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Why the retention profile is more useful than the churn metric in freemium
I’ve stated a number of times that, within the context of the freemium model, retention is the most important metric a product manager must track; in the Minimum Viable Metrics methodology, retention...
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The economics of mobile game publishing
(The model referenced throughout this post can be downloaded here) Supercell’s recent $100mm secondary financing round raises some interesting questions about how mobile game developers capitalize on...
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Should Lifetime Customer Value (LCV) be Discounted?
One of the more difficult adjustments to make when transitioning from academia to industry is the change in vernacular required in communicating the machinations of models. In academia, the formatting...
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When will Android-first be a viable launch strategy on mobile?
Apple’s Q1 2013 results were undisputably poor; its net profit fell by 18%, representing the first time in more than a decade the company has posted a quarterly earnings decline. Samsung, meanwhile,...
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King vs. Kabam on the road to IPO
The performance of Zynga’s stock in the almost two years since its IPO has chilled public markets ambitions for gaming companies. But two Western gaming developers, both of which have capably...
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GungHo, the $15 billion dollar gaming behemoth
Tokyo-based mobile game developer GungHo Entertainment has dominated mobile gaming press lately with its enormous and ever-increasing revenue announcements: in late March, Japanese gaming analyst Dr....
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Three trends in mobile advertising
MoPub recently published its quarterly Mobile Advertising Marketplace Report for Q1 2013, which, combined with other such reports from mobile advertising operators, reveals three interesting, emerging...
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Quora has a data problem
AllThingsD recently published an interview with Adam D’Angelo, Quora’s CEO, that I believe adds some valuable context to an amplifying chorus of dissatisfaction with the service, which has been met...
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A yield management model for mobile advertising
Yield management is a pertinent topic within the context of freemium mobile app distribution, monetization, and user acquisition, as it corresponds closely with the fundamental components of freemium...
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The Hidden Costs of A/B Testing
Some interesting insight into how Zynga operates emerged in the recent Reddit thread started by one of the 520 employees laid off last week. Two posts, specifically, stood out to me: Post 1: On the...
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Alternative financing schemes for mobile gaming companies
The recent debate around the appropriateness of venture capital financing for gaming companies has obliquely referred to alternative financing schemes in mobile gaming but not explicitly defined those...
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Can Zynga bounce back?
Zynga’s Q2 earnings filing was abysmal: the company reported that its bookings – a non-GAAP accounting convention that recognizes revenue at the time of a transaction – decreased by 38%...
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The role of LTV in freemium
Lifetime Customer Value is probably the most fundamental conceptual struggle for freemium app developers. And while calculating LTV and integrating it into an organization’s decision-making apparatus...
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Quantitative Literacy: An interview with Wharton Professor Dr. Peter Fader
Chapter 5 of my upcoming book, Freemium Economics, is dedicated entirely to lifetime customer value. In researching this chapter, the work of two academics – Peter Fader of the Wharton School of...
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Dear indie mobile game developer
Dear indie mobile game developer, I interact with you on a regular basis, as a mentor in the Gamefounders incubator and when you email me via this blog, asking me to serve as a sounding board. I’m...
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Freemium = Marketing
It’s easy to think of the freemium business model as merely a pricing strategy: by setting a product’s price point at $0, a developer ensures that as large an audience as possible is exposed to it by...
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Explaining Tinder's curiously viral growth
Tinder is a dating app – some have called it a “hook up app” – that allows users to scroll through pictures of potential companions and select those of the greatest appeal with a favorite / like...
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