Explore every episode of the podcast Business of Apps Podcast

Six statements about app growth, a room full of marketers voting live on their phones, and a panel that doesn’t always side with the room.

The audience agreed with almost everything: that AI is creating sameness, that growth is now a product problem, that retention beats acquisition. Only one statement got flipped. Hearing why the panelists push back, hedge, or go all in is where it gets interesting.

This episode was recorded at Business of Apps NYC, with a panel hosted by Nicole Weiss, Founder of Brass Finch/Mintgrove, featuring:

• Kate Palmer, Senior Director of Growth and Lifecycle Marketing at TouchTunes
• Christopher Bagtas, Senior Manager, App Marketing at The Economist
• Vincent Eterlet, VP Marketing at Fubo
• Alisha Kabir, Senior Growth Strategy Manager at Audiomack

The panel splits on AI creative, with one side saying viewers can spot an AI-made ad straight away, and the other saying ads all looked the same long before AI arrived. They explain why brand has caught up with performance now that installs come from repeated exposure across TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and CTV rather than a single ad. Kate draws a clear line between product and marketing problems: if the right users are churning, it’s product; if you’re bringing in the wrong users, it’s marketing. And on channels, the panel weighs a wide mix you can shift budget into against the beta access and guidance that come from deep partnerships with a few platforms.

If you work in app marketing, user acquisition, or lifecycle marketing, this is a candid look at which growth strategies deliver measurable results today, and which trends are overhyped.

• AI in creative - why AI-generated scripts and statics are easy to spot, and where AI helps by making animated ads that would be too expensive or slow to produce in-house
• Brand vs. performance - performance spend across many platforms adds up to brand building, and in crowded categories users need a story and a mission before they commit
• Product vs. marketing - signal engineering as shared work between growth and product, and why marketing teams still need access to App Store Connect and Google Play
• Short-term ROAS vs. long-term growth - early experimentation to find the right optimization events, knowing your unit economics, LTV, and payback periods, and why ad-supported apps behave more like gaming
• Retention vs. acquisition - ad platforms now optimize for in-app events and revenue rather than installs, but in emerging markets grabbing market share first can still win
• Fewer channels vs. more - keeping alternate channels ready for when costs rise, starting with Apple Ads plus one channel, and why a mobile team of two to five people can’t manage 20 partner relationships

This time we're digging into connected TV as a performance channel for mobile apps - and how to prove it actually drove an install.

TV has always been good at building brands. The hard part is showing it led to a conversion. As a top-of-funnel channel, CTV often loses the attribution credit to whatever touched the user last, and that's where incrementality testing comes in.

To cover all this, we've got Connor Kernochan, Head of Apps and Games at Vibe, talking to tech journalist David Murphy at Business of Apps New York about measuring CTV campaigns and running them the right way.

Connor explains what counts as connected TV, why it's now a performance play as well as a branding play, and how MMP data shows which strategies are working. He also covers how incrementality works in practice, including geo lift tests and ghost bids.

If you work in user acquisition, app marketing, or mobile measurement, this is a clear look at how to measure CTV and fit it into your existing media mix.

• What connected TV is - Hulu, Peacock, HBO Max, Roku, and ESPN on the biggest screen in the house
• Brand and performance - targeting viewers like any other digital channel and measuring well enough to optimize
• Measuring a CTV campaign - plugging into AppsFlyer, Adjust, or Singular as the source of truth
• Why CTV loses attribution credit - many touch-points before a conversion, and CTV sits at the top of the funnel
• Incrementality in practice - comparing exposed and control groups through geo lift tests and ghost bids
• Doing CTV the right way - direct publisher relationships, and CTV data alongside your other channels

• Connor Kernochan on LinkedIn
• Vibe.co website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

The real value is that it is a branding play, but it is also a performance play."

"CTV often loses out on attribution credit because of the nature of being a top of funnel channel."

"Whatever any of our clients are using as their source of truth for how they look to measure and report on their KPIs is what we plug into."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Today's topic is where app marketing budgets should go - and why creative now does the work that audience settings used to do.

Ad platforms are increasingly machine learning-led, and the industry is increasingly privacy-led. Put the two together, and the creative you run decides who sees your ad. A couple of hero videos won't cut it anymore.

To cover all this, we've got Jonathan Yantz, Managing Partner at M+C Saatchi Performance, talking to tech journalist David Murphy at Business of Apps New York about budget allocation, creative strategy, and retention.

Jonathan explains why budget planning starts with a robust testing plan, how to be ready for new channels like ChatGPT ads before they arrive, and what a creative strategy built on a large number of variations looks like. He also covers why retention matters more when every dollar is under scrutiny.

If you work in app marketing, performance media, or creative strategy, this is a clear look at how to plan, test, and spend when the algorithm does the targeting.

• Budget allocation - a testing plan thought through in advance, especially going into the end of the fiscal year
• New channels - having a plan ready and making sure you can measure any extra dollar
• Creative is the new targeting - how machine learning-led platforms and privacy changes moved the job to creative
• A robust creative strategy - many variations, with the next batch ready to go
• From A/B to A-to-Z testing - tying creative back to the overall testing strategy
• Budget scrutiny and retention - acquiring a user is costly, so keeping them is the easiest way to grow

• Jonathan Yantz on LinkedIn
• M+C Saatchi Performance website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"We always said creative is king. And now we're saying creative is the new targeting, which is absolutely true."

"Any extra dollar is going to be the most important one to measure."

"Every dollar has to drive something."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Performance CTV is the phrase of the year - and today we're looking at what's actually behind it.

For years, connected TV did one job: awareness. It was bought on reach and frequency, often upfront at fixed rates, with no way to tie an impression to an outcome. Now measurement has caught up and supply has flooded in, so the same channel can be linked to installs and conversions.

To cover all this, we've got Matilda Lindström, Associate Sales Director at Dataseat, talking to tech journalist David Murphy at Business of Apps New York about connecting CTV with mobile user acquisition.

Matilda explains what changed to make performance possible on CTV, why so many CTV tests look like failures when they aren't, and how MMP attribution settings can decide a campaign before it starts. She also covers second-screening and where to begin if you've never run CTV for performance.

If you work in user acquisition, app marketing, or brand media, this is a clear look at how to run CTV and mobile as one strategy.

• What performance CTV means - still a great brand channel, but now measurable and optimizable in real time
• Measurement and supply - MMPs support CTV attribution, and free ad-supported streaming has pushed inventory ahead of demand
• Programmatic buying - bidding into inventory, shifting budgets mid-campaign, and capping frequency across publishers and placements
• The organizational challenge - CTV sits with brand teams, UA with mobile teams, each with different KPIs
• Attribution settings - probabilistic IP matching and MMP defaults that can make a working campaign look like it isn't
• A unified CTV and mobile strategy - second-screening, and a Sunday-night TV ad that pays off with a Monday-morning install
• Where to start - keep direct brand buys, scale programmatically, and check your MMP's CTV windows and prioritization

• Matilda Lindström on LinkedIn
• Dataseat website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"I don't think that we should shy away from the fact that it's a great brand channel. That part hasn't changed. What changed is the ability to measure and optimize in real time."

"You might look like the performance is not working at all, but it's actually not a performance issue. It's a settings issue."

"I think that the most disappointing CTV tests are the ones that were decided by settings that no one looked at."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

This time, we're talking about the practical impact of AI on app store optimization - and why LLMs aren't about to pull app discovery out of the stores.

LLMs are changing how people search the web. But app discovery has stayed inside the App Store and Google Play for 16 years, and the stores are now adding AI layers of their own.

To cover all this, we've got Dave Bell, Co-Founder and CEO of Gummicube, about how AI is reshaping ASO on the App Store and Google Play.

Dave explains why winning in-store search is what earns an app a place in Apple's and Google's AI recommendation layers, and why reviews, Custom Product Pages, and Android vitals now count as AI signals. He also covers the risk of "AI cannibalization" when competing apps use generic prompts to write their metadata, the store policies and copyright issues around AI-generated content, and why your website, social, and store listing need to tell the same story.

If you work in app store optimization, app marketing, or app growth, this is a clear look at what AI actually changes in the stores - and what it doesn't.

• App discovery stays in the stores - web downloads remain in the single digits, and LLMs will take share from web search, not from the App Store
• Search feeds AI - the organic signals that power in-store search also fuel Siri, Spotlight, personalized collections, and Ask Play
• New AI ranking signals - ratings and reviews, Custom Product Pages linked to organic terms, and Android vitals all affect how AI positions your app
• AI cannibalization - generic LLM prompts produce identical listings, lower conversion, and risk store penalties under Apple and Google Play spam policies
• Content cohesion - aligning your website, social, and structured content with your store listing so LLMs find one consistent story

• Dave Bell on LinkedIn
• Gummicube website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“LLMs are absolutely going to eat search.”

"AI is great for research, but it's not great for creation."

“You don't want to have a web page that communicates one thing, and a store listing that communicates another.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Today we're talking about influencer marketing - and about the point where creator content stops being a brand play and starts being a performance channel.

Creator-led ads run four times better on click-through rate than the same brand's own ads. So the question is no longer whether to use influencers. It's how to scale them without losing the ROI.

In this episode, we bring you a live panel hosted by Lucia Aguilar, CEO and Founder at TATAM Digital, featuring:

• Joanna Malecka, Partnership Director at Numan
• Esma Ebnu, Influencer Marketing at Flo Health
• Lia Darozhkina, Senior Influencer Marketing Manager at Trade Republic
• Stephanie Terziyski, Growth Influencer Marketing Manager at HelloFresh.

