New Metrics with Brand Effect

The cost per install metric is facing a sledging in the marketplace of late. Upper funnel metrics and brand related cost on impressions has taken importance over cohorts. The freemium model is facing everlasting change within the casual gaming market as well. No longer can ads be sold the same way or justified for that matter. It’s time for a change and change is good.

It seems many parties are touching the surface regarding contextual advertising and the importance to stay relevant enough to charge a subscription. Subscriptions on the other hand look to increase among smaller sized businesses that perhaps do not have the same scale or profit margins. This is simple business acumen and good for the economy yet harsh for competition. The microeconomics are complex to see yet harder to accept for some because of the perceived tilt in strength and capacities. Like any war of attrition, the winner with the most waiting or buying power wins. The best data science out there will win it, which brings the conversation towards engineering. The one thing that can be compared is the engineering behind the auto industry. Any non-calculated buying spree can also burn a player to the ground. With good engineering and an emphasis on creative value, the winners will prevail deservedly.

How good does a game have to be where you can charge a monthly subscription versus a freemium model that was used to making 10x in virtual items? The answer lies behold the perceived pricing or competitive advantage. We all may know popular game titles off hand, and they certainly won’t be happy paying the same attribution pricing in previous times. So where is the main opportunity now one may ask? Negotiate hard on commercial terms with attribution partners that commit to unrealistic promises on delivery because the word attribution should not be used that much it’s more data & analytics. OTT and CTV are the words that will dominate. It would be beneficial to study the traditional TV rating metrics.

For a freemium model to survive now will require more tactful integrations and or sponsorships. This is a growing area that can yield many fruits for publishers. Publisher sales has changed for the better. From now on the content on the page needs to match with the ad and that works fine. In fact, the intelligence that can be gathered there and turned into data science is the main answer. Extrapolation just became an even more important word. The contextual advertising that not many have spoken to is regarding ATT and personalized messaging. This can yield far more than the 20% average some report as a maximum. Brand safety concerns have benefited in a manner whereby quality traffic seems to be the big goal here for advertisers because advertisers are what dictate or at least should dictate how the ecosystem operates. There has been a power shift from publishers to advertisers with these recent moves and that is notable for a lot of reasons.

No longer can monetization be the ultimate or only goal. This narrow vision could only have been sustained for so long.  Metrics like the CPI will still exist but not have the same relevance as before. Your biggest bang on your impressions is what should really count if your focus is on your brand effect and messaging then the rest should take care of itself. Provided one is still innovating within the AI or data science field.

May 16th, 2021

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