Business of Apps Podcast

#230: “Beyond Downloads: App Engagement Strategies” App Promotion Summit Berlin panel

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

#229: “How top apps win at user acquisition” App Promotion Summit Berlin panel

Good news - the winter is finally over, and I’m sure you’ve missed the warmth just as much as I have.
Today, I’m thrilled to share with you another special episode featuring one of the discussion panels we hosted last December during the App Promotion Summit Berlin.
This panel covers a wide range of topics, including user acquisition strategies, incrementality and ROI measurement, retargeting and re-engagement strategies, and more.
The panel was hosted by Bob Hollanders, Head of Sales & Account Management, EMEA & US at Appier.
We were fortunate to have on the panel:
Victoria Chang, Performance Marketing Lead at Wooga
Pascal Priso, Performance Marketing Manager at Babbel
Karst Kortekaas, Director, App Solutions, EMEA at Appier
Cansu Bengü Ağaoğlu, Head of Sales (Central Europe) at Adjust

#228: “Data-drive strategies for UA” App Promotion Summit Berlin panel

Another week - another bonus episode for you.
There is no other way to put it - data is the fuel that powers current economy. When we look at the mobile industry, we see that it is the absolutely essential part of the picture. You know it so well - acquiring app users was never easy but these days it is a real challenge. To win the game, you need to work out a data-driven strategy to acquire users for your app.
On this episode, we feature “Data-driven strategies for UA” panel discussion we hosted during App Promotion Summit Berlin last December.
The topics covered on the panel included user acquisition strategies, incrementality testing and attribution, branding and consistency, creative strategies for UA, creative fatigue, fake ads and transparency, playable ads, future plans for 2025, and more.
This panel of experts includes:
Ece Stepien, Regional Director Western Europe & MENAT at AppsFlyer
Jessica Gotti, Head of Performance Marketing at Paired
Matej Jurcak, ASO & Growth Partnerships at Pixel Federation
Marta Fogel, Head of Marketing at NeuroNation
Misha Osintcev, Growth Director at Kolibri Games
All right, without any further ado…let’s go.

#227: AI UGC: Scaling Mobile Creative with Andy Willers, Co-Founder at Favoured

AI is reshaping the way brands create and test ads, and mobile marketing is at the forefront of this revolution. With AI-generated UGC (aka User Generated Content), creative testing at scale is no longer a challenge—it is an opportunity.
Today, I’m joined by Andy to explore how their partnership with HeyGen is unlocking new possibilities for mobile advertisers. How is AI changing the game, and what does this mean for the future of creative? Let’s find out.
Today’s Topics Include:
Andy Willers' bio
About Favoured
Challenges Favoured faced before integrating AI-generated UGC
What impact AI UGC had on one of the campaigns Favoured was running
Biggest opportunities and risks for brands scaling creative testing with AI-generated content
Android or iOS?
Leaving his  smartphone at home, what features would Andy miss most?
What features he would like to see added to his smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Andy Willers on LinkedIn
Favoured website
HeyGen - AI video generator
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Andy Willers
" What AI has allowed us to do, particularly on the UGC side, is massively increase our capability for creative testing,” Andy said. “HeyGen’s digital avatars enable us to quickly generate multiple UGC scripts or executions—allowing us to test different messaging and ad styles at scale.."
"We’re not at a stage where you type in a prompt and AI spits out a perfect execution. The human touch is still essential,” he explained. “HeyGen gives us the raw material—high-quality AI avatars—but it still requires skilled video editors to integrate them effectively with B-roll footage and visual elements."
Host
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

#226: “User Acquisition in 2025” App Promotion Summit Berlin panel

Today, we’re excited to feature a panel discussion we hosted at our App Promotion Summit Berlin last December. It focused on a crucial topic for all app marketers: User Acquisition in 2025.
The panel covered a wide range of topics, including optimizing ad channels, the shift from attribution to incrementality, exploring new growth channels, and more.
It was hosted by George Natsvlishvili, Co-Founder at We Up and the panelists were:
Şebnem Alpaylı O'Rourke, Senior User Acquisition Manager at Stillfront Group
Mark Mukhin, Team Lead App Marketing at AutoScout24
Gaurav Bhattacharya, Performance Marketing Lead at Zenjob
Alper Taner, Head of Performance at BGNet Mobile

#225: Driving App Growth with A/B Testing with Tina Kim, Director of Product Management at Huckleberry Labs

