparing to market trends is hard, sanity checking is hard.
But there is an easy button for MMM.
And it's called Singular.
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Singular CTO Eran Friedman about Singular's new MMM product, with:
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total spend coverage
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fully automated onboarding
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market trends baked in automatically
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direct comparisons with direct attribution results for sanity checking
MMM isn't attribution, per se. Nor is it a replacement for SKAN, for Privacy Sandbox on Android, or GAID. But it does offer huge utility in incrementality checking and measuring results in hard-to-measure channels and media.
How much fraud do you have in your mobile game or retail app? According to some, it amounts to billions of dollars globally every single year.
That ranges from "friendly fraud" to "family fraud" to "true fraud," according to Suresh Dakshina, co-founder and strategist at Chargeback Gurus. In this Growth Masterminds with host John Koetsier we chat about in-game fraud as well as e-commerce fraud.
We chat about how this fraud happens, what app publishers, developers, and marketers can do about it, and what the process of dealing with it looks like.
Ever feel like your user acquisition campaigns are doing the same thing over and over? Ever feel like every UA manager is running campaigns in exactly the same place as everyone else?
In this Growth Masterminds with Fluent co-founder Matt Conlin, we chat about fishing in new ponds: different places to find new users. We chat about CTV, TV, editorial content, rewarded discovery, influencers, surround sound marketing, and -- believe it or not -- ads in e-commerce environments.
Content matters, but so does context. And there's so much more to mobile user acquisition than in-app ads.
Shocker: since we chat about different user acquisition strategies, we also chat about different marketing measurement strategies.
What has App Tracking Transparency done? And what will Privacy Sandbox on Android do? In a lot of ways they shift power from the buy side to the sell side in mobile adtech ... and they privilege larger companies with massive amounts of first-party data.
In this Growth Masterminds we chat with InMobi chief business officer Kunal Nagpal about the privacy revolution and how everything from targeting to optimization to measurement is changing. We also discuss how those changes are impacted every link in the adtech ecosystem.
Tune in as I ask Nagpal:
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How do ad networks have to change?
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What’s the model that works for the next decade?
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Is targeting toast?
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What about optimization signals?
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What about Apple, an ad network based on first-party data?
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Are owned audiences the future?
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What does this mean for third parties? App monetization?
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What changes can we expect to see in the future from InMobi?
Planning to buy an Apple Vision Pro?
Whether yes or no, Apple very quietly released a ton of new privacy updates: privacy manifests, SKAN 5 (!?!), required reason APIs, tracking domains, retargeting attribution, SDK signing, listings of privacy-impacting SDKs, relays, enhanced private browsing, and more.
In this Growth Masterminds, Singular CEO Gadi Eliashiv, CTO Eran Friedman, and host John Koetsier discuss the changes and updates. And, of course, their impact on SKAN, fingerprinting, MMM, and the entire adtech ecosystem.
What actually happens when a demand-side platform engages machine learning to boost your bids?
We now have less data than ever before about to drive the targeting piece of mobile user acquisition, with very limited access to anything approaching behavioral targeting.
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Persona.ly direction of machine learning Joseph Iris about targeting, demand-side platforms, and AI. We talk about signals, timing, context, and how SKAdNetwork and Privacy Sandbox are impacting everything.
We also talk about what signals are most predictive and most powerful.
How will generative AI impact games? According to Unity CEO John Riccitiello, it will massively grow the industry, speed development by a factor of 2-3X, and enable much smarter, more realistic gameplay.
In a crosspost from his TechFirst podcast, Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier chats with Riccitiello about generative AI in game creation, world building, but also in realtime gameplay.
The impacts on NPCs, on immersive experiences, and on richness of the artificial worlds game developers create will be massive.
Plus, Riccitiello drops some news about an AI engine that Unity has been working on for over 5 years ... and is currently present in over 4 billion devices globally.
How do you make games go boom? Balancing pleasure and frustration, says long-time growth expert Elad Levy.
In this Growth Masterminds we chat with growth guru Elad Levy, who sold his last game company to Playtika. He's also led growth and marketing and co-founded numerous other tech startups.
Our focus: making games growth. We chat about:
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data
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testing
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predictions
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generative AI
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engagement
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live ops
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and, of course ... game design
Privacy Sandbox is by all accounts more complicated than SKAdNetwork ... even SKAN 4. But Singular says "we will do everything for the UA managers."
The bad news is that to make Privacy Sandbox work, you need to set sources, register triggers, get big aggregated reports from upper funnel activities and much smaller lower funnel reports. You need an aggregation server and the ability to decrypt encrypted data. You need to accept the fact that Google will be adding noise to the data to increase privacy. And much more.
But the good news is that Singular -- and the adtech ecosystem at large -- will handle almost all of this complexity for you.
ALMOST all.
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Singular chief architect Yuval Carmel and architect Ron Shub. They all dive into Privacy Sandbox on Android and get you the information you need to start thinking about how you'll handle Privacy Sandbox when it gets fully implemented and deployed.
