#229: “How top apps win at user acquisition” App Promotion Summit Berlin panel

The level of adoption of ChatGPT, the revolutionary LLM-based AI chatbot, is staggering. I think it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that by now ChatGPT and other similar AI chatbots are everywhere; people use them for work and leisure all the time. Sometimes, it feels like at some point generative AI chatbots will be joining team meetings not to take notes and summarize what was said but to report on what they did last week. OK, jokes aside - today we want to talk about the role of Generative AI in mobile ad creatives optimization. Today’s topics include: Asaf Yanai's bio About Alison.ai AI's impact on ad creative optimization Balancing AI-driven automation with human creativity in mobile advertising Staying competitive with AI-powered tools Links and Resources: Asaf Yanai on LinkedIn Alison.ai website Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Asaf Yanai "It changes everything from start to finish, or it could potentially change everything. It depends on the adoption. And I'll explain. I think that what happened in the past five to six years is a complete, complete change in the industry. However, if you look closely, you'll see that not all companies have changed. Not all companies have changed their operations or processes.  The ones that adopted AI early on and those that adopted AI fully are a lot more advanced now. They're faster, they're quicker. They are spot on when it comes to strategy. And also the entire operation became a lot less heavy, heavy with costs, heavy with headcount, and heavy with processes and operations." Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

One of the most important metrics for a mobile app is its conversion rate. It tells you how many people that use the app for free become your paying customers. It’s about how profitable and sustainable your app is. Now, if you are one of the die-hard Pink Floyd fans, you gotta love their song The Wall. If you are an app marketer, your wall is the paywall :-) Among many tools that you may use to increase the number of people who become your paying customers, once they hit the paywall, are cognitive biases. You may heard of them if you have a peripheral interest in psychology. Today, Max will tell you about using cognitive biases to significantly increase your app’s conversion rate. Today’s topics include: Max Amelang's bio About PreMatch Ethical boundaries in cognitive biases The most underrated cognitive biases High-impact experiments with paywalls Android or iOS? Leaving his  smartphone at home, what features would Max miss most? What features he would like to see added to his smartphone? Links and Resources: Max Amelang on LinkedIn Prematch website Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Max Amelang "Yeah, it's absolutely a valid question because especially in the beginning, it's extremely tempting to see all of these tools you can use to somehow increase this conversion rate by margin or by another percent and so on. But then I also quickly realized not only as a product manager, but also as a user, how would I feel if I stumble across this? " "Obviously I know the tricks, so maybe I need to be a bit harder in order to define if something is good or not so good anymore. And I then came up with like, how would my parents behave on this paywall? Because parents just as a symbol for an older generation that are not as native with mobile apps. And I always am fascinated when I see how my dad navigates his app and when I realize, why did he just click on this button because it's blinking quicker? And I realized, okay, this is how easily he's influenced. So as a very soft first test, I'm thinking about, okay, how would my dad would behave on this paywall? Would he buy just because of the cognitive biases or would he still be able to make his own decision?" Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Ok, here is the thing. Most apps are still built on rigid, one-size-fits-all user flows. They rely heavily on historic behavior - what a user clicked on last week or which segment they’re in. But user needs change moment to moment. And when apps fail to adapt, users just leave. The next evolution isn’t about personalizing based on identity - it’s about adapting based on intent. And that intent can only be accurately understood in context. In this episode, we’re going to talk about the Context Platform by ContextSDK that enables apps to detect real-world context in real time - whether a user is walking, relaxing, commuting, charging their phone, or simply on the move - and then infer their intent. Using a combination of on-device machine learning and server-side intelligence, the platform helps apps deliver the right experience or message at the right moment. This isn’t just a UX upgrade - it is a fundamentally better way to retain users and drive revenue, while respecting privacy and improving performance. Today’s Topics Include: Dieter Rappold's' bio About ContextSDK Switching focus from app users' behavior to their intent How Context Platform helps LiveOps maximize their efforts Example of how detecting user context in real-time improves the app experience How context-aware delivery fix the issue with intrusive push notifications Achieving personalization without relying on personal data or permissions What it takes to implement Context Platform into the app Links and Resources: Dieter Rappold on LinkedIn ContextSDK website Maximizing app engagement through content-aware solutions Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Dieter Rappold "It’s great to know a lot about past behavior, but past behavior is looking into the past. Intent is happening in the moment and is looking forward" "We collect enough data points on patterns of movement and behavior and analyze them with the smartest machine learning models out there. That allows us to infer intent—and that’s something extremely powerful when shaping app experiences," Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

