The Survival Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe by Steel Media

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Survivor’s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe About… Umeng, a Beijing-based startup, is the leading and largest provider of mobile app analytics and developer services in China. Founded in April 2010, Umeng dedicates its enterprise-class services to over 65000 apps. Umeng’s state-of-the-art mobile app analytics and data-powered cross promotion/advertising platform helps mobile developers increase the size and value of app audiences and maximize monetization opportunity. The team is working around the clock to build better solutions for mobile app developers.

www.umeng.com

About… Simply THE leading editorial voice in the mobile games market, Pocket Gamer has been supporting the mobile games business since 2005 with leading consumer and b2b sites, apps, magazines, events, and more.

www.pocketgamer.co.uk

Our b2b site PocketGamer.biz is the number one source of business information for mobile developers, and also provides a range of services – from reports to consultancy. If you’re looking for further advice get in touch with chris@pocketgamer.biz

www.pocketgamer.biz Chris James | Managing Director João Diniz Sanches | Production Jez Bridgeman | Creative Director Paul Edwards | Senior Designer Paul Tysall | Designer ©2012 Steel Media Ltd & Umeng Technology Ltd This publication and its contents are the copyright of Umeng Technology Ltd and Steel Media Ltd and may not be distributed, copied or reproduced without permission

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Welcome… The modern mobile games market is an incredibly exciting and potentially lucrative space thought to be worth in the region of $10 billion. Simply being present means you’re already put yourself ahead of thousands of other companies. However, the competition remains incredibly fierce and in order to succeed you must to be able to use every possible advantage and compete in a truly global market. Europe contains many of the world’s top markets and collectively in terms of users, downloads and revenues can be considered larger than the US. However, it is also a more complex and diverse space with many languages and customs and in order to truly take advantage of the opportunities you need to understand the specifics. Over the following pages, the experts from Umeng and Pocket Gamer will provide an introduction to Europe’s key markets and practical advice to approaching them in terms of localisation, PR and marketing, and more. While we can’t wave a magic wand and solve all your problems, we can offer a useful starting point and checklist to help avoid obvious pitfalls on your adventure. Good luck and happy travels!

Chris James Managing Director – Steel Media

All statistics in this publication are for informational purposes only and are correct at time of going to press to the best of our knowledge. Steel Media can accept no responsibility for inaccuracies that occur but where mistakes are discovered we will correct any oversight.

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Survivor’s Guide Checklist Ensure game is 1western inline with tastes and trends

Identify which 2 markets you’ll focus on first Make a brilliant 3 game with high production values Localise your 4 game wherever possible Establish a 5 marketing strategy of

advertising, promotion and PR Create 6 localised PR and marketing materials

Approach 7 the right media early Select your 8 distribution channels Create a killer 9 localised app description Try to 10 secure app store support

united kingdom

OS share across EU5

Smartphone Market Size: 28m+ (c.45%)

Android �� 57.5% iOS �� 18.9% RIM �� 8.2% WP7 ��3.4% Bada ��2.4% WinMobile ��1.1% Other �� 8.5%

p.10

Game download figures show the UK ranks amongst the top territories in the world.

netherlands

Source: IDC European Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Aug 2012

Western European smartphone market penetration

Smartphone Market Size: 9.8m+ (c.59%)

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The sixth largest gaming market in Europe, supported by a healthy dev scene.

denmark

Samsung �� 43.6% Apple �� 19% Nokia ��7.3% Sony/Sony Ericsson ��7.3% RIM ��7% Other �� 15.8%

Smartphone Market Size: 1.7m+ (c.31%)

p.10

Smartphone ownership is growing fast, with Android and iOS vying for supremacy.

sweden

Source: Kantar, Apr 2012

Smartphone Market Size: 3.3m+ (c.35%)

p.10

Sweden boasts one of the most competitive mobile scenes in the continent.

The European mobile games market…

russia 5

Smartphone Market Size: 2.5m+ (c.2%)

p.10

The Russian dev scene is booming, as is smartphone ownership in the country.

Spain 6

3 1

p.9

Smartphone penetration is high in Spain, with Android the undisputed leading OS.

france

2 7 8 7

Smartphone Market Size: 19m+ (c.40%)

p.8

Localisation is key in France, and the market is dominated by major publishers.

