In this episode of The Business of Fun podcast, we explore the user acquisition (UA) skills that marketers need to master in 2023, featuring Esther Shatz, VP of Product Marketing and Consultancy at mavens, Mark Avidan, Director of UA at Zynga, and Antti Paikkala, Head of Marketing at Small Giant Games.
Chapters
00:00 / Intro
02:38 / The state of the industry
05:00 / Adapting UA strategies for economic shifts
09:49 / Shifting back to self-attributing networks
12:45 / The new UA Pro
20:31 / Leveraging creative skills
27:03 / SKAN 4.0 improvements
31:06 / Is cohort revenue back?
35:50 / Will CPIs increase in 2023 on both Android and iOS?
37:36 / Will the new Microsoft Mobile store affect the UA ecosystem?
38:25 / How can you measure the success of creatives when there’s so much less data coming through?
39:57 / UA tips and advice
“Not only existing UA pros but those UA pros coming into the space have to be able to adjust to changing environments not on an annual cycle but almost on a quarterly, if not weekly, cycle in terms of where each network is going, where each source of traffic is going, how apps are being launched, where, when, what kind of inventory even exists on certain networks. And that is incredibly dynamic.”
— Antti Paikkala, Head of Marketing at Small Giant Games
The rundown
- The mobile gaming industry started 2022 in a state of panic. We have since evolved and are now crafting strategies and acquiring the necessary skills to succeed. One significant development was the release of SKAdNetwork 4.0 (SKAN 4.0), a crucial update that addressed many issues faced by the industry.
- As changes continue in the pricing environment and consumer behavior worldwide, we must adapt our strategies accordingly. For instance, currency fluctuations have affected monetization in certain parts of the world.
- Although there hasn’t been a significant decrease in performance or revenue, users are becoming more discerning and only selecting games that offer the best content and value for their gaming experience.
- Many advertisers previously relied on Facebook or other self-attributing networks to drive growth on iOS. However, the shift toward probabilistic partners has affected the lifetime value (LTV) model, and marketers have had to adjust their approach.
- The world of UA is constantly evolving, and the recent changes in privacy frameworks and market trends have created a major industry shift. Gone are the days of adjusting to changes on an annual cycle; UA professionals must now be able to pivot on a quarterly if not weekly basis. They must keep up with the latest trends in network traffic, app launches, and inventory availability.
- To succeed in this dynamic landscape, a modern UA professional must possess a diverse skill set. They should be a hybrid of product analytics and performance-based management. This means communicating effectively with the product analytics team while also understanding the best conversion value scheme from a UA perspective. Additionally, they should have a strong understanding of recent SKAN documentation.
- SKAN 4.0 has four main points of improvement: visibility of additional events other than the one you set initially, additional digits for campaign IDs for optimization, attribution for web to app, and a tier-based approach to privacy.
The players
- Esther Shatz on LinkedIn
- Mark Avidan on LinkedIn
- Antti Paikkala on LinkedIn
- Zynga website
- Mavens website
- Small Giant Games website