The panel works through four trends. YouTube as the new TV - 13% of all US viewership and more ad revenue than Paramount, Disney, Universal, and Warner combined - and why long-form still converts for products that need explaining. Creator and partnership ads, where content boosted from the creator's own handle beats anything posted from a brand account. Regulation, with only 57% of UK paid posts tagged correctly, and how teams in health, Pharma, and banking build compliance into the brief instead of bolting it on at sign-off. And AI, from sourcing and brief writing through to forecasting campaign results, plus the case for human creators in a feed filling up with avatars.

If you work in influencer marketing, user acquisition, or performance marketing, this is a practical look at where creator budgets are going in 2026 and what it takes to scale them profitably.

• AI in growth teams — which tasks it already replaces, and why humans still own strategy
• Performance marketing's limits — why trust-driven categories like fintech need brand channels too
• Web-to-app funnels — near-double conversion rates and skipping the 30% app store tax
• Channel strategy for 2026 — fewer channels done better vs. always testing new ones
• Data and targeting vs. creative — where each wins, and the 96% CPA reduction story

In this episode, we're talking about app store visibility - and about the fact that organic and paid aren't two separate budgets.

Every channel you run, no matter where it starts, ends up on the same product page. And the platforms are watching what happens there.

To cover all this, we've got Stephanie Ino, Client Services Manager at Gummicube, about how ASO and paid search feed each other on the App Store and Google Play.

Stephanie explains why ASO is the home base every channel returns to, how Apple Ads and Google Ads send relevance signals back into the organic algorithm, and why the right split between the two depends on budget, app maturity, and how much relevance you've already built. She also covers Custom Product Pages and Custom Store Listings as a way to align paid traffic with the right creative, and why a younger app should build its ASO foundation before pushing paid spend through.

If you work in app store optimization, user acquisition, or app growth, this is a clear look at how the paid and organic sides of the store actually connect.

• ASO as home base - metadata and creative work together because almost every channel routes users back to the product page or store listing
• Paid feeding organic - Apple Ads SERP placements and Google Ads Play Store placements both send relevance signals into the algorithm for the terms you're targeting
• Striking the balance - there's no blanket answer, it comes down to available budget, app size, and maturity in the storefront
• Younger apps first build relevance - get the ASO foundation and keyword rankings in place, then push paid traffic through at a lower acquisition cost
• Custom Product Pages and Custom Store Listings - matching store assets to each paid campaign's strategy so the traffic you buy actually converts

• Stephanie Ino on LinkedIn
• Gummicube website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“ASO is where everything comes back to, kind of home base. Most of any channel will come back into that product page or that store listing.”

"When we're running Apple Ads, particularly for those SERP results, it gives that boost in relevance so that Apple understands that we have better potential to then rank organically for those terms."

“If we're working with a younger app in the storefront, we don't have that relevance built out yet within the algorithm. So we really want to focus on our organic and our ASO performance first.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Today we're talking about mobile A/B testing - and about the moment the app store hands you a winner.

Because that result is directional, not the truth. And if most of your traffic is paid, you may have measured the wrong users entirely.

In this episode, we speak with Scott Masters, Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Gummicube, about why mobile A/B testing is never set-and-forget.

Scott explains why most developers and marketers under-invest in testing, what a sensible cadence looks like - once or twice a month, with each test running at least two weeks to reach statistical significance - and why changing one element at a time is the only way to know what actually moved the needle.

If you work in app store optimization, user acquisition, or app growth, this is a practical guide to testing your product page properly.

• Why testing is never one-and-done - trends, user preferences, and app features all shift, and a static product page goes stale
• Cadence and statistical significance - test once or twice a month, run each test at least two weeks, with traffic volume determining how long
• One variable at a time - change the screenshot copy and the imagery together and you won't know which one worked
• What to test beyond screenshots - title, subtitle, short and full descriptions, icons, and feature graphics all feed the strategy
• Measuring what's real - platform confidence intervals are directional, so validate with pre- vs. post-deployment conversion rates across every channel

• Scott Masters on LinkedIn
• Gummicube website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“If you're not A/B testing at least once or twice a month, you're leaving users out there for other competitors to take from you.”

"It's not a one-and-done. You can't set it and forget it. It's just like with any other brand - you create a package for your product and you put it on the shelf. If it doesn't change over time, if you're not attracting those users with new materials or new approaches, it's going to get stale."

“The platforms will give you an estimated conversion impact and confidence interval for each test you run. But that data is directional. True validation of performance really comes from launching a test winner into the store and then measuring the pre-deployment conversion rate versus the post-deployment conversion rate.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

In a world built to fragment your attention, one news app made the opposite bet: fewer ads, trusted sources, and users who actually stay.

In this episode, we speak with Ramesh Ramalingam, VP of Product at SmartNews, about how a Japanese news app was rebuilt — not ported — for American users.

Ramesh explains why SmartNews users spend 20 minutes per session, why 79% of them don't switch to another screen while reading, and how that focus turns into brand recall for advertisers. He also covers contextual targeting without cross-web tracking, why the product looks different in Tokyo than in Los Angeles, and how a revenue-share model keeps publishers in the loop.

If you work in product, app growth, or media monetization, this is a conversation about building for engagement quality rather than scale.

• Engagement over scale — 20-minute average sessions and why 79% of users stay undistracted
• Monetization model — native brand and performance advertising, programmatic where it fits, plus SmartNews+ subscriptions in Japan
• Brand safety and privacy — contextual targeting, first-party data, and third-party validation instead of invasive tracking
• Japan to US expansion — high-density vs. clean-white-space design, local publisher partnerships, and building credibility from scratch
• Centralized vs. decentralized product development — core platform in Japan, market teams close to local users

• Ramesh Ramalingam on LinkedIn
• Smartnews website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“What is interesting about SmartNews is it's not about the scale. We're talking about 50 million, but it's more about the user engagement. Our users spend on average 20 minutes in our product, which is very high.”

“From an advertiser perspective, yes, they do care about the reach, but trust is the most important aspect. We don't rely on invasive tracking across the web like other platforms do. What we built is a privacy-first, brand-safe environment.”

“We didn't take the Japanese app and plug it into the US. We made sure that it is customized to the user preferences in the US, and it's built for American users.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Everyone in app growth has an opinion on AI, web-to-app, and channel strategy — but few of those opinions ever get stress-tested in public.

In this episode, we bring you a live panel debate featuring:

• Hannah Parvaz, Founder at Aperture
• Ewelina Pendino, App Growth & Performance Marketing Global Lead at Binance
• Veronica Lee, Global Performance Media Specialist at H&M.

The format is simple: six provocative statements — from AI replacing growth roles to data versus creative — and the panel, along with a live audience voting in real time, has to agree or disagree. Along the way, you'll hear which growth tasks AI can already handle, why fintech can't rely on performance marketing alone, and how changing a single optimization event cut cost per acquisition by 96%.

If you work in app growth, user acquisition, or performance marketing, this is what's real, what's noise, and what to try next week.

• AI in growth teams — which tasks it already replaces, and why humans still own strategy
• Performance marketing's limits — why trust-driven categories like fintech need brand channels too
• Web-to-app funnels — near-double conversion rates and skipping the 30% app store tax
• Channel strategy for 2026 — fewer channels done better vs. always testing new ones
• Data and targeting vs. creative — where each wins, and the 96% CPA reduction story

What if the channel you've written off as "brand-only" could measurably lift your Meta and Google performance?

In this episode, tech journalist David Murphy is joined by Mike Fogarty, Head of Client Development at Tatari, and Lauren Frame, Director of Growth & Brand Media at Greenlight, to explore how a performance-first app brand turned TV from a scary experiment into an always-on channel that now accounts for over a third of its media mix.

Whether you're a growth marketer watching CACs climb on paid social, wondering how to measure a channel without click-through attribution, or curious whether AI-produced creative can fight TV's fatigue problem, this conversation offers a practical framework for treating TV as a performance channel.

• What Tatari does differently from a DSP: convergent buying across streaming, linear, and online video, with direct network relationships
• Why Greenlight tapped out at 90% Meta and Google — paying more and more to reach the same non-converting users
• The "TV is for big brands" perception, and the lessons from going into the Super Bowl in year one
• Why you can't pick just linear or streaming: the Disney test that found less than 2% audience overlap
• The targeting opportunities streaming opens up for a parent-focused app
• How Tatari made TV feel like a digital channel: self-service activation, AI-powered planning, and real-time optimization
• Measuring TV: dynamic baseline lift, ACR data, MMP integrations, and Greenlight's stack of Rockerbox, iSpot, Kantar, and MMM
• Geo-based incrementality tests: streaming drove nearly 5x first-touch, new-to-brand customers vs. 1.1x for linear, with Meta reach up 4%, traffic up 8%, and funnel starts up 10% in test regions
• AI-produced commercials: Greenlight's Peter Pan spot, creative ethics, and solving creative fatigue with new messaging every quarter
• Honest advice for performance marketers still on the fence about testing TV

• Lauren Frame on LinkedIn
• Greenlight website
• Mike Fogarty on LinkedIn
• Tatari website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Let's be honest — nobody wakes up in the morning excited to open your app. Well, some people may but definitely not all of them! And in 2026, the CRM teams that win aren't the ones sending more messages. They're the ones who know exactly who to reach, on which channel, at which moment — and when to say nothing at all.