Tiny X buttons. Phantom clicks. Endless countdowns before you get back to your game.
How can we make mobile ads suck less?
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Francesco Renzo, former Googler and current VP at Moloco, the AI-powered performance ad network.
They chat about:
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the mobile ad problem
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the risk factor if mobile ads suck too much
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the causes between ad networks, publishers, and advertisers
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how we fix it
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what advertisers can do
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what publishers can do
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and ... measurement in the era of privacy (and sky-high click-through rates)
What does a DSP do? And how will it change when they no longer have IDFA or GAID to do it with?
In this Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier chats with longtime adtech and martech thought leader and current InMobi head of product marketing, Sara Camden.
They chat about:
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what DSPs even do :-)
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how DSPs work under SKAN (and Privacy Sandbox)
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the transition to SKAN 4
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and much more ...
60% of in-app subscription cancellations happen in the first 60 minutes ... but there's a way to 10% of them back.
In this Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier chats with Apphud cofounder Renat Kurbanov. Every app marketer wants more subscription revenue, but how do you achieve that?
In this episode, we chat about:
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the core challenges to driving subscription revenue
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typical and most successful flows to drive more subscription revenue
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optimizing free trials
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managing auto-renews properly
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ARPAS … what it is, and why it matters
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subscription fatigue in a down economy
Can you make money by running fewer ads? Gaming OG Adam Jaffe says yes.
In this Growth Masterminds, we chat about bad ads, bad ad experiences, and how not to run ads in your games and apps. We also chat about the declining ROI of increasing numbers of ads in your app.
Adam was formerly with Jam City, was the CEO of Tenko Games, is a former CMO of an edtech company, sits on advisory boards for multiple companies including Dataset and INCRMTL ... and is now founder and CEO of Mega Studio, a gaming agency that designs, builds, analyzes, and monetizes games.
What if you could take a microscope to some of the biggest and best companies in your space, peer inside, and see exactly what they spend for user acquisition and marketing? Would that be useful data?That's exactly what Clement Favier, Chief Operating Officer at Adikteev has been doing for massive gaming companies like Netmarble, SciPlay, and Aristocrat, owner of Product Madness and Big Fish Games.In this Growth Masterminds, we chat about UA spend, how to find it across verticals and companies you care about, and why UA cost is more than just the dollars you spend directly on app installs.
SKAN 4 tools are now live in the Singular dashboard. Clients who want to set up and start testing SKAdNetwork 4 compatible campaigns can now do so live in the Singular dashboard.
That means you can now set up conversion details for each postback: postbacks 1, 2, and 3. Both revenue and events models are now available; additional models and mixed conversion models will soon also be live.
And good news: this is fully backwards compatible with SKAN 3, so it won’t interfere with any ongoing live campaigns.
What does it take to win in user acquisition in 2023? In this episode of Growth Masterminds we chat with Misplay chief growth officer Jason Heller about the new world of mobile user acquisition on iOS in 2023: - what works - what's changed - how marketers should navigate these new waters - how ad networks need to adapt as well We also learn a little bit more about Misplay, which was a surprise strong finisher in multiple categories of the 2023 Singular ROI Index, but is still (relatively) small and (relatively) unknown.
Mobile marketers have largely lost the IDFA, and are going to lose the GAID. But on the web, the 3rd-party cookie -- which will also go away -- is getting more investment.
In fact, according to Adobe, 64% of marketers actually plan to increase spending on 3rd-party cookie marketing this year. In this Growth Masterminds, we chat with Ryan Fleisch, Head of Product Marketing, Real-Time CDP & Audience Manager at Adobe about privacy and marketing.
That includes 3rd-party cookies, of course, but also device identifiers on mobile.
The question we pose for him: what is the solution to the post-identifier world of advertising and marketing?
Apple Search Ads is now in second place among top ad networks apps choose for user acquisition campaigns, at least for Singular clients. And according to Splitmetrics CMO Olga Noha, ASA campaigns help drive organic App Store optimization by as much as 4X.
In this Growth Masterminds, John Koetsier chats with Noha about:
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how important ASA is
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how important ASO is
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how ASA and ASO are related
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how Apple's newest ad units are performing
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what percentage of apps are running Custom Product Pages
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where in an app's lifecycle marketers should think about ASA
Why does livestream shopping work in China but not in the U.S. or Europe? And what is one big obvious opportunity that big brands are missing?
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with MoEngage's VP of Strategy Vassil Mladjov. We chat about where livestream commerce is actually working, could work, and isn't. We also chat about what's different and why livestream commerce does work in China.
