Premium To Freemium: Pivoting Monetization Methods For Best-Selling Apps

Paul O’ConnorBrand Director, Appy Entertainment

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●Developer and publisher of mobile/social games

●Founded October, 2008

●20M downloads

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Overview

• Terms

• Case Study: Trucks & Skulls

• Development Principles

• Marketing

• What We Learned

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Terms

• Premium -- Costs money to download, minimal in-app purchases

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• Freemium -- Free to download, substantial in-app purchases

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Premium Example

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Freemium Example

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Why Pivot?

• Market overwhelmingly prefers freemium monetization.

• How much will your most dedicated players pay you?

• What is your game worth? How do you know?

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Trucks & Skulls Video

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Premium Success: Trucks & Skulls

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Launch Revenue

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“Long Tail”

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Solution

• Re-launch Trucks & Skulls as freemium app

• Reduce price to free

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Trucks & Skulls Re-Launch

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Longer Tail

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Statistics

• Revenue increased 150% after pivot.

• Downloads increased 5000%

• Downloaded 100K times in a day (July 2010)

• Reached mass audience for first time

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Principles

• Take nothing away.

• Fulfill existing expectations.

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Principles

• Don’t add annoyances.

• No “hard” paywalls.

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Principles

• Correct in favor of players

• Base currency on rewards

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Monetize

• We don’t believe in “hard” pay walls.

• Don’t make player feel you are stealing from them.

• Can play full game without paying.

• Players pay because they want to, not because they have to.

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Rewards

• Reward players for past progress

• Train players to use store

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Re-Introducing Game

• Player Outreach

• Public Dark Period

• Re-Name Game

• Press Outreach

• Update Using Same App ID

• Launch Game As New Title

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Advantages

• Improved downloads and revenue

• Many more customers

• Improved review scores

• Zero customer complaints about change

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Disadvantages

• Does not monetize as well as pure freemium

• Higher costs

• Limited advertising opportunities

• Don’t forget consumables!

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Thank You!

• Paul O’Connor, Appy Entertainment

• paul@appyentertainment.com

• www.appyentertainment.com

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