In this special episode, we're bringing you the Business of Apps London 2026 panel 2026 CRM Trends: The Ultimate Guide to Customer Retention. It's a candid look at what retention really takes right now — from LLMs quietly rewriting app discovery to why downloads have become a vanity metric — told by three people running lifecycle for some of the UK's most recognizable brands:

• Francesca Stringer of Sky
• Jill Angus of Aviva
• Isabelle von Matuschka of Studio LTV

• AI is rewriting app discovery — consumers are outsourcing decisions to LLMs instead of browsing the App Store, downloads are becoming a vanity metric, and Sky is now prioritizing GEO over SEO.
• Personalization is moving upstream — it's no longer about tailoring the message but about arbitration and orchestration: deciding who gets a message, on which channel, at what moment, and whether they need one at all.
• Product and marketing are now a joint venture — siloed teams can't win retention anymore; feedback loops, shared data, and embedded partnerships are the new operating model.
• CRM starts long before the email — ASO, custom product cards, and seeding the app into above-the-line campaigns and brand experiences (the M&S playbook) are the underused retention levers.
• Trust is fragile — and the hot takes — trust dies by a thousand micro-cuts (irrelevant pushes, broken links); community is overrated as a retention silver bullet; and CRM must stop being email-led.

You know it better than us — the era of experimenting with AI is over. The question isn't whether to use it anymore. It's whether it's actually moving the numbers.

In 2026, the winners aren't the teams running clever pilots. They're the ones who've wired AI into the core of their growth engine — into how they find users, activate them, and figure out what those users really want.

In this special episode, we're syndicating the Business of Apps London 2026 panel AI in Action: Real-World Use Cases. It's a no-hype look at what's working right now — told through live examples from three people scaling it in practice:

• Steve Young of App Masters
• Anton Volovyk of Reface
• Nathan Hudson of Perceptycs.

• The AI tools actually driving results right now (Claude, n8n) — and where they fit
• Case study: how Bite Pal's AI creatives were built and scaled
• Deep dive: producing a 100% AI-generated video ad, start to finish
• When AI is not the right answer — and the biggest mistakes teams make
• AI vs. UGC and the changing role of marketing teams in the AI era

Performance marketers are running out of levers — and the one most teams haven't pulled yet is signal.

In this episode, we speak with Shumel Lais , Founder of Day30, about signal engineering and why it may be the most important skill in performance marketing right now.

Shumel explains what signal engineering actually is, how prediction models use behavioural data to identify high-value users before they ever convert, and why synthetic events — goals you engineer rather than observe — help ad platforms like Meta find better users faster. He also shares how subscription apps have achieved up to 50% reductions in CAC, and why, with everything else becoming automated, signal is now one of only two levers performance marketers still control.

If you work in user acquisition or subscription growth, this is a must-listen.

• What signal engineering is — and how it differs from simply tracking conversion events
• How prediction models use behavioural data to score users by conversion probability
• Synthetic events — engineering goals that don't yet exist to give ad platforms a sharper target
• Why subscription apps generate the behavioural data depth that makes signal engineering work
• The three components of an effective signal: volume, velocity, and precision
• Why performance marketers are down to just two levers — creative and signal

• Shumel Lais on LinkedIn
• Day30
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“The concept of signal engineering is to see how we can manipulate that event to give the ad platforms a stronger correlation to the business value that you're after."

"A synthetic event is, ultimately, when we're creating an event that doesn't actually exist. These are not things that have actually occurred — but based on the data we take in, we can build this from scratch."

"When I think of performance marketing now, everything's become very algorithmic and very black box. There's less and less levers available for marketers to pull. I think there's only really two levers left — one is creative, and the second lever is signal."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Hi, welcome to the Business of Apps podcast!

Today, we have a special episode for you. We're featuring our recent webinar, presented by Aampe - agentic infrastructure for personalized experiences. It brings together four mobile growth leaders to cut through the AI hype and share what's actually working — from app user acquisition to retention.

This session goes beyond buzzwords to unpack the real unit economics of AI-driven testing, the challenges of letting go of control, and what companies like Blinkist are learning on the ground as they make the shift from automation to agentic systems.

Without any further ado, let's go!

• The real value of ai in mobile growth today
• AI tools for non-technical teams
• What is agentic ai? (plain-english explanation)
• Feature's "press play": automated aso at scale
• Trust, control & human-in-the-loop
• From automation to agentic: what gets harder
• Building knowledge bases & setting guardrails
• Letting go of control: risk/reward balance
• Observability & attribution in agentic marketing
• Blinkist × amp: real-world agentic crm
• Strategic ai vs. execution ai
• Reinforcement learning explained
•  Final takeaways & recommendations

👥 Sven Jurgens – Mobile Growth Consultant (Host) 👥 Andy Carvel – Partner & Co-Founder at Phiture 👥 Matt Dyson – VP Marketing, Blinkist 👥 Ed Brocklebank – Head of Solutions, Aampe

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Brand visibility is no longer just about winning the attention of consumers — it's about being eligible to exist in the spaces where discovery happens.

In this episode, we speak with Lavinea Morris, Managing Director EMEA at M&C Saatchi Performance, about what it really takes for brands to show up in an AI-driven world.

Lavinea introduces the concept of "eligibility" — the idea that before an ad is ever seen, brands must first earn the right to appear. She explains how the rise of AI and generative engine optimization is reshaping discoverability, why performance marketing is now an organization-wide responsibility, and what the "eligibility tax" costs brands that aren't paying attention. From taxonomy and content to trust signals and data feeds, she makes the case that getting found is no longer the job of one team — or one channel.

If you work in performance marketing, growth, or brand strategy, this is a timely conversation about what it means to be visible when the machines are doing the filtering.

• Why attention metrics are more romanticized than useful — and what to measure instead
• Brand eligibility: what it takes to be visible before an ad is even shown
• The eligibility tax — the compounding cost brands pay for not showing up in AI-filtered spaces
• How M&C Saatchi Performance's role has evolved from media buying to full-stack brand consulting
• Why generative engine optimization (GEO) is becoming as critical as traditional SEO
• Why performance marketing is no longer just the performance marketer's job
• Why waiting is never a strategy — especially in a challenging economic climate

• Lavinea Morris on LinkedIn
• M&C Saatchi Performance
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“It depends what attention means to you. Every brand or client will consider attention differently... I think it's a slightly romanticized metric. We have to be thinking about what happens before the ad was seen. How eligible is your brand? How are you able to be seen in the ecosystems that we're operating in?”

“Legibility tax is what I like to talk about — the price that brands pay for not being eligible. The reality is we're seeing rising costs, and it's not always because of the performance media. It's actually how you're showing up in these spaces. And are other brands doing better than you, getting that first mover advantage? What does that cost you?”

“We've spent so many years talking about getting the attention of the humans — be it creative, putting the ads in the right place at the right time. I think now it's so exciting: how do you get the attention of the machines? And that is a new space, but an easy space for us to be working in.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

What if your MarTech stack was actually working  for you instead of against you?

In this episode, Amanda and Adam of Branch are joined by Rebecca Nackson, CEO of Notable, to explore why most companies fail at implementation after buying marketing tools, how to enlist salespeople as strategic partners in the buying process, and the systems that separate high-growth teams from stalled ones.

From reframing a non-linear career as intentional pattern recognition ("career squiggles"), to closing the costly gap between signing a contract and actually operationalizing a tool, to acting as "connective tissue" across siloed acquisition, retention, and product teams, Rebecca shares practical insights from years spent inside Audible, iHeartRadio, Bandsintown, and now leading her own marketing consultancy.

Whether you're drowning in marketing software, trying to make sense of your growth stack, or wondering how AI and low-code tools will reshape build vs. buy decisions, this conversation offers a grounded look at moving from tool chaos to strategic clarity.

• Rebecca Nackson on LinkedIn
• Notable website
• Branch – Mobile Attribution Platform and App Analytics Solutions For Enterprises

• Why "career squiggles" beat linear planning — how adjacent roles across industries compound into pattern-recognition expertise
• The implementation gap no one talks about: why vendors over-invest in sales and under-invest in helping you operationalize tools post-signature
• How to flip the buying process and use vendor evaluations to simultaneously inform discovery and implementation roadmaps
• Acting as "connective tissue" between siloed teams in remote-first orgs — getting acquisition and retention to share data instead of blaming each other
• The test-learn-scale loop that separates compounding teams from big-swing teams, and why pre-defining success and kill criteria is non-negotiable
• How AI and low-code tools are blurring the build vs. buy line — and why some tools may no longer be worth paying for
• The "job to be done" mindset — why asking what's broken beats asking which tool to buy

"The ones that are succeeding, it is because they have a system."

"You can't scale what you don't trust."

"It's a career that's not a straight line. It takes all these squiggles and it makes all the sense in the world in hindsight."

What if AI didn’t replace your creative team, but made them more creative than ever?

In this episode, Amanda and Adam of Branch are joined by Jen Taylor to explore how AI is changing the way creative teams work, produce, and scale content without losing the human touch.

From breaking down the real role of AI in creative production and why it won’t replace artists, to how teams can use AI to iterate faster, test more ideas, and focus on higher-value creative work, Jen shares practical insights from the front lines of AI-driven marketing and content creation.

Whether you’re building a creative team, scaling marketing production, or trying to understand where AI actually fits into your workflow, this conversation offers a grounded look at how AI can amplify creativity rather than replace it.

