FOMO-inducing facts that should sway your CMO to go all in on app marketing

By Einav Mor-Samuels

With more than 5.7 million apps out there, a beautifully designed app that offers an exquisite customer experience is not what’s going to help you stand out in the dense crowd.

App marketing, on the other hand, will.

Problem is, not every CMO is jumping at the opportunity to go all in on app marketing — either because they’re not sold on its competitive value, or are unaware of the massive impact it could have on your brand awareness, audience reach, customer experience, and ability to convert better and faster than ever before.

And if this hits home — fear not, brave marketers.

For this is your all-inclusive battlecard for getting your app marketing plan approved by your reluctant CMO, packed with all the knowledge and irresistible facts you need to be able win management over and take on the mobile world by storm.

Let’s get into it.

Seven truths no CMO can argue with when it comes to the app marketing opportunity

App marketing seven truths no CMO can argue with

1 – The mobile race is well under way. Don’t get left behind

No point in putting a bow on it. Refusing to invest in your business’ mobile presence is the equivalent of letting it die of a slow death. And if your CMO disagrees, the numbers tell a very compelling story.

According to our recent study, total app installs grew 10% during 2022 despite a post-COVID digital cooldown, privacy changes, and the economic downturn. More specifically, Android installs grew 9% YoY and iOS installs grew 16% after last year’s ATT low.

Apps spent $80 billion on UA in 2022, and non-gaming apps enjoyed a 20% jump in IAP. Last year also saw continuous ad revenue growth, driven primarily by games across both platforms, with Android notching a sizable 48% YoY increase in IAA and not too far behind — iOS with a 38% YoY growth.

Time spent on mobile devices has also been on a steep rise over the past few years, and the advertising industry was very quick to catch up. In fact, mobile advertising spend in 2022 surpassed $327 billion worldwide, and is projected to reach well beyond $339 billion by the end of 2023.

The math is simple, really.

Marketers go where consumers are, and in order for your app to become a raging success — you need to let people know about it.

With the Apple and Android app stores hosting close to 4.7 million apps, a clever and well-planned app marketing plan that’s based on a unique value proposition is your way to create a competitive edge and a distinct digital presence that’ll translate into tangible business results.

2 – App marketing is how you boost your ROI

Have a mobile app but can’t get the budget or buy-in to promote it?

Opting out of app marketing is the equivalent of hiding your app under a rock. How can anyone expect it to perform and bring in any value to your business when you’re doing nothing to help it get seen?

App marketing is your way to justify the investment that was put into your app development, and turn it into a highly successful revenue stream.

Remember, well-timed and personalized campaigns go a long way. From offering immediate gratification (think of irresistible pizza ads that go straight for the craving button) to planting a seed for future consideration (next time you feel like ordering pizza for dinner, guess which brand will come to mind?).

Speaking of carbs — here’s a fun fact. When Dominos first launched their app, their ads included a toppings slot machine for people who couldn’t decide what to order, and a Pizza Hero iPad game where users could win an actual pizza.

The results of their clever gamification-focused campaign efforts was a 19% YOY increase in global sales. A fantastic example of how a solid, timely app marketing strategy can seriously propel brands forward.

3 – Investing in app marketing is investing in brand awareness

Think about the following stat: Users spend an average of 147 minutes a day on social media. This makes app advertisement on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, or Snapchat, a highly effective way to create measurable brand awareness, despite being used primarily to drive performance.

Some, including your CMO, might hesitate when considering an investment in brand awareness, because of not being able to see an immediate impact in the same way they would with performance-driven campaigns — that deliver sign-ups, purchases, or first deposits.

But here’s the thing: The goal of brand awareness campaigns is to expand reach by continuously cultivating brand recognition in the form of the right ads, at the right time, on the right platforms.

It’s a long-term investment designed to let the world know about your brand’s unique competitive value, which will eventually help lower your acquisition costs, and even scale up your LTV.