Germany 8

Smartphone Market Size: 17m+ (36%)

p.8

Strategic games rule German mobile tastes, and the market is a key player in Europe.

ITaly

9 9

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Smartphone Market Size: 21m+ (c.37%)

Smartphone Market Size: 21m+ (c.35%)

p.9

Smartphone penetration in Italy has recently been climbing rapidly year-on-year.

Survivorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe

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How does the China game market differ from the International market?

Second Day User Retention Rate

Non Chinese Users

27%

Chinese Users

24% Second User Rate SecondDay Week UserRetention Retention Rate

Non Chinese Users

45%

Chinese Users

38% Second Week User Retention Rate Daily Session

Daily Session

Within China

1.4

Outside China

1.0

Daily Time Spent

Compared to Chinese games, international games have a longer life cycle. User retention rate for Chinese games is generally lower than that internationally. Second week retention rates for non-Chinese users stands at 45%, compared with 38% for Chinese users. However, China players spend more time playing. Compared with the rest of the world, Chinese gamers have 1.4 times more daily sessions and spend 1.2 times longer playing than non-China users.

While Chinese app developers tend to focus only on their own market, they are increasingly willing to explore the potential of the international market too. In 2012, there was an increase of 43.2% in the number of game developers on Umeng Analytics who ventured into the international trend of game Daily Timemarket, Spentmaintaining an upward 2012 Q3 New Game App Developers apps going global. Within China

Outside China

1.2 1.0

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2012 Q3 New Game App Developers

43.2%

New game app developers who ventured into global market

How to use statistics to improve on your game?

Knowing who your users are In order to obtain an in-depth analysis of app performance, you must first identify your users and their behavior. Using Umeng Analytics, game developers can quickly find out basic information on its users such as user devices, age, gender, location and operating system. Also, download rates, app sessions and the length of time spent in each stage can be analyzed as well.

Analyzing user loyalty User loyalty is a direct reflection on the quality of the game, and serves as testament to the effectiveness the game operations. To determine the loyalty of game users, app developers can use indicators such as user retention rate, app session lengths, frequency of app usage, depth of app usage. These would help game developers pinpoint exact areas to improve upon, redefine operations, extend app life cycle and increase user loyalty. For example, we can track the retention rate for newly acquired users from the first time they use the game till a stipulated point in time. The higher the retention rate, the more popular the game is.

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Emphasizing User defined Analysis, Funnel Analysis to improve conversion rate The Freemium model has already become the main model in the App Store, hence the conversion rate for paid stages within an app directly affects app revenue. App developers should specially make use of user defined analysis and funnel analysis (such as user conversion rate at a certain stage), to smooth the flow of the different stages within the game, thereby increasing in app revenue

Grouping users together, discovering the most valuable users App developers can group users via indicators such as gender, country, age, channels. Analyzing and comparing these different user groups will allow app developers to discover the most valuable users. Satisfying the needs and demands of this group of users will increase game revenue and identify the correct direction for product development. For example, app developers can split user groups according to the various European countries and conduct a comparison to understand the differences in user behavior, and improving the game app based on the analysis.

Survivor’s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe

Key Trends in European Markets What you need to know before starting your adventure A vibrant and exciting market place, Europe has embraced smartphones and the app culture, and contains a population with disposable income and time to enjoy games. Of course, it’s also a comparatively disparate space made up of a number of smaller country markets with their own languages, culture and specific tastes. There are, however, underlying key trends that remain consistent across the region and which should be understood.

Freemium for all

iOS/Android EU market share

19%

58%

(Source: Kantar Apr 2012)

Initially, the free-to-play model enjoyed more success with web-based games than it did on mobile, but the coming domination of freemium games on iOS and Android across Europe is inarguable. The model’s problem, however, is its current inability to shake off the ‘casual’ tag. Casual or social games are the first port of call for most developers across Europe when attempting to launch a freemium release, with many suffering short tails as a result. A few games have made the crossover launching freemium games that appeal to ‘core’ gamers – NaturalMotion’s CSR Racing and Supercell’s Clash of Clans are the most recent and successful examples. Any developer that can also move into that space would have a significant advantage over a large body of native studios.