• Jen Taylor  on LinkedIn
• Capacity Interactive website
• Branch - Mobile Attribution Platform and App Analytics Solutions For Enterprises

• How teams can treat AI as a strategic collaborator rather than just a productivity tool, helping refine audience targeting, messaging, and campaign direction
•  A practical three-stage approach to adopting AI: first set internal policies, then train teams on prompting and tools, and finally connect AI initiatives to measurable business outcomes
• Why ethical considerations are especially important for creative and arts organizations, including questions around ownership, environmental impact, and imitation, and why intentional tool selection matters
• Ways organizations can maintain consistency across teams by using AI tools trained on brand voice, tone, and mission while still keeping human review in place
• The idea of “human-driven AI,” where people remain involved at every stage — from prompts to review — to maintain quality and avoid low-quality automated output
• Using AI to analyze audiences and personalize messaging by testing content across different segments and allowing AI to uncover new audience opportunities and insights

“AI can do anything, which is overwhelming and changes how it functions as a tool. AI is a tool, but to me it feels more like a new way to work.”

“AI does efficiency, but when it comes to strategy and using these tools as thought partners, that’s where they really shine.”

“I fully believe in human-driven AI. It starts with the prompt, with your strategy and your direction, and at the end of the day the human is still responsible for what goes forward.”

Search inside the app stores is changing — and AI is accelerating that shift.

In this episode, we speak with Dave Bell, CEO at Gummicube, about how artificial intelligence is transforming the way users discover apps.

Dave explains why search is becoming more conversational and intent-driven, how natural language queries are reshaping rankings, and why the era of optimizing for a single dominant keyword is fading. As users ask longer, more specific questions — both inside the App Store and through tools like ChatGPT — ASO strategies must evolve to reflect how people actually search.

If you’re responsible for app visibility, organic growth, or ASO strategy, this episode offers a timely look at where search is heading next. Without any further ado, let’s get started.

• How AI is changing app store search behavior
• Natural language queries and intent-based ranking
• Why single-keyword optimization no longer works
• The growing role of LLMs in app discovery
• Apple opening the App Store to web indexing
• What AI-driven search means for future ASO strategy

• Dave Bell on LinkedIn
• Gummicube
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“It’s not about looking for the one keyword to rule them all. It’s not The Lord of the Rings — it’s about understanding all the ways users might search and find your app.”

“Users are really being retrained both in the way that they search for information and in terms of what results they expect from a natural search.”

“LM models are now including summaries and links to apps that best fit a user’s prompt, giving users a new path into the app stores.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

What if your mobile app strategy was holding back your entire company's growth?

In this episode, Amanda and Adam of Branch welcome back Matt Hudson, founder of BILDIT, to discuss why mobile-first thinking isn't just about technology—it's an organizational imperative.

From breaking down the real ROI of app investment and the myth of channel cannibalization, to preparing your ecommerce business for AI discovery optimization, Matt shares hard-won lessons on aligning teams, personalizing customer experiences, and staying ahead of LLM-driven search trends.

Whether you're scaling retail, launching a mobile strategy, or wrestling with how to compete in an AI-first world, this conversation cuts through the noise to deliver actionable insights that will reshape how you think about customer engagement across all channels.

• Matt Hudson on LinkedIn
• BILDIT website
• Branch - Mobile Attribution Platform and App Analytics Solutions For Enterprises

• How to determine if your ecommerce business actually needs a mobile app
• Why organizational alignment across teams matters more than technology
• The critical difference between SEO and AI discovery optimization
• How to immediately implement AI-ready data on your site today
• Why React Native and cross-functional web-and-mobile teams accelerate app growth
• How AI personalization works at scale using embeddings and vectors

“The entire org of your company, no matter how big or small, has got to be vested in the growth of the mobile app.”

“You know who doesn’t care about cannibalization? The customer. The customer. They want the easiest experience to convert.”

“If the mobile app doesn’t improve your ROAS, your return on ad spend, nobody’s going to do anything with it."

How do you know if your app marketing is actually driving growth — or just generating activity?

In this episode, we speak with Dane Buchanan, Global Chief Data & Analytics Officer at M+C Saatchi Performance, about one of the most misunderstood topics in app growth: measurement.

Dane explains why clicks and impressions don’t tell the full story, why incrementality matters more than correlation, and how brands often underestimate their real ROI by ignoring offline impact. He also shares a case study where better measurement revealed that media ROI was actually three times higher than previously reported — changing the company’s investment strategy entirely.

• Why traditional media metrics fail to show true business impact
• What incrementality really means in app marketing
• The gap between online measurement and offline revenue
• A real-world case study showing 3× higher ROI
• Designing measurement systems that work in a privacy-first ecosystem

• Dane Buchanan on LinkedIn
• M+C Saatchi Performance
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“In one line, incrementality is what wouldn’t have happened without the media.”

“The issue with digital attribution and clicks and impressions is that it doesn’t truly show growth.”

“If you’re only measuring online sales and ignoring offline revenue, you’re not seeing the full impact of your media — and that can lead to significant underinvestment”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Scaling user acquisition has become harder to justify and even harder to predict. App teams are under pressure to grow faster while proving, with real data, that every dollar spent delivers meaningful results beyond the install.

In this episode, we’re sharing an App Talk interview where David Murphy speaks with Lee Aho, Chief Revenue Officer at Perform[cb]. Lee explains how outcome-based user acquisition models help brands move past surface-level metrics like CPI and focus instead on the downstream events that actually define quality — from registrations and deposits to trades, wagers, and long-term value.

• How outcome-based user acquisition shifts optimization from installs to the actions that truly define user quality
• The role of CPI and CPE models — and why they aren’t competing approaches when paired with the right down-funnel signals
• Using cross-program data and pattern recognition to drive more predictable and scalable UA performance
• Why keyword conquesting remains one of the most effective ways to accelerate organic lift through paid investment
• How rewarded environments and structured pilot programs can unlock high-intent users and long-term partnerships

• Lee Aho on LinkedIn
• Perform[cb] website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“We’re only getting paid for net new users, so all of our optimization centers around the outcomes that brands tell us are their leading indicators of quality.”

“When you’re looking at hundreds of programs, you’re not just seeing what happened — you’re starting to see what’s about to happen.”

“Brands want user acquisition that scales in a predictable way, and that’s where performance-based models can really help.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Welcome to another episode of How I Grew This podcast from our partner Branch – mobile attribution platform and app analytics solutions for enterprises. It covers building a sustainable agency through values-driven leadership and specialist focus.

In this episode, hosts Amanda and Adam speak with Mick Rigby, founder and CEO of Yodel Mobile, about his 20-year journey building a specialist mobile app marketing agency. From launching just before the iPhone's debut to being recently acquired by NP Digital, Mick shares insights on sustainable growth, maintaining company values, and adapting to industry changes.

• • Mick Rigby on LinkedIn
  • Yodel Mobile  website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

• Saying “no” is a strategic advantage in app growth because focus and discipline create stronger long-term outcomes than chasing every opportunity.
• Yodel Mobile succeeded by committing early to being a specialist app marketing agency rather than a generalist digital services provider.
• Sustainable growth comes from cash-flow discipline, profitability, and resisting the pressure to scale faster than the business can support.
• Retaining talent and building a strong internal culture is a more durable competitive advantage than rapid hiring or aggressive expansion.
• AI will improve efficiency and data analysis in app marketing, but human skills like judgment, empathy, and strategy will matter even more.

“I think there’s something really powerful in the ability to say no”

“AI, the robots… there is so much that they’re good at, but they are and they will continue to lack the human element.”

““I’m a great believer in you either have to be a specialist or a generalist."

For many app teams, ads are treated as a necessary tradeoff — something you accept in exchange for revenue. But ad quality isn’t just an ad ops issue. It directly shapes user experience, retention, and how people perceive your app.

In this episode, we’re sharing an App Talks interview where David Murphy speaks with Alex Yerukhimovich, General Manager at AppHarbr. Alex breaks down what ad quality really means in practice, why the problem is getting worse, and how bad ads can quietly undermine performance — through shorter sessions, higher churn, and even one-star reviews that impact store visibility.

From disruptive ad behaviour to scams and deceptive creatives, this conversation is a practical look at why publishers need more transparency and more control over what gets served inside their apps.

• Ad quality defined: why users see ads as part of the app experience — and blame publishers for what they see

• The three major categories of “bad ads”: inappropriate content, disruptive behavior, and malvertising scams

• Why ad quality is becoming a bigger problem outside gaming, especially for apps built on long-term retention

• How bad ads damage monetization and growth: shorter sessions, uninstalls, churn, and one-star reviews that affect store visibility

• What publishers can do about it: transparency, proactive enforcement, and real-time control instead of relying on ad networks to fix issues

• Alex Yerukhimovich on LinkedIn
• Appharbr website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“Users associate any bad experience within the app with the app itself.”

“If the ads in your app are bad for your users, your app is bad.”

“Ad quality in the industry deteriorates… it’s getting worse and it requires active approach to solve it.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

The way app users discover, evaluate, and even build apps is starting to shift — and large language models are at the center of that change. As AI platforms evolve beyond chat and into full ecosystems, app growth teams are facing a new set of questions around discovery, distribution, and long-term strategy.

In this episode, we’re sharing an App Talks interview with Dan Shabtay, Co-Founder of Z2A Digital. Dan explores how the emerging app ecosystem inside ChatGPT is opening the door to a new wave of app creation — from no-code tools and solo entrepreneurs to entirely new user acquisition channels embedded directly within AI platforms.

