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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Simplifying Mobile
APP INSIGHT REPORT
Q3, 2013

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APP INSIGHT REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01
InMobi App
Insight Report,
Q3 2013
02
Adding up the
world : Global app
promotion trends
03
Top Trends &
insights to drive
downloads
effectively for your
Apps
04
Glossary
Creative
Matters : Ad
formats that
work best for
your app
Bang on
Target: Sites
you should
target for
maximum
conversions
Tips & Tricks
to win on
Tablets
Cut costs
without
cutting
corners
Market
Spotlight :
Taming the
Chinese
Dragon

3.
APP INSIGHT REPORT
InMobi App Insight report
Q3 2013
As app developers, you’ve spent time designing, developing and delivering your app.
Now you are on the brink of beginning the next important phase – acquiring users.
But guess what, the mobile app ecosystem is a highly competitive marketplace. App
developers constantly jostle for their niche in an already crowded market. Carving
out that space is not easy unless you have the right tools of knowledge in your
pocket and know what you need to, to be successful in this effort. This is where the
InMobi App Insight report comes in.
As part of the first edition of this report, we have analyzed thousands of app promotion
campaigns that ran on our network. Following thorough number-crunching and indepth research, we present data that is visually arresting, quantitatively significant
and vital to your app’s success. We’ve selected global data from Q2 2013 to arm
you with knowledge of the top trends in app promotion campaigns that can help
you effectively drive app downloads globally. Aligning your app with these insights
will make your product stand out in the vast ecosystem and give your app that
competitive edge!
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4.
APP INSIGHT REPORT
Adding up the world :
Global App Promotion Trends
Over 50 Million app installs were delivered on the
InMobi network in 2013 YTD.
InMobi continues to power millions of app installs for top developer studios and
independent developers across the world. In Q2 2013, US continued to be the
most favorite battleground for developers looking to drive downloads on our
global ad network, with several of them also vying to tap into the high smartphone
penetration and expansive mobile subscriber base that markets such as India, China
and Japan represent. As more users get access to mobile media, large markets
such as Indonesia are also becoming increasingly valuable for app developers, with
the country holding the fifth spot on our top list of countries for app promotions.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Network highlight: The top 5 countries accounted
for over 60% of the overall app downloads
33.8%
USA
9.5%
India
9.1%
Japan
7.7%
China
4.6%
Indonesia
4.2%
South Korea
3.5%
Canada
3.0%
United Kingdom
2.5%
Australia
2.4%
Spain
2.1%
France
1.9%
Mexico
1.6%
Germany
1.5%
Italy
1.2%
Brazil
1.1%
Sweden
1.0%
Thailand
Chart 1: % of App Downloads By Country, Q2 2013
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Games represented the most
downloaded app category on the
InMobi network in Q2 2013
According to Juniper Research’s report, “Future App Store: Discovery, Monetization&
Ecosystem Analysis 2013-2018,” gaming will fuel a sharp hike in app downloads with
experts predicting that, in 2017, over 160 billion apps will be downloaded globally
onto consumer handsets and tablets. The trends observed on the InMobi network
are in tandem with this prediction, with games as a category representing 64% of
the total apps downloaded through our network.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
64.0%
Games
11.3%
Communication
6.8%
4.0%
2.7%
2.6%
Telecom
Entertainment
eCommerce
Business &
Productivity
1.8%
1.1%
1.1%
0.9%
Mobile
Content & Others
Social
Consumer
Packaged
Travel
0.5%
0.4%
0.4%
0.3%
Retail
Health
& Fitness
Sports
Education
Chart 2: % of App Downloads By Category, Q2 2013
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Top trends & insights
to drive downloads
effectively for your apps
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
01
Creative Matters: Ad formats that work
best for your app
As a developer, you know that designing the right ad experience is crucial to
grabbing the user’s attention and coaxing them to download your app. While simple
banners continue to do this job quite well, mobile advertising today offers far more
interesting options, ranging from rich media and interstitials to expandable ads and
other unique ad formats. So which one do you pick for your app?
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
1a. Interstitials rule the roost
Upto 25% Click through and 10% Conversions seen on interstitial
ads on the InMobi network
When it comes to promoting your app, we notice that there’s something almost
magical about interstitial ads. Maybe it’s the way they expand to overtake your
whole screen with a rich HTML5 image. Maybe it’s the way they demand attention
in an era of quick glances and endless scrolling.
While top game developers on the inmobi network have seen upto 25% click
through and 10% conversion, this ad format is also seen to work very well for a
wide range of content. On our network, we noticed average conversions as high as
8% for comics and 5.6% for health & fitness apps.
5.6%
Health
Music & Audio
Productivity
5.0%
3.3%
Tools
3.2%
3.0%
2.7%
2.1%
1.9%
1.7%
News &
1.6%
1.0%
Social
& Fitness
8.0%
Comics
2.1%
Education
2.0%
Books &
References
Weather
Entertainment
5.2%
Sports
Magazines
Games
Media & Video
Lifestyle
Networking
Chart 3: Average Conversion Rates On Interstitials Across App Categories – Q2 2013
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
On Android, the average conversions on
interstitial ads are almost double that of
other ad formats
3.06%
1.65% 1.73%
1.99%
1.58%
1.40%
1.12%
0.63%
Banner Ads
Expandables
Interstitials
Text Ads
Chart 4: Average Conversion Rates Across Ad Formats by OS, Q2 2013
Average Conversion Rates on iOS
Average Conversion Rates on Android
Quick Tip: For apps with short app sessions, static
interstitials get the point across immediately
and are found to be the most effective in
driving engagement. On the other hand, for
more engaging apps with longer app sessions,
video interstitials deliver higher eCPMs. Static
interstitials typically are observed to provide
CTRs as high as 20% while video-interstitials are
found to deliver superior ad engagement.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
1b. Don’t do away with banners, just yet!
Well, interstitials are the in thing - no denying that. But does that warrant doing
away with good old banner ads?
On InMobi’s network, we notice banners continue to work well for a wide range of
non-gaming content on both iOS and Android.
Chart 5: Conversion Rates On Banners Across Non Gaming Apps–By OS, Q2-2013
Software
3.3%
3.5% Software
Weather
2.6%
2.8% Business
Travel & Local
2.4%
2.5% Education
Shopping
2.4%
2.2% Medical
Medical
2.3%
2.2% Finance
Tools
2.3%
2.2% Communication
Business
1.8%
2.0% Catalogs
Lifestyle
1.8%
2.0% Health & Fitness
Productivity
1.8%
1.9% Tools
Finance
1.7%
1.6% Weather
News & Magazines
1.7%
1.5% Travel & Local
Quick Tip: For any app promotion campaign, we recommend using a good mix of HD banners
and interstitials to ensure you reach audiences on a wide variety of handsets. Also, rotating ad
formats can reduce ad fatigue and help drive higher ad engagement.

