It’s An A.R.M.’s Race (Acquisition, Retention, and Monetization in Mobile Gaming)

Brian SappDirector, Developer Partnerships

• Introduction To Tapjoy• User Acquisition• User Retention• Monetization• Pre-launch Checklist

Overview

9 0 0 MILLION mobile devices

100 MMMonthlyActive Users

75,000 Apps

1.2 MMDaily AdEngagements

600 MMDailySessions

Tapjoy by the Numbers

Acquisition

• Rewarded installs• Non-rewarded installs• Video ads• Cross promotion• Social discovery (FB, Twitter,

etc.)

• Organic discovery (top charts, search, word of mouth, etc.)

Mobile Acquisition Channels

How are developers promoting free-to-play apps?

What you can expect to get from:

Featured Placement: Front page placement of your app in the platforms market, normally for no more than 7 days.

15,000 – 30,000, paid, per day

100,000+, free, per day

Tapjoy User Acquisition: Pay per install bid system

@$0.10 bid - 5,000+, per day

@$1.00+ bid - 60,000+, per day

Free App Promotions: Destination apps and sites that feature your app

$5,000 - $20,000 for 1-7 day listing, no volume guarantee (2,000-30,000 installs)

Mobile Acquisition Channels

App to App Cross-Promotion: Free cross promotion

@ 1% of DAU traffic of hosting app, very dependent on placement

Review Sites: Have your app reviewed on a blog site

@ 1,000 +/- installs, hard to track actual volume, important for app store

The Holy Grail – Getting Featured on Google Play

Can translate into as much as $1-$2 million in immediate revenue.

Featured!

The Holy Grail – Getting Featured on Google Play

Getting Featured

• Well Known IP • Prior Hits• Territories Available• Languages Supported• Supported Devices

• Technology Supported• Retina Display, Multitasking, Gyroscope,

Accelerometer, Location Services, Game Center, etc.

• App Store Landing Page• One-liner that captures what makes your

app special• User Reviews/Ratings • Video on Google Play Store

What they’re looking for:

And of course…a great game!

New User Flow

The new user flow is one of the most important parts of a successful game.

• Optimize the download (<50 MBs)• Show off the cool parts of the game• Use clear directions• Get the user playing as soon as you

can

You have @ 30 seconds to hook your users and under 5 mins to teach them.

• The goal is to shoot for 70% tutorial completion rate

Optimize the Download

Tapjoy Network Android Conversion Rate: (clicks to installs)

Start Off Simple

Take Users by the Hand and Guide Them Into the App

• During the first 30 seconds put the user on rails, don’t let them get lost

• This is your chance to take an uncertain user and create a engaged user

• You can’t display everything, show off your core loop and build from there

CSR Racing iOS

Retention

Take Advantage of Social APIs

• Most social networks offer free connections API’s and SDK’s • Forcing a connection to a network can cause a large drop-off

in new users • Present the choice to your users, use the network icons and

let them opt in to sharing

Orange’s TV Check app saw a 75% drop off when the app forced users to connect with Facebook.

Social Channels

Sometimes it’s better to create your own social layer

Surface social activity to

users early on

R

Incentive Friend Invites

• 3x more monthly sessions• Average: 11.9 monthly sessions• Facebook: 32 monthly sessions• Facebook: 7% to 12% sign up when rewarding users with coins

Subway Surfer*

Clash of Clans MinoMonsters

*Kiloo Games/Chartboost Case Study

Reward Users for Inviting Friends

Daily Rewards

• In the later days of the reward cycle give the users bigger or exclusive rewards

• Show them what they earned and also show them what is coming up

Give your users a reward for coming back every day.

Build Daily Rewards Into The Game Play

CSR Racing iOS

Use Push Notifications

Appointment Mechanics

NotificationsAppointment Mechanics

Mobile users are slightly A.D.D. – remind them to come back through notifications, but don’t spam them.

