Opportunity in the hyper-casual gaming space is burgeoning. Independent game developers need support in many areas to be able to maximise this opportunity. For this reason, AppLovin recently announced the launch of Lion Studios – a media devision to help indie game developers in a number of different areas. TheGamingEconomy speaks with Lion Studios’ president, Rafael Vivas (pictured below) about how Lion Studios intends to support them.

Rafael Vivas: We [...]

Retargeting is a hugely powerful tool within mobile gaming to reactivate lapsed players, but there are many gaming marketers who get it wrong. TheGamingEconomy speaks exclusively with Alexei Chemenda (pictured below), chief revenue officer for apps, and managing director, U.S., at in-app retargeting specialist, Adikteev, about the concept of the ‘Day 0 Dilemma’ in retargeting campaigns. Chemenda outlines the common mistakes gaming marketers make when attempting to reactivate lapsed players, and why in-app retargeting needs to be considered as [...]

Awareness campaigns are a critical tool for new and established brands alike. The focus of these campaigns isn’t immediate click throughs and conversions; instead, it is on building brand recognition and consumer retention. Traditional awareness campaigns might include TV advertising or print media. While these avenues put information in front of thousands, it can be nearly impossible to track direct ROI, writes Sandor Jones (pictured below), product marketing manager, YouAppi, exclusively for TheGamingEconomy.

The same can be said of rewarded video; [...]

It would be foolish to underestimate the power of app retargeting to engage with your mobile gaming app users. As a consumer, you may think of retargeting as being followed around the web by the image of a pair of scissors you bought three weeks ago, but in mobile gaming, the opportunities to engage with users, based on how they have interacted with your gaming app, are not only smart, but also fruitful. Mobile game developers new to the app [...]

What is App Store Optimisation (ASO) and are mobile gaming developers making the most of it to maximise app-store visibility and potential installs? TheGamingEconomy speaks exclusively with Katerina Zolotareva (pictured below), marketing and customer success manager, TheTool, about how to get started and the common mistakes to avoid.

Katerina Zolotareva: By definition, App Store Optimisation is a process of maximising the visibility, and conversion [...]

User acquisition is evolving. Where it used to be all about the number of installs, developers are becoming smarter and more discerning about campaign metrics and tying acquisition activity back to the bottom line. Now it’s about finding the highest quality users and moving beyond impressions and installs, to engagement and lifetime value. TheGamingEconomy speaks exclusively with Amit Dar, general manager, U.S., Taptica, about why user acquisition for mobile gaming is changing and the importance of setting goals for [...]

The gaming community is vast, dynamic, and incredibly engaged. However, in many environments, the popular misperceptions of what a gamer is reign. Tim Wilson (pictured below), CEO, Qutee, is passionate about changing this and is an ardent advocate of data democracy and recognising the value the gamers bring to the gaming industry. Speaking exclusively with TheGamingEconomy, Wilson explains that there is a goldmine of quantitive and qualitative data and insight on the gaming industry to be found within [...]

Year after year, the gaming industry produces more advanced, high-specification games that require powerful hardware which, due to high prices, is not available for all gamers. This is a problem that is not surprising, writes Egor Gurjev, CEO at Playkey, exclusively for TheGamingEconomy.

If someone wants to play a game in its maximum settings, he or she will need to update their video card and it will cost additional USD$300-500 per year for a new model. This was an issue desperate [...]

In this piece, Elle Chen, head of strategic partnerships, Simplaex, tells TheGamingEconomy that for gaming app developers, the ultimate goal is not just to have high installs but to build a community of addicted gamers. Think about how expensive it is to invest marketing budgets in user acquisition and then just let users fade away without a sustainable follow-up strategy. App retargeting, the go-to marketing technology for mobile marketers, helps you reactivate existing users as well as keep active [...]

Once considered TV’s last safe bastion, the world of live sports is facing disruption. Ratings have dropped, subscriptions have fallen, and digital platforms continue to take an increasing share of eyeballs. Confronted with an ageing demographic, it’s no surprise rights holders and sports teams are moving into esports to counter declining ratings and attract younger audiences. For brands, this represents an exciting opportunity – the variety of players, teams, stories, and narratives offer many opportunities to be relevant. Duncan [...]