Embracing the Mobile Revolution for Ramadan 2023
Adding alternative app stores to the mobile marketing mix to access untapped audiences
Ramadan is a month-long observance that occurs once a year in the Islamic calendar. It is a time when Muslims around the world fast from dawn to sunset and engage in spiritual and charitable practices, where families come together to break their fast, share meals, and strengthen their bonds.
As an app marketer, it is important to understand the significance of Ramadan and how it affects the behavior of the community. The month is known for its festive atmosphere and social gatherings, as well as its spiritual and charitable practices, making it a prime time for app marketers to engage with the community.
In this article, we’ll explore valuable insights and tips for app marketers to thrive during Ramadan 2023 by using Mobile OEMs to diversify their marketing mix, ensuring that your app gets the attention it deserves while being culturally relevant and sensitive to users’ needs.
Unraveling Mobile App Usage Trends During Ramadan
Increased App Usage and Installs During the Holy Month
The month of Ramadan sees a significant increase in mobile app usage as people spend more time indoors and engage in spiritual and religious activities. This trend can be observed across various app categories, including:
- Gaming
- Entertainment
- E-commerce
- Finance
During Ramadan 2022, global app installs saw an increase of 7%, with Muslim majority countries showing an 18% increase in app installs.
The three verticals that saw the most growth during Ramadan in Muslim majority countries:
- Entertainment (37%)
- Fintech (22%)
- E-commerce (17%)
Ramadan in South East Asia (SEA)
In countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Hari Raya celebrations tend to be more pronounced during the start and the end of Ramadan, when the Hari Raya Puasa celebrations are held. According to data from Appsflyer,
- Installs for finance apps in Malaysia were doubled during the peak of Ramadan.
- During Hari Raya Puasa celebrations, purchases from shopping apps tripled from pre-Ramadan numbers.
With Hari Raya holidays lasting for several days in Malaysia, it is advisable for brands to concentrate their shopping promotions for this particular period.
- Social apps also saw an over 50% increase in In-App Purchases (IAP) revenue during the Hari Raya holidays in Malaysia,
- The end of Ramadan saw an increase in gaming IAP revenue, doubling from the beginning of Ramadan.
- Singapore also saw an uptick in gaming IAP revenue, with numbers more than double that of the first week of Ramadan.
This makes Hari Raya the best time to focus on revenue and user acquisition campaigns for both social and gaming apps in Malaysia.
Focus on Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim nation, and according to data.ai, is the 5th largest mobile market, with 7.7 billion app installs in 2022. Mobile OEMs with AVOW cover almost 70% of the Indonesian Android market, of the estimated 210 million smartphone users in the country. Ramadan is a particularly important time in Indonesia, culminating with Hari Raya Lebaran celebrations. App growth also saw a considerable spike during this time in 2022 according to data from Adjust, as seen in the table below.
- Finance apps installs and In-app Purchase (IAP) revenues both saw huge surges in particular close to the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Hari Raya holidays.
- Employees in Indonesia receive a legally mandated bonus (THR), which correlates to the increased spending during this time.
- Gaming saw similar surges in the latter part of Ramadan, and during the Hari Raya Lebaran holidays as the increased free time meant more users were downloading and playing games
- Appsflyer data showed that remarketing for gaming apps surged over 4 times during this period, as developers attempted to remarket to the new users acquired during Ramadan.
- Shopping apps in Indonesia saw a spike just before and at the start of Ramadan, in anticipation for the Hari Raya Lebaran holidays, before tapering off as Ramadan progresses
- Shopping app revenue saw an increase in the last week of Ramadan.
- Social apps saw a 30% increase in app installs, as the holidays meant a greater focus in connecting with friends and family from all over the country and around the world, with IAP revenue spiking in the final week
Marketers for shopping apps should focus their efforts to drive installs before Ramadan begins, and then pivot to focusing on in-app deals as the Hari Raya Lebaran holidays near.
Change in Peak Usage Times
App usage patterns change during Ramadan, with peak times shifting to early morning and late evening. This change occurs as users adapt their daily routines to accommodate fasting and prayer schedules. Marketers should adjust their ad campaigns and in-app engagement strategies to cater to these new peak hours, ensuring their messages reach users when they are most active.
Tips to Boost Your App Marketing Strategy During Ramadan
- Create culturally relevant content that resonates with your audience. This includes showcasing special offers, promotions, or features specifically designed for the holy month of Ramadan.
