Mobile Growth Summit 2018: What did we learn?

 by Zuar Salazar, Head of Sales, EMEA | Glispa

The Mobile Growth Summit is one of the most intimate events for anyone in the mobile ad tech space – and 2018’s event in Berlin last week did not disappoint. Team Glispa attended the conference from September 5- 6, giving us the chance to chat with industry leaders on the hottest trends, listen to a range of expert speakers, join the rooftop party and, as an official sponsor, host lunch for all attendees. After a jam-packed couple of days, here are my five main takeaways from this year’s amazing event:

Consistent app growth in Europe

It’s no longer the “gold rush” days for apps in Europe, according to Appsflyer. A lot of talk at this year’s event focused on the changing app ecosystem, with Ben Jaeger, Managing Director DACH & Nordics, stating that the Asian market will drive growth, while Europe’s share will remain stable and North America will experience declines. At Glispa, we’re seeing that the European app economy is still doing rather well, with Germany leading the way, followed by France and the United Kingdom.

Quality remains king and we must optimize for better engagement

Delivering quality is essential for the success of many apps and tech companies. The conference highlighted that optimizing engagement is the best practice to achieve this and there were a few speakers that really caught my attention. Lena Langhoff, Head of CRM at Foodspring, mentioned the “key is focusing on value, touching on a person’s need, and being consistent in your messaging.” Jessica Hasenplaugh, Head of User Acquisition at Wooga, discussed the opportunities of creative testing and the benefits of testing different types of formats to make each of them work. It’s evident the trend towards creativity definitely matters and will become even more crucial in today’s mobile age.

It’s not just “spin, spin, spin”

The curiosity surrounding playables is unparalleled, but it’s clear that advertisers are struggling to see passed the already overused slot machine concept. The possibilities for the format are exciting and non-gaming brands have yet to put their trust in the opportunities creative gamification can bring.In our latest infographic series, we talk about the unexpected perks of playables.

Personalized marketing will maximize app user retention

User retention is becoming a huge priority for app developers, particularly those in the food delivery and gaming industries. For these players, the most effective way to bring people back to an app is to personalize marketing messages. I loved what Igor Lubawinski, VP of CRM at Delivery Hero, said at the conference when he reminded attendees about how push notifications can be sexy: “Be top of mind, be fun, understand the Zeitgeist. When you make people smile and be comfortable, you win.”

Audio is the new programmatic channel

The “I have to have a podcast” generation made audio portals big, which created new opportunities for placing ads. Now, portals such as SoundCloud and Pandora are offering programmatic solutions, and advertisers are leveraging the new channel of audio programmatic due to the high transparency, personalization, and discoverability it comes with. Brian Gilbert, Senior Director, Platform and Programmatic Operations at Pandora, pointed out the potential here: “We have a massive reach, we’re only at the early days of programmatic and audio; devices like smart speakers are still developing and are untapped yet.”

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Do you want to learn more about the mobile app space or get in touch with us at future event? Check out where we’ll be and visit our blog for more insights.