Monetization

Store FunnelR

• Make it easy for users to find your store and buy items. • No more then two clicks• Prompt to the store when currency runs out

Store DesignR

• Use icons over text when possible• Design for the phone, not tablet, use all your real

estate• Let users know they’re getting a deal• A well designed, clean store = happy customer

Mobile Revenue Channels

Offerwalls

Direct Payment - In-app purchase (IAP) through iTunes or Google Checkout • Top 25 Grossing Apps can earn as high $1 million to $8 million a

month in revenue

Alternate Payment – Offerwalls, Banner ads, Featured ads, and Videos• Alt pay, like Tapjoy’s Marketplace and ad units, typically account for

30%-40% in additional revenue on iOS & 50% + on Android

iTunes Google

Rewarded Offerwall

Non-rewarded Offerwall

Featured Ads

Banner Ads

Mobile Revenue: Ad Types

11 Videos1

1

1

11

1213

14

15

12

3

4

5

Which Ad Units Are Right For My Game?

HARDCORE

Usage: Highly Engaged User/Smaller User

Base

Monetization: High ARPDAU ($.15-$1.00)

Ad Solution:Alternative Payment Platform

CORE

Usage: Engaged User/Large User Base

Monetization: Mid Level ARPDAU ($.04-$.15)

Ad Solution:Alternative Payment Platform

Featured Ads/Video Ads

CASUAL

Usage: Low Engaged User/Massive User Base

Monetization: Low ARPDAU ($.01-$.04)

Ad Solution:Alt Pay/Featured Ads/Video AdsBanner Ads/Cross Promo Wall

Are you leaving revenue on the table? Are you balancing user engagement with monetization?

Smart Ad PlacementTry to place ads in less conspicuous areas where users regularly view, but that don’t interfere with game play.

Consider giving users the option to remove ads with a purchase.

• Landing screen/Main Menu • Inventory screens • Transition pages/Loading pages• Use featured ads sparingly (Every third app launch, post PVP play)• Only show ads to non paying users

Pre-launch Checklist

Self-Publish or Get Published?

Get Published?• Make sure you get adequate, hard

commitments on marketing budget and promotional efforts, including agreed upon KPIs/metrics.

• Know what you’re giving up and getting in return.

• Get references – Who have they worked with before? How did it work out? Ask other developers.

Self-Publish?• You should have at least $100K-$200K to

promote your app or be pretty damn sure Apple/Google are going to feature your app

• Ideally you already have a built-in user base playing your previously launched titles that you can use for cross promotion

Checklist

QA like crazy Maximize device and OS

coverageIntegrate SDKs

Social Monetization Analytics Advertising

Create required creative asset App icons and screenshots Banner creative Video trailer

Localize Prioritize Japanese &

Korean

They are starting to look a bit similar…

App Icons

• DAU• New users • 24hr, 2nd day, 7 and 30 day re-engagement• New user funnel (Install, Open, Tutorial Start & Finish) • Average game session length • APRDAU & ARPPU• % of users monetizing• Item sales• IAP sales

This is a basic list to get started. As the game matures you’ll learn the KPI’s (key performance indicators) for your game

A baseline set of metrics from launch will help you identify problems early

What Should You Be Tracking?

Testing the Waters

• Choose a smaller region to test in– Everybody uses Canada, so you’re probably better off going

with another English-speaking country (ex. AU, NZ, SG)– Get 5K+ DAUs flowing through your app

• Focus on retention (next-day, 7-day, 14-day)– Rough targets: 40%+ next-day, 25%+ 7-day, 15%+ 14-day– Tutorial completion rate goal at 70%– Are users dropping off at a certain level? If so, why? What

items are users buying the most? • Monetization measurement

– High end: $1 ARPDAU– Realistic ARPDAU range: $0.04-$0.15– % DAUs monetized: 1%-5%

• Take care of any bugs

Proceed with a full launch only when you’re happy with the performance of your bucket test

© 2012 Tapjoy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Tapjoy and the Tapjoy logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tapjoy, Inc. All third party logos and trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Thank You!Brian.Sapp@tapjoy.com @sappalicious