Key topics we cover:
1:27 3 minutes about Vassil
4:34 Livestream shopping: east vs west
8:57 Southeast Asia skipped the web
11:55 Cultural differences
12:28 Much bigger influencers in China
14:14 A massive opportunity for brands
14:38 Steph Curry's kicks
16:42 Siloed shopping
18:39 The huge Facebook opportunity
22:44 Live shopping with American characteristics
24:51 Amazon Live
29:29 Livestream commerce won't happen overnight
31:38 The bricks-and-mortar retail opportunity
With over a billion people on TikTok, there’s a lot going on. In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with M&C Saatchi’s Jennifer Sudo, who just completed a study on TikTok users.
What she found:
Over 90% of TikTokkers buy or are willing to buy products they see on TikTok
TikTok can make the most mundane product go viral
TikTok ads shouldn’t really be ads at all
Authenticity wins
TikTok is evolving into something like Home Shopping Network or QVC
TikTok is the new Google for millions of young people
How do you pick the right MMP? Are there major differences between MMPs? Do you even need a mobile measurement partner in the age of SKAN and (soon) Privacy Sandbox on Android?
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with UA expert and consultant Matej Lancaric about the evolving role of MMPs and things to look for when you need one.
(And yes, we also chat about when you need to get an MMP.)
Whole generations of mobile marketers have cut their teeth on growth in the grand old times of (nearly) free money from venture capitalists, resulting in huge budgets that could be deployed and deterministically measured. Those times are over, so how do you grow when growth is hard? You become a cockroach app.
Cockroach apps survive the nuclear apocalypse when nothing else does because they focus on the fundamentals, says Tynker chief growth officer Lomit Patel.
“If you look at the past 5, 6, 7 years, there was such an over-index emphasis on growth at all costs, right?” Patel, who is the former VP for growth at IMVU and led direct marketing at Roku, says. “It was really cheap to get money at that time, especially in startups. So it was really about just buying your way to growing as quickly as possible.”
So what do you do?
Well, for starters, listen to (or watch) this episode of Growth Masterminds, brought to you by Singular.
Where is location-based gaming right now? Pokemon Go is a massive hit, and Niantic is trying to follow it up with NBA All World, but what else is happening?
And, are we going to turn the world into a laser tag theme park?
In this episode of Growth Masterminds we chat with Beau Button, the president and CTO of Atlas Reality. Button is making a location-based game with play-to-earn mechanics that incorporates web3 thinking without blockchain.
We also chat about growth, user acquisition, and much more ...
CTV. OTT. Streaming media. Connected TV. Whatever you want to call it, there's a huge amount of growth in CTV.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Guillaume Lelait, managing director Americas at M&C Saatchi Performance about the growth to date, future growth, and advertiser opportunities in CTV.
Along the way, we hit the biggest players, the industry structure, how advertisers are structuring calls to action, and how to measure ad impact and results on connected TV. Players we chat about include Disney+Netflix, HBO Max, YouTube TV, Roku, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Hulu, Crackle, and more ...
How do you build web3 in 2023, after the boom and after the bust?
In this Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier chats with Dan Reynolds from First Light Games, Jon Hook, the CMO of PlayEmber, and Quinn Campbell, the VP Growth at Sky Mavis, makers of Axie Infinity.
After the hype, after the Discord and Telegram, after the influencers ... where do you go for growth? And what is the emerging web3 growth stack?
We chat about:
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new web3 growth strategies
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old web2 growth strategies
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wallet relationship management
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web3 attribution
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and different kinds of users/owners/players in web3 environments
Mobile user acquisition is great. But for many apps it's not the problem.
The problem: most apps’ retention rates are the bad news. If your app is a leaky bucket, pouring users out as fast as you dump them in, you're wasting tons of marketing dollars.
But what if you could double retention, 2Xing standard industry mobile app user retention rates? How would that change your UA strategy?
In this Growth Masterminds, host John Koetsier chats with Storyly VP Daniele di Nunzio. Storyly works with McDonalds, Domino’s, SoulCycle, and many more brands to drive deep user engagement.
And, of course, to improve in-app user retention.
Apple just released SKAdNetwork 4, or SKAN 4. In this special episode of Growth Masterminds, Singular CEO Gadi Eliashiv walks us through all the details released so far AND, crucially, what they mean for mobile marketers on iOS.
More postbacks - good!
More complexity - true.
More opportunity - also true.
Gadi and host John Koetsier chat about SKAdNetwork version 4's new postbacks, new lockable conversions, new random timer delays for postbacks 2 and 3, and how Apple's crowd anonymity works.
They then take questions from a LinkedIn Live audience on what this all means, how it will all work, and how the ecosystem will adjust, adapt, and implement everything in SKAN 4.
In this crosspost from the TechFirst podcast, we chat with Unity CEO John Riccitiello about Unity's latest gaming report.
Riccitiello talks about monetization of multiplayer games, which have much higher paying player rates than just about any other kind of games or apps. We also chat about the ironSource acquisition, the first game he played, and how he sees the metaverse evolving.
In addition, we touch on 2022: what's happening now after 2 years of explosion in the global gaming industry.
Somewhere around 2016 someone created the first playable ad ... a mini-game you could enjoy, and an ad that didn’t suck.
