The document discusses the challenges of marketing mobile games. It notes that traditional marketing methods like press releases do not work well and performance ads are very expensive. Both game makers and players struggle with discovery in crowded app stores. The document advocates devoting serious time and effort to marketing across multiple channels. It emphasizes targeting a niche audience and having a budget to test user acquisition strategies wisely. The key message is that relying only on making a good game is not a viable strategy and game developers must make their own luck through proactive marketing.

2. Kevin Corti (Product Lead)
Founder Everyone’s Playing
15+ years digital games/media
Co-founded 3 studios since 1998
Game studio viewpoint
Don Turner
Developer Evangelist at BlackBerry
14 years mobile/web development
Co-founded digital agency (£1.7m t/o)
Mobile platform/store viewpoint

3. games makers games consumers
• Cluttered app stores / no visibility
• Traditional media/PR doesn’t work
• Performance ads are very expensive
• Hard to get quality traffic (users)
• Limits product innovation
“How do I show players
we have a great game
without spending
$100k/day?”
• Finding good games is hard in app stores
• Want more variety, more choice
• Want much better search filters
• Frequently waste time & money
• Frequently frustrated
Discovery is a problem for…

4. A mobile games discovery platform…
EVERYONE’S PLAYING
assesses the
quality &
nature of
every mobile
game
finds the
best matches
for YOU!
that learns
exactly
what YOU
like

5. What’s your
experience with
commercialising
mobile games?

6. Let’s start with
some good news…
 $17bn total annual revenue (large!)
 Growing rapidly (Android, Asia)
 Devices/connectivity always getting better
 People will always want new devices
 People will always want to play games

7. Before mobile…
Significant challenges to small/indie studios:
 Production – make the game
 Distribution – put game in shops
 Marketing – make people want to buy

8. After mobile…
Reduced barriers to small/indie studios:
 Production – make the game
 Distribution – put game in stores
 Marketing – make them want to play
THEN make them want to pay!

9. Marketing:
Games makers – gaining
an audience for your
games
Games players – finding
games that are right for
you

10. Marketing:
Games makers – gaining
an audience for your
games
Games players – finding
games that are right for
you
The ecosystem is bad at doing this
So it costs $$$$$$!!!!

11. It’s not one market
Find a (viable, addressable) niche
The more precise the
niche, the easier to
target right users

12. Hope is not a strategy!
Is this you/your team?
• “We will just make the best game we can”
• “We want to get featured by Apple”
• “We would like games press/media coverage”

13. Naive marketing strategy 101
Will get our friends to
download & post
reviews
Will issue press
releases
My mate writes game
reviews for
pocketgames.com
= 1,000 installs
(at best)

14. 1,000 users is worth…
At $0.99 / install
= $700 (AAT)*
AAT = ‘After Apple Tax’
Premium Free to play
At $40 LTV
At 2% conversion
= $560 (AAT)*
Success?

15. You make your own luck!
Work hard, over a long period.
Exploit every user acquisition
channel you can

16. The channels
SEO /
ASO
Platform
feature
Traditional
media
Social
network
Cross-
promotion
Paid
advertising
Get found in
the stores
Interest & word of mouth
Get eyeballs

17. App Store Optimisation (ASO)
[1] Maximise chances of being found
[2] Maximise chances of getting install (SELL)
Space monkey tennis wars.. Search
“5 stars from BestGames.com, epic art…”

18. THE APP STORES
Sell devices Sell ads/propagate
Android
More open (whilst they
catch up)
+ 200 Android stores
Build
ecosystem

19. THE APP STORES
 Distribute your game
 Handle purchase
 Discovery
“Imagine a shop with 1,000,000
kinds of beer…”

20. THE APP STORES
 Search is bad
 Categories inconsistent
 Ratings & review systems weak (broken)

21. THE APP STORES
Buying chart position…top free games (iOS)
• #1 155k installs/day
• #10 45k installs/day
• #50 16k installs/day
• $25k spend on UA
• Circa top 35 in ‘adventure’ & ‘role playing’
charts for week
• $10k revenue
• Game cost $150k to make!
$1-3 per
install

22. GAMES MEDIA
 Recent PocketGamer ‘top iOS games’ list
 All ‘great’ well-made games
 Most had <1,000 installs and <50 reviews
“We got coverage in X magazine…it generated 17
new users”

23. CROSS-PROMOTION
 Great (free installs) ….if you already have
users.
 Amplify/boost only
“…they are the turbo for a car
engine. You still need to buy petrol
though!”

24. SOCIAL HOOKS
 Doesn’t have to be horrible Zynga mechanics
 Give users opportunity to share moments of
delight
Also – helps with getting featured if you use
platform APIs (Game Centre on iOS)

25. PAID USER ACQUISITION
 Banners, interstitals (static, video), FB mobile
ad units…
 Quality of user is paramount! (play? pay?)
 Know your CPC, CPM, CPI, eCPI, CPA etc
Do LOTS of tiny experiments (FB ads are great for
this!)

26. MEASUREMENT
 You use analytics for in-game events…
 …so use them to assess quality of traffic
 Do they play? Do they pay?
 Attribution is key (where did user come from?)

27. FUNDING ‘MARKETING’
Investors will want:
• Multiple games in pipeline (similar niche)
• GAAS & FTP skills
• Industry experience / successes
FUNDAMENTAL:
ACPU < ARPU

28. PUBLISHERS
Gauge their interest at concept stage NOT once
you have made a game! MVP may be too late!
Why would you start to build a
game if you don’t know if you can
market it?

29. SUMMARY
• Devote serious time & effort to marketing
• Do everything possible (all channels)
• Have a meaningful budget – use wisely
• Target a (proven) niche
• Great game (no serious bugs!)
• Cross-promote & cross-platform
• Localise game & store presence
‘Build it & they will come’ is NOT a viable strategy!

30. YOU CAN’T RELY ON BEING
LUCKY……YOU CAN MAKE
YOUR OWN LUCK!

31. “EVERYONE’S
PLAYING…”
“EVERYONE’S PLAYING…”
“EVERYONE’S PLAYING…”
Kevin Corti
+44 7415 097822
@every1playing
www.everyonesplaying.com
kevin@everyonesplaying.com
Questions