How Coronavirus Impacted App Marketing

It’s not a secret that people are spending much more time using mobile apps and downloading a bunch of media content during this Coronavirus pandemic. In fact, according to App Annie,  there was a 20% growth in average weekly time spent in mobile apps in 2020.

As people started working from home, suspending travel plans and changing social and entertainment habits, many businesses had to adapt from one day to another. We asked marketing leaders how Coronavirus impacted app marketing and their businesses.

Check out some insights from our Mobile Masterminds on the approach they had towards this new world.

The challenge of adapting to a new situation in a short time

Back in February of 2020, not so long ago, Coronavirus hit the world and everything changed overnight. Without hesitating at all, most apps focused on understanding their audience and stood by them strengthening the relationship with their users. “Although we were not fully prepared for such a huge social and digital change, our biggest impact and challenge was to understand, in a matter of days, the approach we would have and how to know our users in times of chaos and anguish.” said Rafael Camargo, Performance Lead at e-commerce platform Linio.

This is one of the key elements to take into account if you are willing to stay in your customers’ minds. As a matter of fact, a global research by Edelman, states that 65% of  the surveyed declared that how well a brand responds to the crisis will have a huge impact when choosing a product in the future.

Communication has been more important than ever

There’s no doubt that  communication plays an important part when rewriting  marketing strategies. As stated by Rafael: “We had to adapt and dedicate all analytical and creative efforts on how and what to communicate during quarantine.” Defining a clear, consistent, and empathic message that promotes awareness would totally make the difference in this new ground. As an example Patricia Gil Lamadrid, Growth Lead at Tienda Pago shared that  “Communication has been committed to promote safety measures to prevent the spread of infection as well as assisting clients during this uncertain time.”

E-commerce apps had to be sure to have the products that people were looking for

Did you know that bread makers, disposable gloves and hand sanitizer are at the top ten of the products sold online? According to the Analytics Powerhouse Stackline that has reviewed e-commerce sales across the U.S. in March,  there was an e-change and people are mostly buying essential products for the stay at home period rather than clothes and outdoors items. “As an Ecommerce, the true impact consisted of supplying and having the ability to offer products that people were looking for. So, having this premise easily covered with analytical work, products and services could be simply communicated with the help of digital platforms”, added Rafael. 

As a result of this, E-commerce platforms focused on supplying their customers needs and products demand the fastest as possible with safety protocols.

New audiences for mobile games

With many countries in lockdown, going to the movies, a concert or just  having dinner at your favourite restaurant it’s not an option anymore (at least for now). People have changed their entertainment habits  and are spending much more time  using apps and downloading mobile games. And despite the fact that many sectors are being affected, Mobile Apps are becoming a key point in the response to the crisis. Michael Jessen, User Acquisition Specialist at game publisher Social Point, explained why he believed that this is happening: “I guess the main change here is that people at home are playing more games, changing their entertainment budget and spending it on mobile games and lastly we are reaching new audiences that were not “gamers” before covid-19.”

Just as Mckinsey affirmed, app downloads and new sign ups have grown between 80% and more than 250% in recent months. In addition, according to a recent market study by Sensor Tower, mobile app spending will continue growing and even double by 2024.

we are reaching new audiences that were not “gamers” before covid-19.

Less competition from Brand advertisers can be an opportunity for Apps

While brand advertisers are making cuts on their marketing spend so they can “live to fight another day”, app marketers are finding opportunities due to lower competition for ad space and an increase in available impressions.  Michael Jessen assured: “Due to all the big brands (mainly travel) pulling out, the CPM’s have been at an all time low since the start of the pandemic. This gave us more room to scale, which we did for all of our titles. However, since the last week of April we are slowly seeing our CPM’s increasing slightly, so this could be the sign of a brand entering the market again slowly as country restrictions are being eased.”

we are slowly seeing our CPM’s increasing slightly, so this could be the sign of a brand entering the market again slowly as country restrictions are being eased

Rafael added “Paid Acquisition channels, mainly those specialized in app acquisition, had a significant increase. This was an atypical behavior during the first 10 days of quarantine where the uncertainty of  people destabilized the growth of UA a little bit but then,  the numbers improved even above our expectations.”  Therefore, app marketing campaigns during the corona crisis have seen a big opportunity in User Acquisition, not only by getting new users but also by retargeting their audience as it is now more accessible and has new needs.

 

 Undoubtedly, the impact that Coronovirus had on people and companies lives represents a huge transformation in the way they connect to each other, and the way they strengthen their relationship. Apart from adapting to users’ new demands through different platforms and taking advantage of several digital  tools, getting committed to society’s health care and addressing customers’ needs with empathy and concern seem to be one of the most important things among companies´ communication and marketing plans. Understanding and commitment with your users for sure are the key points to seal these pandemic waters.