Mobile Signal

Josh Chandley
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Marketing
  • Updated Monthly

The mechanisms behind mobile growth's biggest wins. Decoded. We break down the platforms shaping mobile performance marketing. AppLovin and AXON, Unity and Vector, Meta, Moloco, Google, plus deep synthesis on where the industry is actually heading. Hosted by Josh Chandley, founder with 15 years in mobile growth. Guests include executives from the top ad networks shaping the space. → Subscribe to understand mobile growth before your competitors do Topics: mobile user acquisition, performance marketing, ad network mediation, creative testing, MMPs, SKAdNetwork, ROAS, LTV modeling, AppLovin

Episodes

  1. Aug 17

    Roundup: Which networks are winning? Is D2C here? Are downloads really down?

    The conversation delves into the earnings reports of AppLovin, Unity, and Liftoff, and the operator's take on what it means for advertisers. It explores the confusion and perceived value in the market, as well as the future growth and strategy of these companies. The discussion also covers consumer spend, revenue growth, and the gaming ecosystem, with a focus on Unity's performance and Vector's growth. Additionally, it touches on Unity's guidance and the consideration of future testing. The conversation delves into the complexity of the new billing system introduced by the Google Play Store, highlighting the impact of these changes on UA buying models and the need for a thorough understanding of the new billing rules for UA optimization. The discussion also touches on the outcome of the Google and Epic lawsuit, shedding light on the implications for app developers and publishers. Takeaways AppLovin, Unity, and Liftoff operator perspectiveSensor tower says installs are down, revenue barely moved, and neither did time spentGoogle and Epic dropped their settlements, and now third-party app stores are live inside Google PlayImpact of changes in UA buying modelsSignificance of understanding the new billing rules for UA optimization Chapters 00:00 Does AppLovin Need Brand Awareness?02:12 AppLovin, Unity, Liftoff Earnings: Operator Impact13:17 Can Consumer & E-Commerce Ever Rival Gaming for AppLovin?20:13 The "Crappy Inventory" Debate26:53 Unity Vector: $1B Run Rate, Two Quarters Early32:21 Is Vector's Growth Real? D28 Campaigns & Whether to Retest37:00 Liftoff's First Earnings & DSPs44:47 Sensor Tower H1: Installs Down 12%, Revenue Flat, Old Games Winning50:43 Are Installs Really Falling? The Reinstall Undercount54:59 Is Hypercasual Dead? Time Spent Up 7% YoY58:37 How Big Is Mobile Game Ad Revenue, Really?1:02:20 Google & Epic Settle: Google Play Fees Unbundled1:09:06 Bad-Faith Compliance? Disclaimer: Views expressed on Mobile Signal are those of the hosts and guests, not their employers. Josh Chandley does not hold individual publicly traded securities, including options and short positions.

  2. Jun 18

    CloudX Agentic Buying: Neutral Infrastructure or a New Ad Network? Jim Payne, Mobile Ad Tech

    CloudX just announced Agentic Buying, a move onto the demand side. CEO Jim Payne returns to explain whether it’s an ad network, a DSP, or something new. And whether CloudX can vertically integrate while still calling itself neutral. Chapters: 1:23 – Traction: Adoption and Publisher Uplift 4:35 – What TEE 2.0 Actually Is 8:22 – Agentic Buying: Ad Network, DSP, or Something New? 10:54 – Flat Take Rate vs. Arbitrage 14:15 – How Targeting Works Without RTB 18:51 – AI Creative: Agentic Playables and Video 23:23 – What "Neutral" Really Means 29:58 – What Stops CloudX From Becoming the Incumbent? 33:38 – The Uplift Denominator: Compared to What? 38:24 – Do You Compete With Traditional Mediators? 40:58 – The 18-Month View 42:27 – Convince the Skeptic If you work in mobile UA, ad monetization, or run a publishing business weighing CloudX against your current setup, this one is built for you. Subscribe to Mobile Signal for mechanism-level decodes of the biggest moves in mobile ad tech. Disclaimer: Views expressed on Mobile Signal are those of the hosts and guests, not their employers. Josh Chandley does not hold individual publicly traded securities, including options and short positions.

  3. Jun 8

    AppLovin: Can Anyone Catch The Apex Predator?

    AppLovin is the apex predator of in-app ads, and it just keeps pulling away. 59% revenue growth, 90% incremental flow-through to EBITDA, and self-serve going global this month. So can anyone actually catch it? Host Josh Chandley (WildCard Games) decodes AppLovin's Q1 and the entire competitive field with two seats you rarely get in one room: financial analyst Matthew Kanterman (Blue River Financial Group) on the numbers, and Vincent Février (ex-MoPub mediation, Tap Nation) on the demand and supply sides. Chapters 00:00 AppLovin: The Apex Predator of In-App Ads02:07 Insights on AppLovin06:13 The Self-Serve Moment16:24 The Impact on Gaming Advertisers24:13 Strategic Shift to Consumer Apps31:57 The Impact of Self-Serve on App Monetization37:34 The Role of Targeting in Ad Monetization38:15 AppLovin's New Social Media Venture42:05 Unity's Strategic Shift Post-Iron Source55:49 Meta's Potential Return to iOS1:01:59 Winter is coming.01:08:13 Google's Position01:13:03 Ranking Network Competitors01:16:00 CloudX: A New Player in the Market01:20:18 Future Predictions Disclaimer: Views expressed on Mobile Signal are those of the hosts and guests, not their employers.