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APP INSIGHT REPORT
02
Bang on Target: Sites you should
target for maximum conversions
The mobile consumer today shunts his presence on different mobile sites. So where
do you find the right users for your app?
In this report, we specifically analysed conversions for games, social and
entertainment apps on iOS to understand which sites you should target to drive
maximum installs while promoting your app.
InMobi Insight: Almost all kinds of sites delivered good downloads on games suggesting that the audience for this category is diverse and widespread. Sports
and health & fitness sites delivered maximum downloads for social apps. On the
other hand, communication sites delivered the most downloads for entertainment
apps.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Chart 6: iOS CVR Index Across Site Category By Content, Q2 2013
Gaming Apps
CVR Index Site Category
215
206
Sports
197
Tools
192
Travel & Local
157
Lifestyle
155
Shopping
150
Business
146
Productivity
137
Social Apps
Weather
Media & Video
CVR Index Site Category
325
306
Sports
213
News & Magazines
141
Media & Video
118
Finance
101
Entertainment Apps
Health & Fitness
Tools
CVR Index Site Category
409
205
Education
145
Sports
127
Media & Video
116
Catalogues
110
Weather
100
Note: Index calculated with gaming category as a base.
Communication
Games

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APP INSIGHT REPORT
03
Tips & Tricks to win on Tablets
“Over 1,146 unique app download campaigns ran across the InMobi network on
tablets, i.e., one out of every three app promotion campaigns on the network also
ran on tablets.”
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Why Advertise on Tablets?
Exponentially Expanding
High Quality User base
2011
28.3M
2012
74.1M
In tier 1 cities every user will own a tablet
by the end of 2013, generating 3x more
download revenue than smartphones
2013
126.2M
Source: A Potrait of Today’s User Wave II, OPA, June 2012
Tablet Owners
More Engaged Users
Garnering a significant amount of
timeshare due to higher user engagement,
tablets are the most preferred medium to
consume media
= 90 Mins
= 58 Mins
= 50 Mins
Source: Pew Research, 2012
Phones
3x
Tablets
Higher Inclination To
Consume Ads
Users are at least 3x more open to
consuming ads on tablets compared to
smartphones
CTR
14
Source: The Adfonic AdSnap Tablets, Q1 2013

