1. mastering the
dark arts
thoughts on app marketing and
promotion
2. “hope is not a strategy” Rudolph Giuliani
• $000’s spent - little thought given to marketing
• promoting apps is new skill requiring a hybrid of PR &
Marketing skills, typically outside of the scope of traditional
digital and PR agencies
• large companies need campaign coordination across multiple
agencies and stakeholders
• with so many apps launching, how can yours rise above the
noise?
3. quality, quality, quality
user engagement with an app
over time
(data from Flurry Analytics)
benchmarking your app against the market is crucial: understand why
yours is different to the competition. What is your USP? How will you
keep your customers interested? Quality is often more effective than
brand in driving engagement
4. first impressions count
• customers make snap decisions and rely heavily on
visuals to make a decision
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ing the Chief rbara wheth watch
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ook, E
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ets a
For all of the worth th in
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5. spread the word
• you should use as many communication touchpoints as you
can- so don’t forget bloggers, fan sites and forums as well as
news and review sites
• for brands, it’s essential to use a full mix of marketing to cross-
promote apps
• social media can be very powerful for building and
maintaining a community of fans - but is resource-intensive
• don’t discount using a specialist PR and marketing agency - it
can save time and money
6. super-powered app store ratings
• apps can live or die by consumer reviews and comments, so
encourage people to review your app
• thinking about how to encourage reviews should be part of
your launch (and development) strategy
• beware fake reviews - app stores are wise to it and have
punished people - and its also illegal!
7. the stuff that costs money
• paid-for activity can be really effective - especially in giving a boost to app
rankings on the stores
• mobile advertising - blind and premium networks, traditional and rich ad
formats
• cross-promotion across your whole family of apps is essential - or using a
publisher who can do this for you
• more and more developers are realising that they can’t do it all themselves -
you need proper marketing and PR if you plan on building a long-term apps
business
8. things we have learnt
• the more polish you can add to your game, the better
• planning to make money? start thinking about your marketing
before you even start development
• downloads are often driven by word of mouth recommendation
above all else
• there are lots of new non-conventional outlets for games and
app reviews but they can be quite hard to reach
• taking a traditional approach does get coverage - teasers,
announcements, traditional games press outreach - but that
doesn’t necessarily mean downloads
• incentivised marketing can kick-start the marketing and PR
• your existing fans are your best marketing tool - work out how
to use them
9. get in touch
we’d love to hear from you if you are looking for a fresh
approach for your business - or even if you just want to say
hello.
dimoso
107 Drysdale St
london
N1 6ND
+44 20 7033 2660
www.dimoso.com
@dimosoAgency