- Focus on user acquisition through tailored advertising (ad) campaigns and promotions. Utilize targeted ads that appeal to users during Ramadan and highlight the benefits of using your app in this period.
- Engage users with special in-app events, challenges, or rewards that cater to users’ preferences and habits during this month.
- Optimize ad spend and campaigns to focus on the most relevant ad formats and platforms for your target audience. Mobile OEMs and their alternative app stores provide that platform, with OEM market share in SEA standing at 67%, and Indonesia Android market share at 69%, Utilizing alternative app stores is the best way forward to optimize your ad spend.
How Can Mobile OEMs Help Brands and App Developers During Ramadan
Mobile OEMs with AVOW have a global market share of 54% of the Android market. These mobile OEMs have their own app stores for their devices, also known as alternative app stores, and resell their inventory, thus enabling mobile app developers and marketers to leverage the vast user bases they own during the month of Ramadan in 2023. Mobile OEMs get apps in front of billions of viewers globally, and with a market share of 67% in SEA, they can help mobile marketers reach closer to their app’s user acquisition goals. Ramadan events create millions of daily viewers and are an excellent opportunity for app marketers to tap into markets of such colossal potential where they can get access to the most relevant users in various categories with mobile OEMs and generate user action on their apps.
Some of the top advantages for mobile marketers to consider advertising their apps with Mobile OEMs during Ramadan –
- With mobile OEM app advertising, mobile marketers can leverage an exclusive app store featuring per day and specific dates with multiple advertising formats such as video ads, rewarded ads, native ads, and banner ads with unique ad placements. Plan your marketing push ahead of time, and feature the most relevant ads during the peak usage times during Ramadan.
- Get exclusive screen takeovers with splash ads so marketers can show the best of their apps on the entire smartphone screen in a video format to create instant brand awareness and interest among users.
- Make way for Appographic Targeting to help promote apps to users with similar interests beyond category and ownership to elevate app install rates.
- Mobile OEMs offer customized push notifications to target high-value users during special Ramadan events to enable app discovery, as there is a 72.71% YoY growth for gaming apps. Send custom notifications for dedicated in game Ramadan events to increase engagement and In-App Purchases (IAP) spend.
- Explore PMP deals at private marketplaces (PMPs) with mobile OEMs. Marketers can bid on suggested inventories for a specific time, such as the start or end of Ramadan, to get the best out of their user acquisition campaigns.
- Mobile OEMs provide brand-safe, fraud-free, and more cost-effective opportunities for mobile marketers due to lower CPIs, thus offering the same benefits as 3rd party networks such as Google and Facebook.
- Mobile OEMs also offer app store features that provide high visibility for sales campaigns.
- And the ability to retarget users with discount codes to increase engagement before and after the Ramadan season.
Not only do mobile OEMs and their alternative app stores offer all these benefits to mobile marketers in various categories during the Ramadan season, but are also a great alternative source to find fresh new users that one should not miss irrespective of the app category.
Seize the Opportunities Presented by Ramadan with AVOW
Ramadan 2023 offers app marketers a golden opportunity to connect with users and grow their business. By understanding the unique consumption habits during this time, creating culturally relevant content, and optimizing your marketing strategies, you can ensure your app stands out from the competition and enjoys a successful Ramadan season. Stay ahead of the curve and make the most of this opportunity to strengthen your brand and reach new untapped audiences with AVOW.
Book a consultation with us today and learn how mobile OEM advertising can amplify your user acquisition goals!
Xiaomi International Internet Business awards AVOW the title of Core Agency of the Year for 2023
We are proud to announce that AVOW has recently been awarded by the Xiaomi International Internet Business Team, who are also the world’s 2nd largest Android smartphone manufacturer, the title of “Core Agency Of The Year” for the entire EMEA region. AVOW was first awarded this prestigious title in 2022, with Xiaomi’s International Internet Business Team reaffirming our value by awarding us the title for 2023 as well.
In an award ceremony held by Xiaomi during MWC 2023 in Barcelona, Senior Director at Xiaomi, Mr. Qiang Song presented AVOW CEO and Co-Founder Robert Wildner with the award. The award symbolizes AVOW’s extensive global experience as a pioneer in the mobile OEM advertising space, and grants AVOW the status as an official extended sales and services provider for Xiaomi Ads in the regions of focus.
In addition to offering access to the full scale of Xiaomi Ads inventory, including Dynamic Pre-loads, standard display formats, as well as re-engagement, AVOW’s status as a Xiaomi core agency allows us to offer exclusive placements not found anywhere else. This ensures that app developers and brands have access to the full range of Xiaomi Ads products and services, enabling them to target their audiences effectively and efficiently.
