Interview

Chartboost's Pepe Agell on generating mobile gaming next billion happy cross-promotional impressions

Acquiring new users and making cash from your games

Chartboost's Pepe Agell on generating mobile gaming next billion happy cross-promotional impressions
When it comes to advertising and promotional networks, there are two key elements: scale and quality.

Both are required, but scale is what really matters.

So, given that mobile gaming cross-promotion platform Chartboost has accumulated 1 billion impressions in nine months, you think it would be all about pushing on to through the 2 billion barrier.

But no. Pepe Agell, head of worldwide developers relations, wants to point out the quality of its impressions.

"We're super happy, because we have 1 billion happy impressions," he says.

"Our developers are happy and their users are happy too."

Smarter than the average...

Indeed, Chartboost is keen to stress it's not an ad network.

"I don't think people are happy with the traditional networks," Agell says.

"Developers don't have control over what ads run, while clients don't have control over where their ads are shown. "

Instead, developers who sign up for Chartboost SDK have can decide how to use the interstitial ads within their games. For example, they can use them purely to point their existing players to their other games, even creating their own incentivised promotions with in-game currency to encourage downloads.

Alternatively, they can create groups of developers who carry out free link exchange programs between themselves, or generate revenue by running game ads for the likes of NaturalMotion, The Playforge, Pocket Gems, and DeNA, amongst others.

Helping hand

"Yes, there's some overlap with the ad networks," confesses Agell.

"But we offer a new way to connect with gamers. We let developers cross-promote their own games and they can work with other developers if they want to."

As part of this offering, Chartboost is keen to promote its direct deals marketplace, which enables small developers to sign up with individual volume players and keep 100 percent of the revenue share.

"Acquiring users is becoming a more expensive business, but there are plenty of publishers which big budgets who understand how to monetise their players," says Agell.

"And we want to help out the smaller developers so they can build - and monetise - their user base."

More, everywhere

As for pushing on the 'next billion' scale questions, Chartboost is getting up to speed on Android. Its iOS product launched officially in June 2011, with Android following in December. That means there's still plenty of growth on that side of the business.

"The number of users on Android is growing fast. Plus we see many developers who tried us in one or two of their games are now integrating us across all their apps," Agell reveals.

He's also spending more time in Europe to encourage studios based there to get up-to-speed with the network.

"We finding developers in certain regions are particularly keen on attracting users in other regions," he says.

At the moment, 50 percent of Chartboost's traffic is US-based, but Japan, Korea and China are being increasingly targeted - something Chartboost is supporting by localising its website into those languages, and creating local support.

Certainly, it seems there's plenty more opportunities from where that first billion came from, and beyond.

You can find out more about Chartboost via its website

Contributing Editor

A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.