MAU Vegas Wrap-up: Key Takeaways

Overall, MAU’24 was fantastic, massive comeback here!

It was a bit like stepping into multiple worlds at once: All about finding your crew to get the best out of it. Though MAU panels offer some insights, they were not the best choice for seasoned industry veterans focused on business – real value lies in networking.

Top Conversations & Key Discourse

• Privacy Sandbox
• Moloco SDK
• Layoffs
• Gen AI

What I enjoyed most over MAU Sin City?

Smiles were literally as abundant as the chips at the roulette tables! Moreover, I loved the Business Hustle & Party paradise, perfectly mirroring the high-vibe of Mobile Gaming!

Business-wise, the coolest part is the amount of quality people you meet – can chat directly with the folks who call the shots.

It was super cool to chat with industry titans such as Supercell, EA, Zynga, Scopely, Moon Active, Warner Bros, Metacore, Plarium, Playtika, Bandai Namco, SciPlay, Mobilityware, and more. What I literally have heard from each of them was that their main goal was to meet key partners and different studios there and exchange insights to catch the newest trends, and by far the hottest one was Android Privacy Sandbox. Obviously, we’re about to step into the new era of Privacy Centric Technology.

MAU Highlights

According to Carolyn Bao, VP of Marketing at AppsFlyer, this was their most successful and well-attended event: “MAU was so full of energy and optimism this year. People were so excited to be back together in person, learning from each other and meeting to forge new paths for marketing growth. We saw the emergence of tried-and-true trends like paywalls, cash rewards and an increased push for loyalty programs, as well as ongoing discussions on driving growth through AI, working hand-in-hand with creative teams, and of course a major focus in the content tracks on signal loss and data fragmentation.”

Moloco SDK Arrived

Ben Jeger, VP EMEA at Moloco, publicly announced that Moloco SDK during his speech at MAU. Moreover, Ben pointed out that the duplications are everywhere – there’s no such thing as exclusive inventory. 6 Top Exchanges have 70% of the impressions, of that inventory, only 1% is unique.

Privacy Shifts Across the Ecosystem

Over MAU, there was more than Android Privacy Sandbox. People were discussing about iOS14.5 & ATT, SKAN Updates, GDPR, DMA, CCPA, ITP, Facebook AMM, and more. We can expect major updates on Privacy side soon. Having a Google speech about Privacy Sandbox should not be a coincidence, right?

AI Highlights

83% of our industry is regularly using AI at work. Crazy, right?

Zach Pond, VP Marketing at Mobilityware, shared pretty cool insights on the AI side during his panel speech. “We take numerous shots with our creatives, understanding that not all of them will be perfect. But when we hit the mark, it’s like lightning striking. After another 4-5 iterations, we’re ready to go.

With AI leading the charge and a team of over 20 games and 4 artists, we’re now adopting “Learn & Try” methods even before involving our artists. For instance, in our Golf Solitaire game, we’re brainstorming ideas like crocodiles sporting golf hats. Midjourney refines these concepts through iterations until we’ve developed 100 variations. Then, we present these options to our artists, aligning them with KPIs and Creative Directions. Leveraging click-testing for cohort data adds valuable insights. Yet, today’s AI, while advancing rapidly, still presents challenges. It’s both the worst and the best we’ve encountered — for now.”

2024 WTF

John Koetsier, VP Insights at Singular, mentioned about the weird years we have been going through.

“We’re in a dynamic era marked by COVID, AI, economic shifts, and emerging tech like Web3, Metaverse, and NFTs. Consumer sentiment is changing, while inflation in the US sits at 5.8% for 2024. Global ad growth is slowing compared to GDP growth, and people are growing weary of marketing messages. In the world of capitalism, the top 5% of new apps make over 200 times more revenue than the bottom quartile a year after launch. Plus, there’s a boost in measurement accuracy with Unified Reporting.“

Data.ai: Mobile Market Forecast 2030

Lexi Sydow guided us through Data.ai’s report. Key takeaways would be:

• %77 of consumer spend will be only America & Asia
• By 2030, Asia is projected to represent 70% of all app downloads.
• There are significant growth prospects in Central America and the Middle East.
• India predominantly favors Android, yet the iOS presence is quite significant.
• In 2030, China, Mexico, and other countries will overshadow Android app downloads in the US.

Can be interesting: 2024 Gaming Layoffs