Data & Research

How May the Fourth drives growth for Star Wars content

Crunching the data with App Annie

How May the Fourth drives growth for Star Wars content

This article is part of an ongoing series of data-driven articles from PocketGamer.biz and App Annie highlighting trends in the global mobile games sector using App Annie’s app market data.

In this week’s column, we’re considering the marketing value of May the Fourth for Star Wars content.

It’s that day

Today, Disney+ will be releasing Star Wars: The Bad Batch to coincide with Star Wars Day (“May the Fourth”) — an annual celebration of the franchise’s dedicated fanbase.

Fans engage through mobile each year on May Fourth — highlighted through timely growth in Star Wars related apps and games.

Indeed, our Game IQ analysis, which leverages custom IP tags, highlights the significant growth in downloads for Star Wars-themed gaming apps.

“Historically, fans engage through mobile each year on Star Wars Day (May 4), which is seen through timely growth in Star Wars related apps and games.

“Most notably on May 4, 2020, LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga saw over 14,000 downloads (compared to an average of 1,400 daily downloads the week prior); and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes reached its highest daily downloads over the course of two months,” commented App Annie’s head of marketing insights, Lexi Sydow.

 

“We expect to see similar growth in demand this year, further emphasized by the Disney+ release of Star Wars: The Bad Batch on May 4, 2021.

“These timely engagements demonstrate the strength of the franchise’s dedicated fanbase on mobile.”

Today and everyday

However, the dedication of Star Wars’ fan base extends far beyond this annual celebration. In previous years, the release of Star Wars content on Disney+ led to increased downloads—no matter the time of year.

For example, The Mandalorian was released with the Disney+ US app launch in November 2019. The premiere of its second season, released October 30 2020, drew an increase of over 40% in daily active users versus the week prior average.

The significant growth in Star Wars related IP on mobile — tied to both the May Fourth celebration and franchise content releases — highlights the importance of finding new ways to maintain timely and relevant engagement with users.

Publishers should also consider the increased demand for search traffic during this time and factor this into a robust app store optimization (ASO) strategy.

Looking for more mobile insights? Download App Annie’s industry-leading State of Mobile report, covering everything you need to know about how to win on mobile in 2021.

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