Thomas Sommer

According to eMarketer, by 2016 mobile internet is poised to overtake desktop and reach $100 billion in ad spending. Very few businesses can turn their eyes away from the success of mobile as a platform these days. Whether it’s e-commerce, dating, entertainment, or lifestyle, all verticals are coming to the conclusion that, if they haven’t yet started taking mobile seriously, it’s about time they did.

If the rise of mobile followed the classic platform patterns, its development was pushed by an unusual vertical in the history of content platforms: gaming. Gaming apps were, without doubt, the first truly successful category on mobile and, it’s fair to say, games pioneered the industry and showed the way forward for all other verticals. Today, if mobile games no longer command the highest rank in the top free charts, they still take the crown in matters of in-app app store monetization as they fill most of the top-grossing positions.

With the experience comes the wisdom and there’s a lot everyone can gain from game publishers’ experience on the app stores. Here are the top 3 items all app publishers can learn from mobile gaming.

Although the concept of customer lifetime value (LTV) for mobile users has gained a lot of attention in the past couple of years, there is still a lot of confusion and misunderstandings around both LTV’s definition and how it should be used for mobile campaigns. Let’s try and debunk the myths, set expectations straight and see how LTV can be effectively leveraged for mobile advertising.

Let’s start off with the reassuring feeling that a majority of players within the mobile industry are leveraging LTV for their user acquisition efforts, are thinking of doing it, or at the very least have heard of the term. This is partly due to a general shift in mentalities and expectations in the industry towards ROI-positive media buying, as we have now completely entered the third wave of mobile marketing. Mobile marketers now understand the value of having of having insights on what’s happening after the install, all along the user lifecycle, and how it impacts overall ROI down the line.

Three months after its launch, the Apple Watch hasn’t left anyone unmoved and seems to crystalize the somewhat ludicrous feud between Cupertino haters and fanboys. One thing is certain though: commentators don’t seem to agree on whether the Watch is a success or not.