• Dan explains how ChatGPT is evolving into a platform with its own internal app marketplace, giving developers access to hundreds of millions of users without relying on traditional app stores.
• Entrepreneurs and creators can now build and publish functional apps without engineering teams, fundamentally changing who can participate in app development and how quickly new ideas can reach the market.
• Unlike iOS or Google Play, apps built inside LLM ecosystems immediately tap into an existing, engaged user base, reducing friction around discovery and distribution.
• Traditional user acquisition isn’t disappearing, but it is shifting. Classic channels will coexist with new LLM-based acquisition models, including potential in-chat placements and AI-native ad formats.
• Beyond IQ and EQ, adaptability becomes the defining skill for app growth teams navigating rapid, AI-driven change.

• Dan Shabtay on LinkedIn
• Z2A Digital website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“It’s the most efficient infrastructure ever that has been created for entrepreneurs.”

“For me as a business owner and as an entrepreneur, it’s a gold rush.”

“AQ is adaptability… you have to be adaptable to the high-paced technology that’s going on right now.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Happy 2026, everybody!

We're kicking off this year with an episode from our partner Branch - mobile attribution platform and app analytics solutions for enterprises.

Join Adam and Amanda of Branch as they sit down with Shumel Lais, a mobile growth expert with over a decade of experience, to explore the essential strategies for launching and scaling subscription apps. From setting up proper analytics and understanding payback periods to navigating iOS challenges and leveraging AI, this episode delivers practical insights for both startup founders and established app developers. Learn why immediate ROI isn't always the goal, when to start paid acquisition, and how to build a sustainable growth strategy in today's complex mobile landscape.

• • Shumel Lais on LinkedIn
  • Day30 website
  • Branch website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“In the app ecosystem, there’s traditionally two key verticals: gaming and non-gaming subscription apps. The gaming folks are typically pretty well resourced when it comes to BI and data science, but on the non-gaming side it’s lacking — and that’s really where we’ve seen the opportunity.”

“There are a lot of really exciting things possible with data science and machine learning. The question is how good we can get the signals that feed these black-box algorithms through prediction.”

“What I see with early-stage teams is a desire to recoup their investment almost immediately. That makes sense when cash is constrained, but the bigger apps grow faster because they’re willing to wait six to twelve months to get that money back."

App Store optimization is often treated as a checklist item — update keywords, run a few tests, maybe layer on some paid traffic. But when those pieces operate in isolation, teams miss the real opportunity: using paid and organic together as a single, feedback-driven system.

In this episode, we’re sharing an App Talks interview with David Quinn, VP of Strategy and Partnerships at Gummicube. David reframes ASO not as a standalone discipline, but as a full-funnel acquisition and conversion engine — one where keyword strategy, creative testing, and paid campaigns continuously inform one another.

• Why ASO only works when keyword strategy, creative testing, and paid campaigns are treated as one system
• How paid campaigns can actively support organic rankings instead of cannibalizing them
• Using Apple Search Ads taps and share of voice to influence App Store search performance
• Structuring Apple Ads campaigns and ad groups for clearer insights and better optimization
• The role of custom product pages in improving conversion and lowering paid acquisition costs

• • David Quinn on LinkedIn
  • Gummicube website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“ASO isn’t any one of these things in a vacuum — it’s the combination of keyword updates, A/B testing, and paid campaigns, and the learnings you get from all of them together.”

“If you launch paid campaigns before setting up your metadata, you’re missing a huge opportunity for the algorithm to understand what you should rank for.”

“Paid search placements can help organic performance because taps are signals — if users choose your app more often, the store learns to rank it higher.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

In today’s episode, we’re digging into one of the most overlooked levers in mobile growth: the App Store page itself.

Developers obsess over UA budgets, creative variations, and dashboards — yet leave untapped conversion sitting on the table simply because the storefront experience isn’t aligned with how users actually arrive.

To get clarity on what really moves the needle, we’re sharing with you our App Talks interview with Vivian Dang, Senior Director of Accounts & Client Services at Gummicube. Vivian breaks down why most teams still treat their App Store presence as static, why aggregate conversion numbers hide more than they reveal, and how to rebuild your storefront around traffic sources, intent, and user expectations.

Across this conversation, Vivian shares practical strategies you can apply immediately — from structuring A/B tests that produce meaningful learnings, to building custom product pages that match funnel entry points, to using in-app events and promotional content to re-engage segments. If you want a clearer playbook for improving conversion and getting more value from every campaign, this episode is a must-listen.

Let’s dive in: here’s Vivian Dang, Senior Director of Accounts & Client Services at Gummicube.

• Why aggregate conversion rates hide the real performance issues inside your App Store funnel
• How to use custom product pages and custom store listings to tailor the storefront to each traffic source
• Leveraging in-app events and promotional content to surface new features and re-engage lapsed users
• Building disciplined, hypothesis-driven A/B testing frameworks that deliver continuous learnings
• The key metrics that actually matter on iOS and Google Play — and how to measure impact channel by channel

• • Vivian Dang on LinkedIn
  • Gummicube website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“If you’re not tailoring your App Store experience to each of the different traffic funnels that exist, then you’re literally just spending money to drive users to the page and then lose them.”

“A/B testing needs to be something where it’s extremely structured, where you have hypotheses going in so that you can get clearer answers at the very end of it.”

“You should be taking stock of every single individual channel and source you have so you can best prepare yourself for launch and ultimately for your long-term success.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

For years, mobile marketers have been navigating a storm of signal loss, rising UA costs, siloed data, and an explosion of tools that promise growth but rarely deliver clarity. Now, with 2026 on the horizon — and budgets tightening even further — one question keeps resurfacing: How do you drive confident, profitable app growth in the year ahead?

In this App Talk special of the Business of Apps Podcast, David Murphy speaks with Eoin Hallahan, Chief Revenue Officer at SplitMetrics, about what the mobile growth landscape is really demanding of teams as they prepare for 2026. Eoin lays out the new realities UA and ASO managers are facing: deeper signal loss, more channel fragmentation, and rising internal pressure to deliver results without expanding headcount.

You’ll hear how SplitMetrics is reshaping app growth with a unified approach to Apple Ads, App Store Optimization, and AI — including SplitMetrics Iris, an AI agent trained specifically on mobile marketing data. Eoin explains how Iris gives UA teams a strategic edge by turning competitor activity, keyword trends, and performance blind spots into instant, actionable guidance.

If you’re reevaluating your growth playbook for 2026 — or looking for a smarter, faster way to connect the dots across UA, ASO, and analytics — this conversation is essential listening.

Let’s dive in: here’s Eoin Hallahan, CRO at SplitMetrics.

• Why app growth is getting harder heading into 2026, from signal loss to budget pressure and fragmented data.
• How UA and ASO workflows need to evolve, and why aligning paid and organic strategies is now essential.
• What SplitMetrics Iris does, and how an AI agent built specifically for mobile marketing changes decision-making.
• How AI speeds up competitive research, keyword strategy, and campaign optimization — with examples from Flow and NordVPN.
• Where app growth is heading next, including automation, real-time intelligence, and a new operating model for mobile growth.

• • Eoin Hallahan on LinkedIn
  • SplitMetrics website
  • SplitMetrics Iris
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“Mobile app marketing is hard, and SplitMetrics exists to make it easy for our customers and to drive growth.”

“Conditions today are more volatile and unpredictable than ever, with trends shifting all the time — marketers need a new way of working to keep up.”

“Iris isn’t just automation; it’s a new operating system for mobile growth — it flips the model from dashboards and guesswork to instant, actionable clarity.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

As mobile marketers head into another year of rising costs, shrinking signal, and fiercer competition across search and social, one performance channel keeps gaining momentum where few expected it: connected TV.

What used to be dismissed as “just a brand play” is now becoming a measurable, high-intent driver of installs and in-app actions — especially when powered by OEM data.

In this App Talk special of the Business of Apps Podcast, David Murphy sits down with Kaitlin Stebbins, Mobile Growth & Performance Media Lead at Samsung Ads, to unpack what CTV can really do for app growth. Kaitlin breaks down how Samsung’s unique data layer, measurement integrations, and precision targeting are helping mobile marketers reach new audiences, hit their KPIs, and diversify beyond the crowded Meta-Google-TikTok triangle.

You’ll hear why CTV is no longer an upper-funnel luxury, how Samsung connects exposure to mobile conversions, and why even allocating 5–10% of spend can unlock incremental users that traditional channels miss. If you’re rethinking your performance mix for 2026 — this conversation is your roadmap.

• Why CTV is no longer just brand awareness and how it now drives installs and in-app actions.
• How Samsung Ads leverages OEM data to deliver precise, performance-focused targeting.
• Why mobile marketers should diversify beyond search and social to reach higher-value audiences.
• How CTV measurement works, including IP-based attribution through mobile measurement partners.
• What success on CTV looks like, from KPI alignment to full-funnel performance across TV, mobile, and web.

• • Kaitlin Stebbins on LinkedIn
  • Samsung Ads website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“The idea that CTV can’t drive performance is a big misnomer — we’ve been working with direct-response advertisers for years, and it absolutely drives action.”

“CTV reaches a completely different audience than social — older, higher-income, and far more likely to take meaningful action after seeing an ad.”

“Lean heavily into CTV in 2026. Your big, beautiful creative deserves to be seen on the largest screen in the home — served to the right person at the right time.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

You know it better than us - acquiring users is no longer the finish line. It’s barely the starting line.

In 2025, growth happens in the layers after the click — where segmentation, onboarding, product activation and value messaging determine whether a user becomes a one-and-done trial or a compounding revenue cohort.

