What you need to know about marketing your game without losing your shirt.There's a lot of hype about the mobile game business. Don't fall for it. 50% of app revenue is going to 0.1% of all apps. This discussion will go into the realities of the mobile game market and cover the strategies you need to make your game profitable. 45min presentation

1. Marketing Your iOS Game
Avoid Disaster, Don’t Believe the Hype ...
William Volk, CCO PlayScreen LLC
Monday, May 27, 13

2. But First, A Joke
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3. Teenage Boys Show Little Interest in
Anthropomorphic Turtles.
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4. 30+ Years In One Slide
Understanding where we’ve been helps us know where we’re going.
Box games, Consoles, Carriers (B.A.) and App Stores.
(B.A., Before Apple)
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5. Seven Years of iPhone Apps
Evolution of iOS
Web apps in 2007/8.
App Store, early years 2008/9.
Freemium takes over, 2010.
Publishers move in, 2012.
Premium games appear, 2013.
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6. 1m Apps, 200k Devs
I Miss The NES
785 carts, USA and PAL
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7. The App Gold Rush
The Dream.
Instant Riches.
Fame.
Quit your day job.
The Reality.
0.5% of Apps = 50% of $
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8. Successful Miners
The Few, The Proud, the Viral Successes.
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9. Who’s Making $$$?
Suppliers.
Ad Networks.
Analytic Companies.
Tools.
Publishers.
Conferences.
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10. Acrophobia!
CPI: Cost per install.
CPU: Cost per user (daily
etc.)
Retention and Churn.
K-Factor: Viral Coefficient.
ARPU: Average Revenue
Per User.
ARPPU: Revenue Per
Paying User.
DAU: #of daily users
(MAU).
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11. iAd Numbers
Revenue Example: 16,087 Impressions.
.29% Click Thru Rate = 46 Clicks.
Ad Revenue = $8.00, $0.17 Per Click.
Apple Charges Devs. $0.25 Per Click.
Profit Margin = 24%
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12. Video Ad Campaign
Acquire Users: 1,008,896 Views.
21,047 Clicks, Click Thru Rate = 2%
$20,177.56 Cost of Campaign.
Cost Per Click (CPC) = $0.96
13,303 Installs, 63% Converted (Oh Really?)
Cost Per Install = $2.07 (Sounds good, yes?)
Video $0.009/view, same CTR ... CPC = $0.46, Profit 108%!
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13. Marketing Starts With Design
What Game are you
building and why?
Study the App Store.
Branding, Naming.
That elusive “iPhone-ness”
Design Strategies: Niche,
Copy?
Free or Paid?
Publisher or Not?
Launch Strategies.
Marketing Strategies.
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14. Discovery!
Word of Mouth.
Top Charts (WAS the #1
way).
In other apps (advertising).
Search.
Apple Features.
Social Invites.
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15. Freemium & Ad Based
Lifetime Value=ARPU x Retention
Cost based on CPU and K (Viral?)
CPI for FREE apps? $1.15 to $8*
Volume of the channel?
K-Factor is critical, Positive = HIT! VERY RARE!
Retention is critical.
Paid apps are HARDER?
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16. Good Retention!
This could work
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17. Not So Good Retention!
Maybe not
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18. THE KEY TAKEAWAY
The Most Valuable Insight
CPI is NOT CPU
Not everyone who downloads your game will become a
daily or even monthly player. Don’t believe the projections
until you figure this out.
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19. Cohort Analysis
Look at users that came in
the same way at the same
time.
Use this, to figure out how
to attract the users who will
become daily players.
Measure channel efficiency.
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20. The Charts (Free Apps)
Daily Downloads and Ranking
(free apps)
Games/Word: #5, ~8,500
Games/Puzzle: #10, ~15,000
Games Top 10: ~40,000
All Apps #6, ~60,000
PAID Games Top 25: ~23,000
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21. It got harder!
iOS 6 App Store Changes Everything
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22. And Harder ...
iOS 6 App Store Changes Everything
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23. Things to Remember
Categories are hidden.
5 vs. 3 taps to get to an app.
25 apps/page, now 1 app.
SEO, Screen Shots.
Burst far less effective.
Channels more important.
All about the Meritocracy!
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24. Paid apps are hard.
Ad Channel CPI > price.
FreeAppADay etc.
Lite version?
Heavy social aspect helps.
10 of 10 top grossing, FREE
You may want to do this
anyway!
Monday, May 27, 13

