InMobi regularly participates in and contributes to a series of events, meetups, webinars, sharing best practices with partners and thought leaders, across the globe. In this edition of the InMobi Event Diary, we are looking at the highlights and developments from “K-Start: Let the Games Begin” an event organized by Kalaari Capital in Bangalore, India.
In this edition of the InMobi event diary, we cover our presence at the Kalaari Capital-hosted event “K-Start: Let the Games Begin.” As playground for a discussion on the disruption in mobile gaming and where the Indian gaming industry is headed, the event aimed to provide indie game developers and startups access to workshops, networking sessions and guest lectures.
The Indian gaming ecosystem is likely to become the 3rd largest app economy riding on increased penetration of smartphones, reliable and fast internet connectivity, as well as enablement of micropayments. With over 250 startups in the indie gaming realm, there is headroom for disruption and enormous growth.
Mobile Monetization: Keep The $$ Flowing
Navin Madhavan, Head - Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, India at InMobi was the designated moderator for the first panel of the day on mobile monetization. The panelists included Manish Agarwal from Nazara Technologies, Rohit Bhat from 99 Games and Vaibhav Gupta from Octro Inc. The panel talked about the trends that are shaping mobile gaming in India.
- Jio and demonetization are catalyzing gaming adoption in India
The panelists commented on the changing psyche and habits of Indian gaming consumers. Indian consumers are not only discovering and engaging with a large number of gaming apps but are also becoming comfortable with the idea of in-app purchases. This has been catalyzed by the growing internet penetration with Reliance Jio’s launch and the government’s demonetization initiative.
- Being consumer-first is the answer to your monetization model
There is a false perception that Indian consumers cannot be monetized in the gaming ecosystem. Game developers should understand what best suits the game and its audiences when building a monetization strategy - be it paid, freemium, IAP or ads. Additionally, if monetizing through ads, game developers should delve deep into user behavior when implementing ad placements.
- Rewarded Videos: Powerful for acquiring or retaining users
The panel delved into the impact of rewarded video as a user acquisition and retention mechanism. With a user opt-in, rewarded videos drive high-intent installs as users are incentivized for the video view and not the install, simultaneously boosting user retention with in-app rewards.
Marketing to Mobile Gaming Audiences
Speaking on the “Evolving mobile marketing trends in the gaming industry,” Vasuta Agarwal, VP & GM, India shared a few tips on mastering paid user acquisition.
- Building your marketing strategy
When it comes to paid user acquisition, game developers should build their marketing strategy to cater to the different phases of launch, scaling and user retention (Download the InMobi Apponomics to know more about building your marketing strategy for these stages). Closely optimizing on targeting, creative and tracking and attribution are mandates for driving successful marketing campaigns.
- Riding the videowave for user acquisition
Video ad spend is growing exponentially and is undoubtedly a must for acquiring high-quality users. Game developers should especially leverage rewarded video and consider building mobile-first, vertical videos for maximizing conversions. (Read more about what video ads mean for performance advertisers).
- Analyzing metrics with tracking and attribution
The bedrock of a successful marketing campaign on mobile is data. Tracking and attribution help not only analyze the success of a campaign but also provides insights into user behavior by capturing valuable in-app events such as leveling up. View-through attribution is a must for marketers looking to invest in video ads.
InMobi was also invited to a set of roundtable mentoring sessions at the event. Rajesh Pantina and Richard Barretto from InMobi guided indie developers on various aspects of mobile marketing and monetization to wrap up the day.