In this special episode, we’re syndicating the App Promotion Summit NYC 2025 panel The Modern UA Funnel — from Acquisition to Unstoppable Retention. It’s a real-world look at how UA has changed — not just in channels, but in how teams measure success, attribute value, and design creative that bridges acquisition, activation and loyalty.

From ATT- pressure to creative fatigue to first-party signal strategy — this is where modern growth teams are now placing their bets.

Moderated by Nicole Weiss, Founder of Brass Finch, the panel of experts included:

• Vincent Eterlet, Senior Director of Marketing at Fubo
• 🎗️ Jonathan Reich 🎗️, CEO of ZEDGE

• the shift from measuring ROAS to measuring incremental value across the user lifecycle
• full-funnel UA as one system — not acquisition vs retention teams
• how creative testing now needs first-party signals, not broad meta heuristics
• turning trial users into long-term revenue cohorts through moments that matter
• durable growth during ATT era — building compounding retention loops instead of chasing cheap installs

As app marketers navigate rising costs and tightening privacy rules, one truth is becoming clear — relying solely on Meta, Google, and TikTok is no longer sustainable.

Beyond those walled gardens lies a vast, often overlooked landscape — the open internet — where opportunities for user acquisition remain untapped.

In this App Talks special of the Business of Apps Podcast, David Murphy sits down with Omri Argaman, Co-Founder and CMO of Zoomd, to unpack how brands can scale efficiently outside the major ad platforms. Omri shares lessons from running thousands of campaigns across more than 600 integrated channels — from SDK and OEM partnerships to mobile operators and in-game ads.

You’ll hear why advertisers need to rethink where their users are, how to combat fraud while operating in open markets, and what strategies help brands grow globally without overspending on the usual platforms.

If your growth plan still starts and ends with Meta or Google — this episode will change how you think about your acquisition mix.

Let’s dive in: here’s Omri Argaman, Co-Founder and CMO at Zoomd.

• Expanding beyond walled gardens: Why advertisers should move past Meta, Google, and TikTok to access untapped audiences and reduce competition.
• Understanding the open internet: Overview of ad channels like SDK networks, OEMs, mobile operators, DSPs, affiliate, native, and in-game advertising.
• Key challenges: Need for experienced partners, patience in optimization, regional differences, and higher exposure to ad fraud.
• Success stories: Case studies showing 200% growth for a streaming app and 30% lower acquisition costs for an e-commerce brand.
• Practical advice: Start small with test budgets, focus on performance models, use anti-fraud tools, and find reliable partners for sustainable scale.

• Omri Argaman on LinkedIn
• Zoomd website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“A lot of advertisers avoid the open internet because they don’t have the knowledge or the right partner — but that doesn’t mean their customers aren’t there.”

“Success outside the walled gardens takes patience. You need to test, measure, and adapt across regions — not just spend and hope for results.”

“Don’t be afraid to step beyond Meta and Google. Start small, work on performance models, and you’ll find a whole new ocean of users to acquire.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

What happens when AI meets lifecycle marketing? In this special episode, we’re bringing you a panel discussion from App Promotion Summit NYC 2025, featuring leaders from WHOOP, theCut, and Grohaus.

They unpack how AI is transforming app engagement — from personalization at scale to the rise of 100,000-message permutations. You’ll hear where AI makes a real impact, where it still stumbles, and what it takes to maintain brand voice when your intern is… ChatGPT.

🎧 Tune in for tactical insights, candid lessons, and fresh perspectives from the frontlines of app growth in the age of AI.

The panel of experts included:

• David Brown-Landron, Founder & CEO of Grohaus
• Samantha Smith, Sr. Lifecycle Marketing Manager, Engagement & Retention at WHOOP
• Darrian Cate, Head of Growth at theCut

Building a sustainable game business has never been more complex—or more full of opportunity. As platforms evolve and user acquisition costs rise, developers are rethinking how they monetize and engage their players directly.

In this episode, Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla, breaks down the rise of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) transactions and how Xsolla’s Web Shop is helping game studios reclaim ownership over their player relationships.

We explore how going D2C opens new revenue streams, what infrastructure developers need to support it, and why the Web Shop is becoming more than just a payment layer—it’s turning into a strategic channel for growth, loyalty, and long-term success.

• Why D2C model's popularity grows among mobile game development studios
• What is Web Shop and how it works
• How Xsolla helps developers handle regulatory compliance, fraud prevention, global payments, and more
• Building stronger connections with game players via D2C presence
• What's next for the Web Shoo and D2C
• What Chris would like to change in mobile space

• Chris Hewish  on LinkedIn
• Xsolla website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“When you go direct-to-consumer, you get the full power of e-commerce, the full power of the web for discovery, and the full power of building community. It creates a better, healthier business environment for your games.”

“It’s not just putting your in-game store on the web. It’s about doing much more with it—rotating sales, personalized offers, regional pricing, loyalty programs, and having full control over your player data.”

“Going off-platform sounds great, but now you’re responsible for taxes, VAT, compliance, and customer support. That’s why you need a partner who can be your merchant of record—handling it all while you focus on making great games.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

September rolls on—Apple’s big reveal is behind us, and the tech world is still catching its breath. With the unveiling of the iPhone Air, Apple has once again raised the bar in mobile innovation.

But while hardware dominates headlines, we’re zooming in on a quieter, yet equally game-changing shift: the migration of payments from app stores to the web.

This week’s episode of The Business of Apps Podcast features another App Talk special—conducted by David Murphy with Andrey Shakhtin, Founder & CEO of FunnelFox. The topic? The future of web-to-app funnels for app growth.

Andrey brings a wealth of insight from helping leading apps optimize their revenue stacks. He explains why the move to web payments isn’t just about saving fees—it introduces new friction points in refunds, compliance, and orchestration that many teams overlook. You’ll also hear how performance, UX, and product-led strategies are becoming central to making the transition stick.

If your team is exploring app-to-web monetization—or already deep in the trenches—this episode is your playbook for avoiding costly missteps. Let’s dive in: here’s Andrey Shakhtin, CEO at FunnelFox

• More app developers are shifting payments from in-app to web to gain control and increase revenue, but the shift comes with serious operational complexity.
• Web-to-app transitions often neglect the payment flow, leading to revenue leakage and conversion drop-offs due to poor infrastructure or oversight.
• Optimizing the payment stack is now critical, and requires orchestration tools and performance visibility similar to what’s used in user funnels.
• Many apps make the mistake of treating payments as an afterthought, ignoring failure handling, tax compliance, and retry logic.
• The future lies in hybrid web–app monetization models, giving developers more flexibility and users more choice.
• Speed, clarity, and trust in the payment flow are essential, especially as users become less tolerant of friction or confusion at checkout.

• • Andrey Shakhtin on LinkedIn
  • FunnelFox website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“Web-to-app funnels unlock attribution, reduce payment commissions, and give developers the flexibility to design user journeys that simply aren’t possible inside the app stores.”

“The main mistake I see is teams trying to build everything in-house. It slows down experimentation, drains resources, and pulls focus away from the product itself.”

“The future of app growth will belong to the teams that experiment fast, diversify acquisition channels, and master web-based monetization.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

September is in full swing - Apple is about to host its highly anticipated event - fingers crossed the new iPhone will be awesome! “Back to School” theme is everywhere you look; one of the things that kids need to learn about is obviously finance. OK, not for kids but for app brands and developers, we want to share yet another App Talk interviewconducted by Peggy Anne Salz with Andrew Davies, Chief Innovation Officer at Paddle.

Yes - you will hear about innovation in the app pricing and payment; Andrew is a brilliant speaker and really knows the space. He explains how Paddle simplifies back-office complexity, enables web-to-app monetization, shares best practices in pricing and retention, highlights data-driven strategies to reduce churn, and outlines a future shaped by AI, no-code tools, and democratized monetization.

• Paddle’s role in solving back-office complexity: simplifying global payments, taxes, fraud prevention, and subscription management so founders can focus on product and growth.
• The rise of web-to-app monetization: why app developers are diversifying beyond app stores and the opportunities this creates for both scaled and early-stage apps.
• Customer insights and best practices: pricing experimentation, retention tactics like downgrade/pause offers, and the importance of true localization.
• Retention strategies: macro trends like growth via reactivation, reducing involuntary churn, and Paddle’s case studies on churn prevention.
• Future vision: preparing for the shift of volume out of app stores, the impact of AI and no-code on app creation, and Paddle’s mission to democratize monetization.

• • Andrew Davies  on LinkedIn
  • Paddle website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“We often say second time founders choose Paddle because first time round you don’t really know what the problems are that are going to come tomorrow. But second time around you think, okay, I’ll put something in place at the beginning that means I’m not building up debt for the future.”

“If you are changing your price every quarter, you’ll outperform someone who isn’t by about 103% on ARPU. It’s not that every pricing change is good—it’s that you’re building a muscle for testing.”

“This is not just about making business work or removing complexity. You’re actually democratizing it for everyone who’s going to be a maker—to make and to sell. Because what’s the fun of making if you can’t monetize it?”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Yet another summer is wizzed by with a jet speed. With a few days left, we want to signify this moment by sharing with you yet another App Talk interview from App Promotion Summit London 2025, this time with Rui Mateus, CTO of Mobrand.

At the interview, Rui brilliantly laid out the state of programmatic advertising for mobile apps. He touched on the need for control and transparency in programmatic, the performance-based model, scaling and rebranding, ad fraud challenges, the role of AI in programmatic, and more.