Today, we begin with another trivia question for you - can you think of the best case for A/B testing? Are you thinking about a particular app, service, or product?
No - it’s bigger than that, I’m talking about the evolution of life on this planet. No, there is no a girl or a guy, sitting with a MacBook Pro and running A/B tests for all flora and fauna on this planet :-) My point is that testing is very fundamental and, if it will make you feel a bit more important, you’re doing it along with the Mother Nature.
To talk about A/B testing for driving app growth we invited Tina.
Today’s Topics Include:
Tina Kim's bio
About Huckleberry Labs
Using A/B tests to make confident decisions
Generating actionable insights with limited resources and tight timelines
Incorporating learnings from failed A/B tests
Android or iOS?
Leaving her  smartphone at home, what features would Tina miss most?
What features she would like to see added to her smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Tina Kim on LinkedIn
Huckleberry Labs website
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Tina Kim
" So A-B testing is really useful for when there is a shadow of doubt. Put it so whatever you A/B test, it's not some idea that you've picked from the air. It's always based off of some well-informed hypothesis, whether it be analyzing your behavioral data of your users or you've done some user research market research as well. There is always some well-informed hypothesis that drives you to build something."
"The other thing is where A-B testing can really help you move forward faster is during the development process, the design process, there may be countless arguments about the perfect copy. Some people are very particular about copy, but and we may spend like endless cycles just trying to perfect the copy, but that's not the point of the change. Let's just test it. And A-B testing is iterative. And so you find something that you feel good with, it doesn't have to be perfect, and you test it and move forward. And if you feel like there's opportunity to squeeze more juice, test it again, right? And so I've been able to move forward faster."
Host
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

#224: Breaking down the Subscription Value Loop strategy with Phil Carter, Growth Advisor at Elemental Growth

In the future, history textbooks will be telling the story of how, at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, we all collectively jumped into the world of mobile apps. 
Now, you may be super excited about the growth of the mobile ecosystem or shake your head about its externalities, unintended consequences, but it’s undeniable - mobile apps take a huge spot in our lives. 
Today, a big chunk of the mobile app economy space belongs to app subscriptions - Netflix, Apple TV, Tinder, Duolingo, the list goes on and on. If you build apps yourself and monetize them with the subscription model, you will be really interested to learn about Phil’s Subscription Value Loop strategy.
Today’s Topics Include:
Phil Carter's bio
Key challenges developers of subscription-based apps face today
Identifying and refining the core value proposition 
Strategies to convert free users into subscribers, while maintaining a great user experience and ensuring long-term profitability 
Android or iOS?
Leaving his smartphone at home, what features would Phil miss most?
What features he would like to see added to his smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Phil Carter on LinkedIn
Phil Carter's website
Maven course
Phil's Sub stack
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Phil Carter:
"The core of the subscription value loop framework that I teach about in my course is a company's core value promise. In other words, what is the value that you're providing to a user, and ideally to a paying subscriber, that is going to not just bring them to the product in the first place, but cause them to continue paying you a subscription over a long period of time?"
"And value delivery is typically led by marketing teams, sometimes with the support of growth product teams or sales teams if you have a B2B business. And value delivery is all about making sure that you have sustainable unit economics, right? You're going to have some amount of LTV that you get from users. But in order to have a sustainable business, you need a strong LTV over CAC ratio and a rapid payback period. And that depends critically on your cost of user acquisition."
Host
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

#223: “AI breakthroughs: revolutionizing mobile app marketing" App Promotion Summit San Francisco panel

The holiday season is practically around the corner. We can all hear The Jingle Bells singing and some nice gifts from Amazon are waiting underneath the Christmas Tree.
Anyway, this week, we have yet another exclusive bonus episode for you, featuring the panel discussion from the App Promotion Summit San Francisco 2024.
As you know, we organize the App Promotion Summit several times a year to bring together app marketing, growth, product, CRM, and revenue executives. These events feature panels where industry professionals share their experiences and insights on emerging trends that significantly impact the sector.
During this year’s App Promotion Summit San Francisco, we held a panel dedicated to AI breakthroughs in mobile app marketing.
It was hosted by Jenny Pollock, Mobile App Expert & Founder of WOMEN AND AI and the panelists were:
Lindsey Witmer Collins, Founder & CEO of WLCM
Jillian Arnold, co-founder of Snapback
Xenia Kupriyanova, senior growth marketing manager at houzz
Nancy Roberts, president of CRAFTSMAN+