A market split in two Competition between Android or iOS, the two top platforms in the region, is not just a case of Google versus Apple. Rather, the two native marketplaces – Google Play and the App Store – attract different types of consumer. The aforementioned rise in the freemium model doesn’t alter the fact that, when compared to Android, iOS gamers are typically more willing to part with their cash for paid games. While app downloads are reportedly higher on Google’s platform – 381 million Android apps downloaded across the EU5 in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 222 million on iOS (source: madvertise) – in key European markets such as the UK, Newzoo claims Apple’s OS generates up to 94% of all app revenue. These different environments means that cross-platform launches can be tricky,

Using social networks to promote games well can offer huge benefits over the competition.

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What's in store? Apple App Store Launched 2008

700,000 apps available

Google Play Launched 2008,

Getting featured by Apple in the App Store offers a short-cut to big sales.

600,000

with paid games on iOS often having to be ad supported free releases on Android.

Windows Phone Store Launched 2010,

Promotion problems A few years ago, promoting your app was a case of either reducing its price for short periods manually, or using promo platforms such as FreeAppADay to go free for a period of time. In truth, such discovery platforms now only have a limited effect – they have to be used in conjunction with other promo tools. User acquisition platforms such as Tapjoy or W3i use a variety of techniques to bolster downloads, providing incentives for players of other apps to pick up additional ones – though such tools have, in the past, run into trouble with Apple. Cross-promotion platforms like Chartboost are equally popular, with many now allowing you to deal directly with other developers to both book slots in their titles or sell your own. The key is to stay flexible. No one tool offers a complete solution in Europe any longer – it’s a case of mixing it up.

Keep it social

apps available

100,000 apps available

BlackBerry App World Launched 2009,

60,000 apps available

Amazon Appstore for Android Launched 2012,

25,000

apps available GetJar Launched 2004,

40,000 apps available

Nokia Store Launched 2009,

110,000 apps available

AndAppStore Launched 2008,

1,700

apps available

Coinciding with the launch of the App Store itself has been the rise of social networks across Europe. Independent developers in particular have made Twitter their own, making connections with both consumers, other developers The largest app analytics platform in China

Although the Google Play store is improving, Amazon Apps offers better returns.

and, even more crucially, journalists. The most successful developers also make Twitter a two-way street: they maintain personal accounts (game or company specific accounts are far less successful), but also plug their titles directly into both Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to share their progress and encourage their friends to jump aboard, too. Developers that master such social tools often avoid having to plug into more expensive and formal promo platforms.

Rise of the app stores There are currently two major smartphone platforms in Europe, but there are more than two app stores. Sure, Apple locks you into the App Store but independent Android and Symbian app stores are commonplace. Handset manufacturers are also setting up shop, with Samsung Apps having the most traction to date, while the launch of Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10 (both closed platforms with built-in app stores), the roll out of the tablet-friendly Windows 8, and even Sony’s PlayStation Mobile – a viable option for Android developers looking to tap up console gamers – means developer choice is only likely to expand. Despite this, it’s important to note the app store fragmentation is considerably less than in China and the vast majority of revenue is still accounted for by the Apple and Google Play stores.

Survivor’s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe

France Perhaps more so than many other European markets, localisation is key in France. In many territories across the continent, it’s possible to serve up games in English – widely spoken in many big European nations. The French, however, are far more keen in both games that are delivered in their native tongue, and play to their particular likes.

Luckily, French mobile gamers don’t tend to sport any particularly peculiar desires when it comes to game genres – puzzle titles and word games especially popular. This is a market, however, dominated by major publishers: Ubisoft, Vivendi and Gameloft. If you’re self publishing, expect to encounter these three dominating the app charts.

Facts & figures* Smartphone Market Size: 19 million

Popular Genres: Puzzle, platform, sports, and racing games.

Dominant Platforms: Android (54.6%), iOS (17.4%), Bada (9.2%)

Leading Stores: Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Phone Store

Audience: Mainly casual gamers, but the region is home to vocal number of ‘hardcore’ gamers

Secondary Stores: 1Mobile, AndAppStore, Appitalism, GetJar, Handmark, Handango, Handster,

Mobango, PocketGear, SlideMe Key Media: PocketGamer.fr, ApplicationiPhone.com, Frandroid.com, jeuxvideo.fr Marketing Platforms: AppGratis/ AppGratuites, Apps4FREE, AppliPrivée, Adfonic, Chartboost *SOURCE: Kantar, Apr 2012

Germany There’s one genre that rules the roost in Germany: boardgames. Commentators claim this is down to the fact some of the most popular and, indeed, complex were created in the country, leading to a comparative lack of interest in more ‘typical’ mobile gaming genres, such as platformers or standard adventure releases. However, this hunger for complicated,

elaborate gameplay means other genres also perform well in the region. Strategy is a particular favourite, as are brain teasers and games that rely on players mastering a particular skill. Looking ahead, Germany is also expected to be an important territories for the new range of gambling games that allow players to spend real money when the market is opened up in early 2013.

