The dark side of video ads, how to segment your players, and has Vivendi made a huge mistake?
It's been in the works for several months, but Vivendi has finally completed its hostile takeover of Gameloft and acquired a majority stake in the developer.
But, as Jon Jordan points out in our most read article of last week, it might not have been a particularly sound investment for the major corporation.
Our second most read article is an interview with mega trends expert Eric Seufert, who just set up a new boutique mobile marketing agency, Heracles.
Segements and revenues
Third is Peter Fodor on why you should be segmenting your players to get the most value out of your game, and how exactly to go about it.
And finally, Nick Hatter tells us about the dark side of incentivised video ads, and Clash of Clans sees its revenues drop below $4 million a day.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our reader's attention over the last week.
#5: Clash of Clans' revenue drops below $4 million a day, but still making $100 million a month
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Clash of Clans' revenue drops below $4 million a day, but still making $100 million a month »$4 million is still a lot of money at the end of the day, but perennial top-grosser Clash of Clans' revenues dropping below $4 million a day is still a pretty big deal.
That said, the game managed to rake in $100 million in April, alongside its MOBA sister Clash Royale, showing that the games still aren't cannibalising one another.
They weren't the top grossing games of April though - Monster Strike took that crown, earning $138 million in a month.
And Game of War and Puzzle & Dragons join the other games in the top five grossing mobile games of April 2016, taking the fourth and fifth spots respectively.
#4: The downsides of and alternatives to incentivised video ads
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The downsides of and alternatives to incentivised video ads »Just about everyone and their mother has been raving about incentivised video ads, which are proving to be very successful for the developers who use them effectively.
Everyone except Nick Hatter, founder of giftgaming, who believes that incentivised videos have a dark side to them.
"A significant percentage of users do not opt-in to watch video ads. Based on private research by giftgaming, up to 75% of players do not opt-in to watch video ads," he states.
He also offers some alternatives to incentivised ad, including the "sponsored in-game gifts" that his company specialises in.
#3: Why segmentation is the key to the longterm success of your F2P mobile game
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Why segmentation is the key to the longterm success of your F2P mobile game »"Most mobile developers and marketers believe that segmentation involves grouping users by certain characteristics."
"In fact, segmentation is an iterative process that helps us build up a complete understanding of our app's users."
So says founder of AppAgent, Peter Fodor, in his guest article about why segmentation is the key to making your free-to-play game successful in the longterm.
He goes on to talk about how best to go about segmenting, and discusses what the actual goal of segmenting your players is, which Fodor claims is "Communicating, delivering, and selling the right service to the right user at the right time."
#2: UA MegaTrends guy Eric Seufert on setting up Heracles, a boutique agency providing CMO smarts
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UA MegaTrends guy Eric Seufert on setting up Heracles, a boutique agency providing CMO smarts »Eric Seufert will be memorable to our readers as the man behind the top three mega-trends of 2016, and for being VP of User Acquisition and Network Engagement at Rovio.
These days, however, Seufert is heading up Heracles, a boutique mobile marketing agency, and we decided to ask him all about it.
Co-founded with Ketchapp CRO Christian Calderon, the company's main difference to other marketing agencies is that, according to Seufert, "we don't really 'engage' with app developers; we see our clients as partners."
"We come in as de facto CMOs, help them to put together a strategy for building their app's user base, and then we execute against that strategy with full campaign management and share in the app's revenue."
#1: Has Vivendi just bought an over-staffed, under-skilled company, which is failing to compete in a rapidly maturing market?
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Has Vivendi just bought an over-staffed, under-skilled company, which is failing to compete in a rapidly maturing market? »Say what you like about the somewhat inflammatory headline, but there's a solid case to be made that Vivendi buying a majority stake in Gameloft isn't such a sound investment.
Valuing the company at $800 million, Vivendi is clearly very serious about taking control by any means, but Gameloft hasn't been in the best state for some time.
This is likely because of its struggle to get to grips with the free-to-play market, or Jon puts it, "Gameloft still has too many staff, too many of the wrong staff, and too many of the wrong staff in the wrong places."