#222: App marketing success in the privacy-centric era with Nicoline Strøm-Jensen, Head of Program Management at Adjust

Last year, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the App Store and Google Play. If you’ve been part of the app industry for all these years, you saw the sea of change in app marketing.We all remember the exponential growth of both stores, and the moment when they hit the ceiling. We witnessed the rise of freemium and subscription models, the introduction of app store optimization, and the burst on the scene of Pokémon Go, for Christ’s sake.
And then all of a sudden, it turned out that for all these years the industry had been missing one crucial component - the app user’s privacy. So, it’s been more than three years since Apple introduced its ATT framework, and, of course, GDPR fundamentally changed user data collection and digital advertising.
Today, we have Nicoline to talk about what it takes to achieve app marketing success in the privacy-centric era.
Today’s Topics Include:
Nicoline Strøm-Jensen's bio
The biggest obstacles for app marketers in the privacy-first landscape
Effective strategies for measuring and optimizing ad campaigns in today's privacy-focused environment
Emerging strategies tools and strategies to stay competitive and compliant
Android or iOS?
Leaving her smartphone at home, what features would Nicoline miss most?
What features she would like to see added to her smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Nicoline Strøm-Jensen on LinkedIn
Adjust website
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Nicoline Strøm-Jensen:
"So, the first thing I want to point out is that I often use the term “signal loss” as a buzzword in this field when discussing privacy-first approaches. So signal loss is what makes and has been making marketers the most nervous because in practical terms, this references device identifiers and device identifiers were the key granularity of data that marketers prior to the push for new privacy focus was what they used to efficiently target their user segments with personalized ads and promos. But even as an aspect of that and higher level was just to understand where their marketing dollars were bringing in the best return."
"And over the past three years, the industry has been working together. And this is something that I've talked about in different conferences or just with clients. That's one aspect that I have enjoyed. When I entered this industry, it was rather competitive and, you know, then we had this moment of, okay - we got to work together. We've got these different components and we're not going to be able to all see success without that collaboration. And so, going from that, the conversations that I have with clients are first and foremost, all right, I'm sorry, but we have to let go of the past."
Host
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012

#221: Shaping the future of app distribution: trust, growth, and regulation with Shalom Michaeli, Managing Director, Alternative App Stores at Digital Turbine

A quick trivia question - what was significant about the year 2008 technology-wise? It was the year when Bitcoin was introduced, and Spotify was launched. Am I missing something here? Right - both the Apple App Store and Google Play stores were launched that year. It was about the introduction of the new software distribution model for developers. Then followed the witty slogan from Apple: “There is an app for that!”, and both platforms began to count and brag about the number of apps released on those stores.
Moving forward, the status quo that was established was Apple only had one app store - an exclusive distribution channel for iOS developers. On the other hand, Google had multiple third-party app stores for Android, on top of the Google Play store. For a while, it felt like it was going to be like that forever.
And then “forever” ended. On March 5th of 2024, Apple released iOS 17.4, enabling third-party app stores on iOS devices within the EU, complying with the EU’s regulation.
On this episode, we have Shalom to talk about shaping the future of app distribution: trust, growth, and regulation.
Today’s Topics Include:
Shalom Michaeli bio
What is Digital Turbine
The impact of European regulations and new tech on the future of third-party app stores
Essential strategies for alternative app stores to build consumer trust while scaling their presence globally
How Digital Turbine uses research and partnerships to prepare for the future of app distribution
Android or iOS?
Leaving his smartphone at home, what features would Shalom miss most?
What features he would like to see added to his smartphone?
Links and Resources:
Michaeli on LinkedIn
Digital Turbine website
Digital Turbine and ONE Store Expand Partnership to Globalize Alternative App Growth
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry
Quotes from Shalom Michaeli:
"You know what, building consumer trust is crucial for alternative stores to compete with Apple and Google. Because the goal is not only to bring the user to install once or purchase once from your alternative application. The goal is to get a repeatable customer base that coming over, engaging, installing, spending, coming over again because they had a good interaction, because they had good experience."
"This is this is a perfect storm the way I used to call it and  for an app developer and for the entire ecosystem. Because this is the time when three elements in my opinion are coming all together. The regulation changes like DMA and few others that are happening across  the world in different countries. The second point is developers' needs for growth. And the third one is available technologies."
Host
Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012