“Our long-term partnership is built on trust and our aligned visions toward the contribution to the mobile advertising industry. This new chapter in our alliance will help us offer fresh and unique opportunities for mobile marketers to tap into some of Xiaomi’s most extensive markets in EMEA” said Robert Wildner, CEO and Co-Founder of AVOW after receiving the award.
AVOW would like to thank Xiaomi’s International Internet Business Team for the trust and recognition, and we look forward to fostering even greater cooperation and success in the years to come.
Would you like to learn more about how AVOW can help your app reach new untapped audiences? Book a consultation with us today!
AVOW Celebrates Our 5th Anniversary
It's a great pleasure to announce that AVOW is celebrating our 5th Anniversary!
Five years ago, AVOW set out to revolutionize the way brands acquire users and grow their apps. Today, we are proud to be recognized as a global leader in mobile OEM advertising, specializing in on-device user acquisition and advertising across alternative app stores.
AVOW was established in Berlin in 2018 with a mission to transform mobile marketing and provide an unprecedented opportunity to advertisers. Through premium partnerships with leading Mobile OEMs worldwide, we aimed to expand the global marketing mix for advertisers and bridge the gap by aggregating Mobile OEM inventory, resulting in increased return on ad spend.
Over the last five years, we have continued to grow as a global app growth company, and we have opened offices across the globe in various local markets such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Philippines, China, France and Spain. We are proud to have been named by Huawei as a certified partner, Xiaomi as a core agency, and Oppo and Vivo as key partners, highlighting our position as a global leader in OEM app growth.
Our exciting journey has always been guided by our 5 core values:
-
Be humble always
-
Fostering a positive team and family spirit
-
Pivoting mistakes into learnings
-
Building trust through transparency
-
Embracing a proactive mindset
These values continue to steer us as individuals and as an organization, driving us forward together and making sure we deliver the best results for our clients.
We want to say a massive thank you to our clients for their trust and support over the past five years. Without them, we would not have been able to achieve such a milestone.
Huge kudos needs to go out to the tireless and dedicated team assembled here at AVOW, who all embody the ethos of people-powered technology, and continue to be the foundation upon which our success is and will continue to be built upon.
Join us in celebrating this special occasion. We look forward to continuing to serve you in the years to come. Here's to another five years of success for AVOW!
Looking for a new challenge? Ready to join a dynamic team full of family spirit? Check out our open positions and take the next step towards a fulfilling career with AVOW.
Meet the A-Team: Macarena Olea, Associate HR Manager
Tell us a bit about your background and what you do at AVOW
After graduating from University with a bachelor's in Business, I began my professional journey at a multinational corporation, where I gained valuable insights into the intricacies of high-quality working structures and procedures. The fast-paced work environment provided me with opportunities to take on big projects, which helped me hone my skills.
A few years after working in this field, I felt the need for a big change, and I then decided to pursue one of my biggest passions by obtaining my first certification as a professional yoga instructor. Working at a yoga center for a couple of years opened my eyes to an alternative approach to conducting business and connecting with people. This experience fueled my passion for organizational management and making a difference in meaningful ways.
Currently, I am working as a Talent Acquisition Manager in the People Team at AVOW, and I am also involved in initiatives to enhance our workplace culture.
When did you start, and why did you choose to join the A-Team?
I joined the A-Team at the beginning of 2022, motivated by my desire to be part of an organization that places a strong emphasis on valuing its people and fostering a positive work culture.
In today's fast-paced world, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find such environments, so I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to join a team that prioritizes a positive workplace culture.
Another factor that attracted me to joining AVOW was the chance to work with a diverse and international group of individuals. This exposure has provided me with ongoing learning opportunities, not only in terms of different cultures but also regarding industry trends across different regions. Our commercial teams do a fantastic job of keeping us informed and up-to-date on these trends!
What is the most exciting thing about your role in the People Operations Team?
For me, people are at the heart of everything, and that's what matters the most. Whether I'm teaching a yoga class or working at the company, I feel the most motivated and fulfilled when I can contribute to others' growth and development. Being part of the People Operations Team is a thrilling chance for me to work closely with individuals and to initiate and lead projects that enhance our workplace.
I am incredibly fortunate to be part of a diverse and inclusive team and to connect with candidates from all over the world. Each of them brings unique perspectives, new challenges, and opportunities, which keep me engaged and learning.
