Mobile Heroes Uncensored Liftoff

Can it be possible that 99% of ads for midcore games fail to address one of the most important factors in drawing new players in?

In this Mobile Heroes Uncensored we dive into Liftoff’s creative index report. Based on analysis of 805 billion ad impressions -- yes you got that number right -- the report highlights what works and doesn’t work in mobile advertising.

Our guests:


James Haslam, Senior Marketing Insights Manager, Liftoff
Justin Nield, Associate Manager, Brand Creative, Liftoff

What we learn: far too many ads ignore key user motivations, one very old and much-maligned ad unit is actually an all-star, what hooks new users in fintech, and much, much more …



Timestamps

0:00 What 99% of mobile ads miss

2:30 805 billion ad impressions

4:40 Banner ads don’t suck

5:35 Most surprising insight

8:00 Banner ads actually rock

12:07 Creative strategy in 2022

14:30 12 user motivations for gamers

22:42 E-commerce creatives

24:00 The makeup-applying robot

25:00 Top tips for ad creative

Is it possible to have privacy that doesn’t suck for marketers? While SKAdNetwork and iOS 14.5 might not fit that billing, Privacy Sandbox on Android just might.

What does it include? What will change? What will get worse, and what will get better. In this episode of Mobile Heroes Uncensored, we interview three experts to get their insights:


Gadi Eliashiv, CEO of Singular
Sergio Serra, head of product at InMobi
Matt Ellinwood, director of product management at Liftoff

They tell us what Privacy Sandboxes’ most pleasant surprises are, what the biggest concerns about losing GAID are, and whether Topics API is robust enough for accurate targeting. All that and more …

Timestamps

0:00 Privacy Sandbox on Android

4:01 Best surprise about Privacy Sandbox

8:30 Multi-touch attribution?

13:10 Losing GAID

17:50 Topics API and targeting

24:00 How does this change ad networks?

27:55 How does this change marketing?

34:50 Campaign optimization

38:50 Top tips for marketers

This may come as a shock but not every massive, successful, money-making app is in gaming, fintech, ride-hailing, or the metaverse. Today we chat with the CMO of a very different type of app: one that builds a digital layer to connect a pre-existing community and offers tools and commerce that make what they do better.

What is it?

Fishbrain connects 14 million fishers across the planet with tools, maps, social features, recommendations, and shopping. We chat with Lisa Kennelly, the CMO, who is building something amazing in a nontraditional (for mobile!) space.

Lisa talks about acquisition channels, what’s delivering uplift, how Fishbrain keeps its marketing and ads fresh, and how they engage their users. Plus, we also get into Fishbrains expansion into commerce.



Timestamps

0:00 Fish on the brain?

3:20 Growing a massive mobile community

4:40 Top channels for mobile growth

7:40 Adding social to your app

10:45 Mobile user retention

12:50 Adding mobile commerce to your app

18:20 Managing global growth from the USA

20:10 Cross-cultural growth teams

22:00 Top 3 tips for marketers in unconventional verticals

Why has Zynga bought no fewer than 5 Turkish game companies? Why are there so many significant success stories coming out of the Turkish game community?

In this episode of Mobile Heroes Uncensored, Peggy Anne Salz and John Koetsier talk to 2 leading experts in Turkey’s emerging mobile gaming ecosystem. Batuhan Avucan, Founder & Managing Director at Mobidictum and Utku Altunkiran, User Acquisition Manager at Kidly talk about what’s happening, why Turkey’s gaming space is growing, and what publishers need to know about the Turkish scene.

We also chat about moving from hyper-casual games to a subscription model, influencer marketing, monetization, AR/VR, and creative strategies that deliver big upside.

Timestamps

0:00 Turkey … the new Silicon Valley of gaming?

5:20 Reasons for gaming growth

6:40 Demographics and dynamics in Turkey

14:10 From hypercasual games to subscriptions

18:45 Virtual influencers

23:45 Top 3 tips for mobile marketers in Turkey

Are people predictably irrational? Pretty much, and some game marketers have learned exactly how and used that knowledge to grow. One, with over 1.4 billion game installs, is our guest Mert Ersöz, Head of Marketing at MagicLab Game Technologies.

Mert started his career in -- you guessed it -- behavior economics, and has been growing hit games like Fidget Trading, Text and Drive, Run Race 3D, and more over the past few years.

We ask him:


How have you had a string of top-ranked games?
What tactics made the biggest difference to your performance?
What growth hacks can you share?
How are you boosting retention?

We also learn more about how MagicLab is transitioning from hyper-casual to casual games, and how their marketing is changing too …



Timestamps

0:00 Predictably irrational?

2:30 From behavioral economics to marketing

3:30 Growing top-ranked games

7:30 Acquisition is great; retention is essential

9:45 From hyper-casual to mid-core mobile games

13:15 Growth in the age of privacy

16:45 Balancing self-publishing and working with studios

20:40 Top 3 tips for mobile marketers

Times Internet is a global behemoth with over 550 million users. Now the company is extending its reach globally from its home base in India.

In this episode, we chat with Machine Zone alum Vivek Girotra, who is building a fintech app for the Indian diaspora: tens of millions who live in the U.S., in Europe, in Asia, and elsewhere around the world. He gets deep into psychographics and demographics as well as the nuts and bolts of mobile growth.

We chat about:


Growing fintech apps
Understanding your users
Filling the funnel
Understanding when you have a winner
Using content to grow
Top 3 tips for fintech marketers

Timestamps

0:00 550 million users

2:54 What is Times Internet?

4:05 Diversifying into fintech

6:34 Psychographics for mobile growth

12:10 From gaming to fintech

15:25 Understanding your app users

18:20 Best predictor of future success

21:30 Educating mobile app users

23:54 Top 3 tips for mobile marketers in FinTech