Gold Rush
PlayStack’s new mobile game Dig That Gold gives away real 24k gold bars to players
Publisher partners with UK start-up Project M on title
Marketing
Google introduces new ad campaign tools aimed at re-engaging lapsed players
App Campaigns for engagement and smart segregation look to hone your advertising efforts
Global Branding
WeQ launches influencer marketing agency for campaigns on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok
Led by former Live.me senior director Elena Kutsopal and Playcom chief sales officer Olga Wese
Research
Newzoo: Mobile gamers are more receptive to brands than non-gamers
The Activision-Blizzard partnered Betting on Billions paper makes key insights into mobile gaming demographics
But Why?
THQ Nordic hosts AMA on infamous message board 8chan then clarifies it "does not condone child pornography"
PR and marketing director Philipp Brock claims to have no knowledge of site's history
Big Investment
Mobile marketing tech firm Ogury picks up $21m investment
Company generated $100m in 2018
Phwoar
Facebook rules Gris' launch trailer too sexual to air
Publisher Devolver Digital claims the platformer’s launch trailer was rejected for “sexually suggestive” content
Case Study
How Zorka.Mobi and Azur Games put together a pre-release influencer marketing campaign for Infinity Ops
Racking up 1.3 million pre-registrations by focusing on Latin America
Ua Tool
IronSource launches ROAS Optimiser tool
Solution aims to help user acquisition managers automatically bid on dynamic cost-per-install rates
It’s Always Sunny
Keywords acquires marketing services outfit Sunny Side Up for $4.3m
Clients for Quebec City outfit include Ubisoft, EA and Eidos
Report
Report: There's been an 80 per cent rise in Western game installs in East Asia
Research from Appsflyer shows a market dominated by midcore and strategy games
Chopping Block
Tencent culls games marketing budget as China’s freeze on the industry continues
Publisher plays conservatively as the block on new game approvals continues
Oh Snap
Case study: How Miniclip used Snapchat to market Football Strike
The marketing push resulted in more than 200,000 new installs for Football Strike, peaking at 10,000 daily installs at a $2.07 CPM
Banner Up
Unity Ads SDK 3.0 features personalised placements, AR and banner ads
Personalised placements uses machine learning to decide between an ad or IAP promotion
Oh Snap
Tenjin named Snapchat mobile measurement partner
Marketers can use tool to optimise install campaigns through Snap Ads, Lenses and Story Ads
Going Up
Marketing analytics firm AppsFlyer soars past $100 million in annual recurring revenue
Mobile attribution and analytics company is reporting 100 per cent growth every 12 months
Marketing Fuel
Nitro Games plots share issue to raise over $5m
Funds will primarily go toward Heroes of Warland marketing
New Shelter
Bethesda opens Moscow sales and marketing branch
Firm announces opening of a studio it didn't already own
Big Deal
Advantage Solutions acquires HyprMX owner Jun Group in deal that brings brands and mobile games closer together
HyprMX general manager and senior vice president Dan Laughlin tells us what the deal means for the company and the mobile games industry at large
Fishing
Digital marketing outfit Jellyfish knuckles down on app space with ASO Co purchase
Among ASO Co’s clientele are Spotify, eBay and Twitter
New Motto, New Tech
Applift rebrands to focus on UA and retargeting
Company launches new toolset Mobile Journey Advertising, along with new website, slogan and logo
User Ad Revenue
IronSource unveils new tool to measure ad revenue sources
User Ad Revenue tool tracks which marketing channel user came from to help developers identify the top performing networks
Report
Facebook dominates AppsFlyer Performance Index rankings, but Google is catching up
Apple Search Ads establishes itself as a mainstream player
Bought
AppLovin acquires in-app header bidding company MAX Inc
Discoverability platform expands services to include the new header bidding solution
Marketing Memes
7 best practices for using memes in your marketing campaign
Fanbytes offers top tips
Snapchat Memes
How memes helped one app get a six-times cheaper CPI on Snapchat
Fanbytes offers key lessons on marketing your app
Privacy Regulations
