By Jon Hudson, Vice President of Customer Success at Digital Turbine
Picture it. Your big ad just ran during the big game. At last, you’ve gotten buzz like never before. People are talking and the name of your brand is on everyone’s tongue. Just like the winning team, you’re in position to score. But if mobile is a big part of your endgame, you’ll need to do a little bit more to push yourself across the goal line and turn that buzz into customers that want to engage with your mobile app.
Thanks to your Super Bowl spot, everyone is now aware of your app but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily going to use it. In fact, few people will immediately download your app during the game. They’re busy enjoying the game, talking with friends, drinking, and stuffing their face with apps (not the mobile kind!).
But that’s ok. Unlike the losing team, your app will still have a chance to score following the big game if you smartly tailor your UA strategy to capitalize on the heightened awareness a big TV spot uniquely brings.
Score Big with Word of Mouth Marketing
Super Bowl buzz is one of a few big marketing moments where the buzz will last for several weeks. With everyone talking about your brand, it’s time to use that power to drive installs.
Word of mouth marketing is the #1 reason an app gets downloaded. The data shows that word of mouth marketing drives more installs than any paid UA method, including search and social ads, App Store recommendations, on-device solutions and TV ads.
Still, the connection between word of mouth happens somewhere and someway. If people are buzzing about your creative spot, you need to make sure they recall it during that window of “app”-opportunity when they are on their phone and have time to complete an install.
When you have high awareness and high intent to install — like you do after a positive high-profile ad spot — your UA strategy should be a fast follow. While social media marketing can be one strategy to employ, it might not be the most optimal in terms of cost per conversion and being crowded out. Your Super Bowl ad has done a lot of the heavy lifting at the top of the funnel for you — now your brand just needs to be at the right place at the right time.
With that in mind, make sure you’re capturing other parts of the funnel with these tactics.
1. App Store Optimization
More people will be searching for your app, your brand, and similar terms. Once they end up on your listing, you need to ensure you’re ready to convert them. The rave testimonials and positive claims you made in your ad should match your app store rating. Your value proposition should match up and your keywords should match up.
To achieve the highest app store conversion possible, there should be no inconsistency between your Super Bowl ad and your app store listing. Make these optimizations now, so you’re ready to convert when the time is right.
2. Contextual Advertising
Seize the moment with targeted ads. With increased awareness, reminding people of your brand during moments they are engaged with similar content. For example, if you are a food delivery app — find stories about people’s best recipes for the game. Or if you are streaming music, you’d want to find post-game commentary about the half-time show.
You also should pay attention to what other brands might be buzzing after the game and try to capitalize on their increased popularity as well. Find where the eyeballs are going, get your mobile ad seen there and let your high brand awareness do the rest for you.
3. Influencer Marketing
You know what else people do during the big game? Scroll on social media. Amplify your big spot by using social media influencers so people see your brand on the little screen, too. Influencer marketing can increase a person’s familiarity with your brand, making them more likely to convert when they encounter your ad later on.
Of course, for this strategy to pay off, you need to be working with the right influencers. You can partner with micro-influencers (up to 100,000 followers) to hone in on niche audiences that align with your user personas. Or, you can go big with larger macro-influencers and let the awareness from your Super Bowl spot buoy you.
Tracking is tricky with influencer marketing, so in some ways, it’s more of a brand awareness play like TV. Counteract this by getting influencers to embed deep links in their Stories that take their followers directly to your app store listing.
4. On-Device/Carrier OEM Solutions
TV is the quintessential shortcut for brand awareness but it’s not directly transactional. It has more of an indirect impact, which is why you complement it with more direct, transactional tactics like ads and influencer marketing.
There is an equivalent shortcut for conversions, though: going direct to device. Through carrier recommendations and other OEM solutions, brands and app developers have a way to reach users directly on their devices.
With smart preloads on new devices and firmware updates, you can get your app on new phones when they are activated in stores. People see your app on setup, recall it from your Super Bowl spot, install and use it. The same goes for carrier notifications that allow you to combine the power of TV with the immediacy of mobile, timed to perfection during and after the big game! .
Across the board, users agree that preloaded apps and carrier recommendations are some of the most helpful methods for app discovery. The numbers are even higher among new device owners. The single best time to get users to download your app is when they purchase a new phone. New device owners install three times as many apps in the first three months than those who’ve had their phone for a year or more. And as luck would have it, the Super Bowl comes shortly after the holidays when tons of people have recently activated their trendy new smartphone and are looking to pack it with the hottest apps.
When you do a Super Bowl blitz, make sure the big game is only the start of your winning drive. And while the Super Bowl is, well, the Super Bowl of tent-pole TV events, don’t forget others that can also provide a high level of buzz like March Madness, The Olympics, the Oscars, and Grammys. Even categorial seasonal campaigns like Back to School, Tax Time, The Holiday Season, and Summer Break can provide breakthrough moments for your brand to capture the “app”-ortunity.
Seize the moment when your brand awareness and buzz is higher than ever before by packing your UA strategy following the game with multiple channels, including direct to device, contextual advertising, and influencer marketing.
About the Author
Jon Hudson currently serves as Vice President of Customer Success at Digital Turbine, leading the app media division that brings global brands on-device.
Jon has been working in the media industry for 14 years and has held senior executive roles both in the US and internationally for Criteo and Jampp. He graduated from Portsmouth U.K with an honors degree in Business and Marketing.
