Joseph Iris has over 10 years of experience in adtech and currently serves as the director of ML product at Persona.ly, blending his background in product marketing with an understanding of machine learning fundamentals.
Focusing on practical insights, Iris aims to make complex topics accessible. His insights stem from a rich background in both technical and marketing domains.
Iris is one of more than 250+ expert speakers delivering 29 conference tracks at Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 22nd to 23rd. We asked Iris to tell us more about their upcoming talk, entitled 'Winning the Game: Leveraging Contextual Bandits for Creative Optimization', as well as get their opinions on the latest industry trends.
PocketGamer.biz: Please give us a summary of what you’re speaking about and why it’s important.
Joseph Iris: How data driven creative selection works - which machine learning models are utilised for it, the relevant concepts of reinforcement learning that apply to it, feature extraction from creatives, and what UA managers should expect when working with DSPs or platforms that employ them, to ensure they fully utilise their capabilities.
What is the single biggest challenge facing the mobile games industry today?
The barrier of entry is growing ever higher and smaller studios have a very hard time running user acquisition when competing over valuable users with the developers that have deep pockets and strong LTV predictions.
To shine at this point would mean to either invent new compelling experiences and gameplay or perfecting the execution of a genre - both equally challenging tasks.
What is the most overhyped trend from the last 12 months - and why?
Generative AI for creative generation, to an extent. I'm convinced of its use in the process for concept work and potentially for some elements included in the final product, but I still don't see it replacing anybody.
As usual, attribution as everything becomes more privacy centric.
What do you enjoy most about working in the mobile games industry?
It's dynamic nature - methodologies change, measurement changes. Basically, something major changes in two to three year cycles. It can be exhausting, but adapting to the changes is mostly exhilarating.
Can people get in touch with you at the event? What sort of people would you like to connect with?
Of course, drop by the Persona.ly booth and ask me any question about AI and user acquisition - though you'd likely need to stop me at some point.
Meet Joseph Iris at PG Connects London
Not only will you have the chance to see Joseph Iris take part as a speaker at the show, but you can also arrange to meet them at PG Connects London. Our online organiser MeetToMatch is free to all event attendees, connecting you directly with more than 2,500 decision makers from the global games industry.
As well as the 29-track conference schedule, the two-day event also features a series of side-events like The Very Big Indie Pitch, Publisher SpeedMatch, Investor Connector and a host of other networking opportunities all aimed at helping you level up your skills and business.