Last year, according to a Liftoff report, “playable ads were the most effective ad format” in every month other than September, when they tied with another format.
That makes sense: you're generating engagement with the ad. It's fun. Sometimes it's tied to a reward, and a playable ad often shows something of what the advertised app is all about.
BUT there's been a big problem
Playables have been hard to create. Slow. Expensive. Inflexible. Hard to use with user-generated content. Hard to use with influencers.
Could there be a solution for that? Should you be looking harder at playables? Could they even solve for some of the targeting that privacy is removing?
In this Growth Masterminds, we're sharing a LinkedIn Live host John Koetsier did with CRAFTSMAN+ CEO Alex Merutka.
In the mobile app world … how do you know who’s winning? It is number of installs?
We know that can be a faulty measurement: one that's easy to game, and easily misleading. Apptopia knows this. Their job is providing competitive intelligence across the digital ecosystem, and isolated install counts won’t cut it. So they’ve teamed up with Digital Turbine to do something different
They’ve just released v2 of that “something different," the BRAG index. In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with 2 experts about what that is ... and what they’ve learned:
- Tara Kirkpatrick, analyst for Apptopia
- Gregory Wester, SVP and CMO for Digital Turbine
Behavioral targeting is dying. But how good can contextual targeting get?
In this episode of Growth Masterminds we chat with Remerge CEO Pan Katsukis about context advertising: where it works, where it's strong, and where it is weak.
We also chat about the psychology of contextual versus behaviorally targeted ads, the future of targeting, and how in some cases contextual target can use up to 100 parameters to get even better than behavioral targeting.
ingular just released Optimized Conversion Models for SKAN. Essentially, it's automated tech that continuously analyzes your SKAdNetwork set-up and tells you if it finds a better model that will get you more accurate data.
30-35% of marketers aren't using the most optimized SKAN conversion models, and in testing Singular has seen cases where a better model provides 60% better data.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds host John Koetsier chats with Singular product manager Evyatar Ram about the new feature, how it works, why it's important, and how it can help mobile marketers who are running mobile app growth campaigns for iOS.
In mobile adtech you have two giants (Google and Facebook) and 5-7 major competitors, which we've called titans, and then hundreds if not thousands of additional ad networks.
Unity shook up the adtech space yesterday by announcing a merger with ironSource, largely to get its mediation and publishing platforms, and to get access to more data.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, cross-posted from TechFirst with John Koetsier, we chat with Unity CEO John Riccitiello about why he pulled the trigger, and what Unity expects to gain by acquiring ironSource.
We have SKAdNetwork from Apple. We have Privacy Sandbox from Google. We have ID5 and Unified ID 2.0 and the IAB's Project Rearc.
In short, we have many diverse solutions now competing for the future of marketing measurement. Plus, of course, IPA, or Interoperable Private Attribution from Facebook ... errr ... Meta.
What is it?
How does it work?
Should you be thinking about it?
And ... with all these different methodologies, how can marketers actually measure results across the board? Don't we need a United Nations of measurement to make this all make sense?
We chat about all these questions with Singular CTO Eran Friedman.
Privacy Sandbox on Android is out and it looks good. But there's still a lot of questions about how advertisers, ad networks, and MMPs will work together.
If the industry can't find a way to innovate in tandem, we risk having confusing data and unclear insights from marketing campaigns that won't enable proper measurement or optimization.
In this episode of the Growth Masterminds podcast, we chat with Singular product manager Jonathan Chen, who's working on ways of solving Privacy Sandbox on Android for the industry, including how we can ensure that we don't get siloed attribution (where multiple ad networks claim credit for a conversion and advertisers don't know whether they should credit one, or both, or neither) and coordinating aggregation keys so that advertisers, ad networks, and measurement partners can make sense of the aggregated privacy-safe data Google will be releasing.
We chat solutions, integrations, results ... and what still needs to be figured out.
A level playing field for ad channels? Retargeting built into the OS? Multi-touch attribution (very) light?
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with ironSource VP Yevgeny Peres about Privacy Sandbox for Android. There's plenty we don't know yet, but Peres has already seen multiple things in the new mobile marketing measurement framework from Google to get excited.
There's new never-seen-before functionality for marketers. There's a level playing field for ad networks, Peres says, and much more ...
SKAN or SKAdNetwork has a major problem. Less data, less timely data, less granular data ... OK, it has many problems.
One particular issue: zeroed-out conversion values because there's simply no revenue data to report.
Singular's mixed models for SKAN fixes that, by allowing mobile marketers measure revenue and a combination of other conversion models to ensure that no matter what happens, you get data back.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we do a deep dive into what the problem is, and how mixed models fixes. In other words, how to make SKAdNetwork ... work.