I think by now you’ve noticed that the last few episodes weren’t regular ones, on those we featured our discussion panels from App Promotion Summit Berlin 2024. Why? Well, the physical space in the venue in Berlin was obviously limited and it’s not like you can fly to Berlin to visit the summit on a whim - time and money aren’t always there when you need them, right? But we don’t want you to miss an opportunity to listen to these discussions and learn from it. So here comes the next panel - “Beyond downloads: app engagement strategies" It was hosted by Keziah Husselbee, Product Marketing Specialist at Adobe. It was a pleasure to have on the panel people from: Jelena Zbijowski, Head of CRM & Product Marketing at Blinkist Roma Rey, Head of CRM at ParshipMeet Group Robert Vaternam, Senior CRM Manager at Freeletics Jon Genovard, Senior CRM Manager at ShareTheMeal

Good news - the winter is finally over, and I’m sure you’ve missed the warmth just as much as I have. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you another special episode featuring one of the discussion panels we hosted last December during the App Promotion Summit Berlin. This panel covers a wide range of topics, including user acquisition strategies, incrementality and ROI measurement, retargeting and re-engagement strategies, and more. The panel was hosted by Bob Hollanders, Head of Sales & Account Management, EMEA & US at Appier. We were fortunate to have on the panel: Victoria Chang, Performance Marketing Lead at Wooga Pascal Priso, Performance Marketing Manager at Babbel Karst Kortekaas, Director, App Solutions, EMEA at Appier Cansu Bengü Ağaoğlu, Head of Sales (Central Europe) at Adjust

Another week - another bonus episode for you. There is no other way to put it - data is the fuel that powers current economy. When we look at the mobile industry, we see that it is the absolutely essential part of the picture. You know it so well - acquiring app users was never easy but these days it is a real challenge. To win the game, you need to work out a data-driven strategy to acquire users for your app. On this episode, we feature “Data-driven strategies for UA” panel discussion we hosted during App Promotion Summit Berlin last December. The topics covered on the panel included user acquisition strategies, incrementality testing and attribution, branding and consistency, creative strategies for UA, creative fatigue, fake ads and transparency, playable ads, future plans for 2025, and more. This panel of experts includes: Ece Stepien, Regional Director Western Europe & MENAT at AppsFlyer Jessica Gotti, Head of Performance Marketing at Paired Matej Jurcak, ASO & Growth Partnerships at Pixel Federation Marta Fogel, Head of Marketing at NeuroNation Misha Osintcev, Growth Director at Kolibri Games All right, without any further ado…let’s go.

AI is reshaping the way brands create and test ads, and mobile marketing is at the forefront of this revolution. With AI-generated UGC (aka User Generated Content), creative testing at scale is no longer a challenge—it is an opportunity. Today, I’m joined by Andy to explore how their partnership with HeyGen is unlocking new possibilities for mobile advertisers. How is AI changing the game, and what does this mean for the future of creative? Let’s find out. Today’s Topics Include: Andy Willers' bio About Favoured Challenges Favoured faced before integrating AI-generated UGC What impact AI UGC had on one of the campaigns Favoured was running Biggest opportunities and risks for brands scaling creative testing with AI-generated content Android or iOS? Leaving his  smartphone at home, what features would Andy miss most? What features he would like to see added to his smartphone? Links and Resources: Andy Willers on LinkedIn Favoured website HeyGen - AI video generator Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Andy Willers " What AI has allowed us to do, particularly on the UGC side, is massively increase our capability for creative testing,” Andy said. “HeyGen’s digital avatars enable us to quickly generate multiple UGC scripts or executions—allowing us to test different messaging and ad styles at scale.." "We’re not at a stage where you type in a prompt and AI spits out a perfect execution. The human touch is still essential,” he explained. “HeyGen gives us the raw material—high-quality AI avatars—but it still requires skilled video editors to integrate them effectively with B-roll footage and visual elements." Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Today, we’re excited to feature a panel discussion we hosted at our App Promotion Summit Berlin last December. It focused on a crucial topic for all app marketers: User Acquisition in 2025. The panel covered a wide range of topics, including optimizing ad channels, the shift from attribution to incrementality, exploring new growth channels, and more. It was hosted by George Natsvlishvili, Co-Founder at We Up and the panelists were: Şebnem Alpaylı O'Rourke, Senior User Acquisition Manager at Stillfront Group Mark Mukhin, Team Lead App Marketing at AutoScout24 Gaurav Bhattacharya, Performance Marketing Lead at Zenjob Alper Taner, Head of Performance at BGNet Mobile

