Marketing 101 for google io final nv

Editor's Notes

• #3: Good Afternoon and welcome to Marketing 101 for DevelopersI’m Patrick Mork, head of marketing for Google Play, and we’re going to spend the next 45 mins or so talking how to market your apps so we hope you enjoy the session!
• #4: Today we’re going to talk marketing. Among some of things we’re going to talk about our the famous – 4P’s of marketingWell…. Please does start with the letter P but seriously we’ll be talking about the 4P’s and a whole lot more good stuff.So let’s have a quick look at what we’re going to cover today….Next slide
• #5: This is our marketing checklist!Don’t worry – if you’re eyes are glazing over this right now we’ll get back to it by the end of the session and a copy will be available for you (where?)You’ll notice it’s also color coded to give you an idea of which things you should be looking depending on how advanced you are in marketing or your level of sophisticationIf you’re advanced that means you’re making some real money already which is great!First, though one thing that’s true is that marketers like cool videos so here’s one to get us started. This one is an exclusive for Google IO and we thought you’d like it ;)We call this Gears, it’s all about AppsAnd…I’m proud to say this is a Google IO exclusive. This video has never been seen outside Google Until today and we’re sharing it with you guys FIRST
• #6: Here’s a little something to give you an idea of how we’re talking to consumers about appsIntroducing GearsPlay videos
• #10: Marketing starts before you you even begin to build your app – through research. After that it’s about identifying what’s unique, useful and different about apps. How do they make people’s lives easier, more enjoyable, more productiveFinally how do we tie all this togetherBut fundamentally you nee to know your user and match you products need to how they live and what they needSo let’s say you’re a carpenter for example? How magical is the experience the first time you fire up Ben Zibble’sBubbleapp? It brings the magic of technology together in a simple and easy way that serves a purpose and makes a task easier (and even more fun in some cases)Pretty cool ;) I actually had to use this in my house the other day and honestly, it’s pretty neat! Great work Ben.
• #11: So, traditionally, marketers are taught that there are 4 P’s – product, price, place and promotion (promo = dist. In this case). This is the essence of what drives marketingThe main problem we tend to see in Apps is simple – most developers only focus on the product (the app) and the price (absolute value or business model)They seem to forget about the others or struggle to map how one applies to the other wrt to what they’re doing.Let’s take the myth out of this and explain how the 4P’s apply to Apps & Games…
• #12: Research should always form the backbone of what you doIt doesn’t have to be very expensive or take a lot of timeYou would be amazed what you can glean from a sample of 1500 questions – you should always do at least 500 in any given market to have a statistically revelevant sampleQuestions typically go for .20 per question answered but vary by providerSome providers offer direct access to consumers while others only provide the tools and templates to run questionsAlso you can get reports on the web from various sources like Emarketer and others that provide a snapshot of consumer sentiment
• #13: When we’ve got to snack we buy snacks right? When we’re starving we sit down and order a 3,4,5 course meal. You don’t eat a 5 course meal if you’re just a “little hungry”Mobile is the same. Mobile is about snacking. The majority of consumers spend an average of a little of 1.5 hours per day using apps according research we’ve seen. So if the average consumer has 10 apps they use most than that’s about 10 mins per app. Not exactly a deep, immersive experience.Consumer usage of apps is typically about an impulse usage. They dip in and out of their mobiles throughout the dayThis has clear product implications for us…It means consumers don’t have a lot of time to download and install apps (keep files sizes small)It means consumers probably won’t wait more than 10-15 seconds for your app to loadIt means consumers aren’t going to read a manual or look at detailed help menus to figure out how your app worksIt means they don’t expect an experience which is as deep detailed as the equivalent piece of software on a PC or gaming consoleIt means they will be unforgiving and ruthless if your app doesn’t work the way they expect it to (hello social media rant!)
• #14: Ebuddy is one of these amazing little apps that sometimes folks in the valley haven’t heard of but that really “gets” consumer habitsMatter of fact this app has done 10-50M downloads on Google play and is one of the most popular in the world after nearly 5 years on mobile starting on J2ME (compared to 5-10M for foursquare for example)The app has maintained a 4.3 ranking after more than 155k reviewsSolves a need = allows you to message all through friends across over ½ dozen IM clients incluging Facebook, Yahoo, Aim and MSNHas incredible device coverage = not only on thousands of Android phones but also on just about every phone and platform you can imagine (remember true virality means ubiquitous access). Part of the benefit of Android is the sheer NUMBER of devices out there you can tap intoUpdated on average every 3 months with major upgrades coming every 6 monthsDeveloped using best practice Android development guidelines and also has feature in versions above 2.2 that makes more efficient use of battery life on Android devices.
• #15: But don’t take our word for it. Let’s hear from one of our top developers what they think makes a good appPlay video please….