In this special episode of Growth Masterminds, Singular CEO Gadi Eliashiv and John Koetsier connect for an in-depth discussion on Google’s Android Privacy Sandbox announcement. What we cover:
✅ A breakdown of what exactly Google announced
✅ Details of how mobile attribution will work with Privacy Sandbox
✅ Predictions on the future impact on the ecosystem and app marketers
Topics include:
- the biggest change
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how this ranks next to Apple's ATT
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is the sky falling?
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attribution under Privacy Sandbox
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SDK Runtime
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Google Referrer
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Lack of user consent
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Topics and Fledge
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and ... the future of mobile marketing measurement
Why does a game publisher buy an ad network? What does it bring them? And what is behind this current frenzy of mergers and acquisitions that we're seeing in mobile adtech?
Good questions!
So I asked Zynga and Chartboost. Our conversation happened to be a couple of weeks before the news broke that Take-Two Interactive was buying (errr, acqui-merging) Zynga, and the answers are even more relevant now that that's happened. In this Growth Masterminds we chat with Zynga Chief Product Officer Scott Koenigsberg and Chartboost CEO Rich Izzo.
Your host, of course, is John Koetsier.
Mobile marketers can live with many of the deficiencies of SKAdNetwork: lack of granularity, lack of immediacy, lack of data richness. But they can't live without predictability. Predictability enables confidence in campaigns and massive capital deployment.
BUT ...
Mobile growth experts have had major challenges making SKAN predictable. As many as 90% of mobile marketers can't get what they need out of SKAdNetwork.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Singular CTO Eran Friedman, who has worked with many massive clients on SKAN and iOS campaigns, on how to achieve predictability with SKAdNetwork.
There's been a ton of change in adtech in 2021. I'm not even sure we know precisely what an ad network is anymore, but we're certainly seeing the rise of a set of new titans of adtech in mobile, companies like Liftoff+Vungle, ironSource, Unity, Applovin, Digital Turbine, and InMobi.
What's driving the growth?
Is it good for mobile marketers?
And, what should we expect from mobile adtech companies in 2022?
To dig into all these questions, we chat with the CEO of Liftoff, Mark Ellis. Of course, since the merger with Vungle, he's now the CEO of Liftoff+Vungle, or whatever they're going to call the new company, Mark's not just the CEO, he's also the founder, and has a deep history in adtech and mobile.
NOTE:
This episode of Growth Masterminds is cross-posted from another podcast: TechFirst by John Koetsier.
If you’re doing mobile marketing on iOS, you pretty much have to use Apple’s SKAdNetwork. But SKAN has serious issues, including privacy-focused censorship thresholds: You don’t get all the data, so you can’t determine device-level granular marketing performance.
That means you can’t get great ROAS and ROI data ... and that makes optimizing advertising hard.
Now, there might be a solution using data science and machine learning to model the missing conversions and re-surface the missing data.
To check it out, we’re chatting with Singular product manager Evyatar Ram.
What can we learn about the future of mobile from China?
The Chinese mobile market is the largest on the planet, and has uniquely Chinese characteristics: super apps, social livestream shopping, key opinion leaders and fan economies, and more.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Moonie Zhu, co-founder of ETOC (E-commerce to China) about the Chinese market, how to enter it, what's different, what we can learn from it, and more ...
We chat with InMobi CEO Abhay Singhal on Epic vs Apple, IDFA and iOS 14.5, and especially the company's new InMobi Telco on-device platform.
"There are over 800 telcos in the world and each one, if you talk to them today, has an ambition of becoming a large media company," Singhal says.
We're seeing on-device ad platforms achieve significant success, with companies like ironSource Aura, AppNext, and Digital Turbine scoring very high on the 2021 Singular ROI Index. Most of them include on-device app discovery via a persistent experience on new devices and a set-up wizard upon activation. They can tie into the home and/or lock screens, and offer live updates on new apps to try.
We also chat about IDFA and iOS 14.5, the Epic Games vs Apple legal settlement impacting third-party payment options on iOS, and much more ...
0:00 On-device app discovery
3:10 Lock screen and home screen ads
5:09 Telcos as media companies
8:11 Custom version of Android?
9:32 iOS 14 and IDFA
14:40 Apple vs Epic Games
Monetization and retention can seem like the opposite ends of a continuum ... a zero-sum game where focusing on monetization kills retention.
Not necessarily, says AppLike CEO Jonas Thiemann. AdJoe, one of their brands, has a unique ad placement that earns players money for installing and playing games they're interested in ... including the game they saw the ad in.
He says it's the perfect balancing of incentives between users, publishers, and advertisers, and that's why 80 out of the top 100 grossing apps on Android are using AdJoe, users are making $20-20 a month, and some publishers are taking home six-figure paydays daily.
First-party data? Content fortresses? Incrementality?
2020 was crazy for everyone. 2021 is crazier for mobile marketers, who are facing complete disruption in how they keep score, measure success, and report on growth.
Attribution's not gone, but it is changing. You still get some last-click data in iOS with SKAdNetwork, and of course on Android, but it's less clear, less direct, and -- for Android -- probably not long-lived. What other data do you have to measure the impact of your marketing?