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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Apple still leads the pack, but Android
tablet usage is catching up
Tablets & connected devices accounted for 14.1% of total impressions on the
InMobi network in Q2 2013, with Apple remaining the top manufacturer in tablet
category with the largest share of impressions.
Device Share of Impressions, Q2 2013
65.0%
21.0%
14.1%
-0.9
Smartphones
+0.2
Tablets &
Connected Devices
+0.7
Feature Phones
Chart 7 : Device Share Of Impressions, Q2 2013
Q2 2013
Q1 2013
+ - Percentage point change since Q1 2013
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Top Tablet Manufacturers, Q2 2013
53.9%
Apple
28.4%
Samsung
4.1%
Amazon
3.0%
Google
2.1%
Acer
1.2%
Asus
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
15.4%
7.7%
Chart 8: Top Countries in terms of Tablet Usage on InMobi Platform, Q2 2013
6.9%
4.3%
4.0%
3.2%
USA
China
Thailand
United Indonesia
Kingdom
Galaxy
Galaxy
Galaxy
iPad Tab 2 7.0 Tab 2 10.1 Note 10.1
3.6%
Japan
3.0%
2.9% 2.9%
France Russian
Federation
Saudi
Arabia
Galaxy
Galaxy Kindle Fire Kindle
Nexus 7 Tab 10.1 Tab
HD 7
Fire
2.9%
2.1%
1.8%
1.6%
1.2%
2.8%
Malaysia
Galaxy
Tab 7.0 Kindle
Plus
Fire 7
1.0%
1.0%
7.6%
10.2%
53.9%
Chart 9: Top Tablet Devices By Impressions On Inmobi Platform, Q2 2013
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Ads that work well on tablets
Consumers are increasingly utilizing tablets for shopping, game play and
communication. The same optimized banner ad on a tablet app may perform
completely different from an ad on a smartphone app. Knowing your target
demographic on tablets or smartphones and what type of ads they engage with
the most is crucial to designing an effective app promotion strategy on tablets.
A quick comparison between tablet CTRs and average ad network CTRs reveal
that text ads don’t work well on tablets. However, interstitial ads deliver solid
results with almost 46% higher CTR for tablet campaigns.
Tablet CTR vs. Network CTR
(% increase/decrease)
46.0%
23.0%
13.0%
-37.0%
Text Ads
Interstitial
Rich Media Ads
Chart 10: Tablet CTR vs. Network CTR Across Ad Formats, Q2 2013
+/-(% increase/decrease)
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Banner Ads

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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Top 3 tips to make your tablet
campaigns work:
01
02
03
Leverage the real estate: Take the effort to optimize your ad size for
tablets. Tablet optimized ads tend to deliver 3x higher conversions and
ROI .InMobi recommends using the 728×90, 300×250 , and 468×60 slot
sizes for best results on your tablet campaign.
Bid at the right price: Tablet users tend to have higher LTV, and are
on average, better spenders as well. This increases demand for tablet
advertising and most advertisers are already bidding more. InMobi
recommends that you bid about 1.5 – 2x more on tablets to hit the scale
that you want.
Mix and match: High definition ad formats match perfectly with the highresolution display of tablets, creating a deeply engaging experience for
users. InMobi recommends rotating between HD banners, Interstitials
and video ads to reach your users in the most optimal way.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
04
Cut costs without cutting corners
Agreed it’s a competitive marketplace out there. You don’t know your user’s Lifetime
Value (LTV) and can’t decide how much to spend on acquiring users. But not all apps
are created equal. Depending on what kind of app you have built and the country
you target, the cost to drive a download ( CPD) could vary significantly.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Indexed against the costs in the US, our research indicates that driving a download
in most markets, especially in China, Japan and Korea is relatively cheaper in comparison to
the US market , with the UK representing the most expensive markets and India the least
Expensive.
174
United Kingdom
127
Australia
100
USA
95
New Zealand
87
Malaysia
84
South Korea
84
Vietnam
81
Japan
77
Hong Kong
75
France
71
Singapore
60
China
56
Germany
40
India
Chart 11: CPD Index By Country, Q2 2013
Note: Index calculated using USA as base
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
CPDs also vary drastically by the type of content you promote and depend
on the average lifetime value (LTV) of the app’s user. Higher the LTV, higher
the CPD tends to be. For example, a travel app developer is usually willing
to pay much more to acquire a user, compared to the average game
developer, since the expected revenues from a loyal user can be much
higher, at times upwards of $100 USD. This reflects in the average CPDs we
notice on our network, with travel and financial service apps topping the
charts on CPDs bid on the network.
4229
4114
Automotive
580
Health & Fitness
262
Consumer Packaged
Goods
258
Mobile Content Wallpaper
152
Social
139
Business & Productivity
122
Books & Reference
112
Retail
100
Games
76
22
Telecom
1040
Note: Index is calculated using Games as a base
Financial Services
2091
Chart 12: CPD Index By Category, Q2 2013
Travel
Sports