Today, we begin with another trivia question for you - can you think of the best case for A/B testing? Are you thinking about a particular app, service, or product? No - it’s bigger than that, I’m talking about the evolution of life on this planet. No, there is no a girl or a guy, sitting with a MacBook Pro and running A/B tests for all flora and fauna on this planet :-) My point is that testing is very fundamental and, if it will make you feel a bit more important, you’re doing it along with the Mother Nature. To talk about A/B testing for driving app growth we invited Tina. Today’s Topics Include: Tina Kim's bio About Huckleberry Labs Using A/B tests to make confident decisions Generating actionable insights with limited resources and tight timelines Incorporating learnings from failed A/B tests Android or iOS? Leaving her  smartphone at home, what features would Tina miss most? What features she would like to see added to her smartphone? Links and Resources: Tina Kim on LinkedIn Huckleberry Labs website Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Tina Kim " So A-B testing is really useful for when there is a shadow of doubt. Put it so whatever you A/B test, it's not some idea that you've picked from the air. It's always based off of some well-informed hypothesis, whether it be analyzing your behavioral data of your users or you've done some user research market research as well. There is always some well-informed hypothesis that drives you to build something." "The other thing is where A-B testing can really help you move forward faster is during the development process, the design process, there may be countless arguments about the perfect copy. Some people are very particular about copy, but and we may spend like endless cycles just trying to perfect the copy, but that's not the point of the change. Let's just test it. And A-B testing is iterative. And so you find something that you feel good with, it doesn't have to be perfect, and you test it and move forward. And if you feel like there's opportunity to squeeze more juice, test it again, right? And so I've been able to move forward faster." Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

In the future, history textbooks will be telling the story of how, at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, we all collectively jumped into the world of mobile apps.  Now, you may be super excited about the growth of the mobile ecosystem or shake your head about its externalities, unintended consequences, but it’s undeniable - mobile apps take a huge spot in our lives.  Today, a big chunk of the mobile app economy space belongs to app subscriptions - Netflix, Apple TV, Tinder, Duolingo, the list goes on and on. If you build apps yourself and monetize them with the subscription model, you will be really interested to learn about Phil’s Subscription Value Loop strategy. Today’s Topics Include: Phil Carter's bio Key challenges developers of subscription-based apps face today Identifying and refining the core value proposition  Strategies to convert free users into subscribers, while maintaining a great user experience and ensuring long-term profitability  Android or iOS? Leaving his smartphone at home, what features would Phil miss most? What features he would like to see added to his smartphone? Links and Resources: Phil Carter on LinkedIn Phil Carter's website Maven course Phil's Sub stack Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry Quotes from Phil Carter: "The core of the subscription value loop framework that I teach about in my course is a company's core value promise. In other words, what is the value that you're providing to a user, and ideally to a paying subscriber, that is going to not just bring them to the product in the first place, but cause them to continue paying you a subscription over a long period of time?" "And value delivery is typically led by marketing teams, sometimes with the support of growth product teams or sales teams if you have a B2B business. And value delivery is all about making sure that you have sustainable unit economics, right? You're going to have some amount of LTV that you get from users. But in order to have a sustainable business, you need a strong LTV over CAC ratio and a rapid payback period. And that depends critically on your cost of user acquisition." Host Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012