That exactly what we chat about with Tinuiti's Liz Emery ... possibly the smartest agency-based marketer. We chat about iOS 14.5, Android 12, Facebook AMM (advanced mobile measurement) deprecation, opportunities, media mix modeling, incrementality, first-party data, mergers & acquisitions, and much, much more.
We end with this: what will remain true in marketing ... regardless of technology, data, and regulation changes?
0:00 Everything is broken
1:49 Attribution + more data
5:04 In-app analytics for marketers
6:28 Historical data for marketers
8:28 Flight to Android?
10:39 Facebook Advanced Mobile Measurement (AMM)
14:02 Android app set ID and more
16:19 First party data
18:12 Mergers & acquisitions & content fortresses
22:06 Owned media, lifecycle marketing, social
23:52 Agencies and mobile marketing
27:37 Liz rocks
We’ve had more billion-dollar adtech acquisitions in the first quarter of 2021than in the previous several years combined, according to LUMA.
What’s going on?
Could it be … all the talk of third-party cookie deprecation? The reality of the IDFA apocalypse? New levels of competition? Changing marketing channels and opportunities? Or … a new emphasis on platform services and first-party data?
We’re going to find out.
Vungle is part of this acquisition frenzy. Vungle has acquired no fewer than 4 companies in the past 9 months, including, most recently, JefFuel, an influencer marketing platform. Today we’re chatting with Vungle’s SVP of Revenue, Scott Silverman, about why.
Many mobile marketers are less than happy with Apple's new iOS 14.5 and SKAdNetwork, Apple's privacy-safe mobile advertising attribution framework.
But developers and publishers of kids' apps are not among them.
In fact, SKAdNetwork might just be the best thing that's happened to kids' apps. Now, as Kidoz co-CEO Eldad Ben Tora says, marketers can actually do user acquisition at scale for kids' apps. And publishers can monetize safely via ads.
In this podcast ...
0:00 Intro
0:44 Kids' apps market size
5:17 What is Kidoz?
11:38 User acquisition for kids apps
15:01 Marketing to kids vs parents
17:38 Monetization of kids' apps
23:06 Integration with Singular
25:00 Why focus on kids?
Now.gg is launching a new cloud gaming service. And while there are dozens of startups and giant tech companies doing the same, Now.gg is from Bluestacks, which has over 500 million users play Android games on the web.
Now gaming is moving to the cloud.
And that means huge changes for marketers and user acquisition specialists. While it's early days, being able to market a game by sharing a link that someone can start playing a game with instantly is an entirely different ball game than marketing an Android or iOS app.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds (check out the audio podcast!) I chat with Ben Armstrong, a Bluestacks and Now.gg VP, about the new service, about what it means for mobile, and about how marketers can take advantage of it.
Check the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXJmxzOOaFk
Check the story here: https://www.singular.net/blog/cloud-gaming-user-acquisition/
The list of Western apps that have made it big in China is not long. There are some great games on that list, including ones from major studios Supercell and Riot Games. Games like Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja made the cut, and Subway Surfers and PUBG are big globally as well as in China.
But as Josh Burns explains, it’s probably easier to list the apps that failed.
He has a lot of experience with apps in general and China in particular.
As a former exec at 6waves and EA and founder of DigitalDevConnect, Burns has helped launch games for Kabam, Nexon, and Atari. He’s managed games with IP from Disney, Starz, Eminem, and the BBC. Now, among a few other things, Burns helps top grossing mobile games enter the China market.
I chatted with him recently, and along with a lot of advice about what NOT to do, he shared 12 keys to success in bringing mobile apps to China.
Here’s his best insight about taking apps and games from the west and bringing them east. If you'd prefer to read this than watch this, the 12 keys are available on the Singular blog:
https://www.singular.net/blog/mobile-app-success-in-china/
What is happening in the mobile adtech ecosystem?
Is it the rise of platforms? The need for size to fight the heavyweight contenders of mobile advertising? Consolidation to accumulate and stockpile more first-party data in an era of increasingly scarce second and third party information? Or just a need to acquire revenue on the path to going public?
Whatever it is, we are seeing a massive acceleration in mergers and acquisitions in the mobile marketing and adtech ecosystems. Applovin bought Adjust, Vungle bought GameRefinery, Verve bought Nexstar. District M and Sharethrough. Magnite (formerly Rubicon) bought SpotX just a few months ago … and, of course, the ink has barely dried on the $400 million Digital Turbine acquisition of AdColony.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Offer Yehudai, president at Fyber, and Matt Tubergen, EVP corporate development and strategy at Digital Turbine about their deal ... and the wider implications in the ecosystem.
SKAdNetwork-compatible mobile ad inventory is hard to come by these days. Fortunately, Snap is ready, and Singular and Snap are announcing a joint solution for SKAdNetwork campaign measurement.
