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Crowdsourcing meets advertising: AppStori to aid developers with discovery

Partners with Millennial Media

Crowdsourcing meets advertising: AppStori to aid developers with discovery
Having launched as a crowdsourcing solution for mobile developers back in May, AppStori is now looking to up its arsenal by partnering with ad giant Millennial Media.

As it stands, developers list their projects on AppStori's site to pick up consumer support – users encouraged to browse the site and pick out the games they'd like to back.

Now, however, AppStori is also offering developers the carrot on a stick of $1,000 in funding to help their titles get discovered once they've launched.

Millennial mentor

The company claims eligible projects will receive $500 in cash and $500 in advertising credit on Millennial's network in order to push the game in question post release.

Millennial will also offer developers a 'dedicated mentor' designed to help them "maximise their opportunity to monetise, market and manage their new applications."

"There are developers out there that may have a million dollar idea, but simply don't have the tools or resources to execute it," said Millennial's SVP of global monetisation solutions Matt Gillis.  

"We want to enable these developers to realise their potential and build a business. Our partnership with AppStori is one more way we can help support those developers."

'Breeding ground for ideas'

Indeed, while crowdsourcing has itself been described as a marketing tool by many developers, it's not a guarantee that anyone outside a game's circle of supporters will pay to play once the title launches.

It's questionable, of course, just how far $1,000 will go in a marketplace where the bigger players are increasingly spending well in excess of that, but AppStori will hope even the acknowledgement that discovery is an issue will set it apart from other crowdsourcing options.

"AppStori is delighted to be working closely with a market leader like Millennial, that has been an innovator in the app economy from the beginning," added AppStori co-founders Arie Abecassis and Michael Semegran in a statement.

"This partnership furthers our goal of becoming the breeding ground for great app ideas, where developers and consumers are empowered to create engaging mobile apps. We share Millennial's vision and passion for innovation and creativity in the app economy."

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.