MonetizeyourappsTTOW0610MobileApplicationDevelopment

Autumn2017/PasiManninen

Freewithads

• thesimplestwaytomonetizeafree app• ideaisthatyouofferyourappforfreeanddisplayadvertsintheapptogenerateincome• usertaps ontheadthenyouearnmoneyorevenwhenadisvisible• sinceusersdon’ttaponeveryadvertthenyouwon’tgeta100%click-through-rate(CTR)• theCTRisthenumberofadswhicharetappeddividedbythenumberofadsdisplayed(impressions),expressedasapercentage• themorepeoplewhouseyourappandthemoreadsthataredisplayed,thegreaterthechanceofahigherCTR

1.Banner

• banneradsarerectangularimageortextadsthatoccupyaspotwithinanapp'slayout• stayonscreenwhileusersareinteractingwiththeapp• refreshautomaticallyafteracertainperiodoftime• CTRsaidtobe0.1percentto0.2percent

• tomake$1000amonthyouneedhalfamillionimpressionspermonth• forleadingapp->verypossible,inrealonly1%ofapps

• ifyou'renewtomobileadvertising,they'reagreatplacetostart

2.Interstitial

• fullscreenadsthatcovertheinterfaceofanappuntilclosedbytheuser• aredisplayedbetweentwodifferentsectionsoftheappscontent(betweenonelevelandthenext)• haveagreaterCTR,evenashighas5%

• iftheappisgetting50,000impressionsperdaythenthepotentialearningscouldreach$3500permonth

3.Native

• component-basedadformat• givesyouthefreedomtocustomize• choosingfonts,colors,andotherdetails• canaddtoarichuserexperience• componentcanbelikeapartoflistview

4.RewardedVideo

• fullscreenvideoads• short,usuallyaround15secmax• usershavetheoptionofwatching(usuallynotskippable)• allowyoutorewarduserswithin-appitems(forexample)• Userdoesn'tneedtospendrealmoney• 52%ofmobilegamedevelopersthoughtofvideoadsasprovidingthehighestrevenueperusercomparedtoanyothertypeofin-gameadvertising:link

Freewithads- overall

• itisalsoimportantwheretheadsaredisplayed• ifyouonlydisplaythebanneradontheOptionspage->thenyouaren’tgoingtogetmanyimpressions• ifyoudisplaytwobannersontheappsmaincontentthenusersaregoingtoquicklygetannoyedwiththeintrusivenessoftheadsanduninstalltheapp

• balancebetweenmaximizingtheprominenceofadsandirritatingyourusers

popularadplatforms

• Admob• InMobi• MillennialMedia• Tapjoy• Smaato• Media.net• StartApp• Flurry

• Leadbolt• Chartboost• AdColony• Apploving• Vungle• Kimia• Airpush• ….

Freemium

• https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/topgrossing• atleastthefirst40appsareallfree• freetodownloadanduse,offerin-apppurchasesthatcostrealmoney• buythingslikeextralevelsorvirtualcoins• hardertoimplement(programming/administration),needsgoodplanning

• Ifhandledwrongly->userswontplay->uninstall

• ItemsarehandledforexampleinGooglePlay,notintheappitself

• Thefreemiummodelisthemostsuccessfulmodelandgenerateslargeamountsofincoming

Freemiumcase:Supercell

• $2.3billionin2016revenue(andsamein2015):HayDay,ClashofClans,ClashRoyaleandBoomBeach• 213employeesandonlyfourgamesonthemarket• storyofthemodernmobilegameindustry

• Supercell’sgamesarefree-to-play,whereyoucanplaythemforfreeandspendrealmoneyonin-gameitems.Supercell’sfanscompetewitheachotherviaclans,andtheyspendmoneyatinsanelevels

Paid

• MinecraftisoneofthetopgrossingAndroidappsanditisalsoastandardpaidapp• https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mojang.minecraftpe• todownloadapaidapp,theuserneedstohaveacreditcardregisteredwithGoogle(forexample)

• googleplayappcancostfrom$0.99to$400(Finlandupto350€)• monetizationviathePaidmodelisverysimple

• uploadyourapptoGoogle• settheprice• selecttheregions• publishtheapp

• thedownsideisthatyouwillneedtopromote(market)theappheavilyasusersaren’tkeenonpartingwiththeirmoneyforanunknowncommodity

Othertacticsandnotes

• freeappwithadvertsandofferanin-apppurchasetoremovetheads• yourappwillbebrandedinstoresas“OffersIn-AppPurchaces”• itcanreducedownloads

• storesarenowlabelingwhichappscontainads• itcanreducedownloads

• …

Case:Admob byGoogle

• “advertisingonmobile”• oneofthemostpopularmobilead networks• thenetworkwasacquiredbyGooglebackin2010• goodnumberofadvertisers• alotofdifferentstatistics• cross-platformcapability:Android,iOS,WindowsPhone,webOS,…• https://www.google.com/admob/• https://developers.google.com/admob/android/quick-start

Admob - Exercise

• goto:https://developers.google.com/admob/android/quick-start• followgetstartedinstructions• createanandroidproject(selectemptyactivity)• addGooglePlayServicesforAdsinbuild.gradle dependencies• createanAdMob accountandregisteranappOR useyoucanusetestadidsfortestingads• modifyMainActivity toinitializeMobileAds• addabanneradtoyourMainActivity (xmllayoutandcode)• runandseeatestad• testotheradformats:smartbanner,interstitial,rewardedvideo