• Control and transparency in programmatic: why marketers now demand visibility into KPIs, performance, and audience targeting rather than just raw results.
• Performance-based model: Mobrand’s approach of charging advertisers only when quality users take meaningful in-app actions.
• Technology as core DNA: Mobrand building its own bidder, using open RTB, and positioning itself as a tech company in the ad tech ecosystem.
• Scaling and rebranding: maintaining momentum, keeping a lean but skilled team, and presenting Mobrand as a premium partner for app developers.
• Ad fraud challenges: the scale of invalid traffic, detecting fraud through behavioural analysis, and the constant “arms race” with fraudsters.
• Role of AI in programmatic: lowering entry barriers, enabling better audience modelling, and driving higher quality performance for advertisers.
• Expansion of programmatic channels: growth in connected TV (CTV), digital out-of-home, and cross-channel strategies.
• Client focus: subscription apps, gambling, and finance apps with long conversion funnels where performance and quality users are critical.
• Future vision: becoming a one-stop shop for app developers, simplifying promotion, and delivering seamless growth without unnecessary complexity.

• • Rui Mateus on LinkedIn
  • Mobrand website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“I consider that Mobrand is not necessarily a marketing company. It’s a tech company. We have a very big technological background, and when you have the technology, you have the control — and then you can give that to the companies you’re working with.”

“Our biggest challenge with programmatic at the moment is the amount of invalid traffic that exists on the bidstream. You think you are bidding on real users and you are not. There is a lot of bots making the whole flow as if they were users”

“Our objective is to be an alternative for app developers and to provide real value. We want to cut a little bit of the complexity of this market and build a platform where everything is as seamless as possible.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

We’re certain you’re experiencing this feeling as well - it’s as if we’re finally living in the world that was promised to us by science fiction movies. To be fair, AI has evolved into Artificial Intelligence that is indeed intelligent. While it lacks consciousness, the distinction between the two would be a topic for a separate conversation on another podcast.

Today, I’ve invited Steve to assist app brands in understanding this complex landscape of Generative AI. Our goal is to empower you to make informed decisions about which AI tools to utilize, avoid common pitfalls, comprehend the skill sets your team requires, and more.

• How to evaluate AI tools without getting lost in comparisons between models
• The most common mistake people make trying to integrate AI into their work
• Given AI influence, what skill sets development teams need to develop
• What role will "middle layer" tools play in AI adoption
• Advice to leaders trying to help their teams adapt to rapid AI changes

• • Steve Toy on LinkedIn
  • Memrise website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“You don’t really care about the performance metrics of all the different models out there. What matters is whether it can do the job you need it to do well and effectively.”

“The biggest mistake is not understanding the job to be done. If you just bring tools into your system without a clear goal, you end up as the proverbial hammer wandering around looking for a nail.”

“Expertise is actually less important in this world. What separates those who succeed with AI from those who don’t is perseverance — the willingness to go one more round”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

When it comes to growing app revenue, there’s no shortage of advice — but separating the shiny “growth hacks” from the strategies that actually move the needle is another story. In today’s crowded subscription app market, you can’t just set a price, launch, and hope for the best. You need to understand your users, their behaviors, and the subtle levers that can turn one-time downloads into long-term customers.

In this episode, I’m joined by Jens to draw on his experience both inside a subscription app team and now supporting others, Jens shares practical, tested ways to increase revenue — from smarter pricing strategies to better handling of cancellations and reactivations.

If you’re building, marketing, or monetizing an app, this conversation is packed with insights you can start applying right away, whether your goal is to capture more value from your most loyal users, adapt pricing for different markets, or simply stop leaving revenue on the table.

• The most effective ways to identify untapped revenue opportunities
• Balancing global pricing strategies with local market purchasing power
• How to decide what innovations (new tools, APIs) are worth adopting vs which might distract from the core offering
• Th most overlooked techniques to reduce churn and increase reactivations
• The role of partnerships in creating long-term customer value

• • Jens-Fabian Goetzmann on LinkedIn
  • RevenueCat website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“The core offering should always come first. Value needs to be created before it is extracted—monetization works best when you’ve already built something that engages and retains users.”

“Start experimenting with new customers first. They come in without preconceived notions, making it easier to test pricing, tiers, or new models without alienating your existing user base.”

“Premature optimization is the biggest distraction. If your business model doesn’t work with the basics, you’re unlikely to fix it just by tweaking monetization tactics.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

OK, how many times do you hear on your team’s meetings “You need to be more creative!” Well, I have this question: “How can I be more creative with my app’s ad creatives?”

Yes, today we’re featuring another App Talk interview that covers how creative drives app growth. It was taken by our Peggy Anne Salz with Megan Evans, Creative Director at ConsultMyApp during App Promotion Summit London 2025.

In this interview, Megan talked about treating app creative as a specialized, data-driven discipline — not just design — means testing systematically, embracing what works (even if it’s off-brand), integrating across the user journey, and using AI to scale strategy, not just production.

• App creatives deserve the same strategic focus as acquisition and product decisions.
• Generalist designers often miss the nuances that drive mobile conversions.
• “Ugly” or off-brand ads can outperform polished ones because they connect better with users.
• Isolating variables is key to knowing what actually works in creative testing.
• AI helps creative teams save time and focus on strategy by automating repetitive tasks.
• Creative assets for ASO, UA, and retention should work together as part of a unified strategy.
• Success comes from treating creative as a specialized, system-driven discipline.

• Megan Evans on LinkedIn
• ConsultMyApp website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“Sometimes it’s the one you don’t want that wins, which is difficult for brands to understand.”

“Don’t change too much at once — otherwise you’re never going to understand exactly what’s moving the needle.”

“Instead of spending time on things that can be automated through AI, we’re now focusing on the parts that need the human brain.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

How is your summer so far? I hope you’re listening to this episode lying somewhere in a shadow on a beach, and with a breeze keeping you relaxed. I also hope that you are in a company of people you love to hang out with - be it your family or friends. Why? It’s because we all belong to a community, right? Yes - this is the moment when I’m tying in my intro with this week’s episode’s topic 😊

So here we go - today we’re featuring one of our latest App Talk interviews. This time, Peggy Anne Salz interviewed Kenzie Wilson, GTM Lead - AI Moderation at Stream - the platform that helps apps build real-time experiences that scale.

Kenzie talks about why community is the key to app stickiness and how Stream’s APIs power real-time chat, feeds, video, and AI moderation for millions of users. You’ve heard it right - millions!

• Why in-app communities matter: Building social features directly in your app boosts retention and gives users a reason to return.
• Strava’s evolution: A case study in transforming utility apps into thriving communities.
• Flexible, fast integration: Stream’s API lets even mature apps easily add chat, feeds, and video—with AI-powered moderation tailored by industry.
• Unexpected use cases: From HR tech to field ops and Telehealth, community tools aren’t just for social apps.
• Real engagement uplift: Apps typically see up to 50% more engagement, especially if they already have an external audience.
• Trends and tools: Live-streaming with chat, audio rooms for gaming, and embedded features like schedulers or activity maps drive stickiness and insight.
• Focused, niche social: Users now prefer smaller, purpose-driven communities over noisy platforms.
• Stream’s future: Expanding video offerings, deeper moderation tools, and positioning as a one-stop platform for in-app communication.

• • Kenzie Wilson on LinkedIn
  • Stream's website
  • Strava app
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

“If you already have kind of that cult following of your app, and then you give them a place where they can actually talk to each other, your engagement is going to go through the roof.”

“Every app is a community. You have users, you can have a community—and it’s actually pretty simple to do.”

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

In today’s crowded, AI-fueled landscape, it’s not enough to just have messaging — it has to stand out. In this episode, I’m joined by Jason from Customer.io to unpack what makes great mobile messaging work: from building frameworks rooted in value and differentiation, to using first-party data to deliver the right message at the right moment.

We’ll talk strategy, execution, and the tools that help brands stay personal, timely, and unmistakably themselves — even at scale.

• Jason Lyman''s bio
• What is Customer.io
• How brands can can use AI but stay authentic 
• The role of first-party data in making messaging more timely and relevant
• Timing and channels for effective mobile messaging
• Common mistaken made at personalizing messaging at scale
• Balancing automation with authenticity

• • Jason Lyman on LinkedIn
  • Customer.io website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"Yeah, this is an interesting paradox that we've kind of created for ourselves. We have all these incredible tools like AI recommendations, powerful automation, sophisticated targeting, but everybody's using that playbook. And I think the result is customers are getting bombarded with messages that sounds very, very similar. so standing out needs to be less about being louder or frequent, and it needs to be focused around being more authentic."

"So,  first party data is absolutely the future, especially with privacy regulations that are tidying up across the globe. So here's what I see happening. think gold marketers are sitting on these gold mines of customer data, but they're not using it effectively. know, a lot of people are, are thinking about segmentation in a very traditional way."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

All right, I think all of you would agree—regardless of your role or area of expertise in this industry—that learning from the mistakes of others saves you time, money, and, most importantly, nerve cells. Because let’s be honest, trial and error is great… until it’s your budget on the line.

So, today we have Reed on the show to help us skip some of those growing pains. He’s here to share what’s working, what’s not, and some fresh, thought-provoking approaches to both app marketing and development. Whether you’re scaling a product or just getting started, I think you’ll walk away with a few insights worth stealing—or at least borrowing.