Life in a GDPR world: How the new rules are changing app development, publishing and advertising
WEQ's Steffen Wachenfeld discusses what's next
Invested
Metropolitan Partners Group invests in Tilting Point Media user acquisition fund
Marketing and publishing platform aims to deploy $132m annually to finance user acquisition
Global Influence
How to make the most from influencer marketing around the world
Zorka.Mobi's Regina Tsvyrova delves into the local markets and how best to work with content creators in each region
New Marketing Tools
Facebook reveals new UA tools as it claims 50% of all app revenue will come from ads by 2021
Social network reveals playables, retention optimisation and value optimisation solutions at ChinaJoy
Upgrades
YouAppi's 360 mobile marketing platform releases new SDK and improves fraud detection
SDK lets companies gain direct access to programmatic advertising inventory
Funny For Business
Peak Games’ $100 million bet on Ryan Reynolds to kick Toon Blast up a gear in the US
Head of strategy Omer Inonu explain all
Lights, Camera
Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds partners with Peak Games for Toon Blast performance marketing campaign
Deadpool actor recorded 30 versions of a commercial for the iterative advertising project
On Strike
Player fury as YouTuber goes top of Marvel Strike Force leaderboards as part of marketing campaign
YouTuber KnightlyGaming was contracted to make guides for the title
Invested
Equity firm KKR & Co purchases $400m minority stake in mobile marketing platform Applovin
Deal increases the marketing platform’s value to $2 billion
Beyond Games
5 things we learned about influencers, hyper-casual and esports at the Beyond Games Mini-Summit
Leading industry experts deal out their knowledge and advice
Beef
Nintendo and Microsoft dunk Sony on Twitter over Minecraft cross-play
Sony’s cross-play policy has been under public scrutiny since Fortnite launched on Switch
Eyes On Korea
Why Seasun and other Chinese developers are expanding their influence over South Korea's mobile market
Seasun Games overseas business development director Zhen Li tells us why Chinese games are so popular in South Korea
Big Marketing
Goodgame plots major TV and influencer marketing campaign for Big Farm: Mobile Harvest
Partners with YouTube channel Bibi's Beauty Palace to detail latest game update
Artificial Intelligence
Why games developer Kixeye raised $20 million for machine learning
CMO John Getze explains the company's plans
Speaker Spotlight
PGC San Francisco speaker spotlight: Zorka.Mobi's Dmitry Liapin on dealing with influencers
Dmitry Liapin offers advice on influencer marketing campaigns and tells us what to expect from his talk
Spellbinding
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery tops App Store download charts in first 24 hours
Tops rankings in UK, US, France, Germany and Spain
Updated
Bidalgo launches self-serve tool for optimising Google universal app campaigns
The mobile app user acquisition platform aims to help marketers grow apps
State Of Mobile Fraud
Mobile app fraud reached up to $800 million in Q1 2018
New AppsFlyer report claims $103 million of games earnings exposed during quarter
Big In China
How Mobvista's UA campaign for Marvel: Contest of Champions led to better conversions and engagement in China
NativeX's Joyce Ye deals out the advice
Getting Social
Sega and GetSocial study shows that social media is the way to go to engage players
GetSocial's study looks at the 40,000 players brought into Sonic Forces: Speed Battle through non-paid social channels
Match-made
Matchmade wants to be the Google AdWords of influencer marketing as it surpasses a 200 million YouTube subscriber reach
Eeva Hattara joins as CFO while Heini Vesander is named CMO
Breaking Japan
“The Japanese games market has come out from its closed-off period”
Yengage chief operating officer on the opportunities that await developers in Japan, and how to break in
Funding Round
Mobile developer Kixeye raises $20 million for machine learning platform
Tech to help studios optimise marketing, monetisation and retention
No Payne No Gain
Next Games and AMC turn to Jesus to teach gamers about The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land
Actors Tom Payne and Alanna Masterson promote mobile title with series of videos