Hi! I know, there are plenty of discussions about crosspromotion services like, as well as free app promotion services. I mean... I have really read them all, contacted theirs representants, etc. But I cant still decide. Are they worth it? Have you experience with them? Please write ANY opinion, because I am currently totally lost. Thanks!
Alright, so I know I work for Chartboost, so I'm not even going to bother voicing my own opinion. Instead, I'm going to let an interview that Breaktime Studios did with Pocket Gamer a few days ago speak for itself. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a private message. http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Breaktime+Studios+news/news.asp?c=46918&srch=breaktime There are lots of different service partners available for mobile games. Why have you chosen to go with Chartboost, how do you use its various services, and how does it improve your business? Breaktime Studios: I think one of the key differentiators with Chartboost is the combination of network scale and reach, and overall ease of use. The site does a great job connecting developers with network advertisers and publishers as well as enabling direct deals. And the tracking and reporting is pretty robust. We are both a publisher and advertiser, and have also executed direct deals through the site. Like a lot of developers, we definitely value Chartboost as part of our broader monetization and acquisition strategy.
Mobclix has a good roster of networks and they are very responsive with the support. Playhaven is easy to use and the fill rate and ecpm are good. We use both for the game Fruity Jelly and it gave good results.
Thank you, didnt know about Mobclix, will definitely check it out. Can point out some numbers please? How many installs have you obtained, what was the price, etc? Thanks!
Thanks! One more question - what do you think about free app promotions services? It's something different, however I would like to hear your opinion. And everyone's else as well
We have integrated Chartboost into a couple of titles recently, and have had very good results in revenue terms. Their dashboard and reporting is exceptional compared to many other "ad" partners, and the ability to do direct deals is great. We are also adding Playhaven, which looks like it will be very similar in terms of performance. As for Free App promotion services, they worked back in the day, but I think they struggle to provide value for money now.
This... so this. I would be VERY cautious about laying down any sort of money on free services, no matter who it is you want to go with. The whole "premium game gone free" fad is long gone now that you have top quality freemium games available every week now. Sure, you might get a little boost vs if you just went free on your own, but it won't amount to the numbers you need to make an impact from a free campaign anyway, from what we've seen recently... unless you get really lucky.
Right now Im using Chartboost and its been giving me some good returns. (eCPM $10-$15+) plus it took all of 15 minutes to integrate.
Found this blogpost about FAAD, what do you think? IMO, author made a fundamental error when he knocked down all downloads in favor of FAAD, however results are still decent. And the price about 3-10k is not that high. Anyone worked with them?
Your results will vary. They are good people to work with and you can negotiate a deal that works for you both (within reason of course). A couple years ago, FAAD pushed our game Tap Studio PRO to #4 top overall free (US) during the promotion. A few months ago, FAAD pushed our game Tap Studio 3 PRO to #460 top overall free (US) during the promotion. I think the fremium model has hurt the free app promotions. Of course there are so many more variables it is impossible to know for sure. Again, your results will vary and I still see some FAAD promoted apps entering the top 10 overall. So it can still work.
I have to agree with what others have said about FAAD services, especially around this time of year. Prices skyrocket and seems like the return might not be quite what it was. While I obviously feel like Chartboost has the best service out there, I think it's important that you investigate and test several options to figure out what works best for you and your players. This article might be helpful, too: http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Neon+Play+news/news.asp?c=47107 Though I'd be doing my company a disservice if I didn't call out one of Neon Play's best points: "Of course, this history provided cross promotion opportunities within Neon Play's other games, and it also uses Chartboost's cross-promotion platform, gaining a 16 percent install rate. "Everyone should be using Chartboost," Christie stated."
A new cross promotion service available is Tap for Tap. It is a free service for cross promotion however, there is a bit of a catch. You can check them out. I dont have any personal experience with them but the concept sounds interesting. Doing direct deals whether on Chartboost or other platforms is definitely an excellent idea. MarkJ recently provided an excellent case study which you can read here. Its very interesting and it works well to drive lots of free traffic for him. http://www.markj.net/launching-hit-tennis-3-into-the-charts/ David