Mobile Video Monthly #23 – April 2022
App News
October 13, 2022
By now you all have heard about Elon Musk buying Twitter, the entire tech industry’s focus was on that deal. But there were other noticeable news happening for mobile marketers! Let’s get into them
Apple’s WWDC 2022 will take place from June 6 to June 10
It’s almost time for Apple’s yearly Worldwide Developers Conference. Just like last year, the 2022 edition will be entirely online. From June 6 to June 10, developers everywhere will have access to the latest Apple news directly on their website.
According to Apple’s official announcement, the 2022 program should include “more information sessions, more cutting-edge learning labs, more digital lounges to engage with attendees, and more localized content to make WWDC22 a truly global event”. The Swift Student Challenge is also included in this year’s edition.
WWDC20 brought us ATT, a true tsunami in the ASO world, and WWDC21 introduced us to Apple’s native A/B testing and Custom Product Pages. Let’s see what WWDC22 has to offer.
Changes coming to the Play Store’s A/B testing
While Google’s yearly I/O is only a week away (it’s planned for the 11 and 12 of May), the firm just updated the Play Store’s store listing experiments with 3 new capabilities according to their official blog.
This is the only new information available on the topic. Google didn’t specify when the features would become available to everyone.
In the meantime, you can try Android 13.1’s new beta version right here.
TikTok should surpass Snapchat and Twitter in ad revenues
TikTok’s growth is no surprise anymore, however, the Chinese social media giant is close to a couple of milestones. Their global ad revenue should triple by 2022, putting them in front of the combined ad revenue of Snapchat and Twitter. It was still the most downloaded app of Q1 2022.
They won’t stop there, the video app is set to rival YouTube’s ad revenue in 2024 and reach 3% of the worldwide digital advertising market. Half of that revenue will come from the US.
To help their revenue growth, TikTok launched a new marketing education initiative this month called CAP University. It’s a custom learning program that will help marketers strategize their UA campaign on the app.
The Data Safety Section is arriving on the Play Store
First announced last may, users will finally be able to start seeing the data safety section in the Google Play Store. This section showcases information about how apps or games collect, share and secure users’ data. Even though some safety sections are becoming visible, the deadline to complete them is July 20th. To do so, you need to fill out the dedicated form.
Apple is removing old apps from the App Store
Lately, Apple has been removing apps that haven’t been updated in the past two years. Concerned developers will receive an email telling them they have 30 days to submit an update before their app is taken off the platform.
Developers are expressing their concerns with this development, some simply had no time to update their app and others argue that older mobile games should remain available. Indeed, some are finished products that won’t ever receive an update and others might simply break down if they’re updated now.
Google announced a similar policy, starting on November 1, 2022, “existing apps that don’t target an API level within two years of the latest major Android release version will not be available for discovery or installation for new users with devices running Android OS versions higher than apps’ target API level”
Twitter kept busy
In the span of one month, Elon Musk announced he had bought 9% of Twitter’s share (making him the biggest shareholder so far), then got offered a seat on the board which he subsequently refused before making an offer to buy out the entirety of Twitter a couple of days later. On the 25th of April, a deal was reached and Elon Musk will take Twitter private.
However, this is not the only change coming to the platform, the long-awaited (and decried) edit button is currently in the works and they’re launching three new advertising formats:
- Collection ads where brands can display the main image and up to five smaller thumbnail visuals
- Interactive text ads to highlight 3 words in ad copies
- Product explorer ads where brands can showcase their products in 3D
Say goodbye to in-stream video ads on Instagram
Instagram is removing in-stream ad placements for video ads on its platform. Don’t worry, the other placements are still available (such as Stories and Reels) but according to the notification received by some, Instagram is looking to push Reels ads.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, had already made the platform’s focus on Reels known a couple of months ago. Although it was expected, it’s still a pretty sudden move. Instagram is betting on Reels to compete with TikTok, even on advertising, although Reels ads are a very recent addition to the platform.
The European Union approved the DSA too
Last month, European Union officials reached a deal for the Digital Market Act before a final vote later this year. In April, they did the same with the Digital Service Act. The DSA will provide further restrictions on online advertising such as the interdiction to target children specifically as well as limiting the use of sensitive personal data (like gender, race or religion) for targeted advertising.
Just like the DMA, the DSA’s final text won’t be available for several weeks and a final vote still needs to be held. Once this is done, it would take effect next year.
To see what the impact of the DSA and DMA will be for app marketers, check out our article on the subject!
Numbers of the month
- Language learning app installs rose 71% in Europe
- Average CPA in Apple Search Ads amount to $3.64 in Q4 2021
- Global mobile game downloads reached 4.4 billion for February 2022
- Apple’s 2021 privacy policy cut revenues for 40% of mobile advertisers
- Social app of the moment, BeReal, grows users 315% YTD
- China lifts games license freeze, 45 new games approved
- Social media advertising grew 39% in 2021
- Daily time spent on mobile grows up to 35% from 2019 to 2022
- Adjust: hypercasual made up 27% of global mobile downloads in 2021
- Community mobile games are favored and 46% of revenues come from in-game ads
- Mobile gamers are spending 4% more in Puzzle games
- Apple’s ATT crackdown estimated to cost Facebook another $13 billion in 2022
- Facebook’s ad targeting is still inaccurate a third of the time
The App Marketing Snack’s latest episodes
- Talking about the future of the mobile industry with Peggy Anne Salz, Founder of MobileGroove and writer ⎮ Episode 7
- Enes Malik Turhan, Mobile Growth Specialist for Sensor Tower, is sharing his top ASO tips with us ⎮ Episode 8
What we talked about this month
- What’s the Digital Market Act and what will it mean for app marketers?
- Why you need to set up a branding strategy for your app
- Are alternative app stores worth it?
- Mobile Video Monthly #38 – November 2023 - 5 December 2023
- Disturbing ads, a new trend for mobile gaming creatives? - 28 November 2023
- The Power of Holiday Marketing in Boosting Mobile Game Engagement - 21 November 2023