  4. May 12

    Adjoe: Beating Meta on iOS | How Rewarded UA Survives Your Best Players

    Rewarded user acquisition has always carried a reputation problem: users show up for the rewards… then disappear. But adjoe's data says the opposite. That’s why they ranked #6 on AppsFlyer’s iOS Gaming Power Index. In this episode, Josh Chandley sits down with Thomas Yannopoulos, VP Revenue Americas, to explain how a rewarded platform beat Meta, one of the biggest networks in mobile on quality, not just volume.They break down how Adjoe transformed the traditional “offer wall” into a loyalty-powered acquisition engine by integrating with massive consumer ecosystems like Fetch, Payback, fintech apps, QSR loyalty programs, and potentially even airline rewards systems. Thomas also explains why most companies still misunderstand gaming audiences, why rewarded acquisition behaves differently inside lifestyle apps, and how incentive structures can actually improve long-term retention instead of destroying it.If you work in mobile gaming, user acquisition, ad tech, monetization, loyalty products, fintech, or performance marketing — this conversation goes deep into one of the most misunderstood channels in mobile growth.Subscribe for more conversations on mobile gaming, ad monetization, growth systems, and the future of performance marketing.#mobilegaming #useracquisition #adtech #gamingindustry #performancemarketing #mobileapps #rewardedads #ua #loyaltyprograms #monetization Disclaimer: Views expressed on Mobile Signal are those of the hosts and guests, not their employers.

    Adjoe: Beating Meta on iOS | How Rewarded UA Survives Your Best Players

  5. Mar 4

    Race For The Last Lever | Olivia Barnett, COO of Craftsman+, on AI Creative, Ad Networks

    Networks own targeting. They set the bids. Ad creative is the last input mobile gaming advertisers still control. Now Meta is generating ads with AI at scale, and AppLovin has over 100 advertisers in their network-generated creative pilot. The window for advertiser-led creative in user acquisition is closing fast.We decode whether advertiser-side tools can win this race with Olivia Barnett, COO of Craftsman+. Her company just launched an AI-powered partnership with AppMagic, ingesting thousands of playable ads weekly to train design recommendations and automate creative production. The bet: third-party creative tools can find signal the networks can't see, because networks optimize for auction yield, not differentiation.We break down the structural tension in mobile ad tech: when both sides train AI on the same winning patterns, does everything converge into optimized sameness? We get into why network-generated creative isn't actually free, how Craftsman+ went from 10 playables per designer per week to 40, and what happens when the algorithm doesn't just distribute your ad. It writes it.This is Episode 2 of The Signal. A podcast where mobile gaming operators decode the mechanisms behind user acquisition, monetization, and growth.--------------------------------------- Josh Chandley, President and COO, WildCard Games https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshchandley/ Olivia Barnett, COO, Craftsman+ https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviacdbarnett/--------------------------------------- For inquiries: josh.thesignal@gmail.com Disclaimer: Views expressed on Mobile Signal are those of the hosts and guests, not their employers.

    Race For The Last Lever | Olivia Barnett, COO of Craftsman+, on AI Creative, Ad Networks

  6. Feb 3

    CloudX: The New Neutral | Jim Payne & Dan Sack, the Founders of MAX, on What Comes Next

    The founding team of MoPub and MAX just raised $30M to build the next chapter of mobile monetization for the AI era. Their new approach starts from a simple premise: modern monetization systems should be operable by autonomous agents. We decode the thesis behind CloudX with Jim Payne and Dan Sack. Their new platform, a full programmatic stack for mobile, launches with Meta, Magnite, Liftoff, and more as partners. Sign Up Feb 4: https://www.cloudx.ai/ We break down the structural tension in mobile ad tech: the platform that routes demand also competes for every impression. Jim and Dan are betting that model has a ceiling. I'm calling their thesis "the new neutral." We get into the SDK economics that lock publishers in, why Meta gave input on CloudX's auction architecture, and whether neutral infrastructure can actually win against vertical integration. This is Episode 1 of The Signal. A podcast where mobile gaming operators decode mechanisms, not journeys. --------------------------------------- Josh Chandley, President and COO, WildCard Games https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshchandley/ Jim Payne, CoFounder and CEO, CloudX https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpayne/ Dan Sack, CoFounder and Business Lead, CloudX https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansack/ --------------------------------------- For inquiries: josh.thesignal@gmail.com --------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Views expressed on Mobile Signal are those of the hosts and guests, not their employers.

    CloudX: The New Neutral | Jim Payne & Dan Sack, the Founders of MAX, on What Comes Next
  • 6 Episodes

About

The mechanisms behind mobile growth's biggest wins. Decoded. We break down the platforms shaping mobile performance marketing. AppLovin and AXON, Unity and Vector, Meta, Moloco, Google, plus deep synthesis on where the industry is actually heading. Hosted by Josh Chandley, founder with 15 years in mobile growth. Guests include executives from the top ad networks shaping the space. → Subscribe to understand mobile growth before your competitors do Topics: mobile user acquisition, performance marketing, ad network mediation, creative testing, MMPs, SKAdNetwork, ROAS, LTV modeling, AppLovin

Information

  • Creator
    Josh Chandley
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Josh Chandley
  • Show Website
    Mobile Signal

You Might Also Like