The first wave of banking and fintech apps got high marks for delivering features that allowed time-crunched users to tackle important tasks. But the next wave of personal finance apps is going one giant step better by not going it alone. Driven by the realization that there is real strength in numbers, smart fintech companies are pairing, partnering and joining forces to deliver apps that offer life solutions (not point solutions) aligned with users’ lifestyles, life stages and context at the magical “mobile moment” when they reach to their fiercely personal devices for seriously helpful assistance.
The rapid advance of ad-blocking tech turns up the pressure on content owners to seek more engaging and effective ways to monetize their assets. While the results of strategies aimed at delivering content and communications aligned with our context in the mobile moment are impressive, the progress is overshadowed by the steep decline in digital advertising revenues. Recent months have seen a flurry of activity as companies strike out in new directions, searching for new formulas and models that use digital content to drive commerce.
Smart companies are looking beyond the iTunes App Store and Google Play, mapping out a multiple app store strategy to reach a larger market with their app. These alternative app store environments offer a variety of benefits, allowing app developers to boost brand profile, reach new audiences and expand to new geographies.
The insane success of the incredibly popular and lucrative Kim Kardashian branded mobile game developed by Glu Mobile suggests that celebrity IP can catapult games apps to the top of the charts. But a review of recent hits and misses shows that developers need more than a major name to make it big.
Mobile attribution – which allows user acquisition teams to measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts and optimise campaigns and creatives to make the most of their ad spend – is clearly a must. Unfortunately, figuring out the best fit for your app and budget is not so clear-cut. This new (and free) template from Saikala Sultanova - Head of User Acquisition at Space Ape Games and Co-Founder of the UA Society, provides a detailed and valuable checklist to follow.
Richard Bartle, Honorary Professor of Computer Game Design at the University of Essex, is perhaps best known in the games industry for his research into the taxonomy of player types. He classified players into four categories: the Achievers, that like to act on the world around them; the Explorers who like to interact with the world around them; the Socialisers that like to interact with other players; and the Killers who like to spoil the fun for others in the game. But is this research into player behavior still relevant for today's mobile games market?
All apps are not created equal – so don’t make the mistake of applying a one-size-fits-all app marketing strategy to address your target your audience or achieve your marketing KPIs. An app marketing strategy that works for a gaming app will never work for business or productivity app – and the other way around. I take a look at the two most crowded and competitive app categories - Entertainment and Lifestyle apps – to show you the big differences and how you must factor them into your overall app marketing approach.
It’s essential to inform an effective UA strategy and – more important – fund app marketing to maximize and monetize users. While many games companies are beginning to grasp the metrics –CPI, CPE and, above all, LTV – that are crucial to their success, few have appointed CFOs with the capabilities to steer the course. I catch up with Nusrat Shah – CFO of Exient, an award-winning UK games studio best known for its work on the Madden, FIFA, Need for Speed, Tiger series for Electronic Arts, the multi-award-winning DJ Hero for Activision, Angry Birds Go, Angry Birds Transformers and Dancing With the Stars – to discuss why games companies have to beef up their business skills, or risk collapse.
Android may be the dominant mobile platform on the planet, but the experience can differ significantly between country, mobile network, and handset. In the case of Android, where technology has created a huge and underserved market of users eager to explore the world of content and commerce at their fingertips, companies are jockeying for position to fill the gap. Users are looking for a solution to deliver a high-end experience on their older devices, which is why data from SimilarWeb, shows the term “launcher” is the second most popular search term on the Google Play Store.
Your app is serious business and that's why you must map out a soft launch strategy to find out if it has hit potential before you burn cash launching it to major markets. You have to test the waters (ensuring your app has what it takes to be a commercial success) before you take the plunge. To help you determine if your app and strategy are on the money I caught up with Oliver Kern, who has helped app companies ranging from indies to market giants launch and scale their mobile businesses.
Businesses are on the brink of an enterprise 'app-ocalypse' driven by the advance of cloud services companies and their workforce have added to their arsenal in order to cater to customers and deliver amazing (often times contextual) experiences. Driven by a desire to improve service and performance these businesses are unwittingly creating a chaotic — even crippling — user experience for their workforce.
We have seen mobile access to the Internet finally and officially eclipse that of PCs, and now we are witnessing the rapid advance of the Internet of Things (IoT), driven by the Apple Watch and other wearables. Together these developments do more than signal a massive shift in technology adoption and use.
With CES buzzing with attendees and activity and Mobile World Congress just months away ask yourself: Are you — and your pitch— ready for the action? Dan Cohen and Isaac Applbaum walk you through what you need to make an effective pitch.
The best services are ones that reduce friction and increase customer benefit, and mobile banking apps are winning on both counts. Will Jones, President, EMEA, Monitise, examines some newly-released industry insights, and concludes that banking apps, and the convenience they offer, have triggered an amazing and unexpected shift in user behavior.