Facts & figures* Smartphone Market Size: 21 million

Popular Genres: Boardgames, strategy, brain teasers, skill-based

Handmark, Handango, Handster, Mobango, PocketGear, SlideMe

Dominant Platforms: Android (61.8%), iOS (19.2%), Symbian (8.2%)

Leading Stores: Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store

Key Media: de.PocketGamer.com, GamePro.de, iPlayApps.de

Audience: 32% women (Deloitte), mature gamers sector growing fast

Secondary Stores: 1Mobile, AndAppStore, Appitalism, GetJar,

Marketing Platforms: App Ticker, Hitfox Gamefinder, AppGratis *SOURCE: Kantar, Apr 2012

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Italy In common with much of Europe, Italy is a nation of soccer-lovers, and both realtime soccer games and managerial sims seem to perform especially strongly in the season. And as the home of supercar makes Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Italian mobile gamers have a taste for racing games, too. Android is Italy’s dominant operating

system, although Nokia’s Symbian OS is a very close second, making it one of the key EU regions for Symbian developers. While Symbian and Android each account for roughly a quarter of Italy’s smartphone market, iOS still represents 17 percent and BlackBerry is 13 percent. Smartphone penetration in the region was 24 percent in 2011, but it’s climbing fairly quickly, reaching 28 percent in 2012.

Facts & figures* Smartphone Market Size: 21 million

Popular Games: FIFA 13, Asphalt 7: Heat, Slotomania – Slot Machines

Key Publishers: Digital Bros, Nuoxygen, Microforum

Dominant Platforms: Android (48.5%), iOS (23.1%), Symbian (16.9%)

Leading Stores: Google Play, Nokia Ovi Store, Apple App Store

Key Media: spaziogames.it, games.it

Popular Genres: Soccer games, racing, casual games

Secondary Stores: BlackBerry App World, Windows Phone Store, Amazon Appstore *SOURCE: Kantar, Apr 2012

Spain Smartphone penetration is high in Spain, climbing to 44 percent in 2012. Android is the dominant OS, owning at least 60 percent of the Spanish smartphone market – more by some estimates, although Apple’s iOS is increasingly adopted. According to 2012 survey data from Google, 49 percent of Spanish smartphone owners have used their

handsets for gaming, which suggests a potential audience of 10.1 million Spanish mobile gamers. It’s worth noting that Spanish is the second most widely spoken first language worldwide, too. This, combined with the country’s widespread smartphone penetration makes Spanish an important language to consider in any localisation efforts.

Facts & figures* Smartphone Market Size: 17 million Dominant Platforms: Android (72.3%), RIM (11.8%), Symbian (8.8%), iOS (4.6%) Popular Genres: Soccer games,

casino games, casual games Popular Games: Live Holdem Poker Pro, Slotomania – Slot Machines, Smurfs’ Village Leading Stores: Google Play, Nokia Ovi Store, Apple App Store

Secondary Stores: BlackBerry App World, Windows Phone Store, Amazon Appstore Key Publishers: Chilibite Games, Abylight, Lemon Team Key Media: 3djuegos.com *SOURCE: Kantar, Apr 2012

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Survivor’s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe

United kingdom More so than any other territory in Europe, the UK smartphone market more closely resembles that of the US: an ever-growing base largely split between ‘core’ console style releases and huge, but often short-lived, casual or social titles. As a whole, app downloads in the UK rank amongst the highest in the world – accounting for a third of all downloads in Europe and in the top 5 global markets. The early days of the App Store were dominated by

platformers or puzzlers such as ngmoco’s Rolando, Firemint’s Flight Control, and the indomitable Angry Birds. Such games still have a base, but more attention is now drawn either to games that ape the high production values of consoles or a growing number of casual titles, most of which adopting the freemium model.