For all the details, we check in with Singular product marketing manager Saadi Muslu in this episode of Growth Masterminds.
Perhaps even more interesting?
Like Facebook but unlike Google, Snap has decided to show the App Tracking Transparency prompt. And the results, according to our recent IDFA survey data, could be extremely important for the ecosystem as a whole.
All the details in the episode, or here in the blog post:
https://www.singular.net/blog/snapchat-skadnetwork/
Facebook automated app ads are smart and useful ads that take elements of creative you supply, mix and match them according to Facebook’s secret alchemy of advertising success, and automate the process of targeting, delivery, customization, and even — if you wish — setting budgets.
There’s one small problem.
You can’t analyze everything you might want to.
In this brief episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Singular product manager Evyatar Ram about how you actually can analyze Facebook AAA ads by country and creative assets simultaneously.
We are down to the short strokes now: Apple’s iOS 14.5 will roar in next week or soon after, changing mobile marketing on iPhone and iPad forever. But is the mobile advertising ecosystem ready? Is there SKAdNetwork-ready ad supply from mobile publishers? And how will MMPs, mobile web customer journeys, and deep links work?
In short: there are still a lot of questions.
I spent some time with Jonathan Chen, who leads Singular’s attribution product and manages integration with top partners, to answer these questions.
Can you fingerprint users in iOS 14? Or, in other words, use probabilistic attribution?
There’s been a ton of questions about this. Some vendors have said yes, and in fact there are some circumstances where fingerprinting is OK. But Apple has said fingerprinting is not OK in cases where people have not granted tracking permission.
So what’s OK, and what’s not?
We’re chatting with Eran Friedman, CTO of Singular, who’s been working with SKAdNetwork for the past six to nine months
What is App Tracking Transparency? When do you need to use it? Can you measure marketing effectiveness without it? How can you ensure you are ATT compliant?
Welcome to Growth Masterminds, with John Koetsier
There are a ton of questions about iOS 14 and Apple’s new IDFA rules, and ATT is at the heart of them. Today we are going to ask Singular CTO Eran Friedman all of them :-)
If you’re a marketer who is wondering how to navigate the new privacy-safe reality in Apple environments, Mixtiles is a good company to look to for insight:
- Super-fast growth over the past few years
- Hot D2C (direct to consumer) category
- Heavily focused on iOS
- Overwhelmingly multi-channel and multi-platform user journeys
- Not dependent on IDFA
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Mixtiles co-founder Eytan Levit, who shares his insight on mobile marketing now.
Singular CTO Eran Friedman talks about challenges with SKAdNetwork: getting enough supply side data, and ensuring you hit privacy thresholds to get data not just in number of total instals, but also total installs for each of several key parameters ...
In other words ... it’s about much more than getting, or not getting, the IDFA.
How do you get from Hello World to Clash of Clans?
Marketing analytics help you grow, but there’s different needs at different stages of development ... from just starting out ... to having a global big-money winner.
To dive into how those needs change over time, we’re chatting with Claire Rozain.
She leads UA at Product Madness, and has been at Match, Mappy, and multiple other brands before. And she's managed marketing from bare-bones in-the-garage all the way up to the biggest brands and the largest scale.
ROAS is perhaps the most foundational KPI in mobile marketing. The big question for 2021 is: can you still calculate ROAS in iOS 14?
“First and foremost, I think we should recognize that there is still … IDFA, because users might opt-in,” says Singular VP of product Alon Nafta. “But if we go to SKAdNetwork — which let’s assume is the common case — it’s not like you don’t have anything. The SKAdNetwork framework does give you a few elements that if used correctly ... advertisers can expect to get something sensible.”
Short version: yes.
Slightly longer version: there are some challenges.
True ROI calculation requires complete data. You've got data on your In-app purchase, of course. But most mobile publishers also have ad monetization data. The question is: how do you get all of it together … match it up … and figure out true ROI based on your actual cost of user acquisition?
To get more details, we’re chatting with Lisi Gardiner, Senior Product Manager for Analytics for Singular. And we'd better be fast: we're keeping her from weekend pizza and wine.
Every marketer would love to have a single source of truth. With iOS 14, SKAdNetwork is yet another source of marketing data to add to the long list.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Singular's director of product marketing Saadi Muslu, who shares what Singular is doing to integrate this new data source with all the others.
One of the things Saadi mentions is the Mobile Attribution Privacy Group, a Slack group dedicated to plotting a privacy-safe path through all the new mobile attribution minefields. She also invites all listeners to join it.
Here's the link:
https://join.slack.com/t/mapworkinggroup/shared_invite/zt-9vlvhtzn-bqUVQ1zn3o1UorDNIodvZg
What does fraud look like in iOS 14 with SK ad network?
In this episode of Growth Masterminds we chat with Yonatan Komornik, the head of fraud prevention at Singular. You might think that since Apple cryptographically signs every install that is attributed via SKAdNetwork that iOS 14 could be fraud-free, but there are at least 3 ways fraudsters can still cheat app install advertisers.