Since you not only work but are also enrolled in a Masters's program (respect!), what is the most challenging thing about balancing both things?
I am pursuing a Master's degree in Business Administration with a focus on Organizational Behavior and Marketing, which blends my two areas of interest and where I hope to deepen my expertise. Working at AVOW has shown me a brand new side of Marketing, and I really enjoy learning more about this industry.
Balancing my studies with work, teaching yoga, and maintaining a personal life can be challenging, but I am driven to make it work. As weird as it sounds, my coursework and work are closely related, allowing me to apply my learnings and bring everything together. Despite a packed schedule, I make time for my hobbies and sports, and I am grateful to be able to pursue my passions.
How would you describe the working culture at AVOW?
At AVOW, I sense a genuine dedication to incorporating the company's values into daily operations. The team operates with a supportive and transparent approach, which inspires everyone to reach their full potential.
Despite the challenge of having many international colleagues and a hybrid office work scheme, we maintain fluid communication and a positive attitude, which strengthens our team spirit and enhances productivity.
I highly appreciate the flexible and understanding nature of the team, as it creates a human-centric work environment where our personal needs and lives are taken into account, allowing us to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Outside of work, what is something that you are passionate about?
I have a great passion for studying philosophy and psychology, and I hope to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy in Vienna after completing my Master's degree. I find philosophy to be one of humanity's most beautiful creations and a valuable tool for understanding and interacting with others. I also have a love for art history, music, writing, and ceramics, but lately, I have developed a new interest in listening to tech and marketing podcasts. The mobile and performance marketing world has been a fascinating discovery for me, particularly observing how companies are navigating through the challenges posed by the pandemic and showcasing their remarkable ability to adapt and change.
India's fintech mobile advertisers unbolt the potential of mobile OEM app stores
Over the last decade, India has witnessed tremendous growth in the fintech industry landscape. This trend accelerated with not only the expansion of internet services but, more recently, following the aftermath of economic developments such as demonetization and GST (Goods and Services Tax) implementation. These shifts have changed how people perform financial transactions, with digital banking increasingly replacing traditional banking systems.
With demonetization, COVID-19 elevated the usage of digital payment services and online transactions for vendors - both big and small. Additionally, this space has seen rampant growth as traditional banking systems in India are gradually getting replaced by digital banking, with leading banks such as Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, and PayTM bank encouraging the usage of digital payment systems.
Taking the market trends for 2023 into consideration, one can clearly bet on the growth of fintech services across verticals such as digital payment services, crypto trading, Buy Now Pay Later (short-term financing), lending, personal finance, and insurance apps.
The onset of the pandemic in 2020 pushed payment services and stock market investments to go digital, in line with consumers’ increasing hesitation in handling cash amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. India led the financial app installs globally at 149 crores downloads as of March 2021.
Apart from this, initiating innovative reforms coupled with technological headway, including UPI (Unified Payments Interface) in the digital payment arena, increased the number of first-time digital payment users. UPI has seen tremendous growth in India in recent years and is now used for a wide range of transactions, including peer-to-peer payments, bill payments, and e-commerce transactions. According to NPCI data, the number of UPI transactions in India increased from around 1 crore in August 2016 to over 400 crores in December 2020, a fourfold increase in just four years.
The growth of neobanking in India has been significant in recent years. The increasing availability of affordable smartphones and internet connectivity, along with the government’s push for digital financial inclusion, has contributed to neobanking growth in the country. According to a report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the number of digital transactions in India increased from around 2 crores in 2011 to over 2000 crores in 2020, a tenfold increase in just a decade. There are several neobanks operating in India, including Paytm, Google Pay, BharatPe, and PhonePe. These firms have gained a large customer base through their apps by offering convenient and user-friendly digital banking services, often at a lower cost than traditional banks.
Fintech marketers and app developers who think outside the traditional search and social boxes such as Google and Facebook; advertising within the OEM ecosystem can drive scale and find new audiences efficiently and confidently. So let’s decode their success mantra.
Giant Indian fintech apps, such as Navi, Money Tap, and WazirX, have tapped into alternative app stores and leveraged mobile OEM advertising to achieve incremental user growth and secure a maximum ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) for their apps.
Investing in mobile OEM alternative app stores has helped these fintech apps unlock newer audiences, hence adding to a more profitable revenue stream. With more and more fintech companies like PolicyBazaar, Razorpay, Cred, Paytm, and Groww diving fiercely into app marketing, it’s time to get ready to make wider inroads in 2023.