Facts & figures* Smartphone Market Size: 28 million

shooters, Sports sims, puzzle, driving, casual and social games

Dominant Platform: Android (50.1%), iOS (30%), RIM (14.3%)

Leading Stores: Apple App Store, Google Play, GetJar

Popular Genres: First person

Secondary Stores: Amazon

Appstore, Windows Store Key Media: PocketGamer.co.uk, TouchGen.com Marketing Platforms: Tapjoy, Chartboost, AppFlood *SOURCE: Kantar, Apr 2012

Netherlands

Russia

Smartphone Market Size: 9.8 million

Smartphone Market Size: 2.5 million

The Netherlands is the sixth largest gaming market in Europe, with a healthy mobile development scene of its own. Genre wise, Dutch gamers have a penchant for ‘serious games’ – across all formats, war games are especially popular, while racing sims and football games also perform strongly. Like Germany, there’s also a healthy appreciation for mobile titles based on boardgames.

Smartphone growth is currently surging in Russia, with Distimo claiming app revenue is growing by 115% on iOS and 250% on Android. The Russian dev scene has also had a lot of money pumped into it in recent years, meaning homegrown games tend to dictate the market – action or war-based titles in particular. However, few foreign developers currently deliver games in Russian, meaning those that do tend to find an audience.

Denmark

Sweden

Smartphone Market Size: 1.7 million

Smartphone Market Size: 3.3 million

Of 7.7 million mobile subscribers in Denmark, more than 1 million currently own a smartphone – but that’s a figure that is growing fast. The market, however, is more evenly spread than many other European territories: Android holds a 31% share, with iOS just behind on 30%, but 39% is split between multiple different operating systems, making cross-platform releases a must.

Sweden boasts one of the most competitive mobile scenes in Europe, with a history for quality development that is just as prevalent on smartphones. Nonetheless, for outside studios looking to make inroads, Swedish gamers have an appreciation for casual releases, while social games or games sporting a unique look – Contre Jour from Ukrainian studio Mokus Games a particularly popular example – tend to perform strongly.

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Localisation

Need help?

We can help with localisation and translation of your apps. Email localise@ steelmedia.co.uk for more.

A great localisation breaks down the language barriers and helps you to communicate with the world about your app Top 10 Countries in terms of Smartphones Penetration

Key points • It’s not just apps that must be localised. Press releases, App Store listings, media kits and promotional coverage should also be translated to coincide with a launch or localisation update. • Consider that European localisations are also useful when releasing apps in territories such as South America and Canada. • Even without a localisation, an app can still penetrate foreign markets through use by ex-patriots and travellers, so don’t limit its release to specific territories.

While it’s important to be able to sell your app locally, reaching a European market requires a professional localisation to ensure users both understand and want your products.

Language Primarily, a high-quality English localisation is recommended, as this enables you to reach the broadest audience across the globe. English serves your app well in native-speaking countries such as the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, but the free app charts also show a 90 per cent penetration of English apps for Italy, Spain, Germany and France. By initially covering Europe’s three main languages – English, German and French – your products are accessible to the widest user base, after which you can consider breaking into smaller markets.

Localisation Updates A strong tactic for providing localised apps is to initially release a developernative version with at least an English language option. Updates are then issued as more localisations are added to gradually provide a more complete European saturation. The importance of this approach should not be overlooked.

Publisher Partnerships

English is an official language in six of the world’s top ten smartphone-using countries.

Market Preferences Different types of games and apps appeal to different regions, or gain more traction in certain territories than in others. This trend notably increases when a native localisation is provided, even in circumstances where another language version – such as English – has already enabled consumers to use the game or app in question. Monitor the free and paid App Store charts in different regions and give priority to providing localisations for territories where similar games or apps have proven successful. Where such information is inconclusive, pay particular attention to local App Store charts after release to gauge your localised app’s adoption.

Many native publishers provide translation services as part of a distribution partnership, and have a strong understanding of local markets. This can allow you to hone in on primary territories for your product and significantly reduce – or even absorb – the localisation costs.

