Welcome to the debut episode of Behind the Apps!
Behind the Apps: Mobile Marketing Talks is a video interview series by AVOW and hosted by mobile marketing expert and journalist David Murphy, where we peek behind the curtains of the mobile marketing and app world and have conversations with the people making the smartest movies on mobile. Each episode of Behind the Apps will feature discussions with industry innovators and leaders, sharing their experiences, strategies, triumphs, and challenges in marketing their apps.
In our debut episode, we sat down with Ben Barta, Senior Growth Manager at Tripledot Studios, the developer of casual mobile games such as Solitaire and several puzzle games including Woodoku. In this interview, Ben shares insights into Tripledot’s innovative game development approach and versatile user acquisition strategies. Plus, he reveals the secrets behind Tripledot’s success with AVOW and mobile OEM advertising.
So, get ready to go behind the scenes and discover what’s “Behind the Apps” with AVOW and Tripledot Studios. Hit play below!
→ Watch the full interview here on YouTube
(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION BELOW)
Interview with Ben Barta, Senior Growth Manager at Tripledot Studios
David Murphy (Host): I’m delighted to be joined in the AVOW studio today by Ben Barta, Senior Growth Manager at Tripledot. Ben, very good morning to you. Great to have you on the show.
Ben Barta (Tripledot Studios): Hey David, good morning. I’m thrilled to be a part of this interview series.
David Murphy: Excellent. So let’s get straight into it, Give a quick introduction to yourself, your role at Tripledot, and how that intersects with the company’s core mission, values, and strategies.
Ben Barta: Yeah, so hello everyone. My name is Ben Barta, I serve as a Senior Growth Manager at Tripledot Studios, I’m spearheading our efforts into pre-installation traffic with the aim of reaching new audiences and expanding our user base. My team’s role is pivotal in aligning with our core mission of delivering engaging gaming experiences. By focusing on pre-installation partnerships with OEMs, carriers and agencies, my job is to ensure our games are front and center on all new devices in all our core markets, maximizing brand exposure and driving scalable user acquisition. It’s an exciting challenge that perfectly intersects with Tripledot’s strategy of growth and innovation. So yeah, that is me.
“Tripledot prioritizes games with long-term retention, aiming to create experiences that players will enjoy for years to come”
– On Tripledot’s focus on high quality games that stand the test of time
Tripledot Studios’ Games Portfolio and Development Philosophy
David Murphy: Well, you mentioned OEMs and we’ll come back to those in a moment. But could you just start off with a bit of an overview of your pretty diverse games portfolio and the philosophy behind its development?
Ben Barta: Yeah, so Tripledot Studios, our journey in the gaming industry has been defined by a unique approach to game development and portfolio management. Rather than solely focusing entirely on creating new titles, we recognize the untapped potential within classic games such as Solitaire and Sudoku.Â
Our philosophy centers on refining these timeless favorites by leveraging data-driven optimizations and creative enhancements. We’ve launched a total of more than 15 games to date and are working on some more. I’d say Solitaire, Woodoku, and Triple Tile have emerged as our top performers and have resonated very well with our players, becoming an integral part of their daily routines.Â
Tripledot prioritizes games with long-term retention, aiming to create experiences that players will enjoy for years to come. Unlike some companies that focus solely on hyper-casual games, our emphasis is on building high-quality titles that stand the test of time. We believe in continuous iteration and delivering great experiences for users.
“This creates obviously challenges but also great opportunities, forcing us and companies like us to explore new channels for cost-effective user acquisition”Â
–  On the topic of consolidation in the mobile marketplace
Challenges and Opportunities in the Mobile Gaming Industry
David Murphy: Good stuff. I was reading a piece in the FT (Financial Times) where it talked about Solitaire and the fact that I think one of your co-founders said that (paraphrasing) “we don’t do any one thing differently, we just do about 100 things just a little bit better than all the others in such a crowded market.” I thought it was a really interesting piece. Now, despite the growth you’ve seen, every company obviously faces challenges. What’s the next big challenge and opportunity that you’re preparing for at Tripledot?
Ben Barta: I mean, there’s not one big challenge, right? There’s a few that comes to mind. You know, the rising user acquisition costs are probably the one that I’m thinking of right now. But there’s more…Â
The consolidation in the ad tech marketplace has really driven up UA costs, and the saturation of the market hasn’t really helped. This creates obviously challenges but also great opportunities, forcing us and companies like us to explore new channels for cost-effective user acquisition. But there are many, many others that I can mention in terms of challenges: privacy challenges, evolving privacy regulations, Google’s privacy initiatives, CMP and privacy sandbox.Â
Navigating these waters is quite tricky. Changing consumer trends, platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have really led to a shorter attention span in users and higher expectations. So, a lot of our focus is on providing new exciting content, new features, coupled with effective lifecycle marketing efforts, is what I also believe to be a big challenge for all gaming companies.Â
And, you know, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention anything about creative challenges. This intense competition that I mentioned in the ecosystem requires a sophisticated creative strategy to differentiate from competitors and capture user attention. It’s easier said than done. That’s why I say everyone’s really struggling with it and facing this challenge. But dealing with these challenges and overcoming these challenges, could potentially make or break a business.