• #16: Ok, naturally we all enjoying making great games and apps but if we can’t pay the water bill things start to get a bit hairy by the end of the monthOf the top 20 grossing apps on Google play for my devices last week only two – Nova 3 and Minecraft Pocket edition we’re paid for downloads. Now accounts for over 50% of revenuesCompetition in freemium is now fierce and you have to have something truly compelling and make sure it’s priced right to get consumers to convertTraditionally, a decent metric to conversion on freemium is around 2% but I’ve seen and heard of developers doing 5% or more. It is doable with the right strategy and a great product
• #17: If you price at launch at .99 than where do you discount from there? Most developers both on IOS and Android price at .99 cents. This becomes a race the the bottom. If you don’t put a value on your content than why should consumers? We’ve seen apps like Nova 3 or Mlb at Bat do well with high price points but the content has to be really compellingUnderstand your price live cycle. If you’re going to do a paid app start higher; don’t discount immediately, don’t discount often and when you get a surge from discounting in volume increase the price again as virality kicks in
• #18: If you’re doing ad funded the critical things are:Fill rate (how much of your ad inventory can the ad network fill)Ecpm what’s the earnings per thousand that the ad network can generate for you; this is how you get paidReach – how much reach does the ad network have (this varies by region)Which developers / brands have they worked withTalk to those developersThe good news is mobile is where the eyeballs are….ecpm’s will catch upWe live in a Global world. Our fastest growing markets these days go beyond the US to markets like Korea, Brazil and Australia. You need to understand how consumers respond to pricing in markets like this. In a market like India where over 90% are on pre-pay card it becomes almost impossible to expect people to pay for a piece of content right off the bat. The reality is you can and should price discriminate between markets. IN some markets offer a freemium app, in others paid, and in others ads. You can even target specific devices with specific prices.Pricing is a science but it can be mastered. Let’s hear what one of our top developers has to say about it…VIDEO Please….
• #19: Um…yes the guy on the right is supposed to be me… ;)So typically before we start to promote a product at Google we’ll look at a series of frameworks to put our promotions in placeThis ensures we really understand – the market, who we should talk to, what we’re going to tell them (STP) and how we’re going to tell themNext we begin to build our plan. People use different names but mine is ALTR. Basically, we design a series of programs that target each step in this processAs a developer it all starts with awareness – people need to know your product. What it is, why it’s unique, why they need it, where they can get it
• #20: In reality this exerciseyou should do before you actually build your appThe key first step is breaking down your audienceFor example in this case the developer has identified that Time / Disposable income are key since he has a game that is freemium based but also requires time for people to get intoSo in this case the developer decides to end up focusing on men / women 24-35 (no kids) as the likely audience since they have more time but also have more money
• #21: Develop a positioning statement (1-2 lines max) that really boils down the essence of what your app does. Re-work it until it’s as short as possibleThe positioning statement should grip your consumer from the beginning or you’ll loose themClearly communicate the 2-3 things that make your app stand out from the rest. Be explicit!Don’t be shy about what consumers should do once they’ve read about your app – tell them to download it and where!On creative: Start earlyIf you don’t have design skills hire a part time designer ( you could always find one straight out of design school and pay them by project)Alternatively, outsource you design to small design agencies, temporary contract workersTypically, you’ll a need a graphic designer or senior designer – a good one can go for as little at $2500 for a month if you hire them on retainer
• #22: As expected, our research taken from over 1500 consumers a few weeks ago shows us the key drivers are apps reviews, browsing top apps lists and looking at user ratingsAs you can see the assets I discussed earlier are also very important (it’s your packaging after all!)More importantly, not only are reviews important for consumers  they also affect your rankings and how you appear in search resultsSo when consumers browse those lists or search for your app, reviews also play a partAs do installs and uninstallsSo “search” in reality is far more important than it would seem here Your results in search are a function of your install,suninsalls, reviews, Web anchoring and more
• #23: Your marketing plan really needs to be broken down into phasesEach phase has different goalsEach goal has a separate set of programs / activitiesTailor your activities and spend to the appropriate phase which your product is inDon’t skip ahead and do Repeat or purchase until you’re sure you have the first two downUSE VIDEO!
• #24: Brand - really about building consumer awareness and not about pushing purchase. Includes Web, Video, TV, Radio, Print, OOH. Generally more expensive.benefit: reach, awareness, prestigeNegative: cost, not necessarily related to downloads and conversions, harder to measure (requires brand trackers)DR – really about generating trial and purchase. Online, Mobile, Search, Ads, Display, Email / CRMbenefit: very measurable, ROI driven, easy to understand / measureNegative: Need to understand LTV of your app, many options to choose from, can require significant cost (search can start from as little as $100 while mobile ads may require $2500-$5000 for a test. Incentivized can reduce rankings if leads to high un installsMeasurement – Impressions, Clicks, Acquisitions, CTI – if possible, Be very mindful of your net installs (new installs vs. un installs) as this will affect your search ranking. Great session on Day 3 at 11:30!
• #26: Target as many handsets as you can – for most developers virality is key, you can’t get virality without device coverageWe live in a global world – get used to it. The most successful developers are global in every sense of the word. CCX is successful because it’s widely more available than bottled waterMap all your distribution channelsGoogle PlayCarriersApp Store XPre-bundlingRetailGift CardsCo-marketingImportantly, prioritize and focus on the top channels
• #27: This is our marketing checklist!Don’t worry – if you’re eyes are glazing over this right now we’ll get back to it by the end of the session and a copy will be available for you (where?)You’ll notice it’s also color coded to give you an idea of which things you should be looking depending on how advanced you are in marketing or your level of sophisticationIf you’re advanced that means you’re making some real money already which is great!First, though one thing that’s true is that marketers like cool videos so here’s one to get us started:We call this Gears, it’s all about AppsAnd…I’m proud to say this is a Google IO exclusive. This video has never been seen outside Google Until today and we’re sharing it with you guys FIRST