Last week, we shared our team’s list of top mobile games, social games, and apps of 2014. To those of you who didn’t get around to your weekend to-do list because of QuizUp’s addictive appeal, or stayed up until 3AM last night because you were busy mastering the elements in Dragon City, we’re only slightly sorry, because we’re sure you enjoyed yourself!
Now we ask that you put your games aside and look into our crystal ball! We’re excited to bring you TrialPay’s Industry Predictions for 2015. This list is just as riveting as last week’s, but probably won’t keep you up at night or cause you to neglect your adult responsibilities.
1. More games and apps will be celebrity-endorsed/IP-based
Honestly, no one knew what to expect when we found out that Kim Kardashian would be releasing a mobile game back in June. Whatever your expectation was, it is safe to say the industry as a whole was surprised by how quickly it reached A-list status, generating over $50 million in less than four months.
We are confident that the overwhelming success of this game will inspire the releases of many more celebrity-based mobile games in 2015. Jeff Grubb of Venturebeat adds, “The benefit of using a celebrity over a brand is potentially multifaceted. Like Sex and the City, Kardashian has her own built-in fanbase, but she’s also consistently getting in the news and making headlines. That’s something older properties don’t really have. A deal with a celebrity can also come with its own promotional agreement.”
2. More non-gaming apps will go the freemium route
The majority of non-gaming apps still monetize via paid downloads, with only 26% of revenue from IAPs. We think that’s all about to change. Like gaming apps before them, non-gaming apps are about to start shifting business models. Top grossing publishers are already choosing the freemium model with more than 80% of the Top Grossing Applications being free to download. From easily getting new users, to generating creative revenue streams, the list goes on and on for why we think non-gaming developers will make the shift to freemium in 2015.
For more on this topic, check out our blog post!
3. More companies will retarget their ad budgets
Mobile companies can see the lifetime spend of their customers and are able to easily monitor user behavior. So why wouldn’t you use that valuable information when creating your ad budget? One popular social casino game saw incredible results, and was able to more than double the number of purchasers through ad retargeting.
Glenn Kiladis of Gamesindustry.biz agrees that 2015 is going to be the “Year of Ad Retargeting” especially for games. “Using the latest in deep linking technology, future retargeting ads will feel less like advertisements, as they drive users to a specific location within the game. As mobile game marketers become more familiar with this strategy, many will realize that it should play an ongoing role in their marketing campaigns. There are so many instances where retargeting can be beneficial: from reminding a user to open the app after installing it, to encouraging them to register, to trying to get them to make in-app purchases,” says Kiladis.
4. More developers will integrate with TrialPay Evergreen
Seriously, that’s what our crystal ball said! Don’t believe us? Check it out for yourself!
Evergreen combines TrialPay’s industry-leading monetization tools and direct advertising partnerships with the flexibility to work seamlessly with your existing ad partners. All that power in one lightweight SDK.
Contact mobilesales@trialpay.com to learn more.