“By constantly scrutinizing performance metrics and refining our approaches, we try to ensure that every marketing dollar is maximized for impact”
 – On Tripledot’s mobile UA stratagies
Mobile User Acquisition Strategies
David Murphy: We’ll leave privacy and privacy sandbox maybe set aside another 4-hour session just to talk about that because there’s a lot of stuff going on there. But in terms of user acquisition, those two words that most developers probably go to bed dreaming about every night, whether they’re having good dreams or nightmares, how have you traditionally gone about acquiring new users?
Ben Barta: Look, on the surface, our approach to acquiring new users roughly aligns with industry norms. But I think our competitive edge lies in the meticulous attention to detail and the data-driven culture that we have. At our scale, we have to leverage a wide array of marketing channels, much like any other gaming studio.Â
However, I think what sets us apart is our ability to delve deep into the analytics, rapidly test and iterate, and take aggressive actions based on our findings. I think our highly data-driven culture allows us to uncover insights that inform our decisions. By constantly scrutinizing performance metrics and refining our approaches, we try to ensure that every marketing dollar is maximized for impact.Â
This relentless pursuit of optimization enables us, I think, to stay ahead of the competition and maintain a competitive edge in this landscape.
“Partnering with OEMs has always been a reliable traffic source for us in the past. Given the widespread appeal of our games, such as Solitaire and Wooduku, it’s just a natural fit!”
– On Tripledot’s Mobile OEM partnerships
Partnering with Mobile OEMs
David Murphy: Good stuff! And one thing that you’re doing that I think a lot of companies haven’t probably discovered yet is this whole thing with mobile OEMs. So when did you first start looking at them as a source of new users?
Ben Barta: We’ve been collaborating with mobile OEMs and carriers for quite some time honestly. So this isn’t really like a recent development for us. Partnering with OEMs has always been a reliable traffic source for us in the past. Given the widespread appeal of our games, such as Solitaire and Wooduku, it’s just a natural fit.
Access to brand new devices ensures a steady stream of new users, and we’ve consistently observed strong monetization metrics from this channel. So, we continue to look for partnerships and expand our collaboration with new OEMs and new geos.
“We are focusing on refining our processes, exploring new marketing channels, and really stepping up our creative game. That’s going to be a big one for us”.
– On Tripledot’s focus on creative user acquisition
Looking Forward: Mobile User Acquisition Strategy for the Future
David Murphy: And looking forward, Ben, what’s your outlook for growth strategy, especially in terms of user acquisition in 2024?
Ben Barta: We’re feeling pretty optimistic about our growth strategy, despite a few industry headwinds. We’re confident in our ability to keep moving forward. We don’t plan on making any major shifts right away. As I mentioned, we are focusing on refining our processes, exploring new marketing channels, and really stepping up our creative game. That’s going to be a big one for us. And of course, we are keeping a close eye on those privacy concerns too.Â
We’re excited about the opportunity to scale up some of our soft-launch titles and brainstorm new game ideas. Even though we’ve been in the game for a while, there’s still plenty of room for growth, whether it’s optimizing user journey for better revenue or boosting our retention efforts. Yeah, lots of exciting stuff ahead as we continue to push forward.
“We’ve acquired a significant amount of users and AVOW consistently ranks among the top three channels in several of the geos where we operate, which highlights the substantial contribution that AVOW has made to our overall UA efforts.”
– On Tripledot’s successful mobile OEM advertising campaigns with AVOW
Tripledot’s Succesful Partnership with AVOW
David Murphy: Looking at your partnership with AVOW, what role have they played in your app’s marketing and growth strategies?
Ben Barta: AVOW has become an integral part of our app marketing and growth strategy since our collaboration began towards the end of last year. Our partnership expanded significantly, granting us access to traffic sources that were previously untapped, particularly through connections with OEMs like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. This gives us access to a different composition of traffic than we used to, beyond the heavily concentrated US and tier-one markets. This has allowed us to scale our presence in geos where our historical spend might have been a little bit lower.Â
The role of AVOW in our growth strategy extends beyond just buying pure preloads. It’s about unlocking potential in various other products and services that we’ve yet to fully explore. Beyond pre-installs, we believe we’re only scratching the surface, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead with this partnership.
David Murphy: Are there any specific successes or milestones you’ve achieved with AVOW’s help that you could share with us?Â
Ben Barta: I can’t share, you know, exact numbers, but we’re acquiring traffic in more than 50 countries with AVOW. We’ve acquired a significant amount of users and AVOW consistently ranks among the top three channels in several of the geos where we operate, which highlights the substantial contribution that AVOW has made to our overall UA efforts. Â
Really appreciate you taking the time to join us today. Thank you very much for sharing those insights with us.
Ben Barta: Thank you very much for having me.!
David Murphy: You’re more than welcome.
(END OF INTERVIEW)
→ Watch the full interview here on YouTube
Scale Your Mobile Gaming App’s Growth with AVOW!
Just like Tripledot Studios, scale your mobile gaming app’s growth with AVOW. By leveraging mobile OEMs, AVOW helps you acquire users through unique channels. Book a free consultation with AVOW today and unlock your app’s full potential.
RELATED LINKS
→ Tripledot Studios
→ Ultimate Mobile OEM Guide
→ Mobile Gaming UA Guide
→ David Murphy
→ Ben Barta