What Really Impacts App Installs?

Distimo published a new report today, titled The Impact of App Discounts and the Impact of Being a Featured App.   Distimo looked at the app stores for iPhone, Android and the iPad during Q4, 2011.   Some key takeaways from the report:

App Discounts

• The optimum sales occurred when the price was cut in half or the application was offered in tier 1 ($0.99) or tier 2 ($1.99).
•  30% to 50% of the applications on sale experienced a decrease in revenue even though, on average, the revenue increased in all three stores for the total group of applications on sale.
• One could conclude that marketers need to be very strategic in determining the sweet spot for discounting.   As in any industry, with any product, it is important to understand the market before discounting.   Determining the correct sale price and how to promote it is crucial in meeting the goal of increased installs AND increased revenues.

App Featuring

• In the first 3 days of Featuring,  titles saw the following increase in rank:  Android (+42 spots), iPad (+27 spots), and (+15 spots).   
• Featuring also has a significant lasting affect on the titles ranking.  In the five days following the end of the feature placement, the % increase of installs was the following:  iPad (145%), iPhone (+75%) and Android (+828%!!).

There are some other insights on both subjects in this Free report that is available here.

Mobile Marketing Map- Bluetrain Mobile

Mobile Marketing Watch noted today a new resource available from Bluetrain Mobile.    Blue Train has published a Mobile Marketing Map.   The Map is an amazing resource set up in a format that could become a standard for resources in any industry.    Blue Train lays out the industry as a map with every resource listed as a link to the appropriate company website.    If you are looking for a tool to guide you through the industry, go bookmark this now.

Game Monetization- Temple Run

Saw this great article on TechCrunch discussing Temple Run.

One great quote from the developers that seems to signify another turning point or shift in the best way to monetize iOS games:  "Temple Run focuses on an accessible user experience that boosts retention and sharing, with just 1% choosing to pay. This allowed it to become the top grossing iOS game through massive traction, instead of topping out around 1 million DAU with 4% monetizing like other games."   Currently, Temple Run is the #1 Free Game App on iOS with 20 million downloads and 7 million DAU.    Definitely another example that illustrates how important it is for the app has to be the right product.  In this case, the developer created a a simple game with wide appeal that is highly addictive.   The app grabs a huge amount of fans where the 1% opt to buy additional coins through in-app purchases which run from $0.99-$19.99.

Push Notification- The new, better, text message?

Urban Airship has a new blog post today announcing their 10 Billionth Push Notification.  The post  also mentions a Forrester Research piece titled:  The New Messaging Mandate.  I have not purchased the Forrester study but both are timely in that we are coming off a year that is widely being called a turning point in Mobile, especially with the rise of Apps.

• In November, Nielsen noted that as of the 3rd Quarter of 2011,  43% of U.S. wireless subscribers now own Smartphones.
• This week, Flurry posted on their blog that, as of December 2011, Mobile App Usage now accounts for  94 minutes/month vs. 72 minutes for the web.   

As we move towards Mobile Apps becoming more and more mainstream, there is a solid argument to look at Push Notifications as a key piece of a Marketing Communication Strategy.   Especially when that message can take the form of something more than text.   As we put ourselves in a consumers shoes, we have remember how we continuously choose to juggle the various forms of communication we receive.   In addition to email, Facebook, voicemail & text, the notification tray on Android and Notification Center on iOS are becoming the new form of communication that seems to rival, and at times, exceed the urgency of the text message.   As we view this new "inbox" with more and more credibility, marketers need to adjust their communication accordingly and understand where this form of communication falls with their fans/customers/users.   Below is the Infographic published by Urban Airship in their march to 10B push Notifications.   It would be interesting to see an overall number of Push Notifications to date across all platforms & apps and how that compares to overall text messages.