25.
APP INSIGHT REPORT
05
Market Spotlight: Taming
the Chinese Dragon
“Let China sleep, for when she awakes, she will shake
the world.” Napoleon
And indeed, she did just that! According to IDC, in February 2013, China overtook
the US to become the world’s largest smart device market, with 246 million devices
(against the US 230 million) and accounted for 26.5% of all smartphone shipments
last year.Concurrent with the growth in smart devices, mobile applications are also
growing at an astronomical rate. In addition, the falling price of the iPhone and the
increasingly capable low to mid-range Android handsets now available have further
propelled this growth. As attractive as the market may be, China is no easy beast to
tame!
Cultural barriers, piracy concerns, fragmented app distribution ecosystems and
the need for localization have prevented most app developers from entering this
market. The common perception that Chinese app users were not willing to pay for
content and that app usage levels were not high enough to warrant investments in
heavy marketing, have kept most developers away from China.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Know Thy Users
For starters, there are several differences (and similarities, too) between the way
Chinese users behave in comparison to their counterparts. Here are the top 3
insights from our recent consumer research in China that can help you drive
downloads more effectively in this country.
1. Contextually recommended apps are the most
preferred by Chinese users.
Mobile Ads that Influence
app downloads
39%
Ads which recommend
specific apps for me,
based on website I am
browsing on my phone
42%
24%
Ads which include
multimedia content
such as games, audio &
pictures
28%
18%
Banner ads which
appear at the top of the
screen
24%
20%
A full screen ad which
appears briefly, while
the app is loading
19%
17%
A short video clip
14%
Survey Question: When Searching For Mobile Apps To Download, Which Types Of Advertisements On Your Mobile Phone Would Be The Most Helpful?
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
2. If you want your users to download your app,
get your app featured on the Chinese App Store!
Factors that influence the
app download decision
57%
App featured by App Store
60%
50%
App Store reviews and rating
59%
48%
Description & screenshots
43%
41%
Price
33%
40%
App is ranked high on App Store chart
46%
37%
Recommendation from family and friends
26%
25%
Reviews from magazines and website
32%
Survey Question: What Factors Have The Biggest Influence When You Decide Whether To Download A Specific App?
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
3. App Stores, mobile websites and recommendations
from friends and family are the top 3 ways in which
Chinese users discover apps.
App Discovery
55%
Browsing the App Store
54%
55%
Websites I access through my mobile phones
44%
33%
Recommendation from friends & family
23%
23%
Websites I access through laptop/desktop computer
30%
18%
Recommendation from social media (facebook, twitter, etc.)
12%
13%
Advertisments on my mobile phones
20%
10%
Magazines & newspapers
4%
None of these
3%
5%
Survey Question: How do you usually find new apps to download to your phone?
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Top 3 Tips to Win in the Chinese
App Market
01
02
03
Localize your app: While translating apps into simplified Chinese
is essential, localization should go beyond simple translation – it is
important to connect with users’ emotions and culture. Customizing
with Chinese avatars and timing app launches with Chinese festivals is
a good strategy.
Go freemium to beat piracy: Paid apps are quickly pirated in China
with up to 42% of Chinese iOS devices being jail broken and 17% of apps
copied or pirated. Overcome piracy by using a freemium monetization
model and by making frequent updates to your app.
List your app on the right stores: With over 500 stores, China has
one of the most complex and fragmented Android app store ecosystems
in the world. Carefully select the right app stores to reach the right
audience.
The largest App Stores include Anzhi, AppChina, Gfan, Hiapk, Mobile
Market, Nduoa, Snappee, Tencent, Wandoujia, Baidu App Store, Opera
Mobile App Store, and Pandaapp.
For more insights on China and how to win in
this complex market, download our whitepaper
“What it takes to win in the Chinese App Market”
here.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Glossary of Terms
1. CTR (Click Through Rate) = (Clicks/Ad Request)*100
2. CVR (Conversion Rate) = Downloads/Clicks
3. CPD (Cost per Download) = Total Burn/Downloads
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
INMOBI OFFICE
OFFICE WITH CREATIVE TEAM
About InMobi
InMobi enables the world’s leading brands, developers, and publishers to engage
global consumers through mobile advertising. InMobi platforms leverage advances
in big data, user behavior, and cloud-based architectures to simplify mobile
advertising for its customers. Recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the
50 Disruptive Companies of 2013, InMobi is the world’s largest independent mobile
ad network, engaging 691 million consumers across 165 countries.
To learn more, visit www.inmobi.com, follow us on Twitter @InMobi, or discover the
latest mobile insights at www.inmobi.com/insights/. Developers, start monetizing
instantaneously by downloading our SDK at www.inmobi.com/SDK.
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APP INSIGHT REPORT
Contact Us:
Arun Pattabhiraman
Global Marketing Lead - Performance Advertising & App Developers, InMobi
email: arun@inmobi.com
For further queries on research, please write to research@inmobi.com.