After founding the Business Strategy team at Branch six years ago, former strategy consultant Reed Kuhn has worked closely with hundreds of customers across verticals. Along the way, he’s picked up some sharp lessons—not just about best practices, but more importantly, about what not to do. In this episode, we’ll explore guiding objectives for app product owners and marketers, the greatest hits of killer use cases, mobile growth fails, and some simple ideas to make more from what you already have. Plus, we’ll look ahead with some bold predictions about how all of us will interact with apps in the AI-powered future.

• Reed Kuhn's bio
• What is Branch.io
• A guiding principle for what brings value to app users
• Common mistakes
• A quick win in app development
• Effective strategies
• New strategies on the Reed's radar
• What's coming up - in the near future and far out

• • Reed Kuhn on LinkedIn
  • Get in touch with the Branch.io team
  • Branch.io website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"Over the years, so many of our customers fall into two big buckets. And this is, I think, the simplest framework that I have for differentiating between apps and what they're trying to achieve in terms of value. And that is you have commerce apps, which are the most obvious ones. This is your retailers, fashion, even quick serve restaurants, fast food chains, Starbucks, and also the big box retailers, the best buys of the world, even department stores like Nordstrom.

Those are commerce apps. Users primarily are going in there to shop. And hopefully, they actually buy something. And we do know that conversion rates are much higher in apps than on mobile web or even desktop. So those are easy to wrap your head around. The app exists to make it much easier for the user to shop and, in some cases, actually get support. If you want to manage a delivery or send something back, you can do that in the app rather than having to call someone up.

On the flip side, you have apps that don't really sell you anything, but they still serve a very important purpose to the user. So I call those companion apps and they're more diverse than commerce apps. So whereas commerce apps are very conversion focused, companion apps are much more feature focused. It's, I able to access information? So almost everybody is going to have their credit card or bank app on their phone, or at least they should be at this point. If they don't want to go there in person."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

If there is one feature that helps app marketers to persevere through so much of a market change, it is adaptability. As app user acquisition costs were rising and privacy constraints in mobile emerged, marketers came up with the solution - web to app user acquisition channel.

Rather than sending users directly to an app store, marketers now route users to a mobile web page first—typically one optimized for onboarding, education, or even a light product experience. This allows for better control over messaging, tracking, and personalization before nudging users to install the app.

In this episode, we’ll delve into the concept of web-first growth with Gessica, exploring the new playbook for acquiring app users.

• Gessica Bicego's bio
• What convinced Gessica to switch to web-based strategies for mobile app UA
• How to decide what specific "web to app" approach to take - go with mini landing pages, full web onboarding, or else?
• Web versus app testing
• How to avoid getting lost in lots of onboarding screens

• Gessica Bicego on LinkedIn
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"I would say there are two approaches. Like either you send them to a landing page, but ultimately they convert on an app store - so all the call-to-action will lead to the App Store, or Google Play store. Or you guide them through a web funnel, where you have like lots of questions and you end up purchasing on the web."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

What makes a mobile ad stick — and what makes it flop?

In this special episode, we feature a panel discussion from App Promotion Summit London 2025, we hosted in April.

Creative leaders explore next gen ad creative — the bold experiments, the unexpected successes, and the flops we can all learn from. From storytelling trends to performance-driven design, discover what’s working, what’s not, and where mobile advertising is heading next.

🎧 Tune in for fresh insights, practical takeaways, and real-world lessons from the frontlines of creative innovation.

The panel of experts included:

• Yoann Pavy, Chief Growth & Marketing Officer at AIApply
• Freya Fine, CMO / Founder of Koru / &Fine
• Mustafa Mohamed, Founder of Shroomi AI

It’s been a couple of weeks since we wrapped up our App Promotion Summit London 2025. We were really happy to have so many bright, smart people under the same roof to share their knowledge and experience in app growth, app product development, ASO and so much more.

We had several hundred folks from all corners of the world listening and learning from presentations and workshops, connecting with each other and do business.

One of the highlights of the event was the “Beyond Installs: the future of app growth 2025” panel and in this episode we want to share it with you.

The panel brought together people from four verticals - navigation, financials, e-Learning and gaming.

This panel of experts included:

• Nidhi Singh, the Regional Marketing Manager for UK & Turkey at AppsFlyer
• Greg Turtle, Head of Growth at what3words
• Giulia Saletto, Head of Performance Marketing & Growth at Tide
• Diane Germann, Head of Paid Content and Social at Blinkist
• Yagiz Ozyurek, UA Team Lead for Product Madness

The level of adoption of ChatGPT, the revolutionary LLM-based AI chatbot, is staggering. I think it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that by now ChatGPT and other similar AI chatbots are everywhere; people use them for work and leisure all the time.

Sometimes, it feels like at some point generative AI chatbots will be joining team meetings not to take notes and summarize what was said but to report on what they did last week.

OK, jokes aside - today we want to talk about the role of Generative AI in mobile ad creatives optimization.

• Asaf Yanai's bio
• About Alison.ai
• AI's impact on ad creative optimization
• Balancing AI-driven automation with human creativity in mobile advertising
• Staying competitive with AI-powered tools

• • Asaf Yanai on LinkedIn
  • Alison.ai website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"It changes everything from start to finish, or it could potentially change everything. It depends on the adoption. And I'll explain. I think that what happened in the past five to six years is a complete, complete change in the industry. However, if you look closely, you'll see that not all companies have changed. Not all companies have changed their operations or processes. 

The ones that adopted AI early on and those that adopted AI fully are a lot more advanced now. They're faster, they're quicker. They are spot on when it comes to strategy. And also the entire operation became a lot less heavy, heavy with costs, heavy with headcount, and heavy with processes and operations."

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

One of the most important metrics for a mobile app is its conversion rate. It tells you how many people that use the app for free become your paying customers. It’s about how profitable and sustainable your app is.

Now, if you are one of the die-hard Pink Floyd fans, you gotta love their song The Wall. If you are an app marketer, your wall is the paywall :-) Among many tools that you may use to increase the number of people who become your paying customers, once they hit the paywall, are cognitive biases.

You may heard of them if you have a peripheral interest in psychology.

Today, Max will tell you about using cognitive biases to significantly increase your app’s conversion rate.

• Max Amelang's bio
• About PreMatch
• Ethical boundaries in cognitive biases
• The most underrated cognitive biases
• High-impact experiments with paywalls
• Android or iOS?
• Leaving his  smartphone at home, what features would Max miss most?
• What features he would like to see added to his smartphone?

• • Max Amelang on LinkedIn
  • Prematch website
  • Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"Yeah, it's absolutely a valid question because especially in the beginning, it's extremely tempting to see all of these tools you can use to somehow increase this conversion rate by margin or by another percent and so on. But then I also quickly realized not only as a product manager, but also as a user, how would I feel if I stumble across this? "

"Obviously I know the tricks, so maybe I need to be a bit harder in order to define if something is good or not so good anymore. And I then came up with like, how would my parents behave on this paywall? Because parents just as a symbol for an older generation that are not as native with mobile apps.

And I always am fascinated when I see how my dad navigates his app and when I realize, why did he just click on this button because it's blinking quicker? And I realized, okay, this is how easily he's influenced. So as a very soft first test, I'm thinking about, okay, how would my dad would behave on this paywall? Would he buy just because of the cognitive biases or would he still be able to make his own decision?"

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

Ok, here is the thing.

Most apps are still built on rigid, one-size-fits-all user flows. They rely heavily on historic behavior - what a user clicked on last week or which segment they’re in. But user needs change moment to moment. And when apps fail to adapt, users just leave.

The next evolution isn’t about personalizing based on identity - it’s about adapting based on intent. And that intent can only be accurately understood in context.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the Context Platform by ContextSDK that enables apps to detect real-world context in real time - whether a user is walking, relaxing, commuting, charging their phone, or simply on the move - and then infer their intent. Using a combination of on-device machine learning and server-side intelligence, the platform helps apps deliver the right experience or message at the right moment.

This isn’t just a UX upgrade - it is a fundamentally better way to retain users and drive revenue, while respecting privacy and improving performance.

• Dieter Rappold's' bio
• About ContextSDK
• Switching focus from app users' behavior to their intent
• How Context Platform helps LiveOps maximize their efforts
• Example of how detecting user context in real-time improves the app experience
• How context-aware delivery fix the issue with intrusive push notifications
• Achieving personalization without relying on personal data or permissions
• What it takes to implement Context Platform into the app

• Dieter Rappold on LinkedIn
• ContextSDK website
• Maximizing app engagement through content-aware solutions
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

"It’s great to know a lot about past behavior, but past behavior is looking into the past. Intent is happening in the moment and is looking forward"

"We collect enough data points on patterns of movement and behavior and analyze them with the smartest machine learning models out there. That allows us to infer intent—and that’s something extremely powerful when shaping app experiences,"

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

I think by now you’ve noticed that the last few episodes weren’t regular ones, on those we featured our discussion panels from App Promotion Summit Berlin 2024.

Why? Well, the physical space in the venue in Berlin was obviously limited and it’s not like you can fly to Berlin to visit the summit on a whim - time and money aren’t always there when you need them, right? But we don’t want you to miss an opportunity to listen to these discussions and learn from it.

So here comes the next panel - “Beyond downloads: app engagement strategies"

It was hosted by Keziah Husselbee, Product Marketing Specialist at Adobe.

It was a pleasure to have on the panel people from:

• Jelena Zbijowski, Head of CRM & Product Marketing at Blinkist
• Roma Rey, Head of CRM at ParshipMeet Group
• Robert Vaternam, Senior CRM Manager at Freeletics
• Jon Genovard, Senior CRM Manager at ShareTheMeal