Rebooting the EU App Economy / Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin, Germany / 13th November 2013
Aaron Watkins, President and Founder, Appency
"Marketing in a Million App Market"
Aaron Watkins has been working with mobile technology since before phones even flipped open. In his six years as an executive at ipsh! Mobile Marketing, Aaron led a number of award-winning mobile campaigns for major brands like Anheuser-Busch, Frito-Lay and Unilever, while also building strong, lasting business relations that benefited all involved. In 2008, Aaron was recruited to start the San Francisco office of The Hyperfactory, a mobile agency with a global presence. After working with app developers as a marketing consultant, Aaron wrote the official GigaOM guide to app marketing and founded Appency in 2009. By leading one of the only app-exclusive marketing and public relations firms in the world, Aaron has helped dozens of companies understand and succeed in the app space, from giants like Random House and Universal to one-man indie studios like Codito and Inkstone Mobile. The distinct, tumultuous markets of both Apple and Android are a challenge Aaron deeply enjoys.
2. At the current rate of growth – iTunes alone will have one million
active apps before December 31st, 2013
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3. The First Step in Marketing: Know Your Audience
Age
Gender
Occupation
Interests
Geographic Location
Income
Dislikes
Social Connectivity
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Influenced By
Media Consumption
Target Problem
4. Audience Profiling
PR TARGET
Castle Guy
Reads ‘Dungeon Weekly’
Very little free time due to guarding castle
Disposable income
90% Male, Age 18-34
KEY SEARCH TERMS
SOCIAL INTEGRATION
Space Cadet
Heavy game player – strategy and puzzle
Spends 2 hours a day on Spacebook
Always on the go – downloads apps to phone more than desktop
Small social circle in Houston
Suzi Shopper
Two kids ages 5 and 9
Does most shopping online
Active reader of mommy blogs
Concerned about yellowing skin
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INFLUENCER PROGRAMS
AD TARGETING
5. 70%
60%
How do you discover the apps you decide to download?
(check all that apply)
62% 60%
46%
50%
40%
30%
20%
20%
19%
10%
0%
Searching for a
specific type of
app
Browsing through Word of mouth
See ads while
top app store (recommendations using other apps
rankings
from friends or
colleagues)
Press/news
articles or blogs
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10% 13%
A brand I know
introduces an app
and reaches out to
me
Other
6. Key Factors in ASO
• Each app store is different – know the rules for the app store you
are in!
• Example: iTunes does not search description, Google Play
does
• Keyword placement is key – Title is more effective in iTunes than
in the keywords field.
• Research! Lots of great tools available
• ASO is NOT the same as SEO. In app stores – people search for
“products”. Look for similar and competitive products driving
consumer search interest.
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12. Using Advertising to Drive Rank
The sad truth: Advertising is almost NEVER ROI Positive (AT FIRST)
Two Reasons to Advertise
1. Advertise to Drive Rank
2. Market Share Grab
3.? Advertise for positive ROI?
KNOW YOUR ARPU
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13. What It Takes to Rank
Free iPhone App
23,000 downloads a day (top 50)
40,000 downloads a day (top 25)
70,000 downloads a day (top 10)
Paid iPhone App
950 downloads a day (top 50)
2,500 downloads a day (top 25)
4,000 downloads a day (top 10)
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15. Earned and Social Media
• Earned Media and Social Media are both
examples of “Influencer Based Marketing”
• Someone your target user trusts – be it a
reporter or a friend – influences your
consumer to try your app
• Traditional PR targets the press –
reporters, bloggers, journalists and others
who have a large audience
• Social Media targets the social circle of
users and facilitates ambassadorship
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16. Earned Media Creates Social Media
Media
Media
Pitch
Pitch
Media
Media
Events
Events
Awards
Awards
Press
Press
Release
Release
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17. Social Integration
Social media cannot be
left up to the users, but
must be integrated into
the natural flow of the app
Social invitations, share
features, follow requests,
etc have to be built into
the flow of the app, not
set aside for the user to
discover on their own.
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19. How Do You Engage Users?
Engagement requires
communication with the
user
•Push notification
•In app messaging
•Email
•Social Media
Change up the message to
fit the user groups. This
requires segmenting and
an understanding of those
groups.
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21. The Balance of Marketing Tactics
Public Relations:
Speed: Fast if proper preparation and relationships
Cost: Do it yourself = low cost but less effective, more time
Hire an agency = you get what you pay for, faster to implement with
existing
relationships
Effectiveness: Can drive lots of downloads over a short period, but cyclical – much
harder to get PR after your first burst without smart story creation
Advertising:
Speed: Fast as you can spend the money
Cost: High CPI > CPC > CPM
Effectiveness: CPI can mean guaranteed installs, but cost more
Social Media:
Speed: Slow and Steady
Cost: Content creation costs, social advertisements, social management
Effectiveness: Engagement over the long term, hard on short term