25. Why Paid apps ...
Small budget titles - simpler.
Strong brand (classic remake)
You have channel (other apps)
Enhanced version of free app.
You’re sure you have a hit.
BUT Multiplayer Apps? NEED
SCALE
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26. Freemium Dominates
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27. Premium Apps
$4.99+ Apps.
What works?
Name Brands/Ports.
Niche apps.
Big Adventure Games.
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28. A ‘Niche’ is GOOD.
Find an audience that’s not
being served.
Example: ROGUE fans (see
100 Rogues - Opportunity).
Example: Bocce.
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29. Product just takes off.
Apple features you.
Press loves you*.
Your video is a hit (Tiny
Wings)
You fill a niche (Bocce-Ball)
Then A Miracle Occurs
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30. Get Featured by Apple
Make the iPhone look cool
Be excellent, 4.5 stars or
better
Get lucky
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31. Dumb Luck?
A ‘Brand’ matters!
SAVE THE TITANIC Game?
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32. Branding Matters
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33. Advertising Channels
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34. iAds and Banners
25¢ Per Click.
Download in the ad.
CPI of $1.20 to over $2
Vary & test creative.
Good for the relationship :-)
Converts to Daily Players
better than others.
Monday, May 27, 13

35. Incentive Video
AdColony, Flurry and
TapJoy.
Earn credits by watching.
NO obligation to download
(but?)
Pay per view as low as 2¢.
GREAT Creative matters.
Monday, May 27, 13

36. Incentive Downloads?
Not dead yet!
Tapjoy (kinda) blocked by
Apple, Native-X.
FreeMyApps.
CPI 50¢ (> volume)
Volume is LIMITED.
GET INTO THE CHARTS.
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37. Incentive Downloads?
Apple not a fan of this - WHY?
Incentive Users are ...
Useful for a BURST, not as much now.
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38. Not all CPI is created equal
Incentive users hurt MP games
Ad driven users, do they convert?
Organic downloads good
Social downloads best
VERY few games grow via invites.
Who becomes a daily player?
Monday, May 27, 13

39. Non-Ad Stuff
Press and Reviews, DO NOT DEPEND ON THIS.
Co-Promotion with brands.
Contests - Social net integration.
Viral - get the players to do it.
Use your channel (if you have it)
CTR: >12% and 60% completion
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40. Co-Promotion
Chartboost.
Revboost.
Do it directly.
Once you have a success ...
You have a channel.
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41. How to FAIL!
Didn’t study the store.
Spend without measuring.
Depend on PR.
Don’t have the resources
for revision and marketing.
Don’t nail Monetization.
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42. Example - Punch Quest
Freemium App.
Over 600k Downloads (in
one week).
9 months of development.
Just over $10k revenue.
Moved to a paid model.
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43. Example - Bombcats
Freemium App.
100k Downloads (in one
day).
100 IAP (Purchases).
Will get to a million
downloads.
What could they have
done?
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44. Example - Bocce Ball
Bocce-Ball
Concept: Paper Toss +
Bocce, Ad Supported.
#1 in Italy (organically), #6
USA (advertising).
1m downloads.
Guess what the problem is?
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45. How to Win!
Really know the category.
No ad spend w/o test.
Launch in limited area.
Had the resources for
revision and marketing.
Nailed Monetization.
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46. CSR Racing
Understood the need for
simplicity.
No ad spend, 100% organic.
Viral that worked.
Great in-app items.
$12m/month.
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47. Puzzle and Dragons
GungHo spent years
working in the category.
Focused on Japan.
Existing titles - channel.
Awesome job on
monetization.
Now $4m/day.
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48. Tuning Monetization
Where are the ‘funnels’ in
your title.
Why a “limited launch” can
make sense.
Product financial models.
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49. Maybe a Publisher is a
good idea?
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50. Why a Publisher?
The truth about ads.
Channel is valuable.
You don’t know everything.
Half of something ...
There ARE good
publishers.
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51. The Future
Desktop sales outnumbered smartphone sales. Mobile internet traffic was 1% of
overall traffic. Tablets did not exist.
This distant point in time was 2009.
Fast-forward four years, to 2013. The world changed. Mobile now accounts for over
12% of overall traffic. Smartphone sales have eclipsed desktop sales.
Tablets not only exist – but 122 million of them were shipped last year.
Tablets are going to grow.
TV Platforms? Here.
Premium Apps? Now.
Publishing model grows.
Monday, May 27, 13

52. Don’t Forget
Marketing At The START
ARPU, RETENTION and K-Factor = LIFETIME VALUE
If K-Factor exceeds Churn? You’re golden.
CPI is high, CPU HIGHER! don’t give away $$$
Get a ****+ rating (really)
Study existing games (charts)
If you get any sort of hit ...
Monday, May 27, 13

53. This is Hard Stuff
iOS and Android App Stores are ‘meritocracies,’ the
quality required is very high.
Marketing is difficult.
Nobody knows nothing.
Monday, May 27, 13