It’s fair to say that we’re living in the age of data driven game marketing. The explosive growth of mobile gaming has forced the entire industry to adapt to a new reality in which measuring the activity of millions of players, the effectiveness of dozens of traffic sources and calculating overall spend requires an analytical approach.

That’s where Appfluencer steps in. It respectfully gleans data about the apps that users within the market are digging into. The company then lets its partners use this data to hone their advertising campaign, ultimately improving performance in the long term.

But how does it work? And what advice do they have for game marketers on how to make the most of their data in future campaigns? We caught up with Brett Bauer, Co-Founder & CEO Shared2you, Inc and the creator of Appfluencer, to find out more.

Gamesforum: Can You Give Us A Quick Summary Of What Appfluencer Does And How It Distinguishes Itself From Its Competition?

The Appfluencer Targeting & Scoring Algorithm generates high quality mobile data that sets new standards for targeting on mobile. Campaigns using it are fully transparent and have proven effective in delivering users whose retention rates have been higher than those acquired from other UA channels during similar time frames.

For example, our data has helped developers achieve long term D30 retention greater than 21% through Facebook campaigns. This is significantly higher than all other UA providers used throughout the time frame and 15% higher than Facebook Lookalike Campaigns.

We are also unique in that we process more than 24 trillion comparisons, measures, and calculations on a daily basis to generate the target value for every pair of apps and provide access to a fully transparent RTB to help mobile game developers leverage our unique data.

Gamesforum: One Of The Major Pillars Of Appfluencer’S Service Is The Ability To Look At The Apps A User Has Downloaded. Why Is This Important And What Does This Tell You About A User?

Specifically, we are able to see apps that are on the device. The chain of events begins with the download, however it is most important that the app is retained by the user, meaning that it is still on the device. This is different than retention as it is used in industry today.

The primary understanding of retention is “the users engagement in a specific app over time” – most people engaged in UA are focused on the retention rate of their users in their app, especially during the first 30 days (D30 retention), as it provides information that helps to understand the predictability of future revenues and calculate user LTV.

BRETT BAUER, THE CREATOR OF APPFLUENCER

When we “look at the apps” the user has downloaded, we are also looking on a daily basis to see if the apps are still on the device or if they have been removed. We can make some accurate assumptions and predictions about the device and the user, for instance, we can presume they may be “storage constrained” based on the number of apps or an “active downloader”of shiny new things.

In the same way, we gain a fairly accurate picture of the user without the need for personally identifiable information (PII) and gain a sense of their interests as similar devices are placed into segments and studied to acquire a greater understanding

GAMESFORUM: ANOTHER CHALLENGE YOU’VE IDENTIFIED IS THAT FACEBOOK LOOKALIKE CAMPAIGNS – WHILE EFFECTIVE – CAN PROVE DIFFICULT TO SET UP DUE TO THE EXTRAORDINARY NUMBER OF VARIABLES AVAILABLE. HOW CAN MARKETERS OVERCOME THIS CHALLENGE TO GAIN THE BENEFITS FROM THE APPROACH?

With Facebook Lookalike Campaigns, we collaborated with John Boog-Scott of Peoplefun and Game Kwakwyi of Incipia.co on a campaign on Wordscapes in July.

According to Gabe, the biggest challenge with Facebook Lookalike Campaigns could be summarized as the diminishing size of the Lookalike Group and the effect it had on UA Campaigns. As we worked together, I began to understand what he was saying.

WORDSCAPES BENEFITTED FROM APPFLUENCER’S TOOLS.

The first challenge had to do with the cost of acquiring Lookalikes – initially the CPC costs and eCPI were relatively low. However, as the Lookalike Group was reduced in size, the cost of acquisition would go up. When marketers try to expand the Lookalike Group from 1% or 2% LAL to a higher percentage, say 5% or 10% LAL, the acquisition costs would go down, but the quality also went down as you were moving farther away from the group you wanted to acquire.

So the first challenge to overcome was cost vs quality. If the developer chose quality over cost, then a second challenge relating to the size of the LAL group would occur over time. The audience grew smaller because members had responded to the offer, or because the audience member had seen the offer and had not responded. To reach deeper into the audience a choice needed to be made with regard to the cost of acquiring additional users.

Integration of Appfluencer Data in addition to Facebook Lookalike Campaigns helped a great deal in increasing performance and reducing overall costs. It helped overcome challenges were cited as barriers that limited a marketers ability to improve their UA on Facebook. They included, optimization, targeting and daily budget impacts on optimization.

GAMESFORUM: THE RISING COST OF MARKETING CAMPAIGNS ON MOBILE CONTINUES TO HIT GAME DEVELOPERS AND PUBLISHERS IN THE POCKET. WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE FOR AVOIDING THESE PROBLEMS AND ENSURING YOU RETURN YOUR INVESTMENT?

UA isn’t a “grab bag” where you hope to get the bag with all the best toy surprises. By the same token, UA is no longer a land grab either, you can’t just buy your way to a user base.

The key is transparency in buying, targeting and knowing where your UA spend is going. If you are able to identify the ideal user for your game or app and identify which events drive revenue, then use that information to target and verify how your UA dollars are spent to acquire the users who will stay, play and pay.

If you do that, you are on the way to improving your app’s performance.

Gamesforum: Ultimately, The Goal Of This In The Long Term Is To Increase The Life Time Value Of Your Users. How Does Appfluencer Help With That And What General Advice Can You Give On Ensuring That You Keep Your Ltv As High As Possible?

The thing about data, is that data doesn’t lie. No amount of UA spend is going to help if the game doesn’t perform as expected or if the creatives are poorly conceived and executed.

If we begin by assuming we have a quality game and creatives, then the messaging needs to get out to your ideal users. Ultimately, the goal is to acquire as many user organically as possible. With an understanding of your ideal user, UA can support and grow your user base.

Gamesforum: Finally, We’Re Entering 2018 And The Mobile Marketing Space Has Certainly Hit Maturity. Which Trends Do You Think Are Going To Dominate The Sector This Year And Why?

I think that 2018 will be an interesting year with the introduction of the GDPR. It will be very difficult for app developers to manage multiple sets of “compliance” when it comes to a users data privacy and the various country requirements that need to be followed especially when marketing to individuals.

If a developer wants to “opt-out” of GDPR compliance, I believe they will need to rethink that position. It isn’t enough to limit access to an app by limiting the availability in certain countries. That might help, however as I understand the GDPR, an EU resident covered under the GDPR could be traveling in a different country or access an app from another country by changing their country selection in the app store.

As I understand the GDPR, the developer would be subject to comply with the requirements of GDPR even in those cases. As a result, I believe developers need to carefully think about the way they approach and comply with GDPR. Personally, I believe something like the GDPR is long overdue as a change has been needed.

Want to learn more about Appfluencer? Come and meet them at Gamesforum London by registering for your pass here.