In this article, I want to introduce you to the ecosystem of mobile marketing and advertising so that you can find a suitable partner for your specific marketing goals.

Of all the variety of existing types of companies, I would single out three:

• Mobile App Marketing Agencies
• Mobile Advertising Networks
• Mobile Partner Networks (CPI and CPA)

The above types mainly differ in the scale and specifics of the work performed. And if, for example, you contact an agency, then you will not need to contact advertising or partner networks.

Within each of the types, there is also segmentation by specialization, which I also urge you to pay careful attention to, since it makes no sense to contact those companies whose career guidance does not meet your tasks.

Mobile App Marketing Agencies

Comprehensive marketing agencies for the promotion of mobile applications are usually suitable for companies engaged exclusively in the development of mobile games and applications. For them, cooperation with agencies will become something like the outsourcing of experts in the comprehensive promotion of a mobile application. It is clear that this is more convenient than looking for freelancers or, by trial and error, doing in-house promotion.

What are there: complex agencies are segmented according to the size of the budget /the size of the clients they work with. It would also be useful to clarify at the first contact – the full or partial presence of the execution command. The fact is that some agencies outsource certain services, while positioning themselves as full-service agencies. There are agencies that specialize in specific countries/regions, or OS – iOS, Android.

• Full-service Global agencies – ComboApp, Fetch, Somo, AppPromo
• Agency with a focus on user Engagement (CPI and CPA) – Mobiletraffic
• Mobile App Market Analysts – Applift, Fiksu
• Ideal for indie developers – AppShout, ComboStore

Suitable for: large brands that have apps to maintain loyalty or an additional way to monetize their users. For individual developers and developing publishers of mobile applications, such an agency will help analyze the market, develop an application strategy and competently issue an investor pitch. In part, such a marketing partner is suitable for medium and large publishers – they can outsource reviews, PR in specialized media, access to specific markets and other non-standard requests that are difficult to fulfill on their own without having proper experience in mobile marketing.

The choice of agency depends on the goals and budget of the application developer. If the launch budget does not exceed $1K, it is better to choose self-serve “constructors” of tools for launching an application, such as ComboStore or AppShout. If the stakes are high, the application is high-quality and you need to launch a future monster on the market, we would advise you to start training at least six months in advance, using the services of experienced analysts, strategists, media buyers and PR specialists of the full-service agency.

Mobile Advertising Networks

Mobile advertising networks serve one purpose – to monetize mobile application traffic by buying and selling advertising platforms, enabling developers to effectively promote and monetize their applications. Different mobile advertising networks work with different types of advertising – banner, video advertising, “interstitial” – which is suitable for different types of applications.

Which are:

• To work with individual markets:
  – China – Avazu, Mobvista, YeahMobi, DoMob
  – Russia – WakeApp
  – Korea – Cauly
  – Japan – CA Reward, i-mobile, Zucks
• and entire regions:
  – Germany, Switzerland, Austria – mAdvertise
  – Middle East – Maddict
  – Latin America – Hunt Mobile Ads, Mango Media
• International networks: mMedia, InMobi, LeadBolt, AdMob
  
• Specialized networks for working with individual types and directions of applications:
  – Games – Chartboost
  – Instagram – Instagrid
  – Sh-Notifications – Airpush
  – Content 18+ – Reporto
  – Financial Applications – OnMobi
  – Music Apps – AdFortel
  
• Networks that work with motivated traffic: SupersonicAds, NativeX, Metaps, Tapjoy, Jampp
• Networks with a focus on unmotivated traffic: Flurry, Applicier, AppBrain, Apprupt, Aarki
• Combined traffic networks: Localytics, Fiksu, Fyber, GoWide

The fastest growing and most attractive segment of mobile advertising today is video advertising. Many networks are creating or already working with automatic services for the exchange of mobile video ads and video ads in applications. Among them I would like to highlight: Vungle and AdColony.

Social media and technology giants like Facebook and YouTube/Google are already offering mobile formats for advertising, which potentially make up a huge market.

Who is suitable: I must say that there is no ideal advertising grid for each individual application. Therefore, it is worth carefully studying the advertising network before choosing it for advertising or monetization of your application. You also need to understand that mobile advertising networks compete fiercely with each other, so their salespeople can talk for hours about the unique advantages of their offers. In general, choosing an advertising network is a bit like buying a car – if you know what you want and you have a little time to make a decision and compare advantages, the final decision will be the most advantageous.

Mobile Partner Networks (CPI and CPA)

Mobile partner networks combine the monetization capabilities of a variety of mobile applications with the proposals of developers of other applications who want to get new users using CPI (cost per install) or CPA (cost per action) models.

Suitable for whom:

• for mobile publishers – to generate profit by monetizing traffic and simultaneously promoting other applications;
• partner networks and media buyers – to earn money from buying traffic and conducting campaigns (creative management, targeting) to promote CPI offers;
• mobile advertising networks and advertising servers – to monetize an unfilled CPI with offers that, by their nature, cannot be limited by the level of “occupancy”.

Most networks work according to CPI and CPA models.

The first model allows application developers, media buyers and partners to earn money by promoting an application or game.

The second model implies various actions within the application – getting a contact, subscribing to news, registering, sharing, in-app purchase, etc. To understand which model is more consistent with the goals of the application, choose the most appropriate option:

• I need the user to perform the action I need in the application. (Choose CPA.)
• I want motivated or organic users to download my app! (Choose CPI.)

What kind of networks are there:

• Sharpened for certain verticals:
• Gaming – Applift
• Mixed – Mobilda, MobPartner
• and regions:- Certain regions (e.g. USA) – HasOffers
  – Multiple regions – Affil4you
  – International – MobPartner, YeahMobi

To understand which types of networks are considered top, focus on the rating of CPI networks from mThink and the list of CPI networks from the MobyAffiliates resource.

The promotion of a mobile application is associated with a complex ecosystem, which is not easy to understand without having deep knowledge in this area. The good news is that regardless of the size of the company, the budget for the development of the application, the type of monetization, everyone can find a partner who will help achieve success. This partner will serve as a guide at any stage of product development. To determine the level of partnership, it is enough to understand your goals and the level of ambitions associated with the application.

Well, if you have any questions, write either in the comments or to my email, I will be happy to answer.