We chat about each one, and then how to solve them ...
How do you manage, monitor, and optimize conversions in iOS 14 with SKAdNetwork?
Welcome to a special version of Growth Masterminds. Today, we're chatting with Ron Koenigsberg, the chief architect at Singular
Our topic: customized conversions in iOS 14. In brief, we're talking about how to optimize for growth with SKAdNetwork by implementing Singular's smart conversion management.
We chat with Singular CTO Eran Friedman about SKAN, Singular's open-source framework for SKAdNetwork.
The key goals:
- identify the top challenges
- maximize use of your 100 campaign IDs
- manage the data from SKAdNetwork and bring it all together
- reduce fraud
- simplify conversion management ... and optimize conversion methodologies on the fly
- combine SKAdNetwork data with IDFA data and data from other sources
- and more!
How do pink cows, purple velvet shoes, and stone pillows help you beat the competition?
Well, they probably don't. But creativity will.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we chat with Lee Eisenhuth, who leads design at PeopleFun. They make games like Wordscapes. We also chat with Alice Guillaume, the Senior Director of Marketing at Applovin. She left a Wall Street job with Morgan Stanley to do something much more interesting: mobile marketing.
We chat about:
- magic in marketing
- process
- A/B testing
- luck
- what ads work for clicks, and what ads work for conversions, and why they're different
... and much more!
Lomit Patel leads growth at IMVU. Before that, he led performance and digital marketing for Roku. He also ran customer acquisition at Texture, which Apple acquired and turned into Apple News+
At IMVU, Lomit cut customer acquisition cost by a factor of three. And, he's now recouping the cost of advertising 3X faster than before.
How?
Artificial intelligence, intelligently applied.
In this podcast episode, we'll chat with Lomit to learn what he did, how he did it, and what the results are.
You've heard of walking softly and carrying a big stick? Allison Schiff talks softly and carries a massive stick ... with a great sense of humor.
In this episode of Growth Masterminds, we take a peek behind the martech and adtech curtain with a reporter who's covering all the biggest stories in the space.
What we talk about:
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You have a very broad view of the martech and adtech ecosystem, and what’s happening in it. It really feels like an era of major change right now with lots up in the air … the death of cookies, the threat to IDFA, increased legislation and demand for privacy … what are the major changes happening right now in your opinion?
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I want to chat about the ROI Index Singular just released. I’ll mention the name of a platform … you tell me what comes to mind ...
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TikTok
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Facebook & Google
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Apple Search Ads
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Amazon
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Twitter, Snap
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AdColony … Vungle … Liftoff … Applovin
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Unity
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Sometimes you get to see behind the curtain of some major marketing platforms or ad networks. Tell us something we don’t know …
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We’ve seen plenty of startups worshipping the goddess of growth-at-all-costs in the super-funded startups of the last few years, perhaps thanks to a cash-as-a-strategy effort by Softbank and others pouring money into a leading contender in the space. That seems to be changing now .. how do you think that will impact advertising and marketing?
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What kind of advertising do you personally like? What works on you?
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How do you see the marketing world changing in the next few years? And how do you want it to change?
Show notes and a transcript will be available at Singular's blog shortly.
Jayne Peressini started her career with Glu Mobile in London, then worked for Cisco, Razorfish, Reddit, and Machine Zone. She is now the senior director of growth marketing for DraftKings.
We talk about:
The state of adtech ... what's changing, what’s working, and what’s broken.
Fraud
Scaling ad spend
Safe ways to grow fast
Measurement and privacy
Attribution and incrementality
Metrics that matter
And ... her best advice for growth marketers … on messaging, advertising campaigns, building a team, when to scale, and how to scale.
We talk to mobile growth expert Thomas Petit on ASO, conversion optimization, the duopoly, how indies can still succeed, getting featured by Google and Apple, and much, much, much more!
Thomas Petite is a mobile growth consultant for Deezer, Lingokids, Playspace, AppAgent, and many more companies. He's spoken at App Growth Summit, App Promotion Summit, Mobile Growth Europe, ASO Conference, and that's just the first part of the list. And he's a frequent contributor to MobileDevMemo.
We talk to Lauren Clinnick and Christina Chen of Lumi Interactive, a small games studio in Melbourne Australia about how they got the apps featured by Apple and Google six times ... and what that did for their business.
We also talk about growing a small studio, being a women in tech and in games, and how to know when it's time to scale your app.
Eric worked for Skype. He was VP of user acquisition for Rovio. He was head of platform for N3TWORK. He built Agamemnon and runs Mobile Dev Memo. In this episode, we talk about:
the biggest changes in mobile the elimination of the IDFA the impact of GDPR and CCPA scaling marketing beyond the initial easy wins the increasingly important role of creative in advertising the problems with programmatic the triumvirate is the new duopoly: Google, Facebook, and Amazon the rise of Amazon incrementality is everything and much more!