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Survivor’s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe Start Promoting Now

Press Releases and Media Outreach

We are in contact with a wide range of leading web sites and PR services Email PR@ steelmedia.co.uk

To promote your game or app you must engage the media and build beneficial relationships

Key points • If your press release is shorter than 200 words, Google is unlikely to index it, which could harm your app’s search ranking. • Offer promo codes to members of the media as soon as they are available to improve your chances of review coverage.

The smartphone media is inundated with new software launches, review requests and press releases. Make your promotional material stand out, and build a lasting relationship with media outlets that benefits you both.

Supplying a quote about the app from a prominent member of the development team is also recommended, as this allows the media to give their coverage a human angle. Ensure both the speaker’s name and job title are provided.

Press Releases

Media Kit

A press release should always lead with a full yet concise description of your app. Immediately follow this with platform and pricing information, and then include information about your company. A news item is typically structured this way, so journalists need this information to provide coverage of your products.

The media must illustrate its articles whether they’re online or in a magazine. Make a downloadable package available to members of the media that includes your press releases, company information, unadorned screenshots, YouTube links and/or downloadable videos of in-game footage. Link to the media kit within all your press releases.

• Maintain contact with media outlets between releases through their community interaction channels (forums and comments), as well as social networks.

Exclusives

The big sites tend to dominate, but different territories have their own local-language sites.

Advertising

Build a strong, trusted relationship with specific media outlets to help achieve coverage now, and with future releases, by offering exclusive news, interviews and previews. This type of coverage is very valuable to media outlets, and will often be given preference over widely distributed news or press releases.

Contacting the sales team to place an advert with a media site does not guarantee news or reviews coverage, but certainly doesn’t hurt in this respect. It makes sense for a site to inform its readers about advertised titles, and it is a powerful tool for informing users about the existence of your product.

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Need help?

App Store Listings

We can help with app store descriptions. Email localise@steelmedia.co.uk for more.

Your App Store listing is the first impression you make with gamers. Make sure it’s a good one The last job you perform during development is writing your game’s description, but this is also the user’s first introduction to your software. Therefore try to provide an App Store listing that makes your game stand out from thousands upon thousands of similar titles.

Opening Paragraph Apple allows 340 characters – including spaces – before the “…More” link at the top of every listing in iTunes. The rest of your listing is hidden away until the user clicks

Common mistakes • Don’t waste space in the opening paragraph about a recent update, Retina support or other nondescriptive information. • Some media outlets won’t use your official screenshots if they have captions overlaid on them, so keep the image clean. • URL shorteners don’t always create easy-to-copy addresses, so use them sparingly when adding links to your listings.

People can skim-read lists faster than blocks of text, and are more inclined to do so. Use this approach to your advantage when listing.

Features List

People are far more inclined to read a bulleted list than a paragraph of text, so condense specific aspects of your description into a features list. Note that App Store descriptions are plain text, so the list must be created manually. Insert a bullet symbol and add a couple of spaces before or after it to create a list that will display correctly in iTunes.

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the “…More” link. This gives you approximately 50 words to sell your game, so ensure every single one counts. If you go over the 340 character limit, iTunes removes the whole word, so it is recommended to come in just under the limit to ensure no words are missing.

Screenshots You can include up to five screenshots in an App Store listing, so don’t waste any with an unnecessary image of the game’s menu screen or a cut-scene. All five images should contain in-game footage, from as many different levels as possible (or from different functions, if it’s an app), packed with as much action as possible. Spend extra time capturing and choosing the best possible screenshots to demonstrate your product.

External Links As active hyperlinks can’t be embedded in your App Store description, the best you can do is provide a plain text link to external content such as a YouTube video or your game’s official website. If the URL is long and complex, the user will struggle to type it into their browser’s address bar correctly, so ensure you have a relevant domain name that is easy to copy by eye. This domain can then be used to redirect to other content, such as “http://yourdomain.com/trailer” to send users to your game’s YouTube video.

Survivor’s Guide to Publishing in UK & Europe

Marketing and Promotion

Book Now!

The Smartphone Alliance is the leading ad network for mobile games. Email advertising@ smartphonealliance.com for details.