4 – App marketing campaigns offer unmatched insights that span channels, media sources, and platforms

Going all in on app marketing means getting more performance data.

Gaining access to metrics like ROAS, installs, and LTV — allows you to identify the channels that bring in the highest value users, optimize your campaigns’ messaging & creatives based on real-time data, and fine-tune your audience segmentation to polish your reach.

We know that user journeys don’t take place on just one channel or device. So why should your campaigns and measurement be any different?

Using data that spans channels, platforms, and media sources is how you:

Maximize your conversion efforts
Come up with category-specific strategies to scale your performance
Find creative ways to improve your users’ engagement
Identify various tactics to improve your users’ LTV

It’s true that recent privacy changes led by iOS 14 brought about a host of challenges, particularly around granular measurement. However, new (and not so new) solutions in our space are already covering most data blindspots, allowing marketers to regain performance visibility while safeguarding their consumers’ privacy.

To learn more about how to break your addiction to user level data and piece the measurement puzzle together check out our blog series with the wonderful Thomas Petit.

5 – It’s how you discover a broader audience & expand into new markets

App marketing discovers broader audience and expand into new markets

A well-crafted app marketing strategy can help you attract more of the right kind of users, i.e. loyal, engaged, and higher LTV.

Remember the data-driven campaigns argument?

When you know where your most valued users are coming from, you can dial up your campaign efforts in that region or channel, and broaden your reach in the most effective and cost-efficient way.

Embracing localization

Localizing your app and marketing activities to fit new, sought-after regions that are not yet familiar with your app — is a very smart investment.

And if you’re not entirely convinced localization is worth exploring, ask yourself how an enterprise like Slack connects with its global users from more than 150 countries so meaningfully?

The answer is, you guessed it, localization. It allows brands to build trust with their users in a language they understand and with cultural references that are familiar to them.

Because of that, in a trillion dollar global smartphone economy where $118 billion is generated via apps, localizing your app and marketing efforts can literally help position your app to rule the world.

6 – Owned media is an excellent strategy in the battle against churn

Retention is a painful topic for app-owning brands.

During Q3 of 2022, Android apps’ retention on day 14 was down 6.5% compared to Q3 of 2021. According to our 2022 research, 53% of apps are uninstalled after 30 days of being downloaded, with 45% of these uninstalls taking place within the first 24 hours.

That’s a lot of users going MIA, in most cases in favor of the competition.

But there are effective ways to mitigate these nasty statistics. For one, an effective onboarding strategy that reminds users how to use your app, and why. Use a careful blend of in-app messages and push notifications with clear calls to action.

And if you’re still not entirely convinced this will be worth your while, munch on this: Increasing your retention by only 5% can increase your profits by 25%-95%.

Clear gain no matter which way you look at it.

7 – It’s how you cultivate more loyal users (and revenue)

Did you know that loyal app users produce 3.5x more revenue than random ones, and are 3x more likely to make a repeat in-app purchase?

But loyalty-focused campaigns are more than a monetization tactic. No less than 84% of consumers say they’re more likely to stick with a brand that offers a good loyalty program, making these types of campaigns a great way to encourage brand devotion and organic expansion.

TLDR please

Mobile apps enable you to increase your brand awareness with target audiences, offer seamless onboarding, retain users and improve their overall LTV, and gather valuable insights. But, building an awesome app means nothing if there isn’t an app marketing plan in place.
With the Apple and Android app stores hosting close to 4.7 million apps, a clever and well-planned app marketing plan that’s based on a unique value proposition — is your way to create a competitive edge and a distinct presence that can’t be ignored.
A data-driven app marketing strategy is how you get more installs and boost your ROI, promote brand awareness, expand into new markets, battle churn, and nurture a loyal user base.
Despite tightening privacy laws that have limited marketers’ access to user-level data, advertisers can put a host of privacy-preserving solutions to use — to be able to continuously measure and optimize the performance of their app marketing activities, and make well-informed decisions accordingly.

Marketing budgets User acquisition User experience