Major Android mobile OEMs, such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, have launched their own app stores and offer users a new channel to discover and download apps. These app stores are pre-installed and placed on top of the Google Play Store on all new Android smartphone devices and cover nearly 90% of the total Android market share in India. Mobile OEM inventory is increasing rapidly, with a year-over-year growth of 3.8%, and shipments are expected to reach 1.43 billion by the end of 2022.
Fintech companies in India can use OEMs as an additional channel for their user acquisition marketing mix - Any mobile user in India owning smartphones of Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, or Samsung, should be a potential user for fintech companies, where apps promoting such services can run on-device ads targeting their end customer directly. In addition, fintech brands can impact users through display ads, recommended ads, and even have their apps preinstalled on these smartphones, where users are most likely using digital financial services integrated by default.
Mobile OEMs are enabling Fintech advertisers to reach potential customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the life of the device. Unlike most other user acquisition channels, it allows them to strike a chord starting with app suggestions or preloads at device activation, right at the onboarding stage. Additionally, marketers are placing ads decisively at multiple touchpoints to discover previously untapped customer segments throughout their journey. While taking a performance-based approach, you are rest assured that the down-funnel events are optimized for the highest user engagement with the app.
OEM is a source of more transparent inventory with no fraud compared to other user acquisition channels. They are the inventory sources with the highest data points other than search and social. It bolsters their targeting capability to the right customers precisely. Mobile marketers gain access to a fully fraud-free and transparent user-acquisition ecosystem simply because there are no additional layers between the budget holder and the mobile OEM itself. The mobile OEM fully controls the reach of advertising placements.
On-device ads enable fintech advertisers to go hyper-local and target users in precise locations. Fintech advertisers can now hyper-target the areas they want to reach using the area codes. Whether they are looking to expand into new markets or amplify reach in cities that may have been proven winners, OEMs can help marketers reach their goals. Appographic Targeting helps promote apps to users with similar interests beyond category and ownership to elevate app install rates. Furthermore, mobile OEMs offer customized push notifications to target high-value users during important events to enable app discovery, thus, helping them achieve broader distribution capabilities and reach larger audiences.
Fintech apps can use retargeting capabilities with mobile OEM advertising using components such as user behavior, device model, and location.
Deep links can also be used to retarget dormant fintech App users in multiple different ways. For example, if a user has not used the app in 30 days, the app could send a push notification with a deep link to a relevant feature or new content in the app to encourage the user to open the app again and engage with the featured promotion. This can be especially useful for promotions and offers related to local financial services.
Marketers from the fintech arena benefit from the power of varied ad formats offered by OEMs. With mobile OEM app advertising, marketers, for example, can leverage an exclusive app store featuring per day and on specific dates with multiple advertising formats such as video ads, rewarded ads, native ads, and banner ads with unique placements. Additionally, OEMs allow them to get exclusive screen takeovers with splash ads, enabling them to show the best of their app features on an entire smartphone screen. All this is done in a video format, creating instant brand awareness and users’ interest. With dynamic ad placement offerings, brands can experiment with on-device display ads and in-app store ads to grab the most eyeballs.
While setting up the advertising campaigns, integrations can be seamless and available with most MMPs (Mobile Measurement Platforms), such as Adjust, Appsflyer, Singular, etc., where mobile marketers can track all activity - from impressions to installs - as well as the post-install activity. This empowers them to understand each new channel's user journey and performance.
AVOW can help fintech companies in India by leveraging the growing trend of mobile OEM advertising as a means of user acquisition. AVOW's expertise in performance-based advertising can help fintech companies reach potential customers through various touchpoints throughout the life of their device, providing a fully fraud-free and transparent user-acquisition ecosystem.
Reach out to our team today to explore more on how your fintech app can leverage the power of mobile OEM advertising and enable real-time scalability for your app.
Year in review - what went down in 2022
It’s done and dusted! Another fantastic year to end, and cheers to many more ahead.
But before we jump into 2023, we would like to share some of the most memorable moments and significant accomplishments of this last year and take a moment to feel proud about what we achieved together:
On concluding this year with many new landmarks and milestones, Robert Wildner, our CEO & co-founder, said:
“The A-team has done a great job in 2022. Not only did we onboard a lot more verticals to our client roster – we also did a ton more: from opening new offices, onboarding new team members, and winning awards that prove we are on the right track! Big congrats to the whole AVOW team for these major achievements!”