Why keeping up with the latest promotional opportunities is crucial to EU-wide success Arguably one of the quickest moving elements of the mobile scene in Europe is the way games are promoted. It’s here that, generally, developers from the various countries come together to utilise much the same techniques. Apple, for instance, has both provided some of the best ways for games to reach audiences (e.g. featuring a game on the App Store) and attempted to restrict some of the others, such as the practice of incentivising downloads. Such tools, where players are rewarded for downloading titles promoted in-game with treats such as virtual currency, are still widely used to this day. One of the leading players is Tapjoy, where developers can target a base of up to 20,000 other apps across 500 million devices running Android, iOS or Windows. Developers on these networks can utilise a multitude of different options; from buying banner or feature ad slots in games utilising Tapjoy, to listing their titles on Tapjoy’s list of installation recommendations where users can either download them on a pay-per-install or pay-per-action basis.

Analytics specialist Flurry’s ad platform, AppCircle, taps into data from 600m users to drive user engagement beyond initial download.

Promos Past

Before the advent of incentivisationbased platforms, the main tool utilised by developers was free app promotion channels – app networks that listed paid games that temporarily went free in order to push them up the app charts. Such tools are now less effective since the rise of freemium games, but are still used, typically as just one part of a wide marketing strategy.

Tapjoy’s other major tool is a crosspromotion marketplace, where developers can both earn additional revenue by pushing other games in their own, or booking slots in rival titles to promote their own. Other platforms, such as Chartboost, enable developers to direct deal with each other to snap up promo spots within games of their choice. One constant within the everchanging mobile market in Europe has been the prevalence of ad networks – a traditional approach, perhaps, but one that developers with a larger budget can entertain. In terms of the networks available, developers are spoilt for choice. InMobi claims to be the largest in Europe, boasting more than 10,000 publishers on its network and 2,000 advertisers. Other platforms, however, include Madvertise, Adfonic, Java specialist BuzzCity, Mojiva, and many others. Websites can also prove efficient when announcing the launch of your game, with huge splash ads that encase a website particular popular with casual releases and, increasingly so, games running on social platforms such as GREE. Pocket Gamer is the natural choice for most developers, acting as the UK’s largest mobile gaming site. Expanding beyond PG is the Smartphone Alliance, which ties together more than 40 mobile sites amassing more than 50 million page views a month to enable developers to easily target a wide, but relevant audience.

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Getting featured How to get Apple and Google to market your app for you Discoverability has always been an issue for developers working on the App Store and Google Play. As such, getting your app featured on either marketplace is an extremely valuable way of boosting your visibility. And while there’s no way of guaranteeing that your game will be featured, there are steps you can take to make it that much more likely. The first such step is to make sure your app is as polished as possible. It may not be forbidden knowledge, but the fact is that you’re only going to be featured if your product is of a high quality and boasts exceptional presentation.

Double up You should endeavour to ensure that your Android app supports tablet resolutions and your iOS app is a universal binary. By doing so, you’re essentially doubling your chances of a featured spot, and increasing your potential audience size, too.

Showcase the OS So, assuming that you’ve crafted a great game that looks amazing, one frequently observed way of ingratiating yourself with Apple and Google is to be the first to make use of the new features of their operating systems. When Apple added head-to-head multiplayer capabilities to Game Center, for instance, it featured apps that included realtime multiplayer in order to showcase its updated platform. Similarly, hardware launches are opportunities to earn a featured spot. When Google launched its Nexus 7 tablet, it rounded up Android apps that were compatible with tablet resolutions. Right now, Apple is featuring apps that support the new screen resolution of its iPhone 5.

The point is, it’s often possible to anticipate the features that Apple and Google will be keen to accentuate, and these are the features you should include in your app. Timing is important too, since Apple and Google will often feature groups of apps together to coincide with major events. If you’re developing a soccer app, for example, it makes sense to launch it just before the FIFA World Cup kicks off.

Look fantastic Don’t underestimate the importance of design, either, since both platform holders – especially Apple – share a preference for apps with a clean, uncluttered appearance. Take a look at the games that Google and Apple are featuring, and take your design cues from them. And design doesn’t just mean in-game graphics. It means crafting a clean UI and paying close attention to your app icon and promotional art. No matter how good your game is, it won’t feature if it looks hideous on the App Store’s front page.

Localisation

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Localising an app for multiple territories is another step that will boost chances of being featured, but it’s a process that can be resource intensive. Research suggests international customers have no problem downloading Englishlanguage apps, but supporting native languages will certainly increase chances of being featured in more app stores.

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