Premium To Freemium: Pivoting Monetization Methods For Best-Selling Apps Paul O’Connor Brand Director, Appy Entertainment

22 ● Developer and publisher of mobile/social games ● Founded October, 2008 ● 20M downloads

3 Overview Terms Case Study: Trucks & Skulls Development Principles Marketing What We Learned 3

4 Terms Premium -- Costs money to download, minimal in- app purchases 4 Freemium -- Free to download, substantial in- app purchases

5 Premium Example 5

6 Freemium Example 6

7 Why Pivot? Market overwhelmingly prefers freemium monetization. How much will your most dedicated players pay you? What is your game worth? How do you know? 7

8 Trucks & Skulls Video 8

9 Premium Success: Trucks & Skulls 9

10 Launch Revenue 10

11 “Long Tail” 11

12 Solution Re-launch Trucks & Skulls as freemium app Reduce price to free 12

13 Trucks & Skulls Re-Launch 13

14 Longer Tail 14

15 Statistics Revenue increased 150% after pivot. Downloads increased 5000% Downloaded 100K times in a day (July 2010) Reached mass audience for first time 15

16 Principles Take nothing away. Fulfill existing expectations. 16

17 Principles Don’t add annoyances. No “hard” paywalls. 17

18 Principles Correct in favor of players Base currency on rewards 18

19 Monetize We don’t believe in “hard” pay walls. Don’t make player feel you are stealing from them. Can play full game without paying. Players pay because they want to, not because they have to. 19

20 Rewards Reward players for past progress Train players to use store 20

21 Re-Introducing Game Player Outreach Public Dark Period Re-Name Game Press Outreach Update Using Same App ID Launch Game As New Title 21

22 Advantages Improved downloads and revenue Many more customers Improved review scores Zero customer complaints about change 22

23 Disadvantages Does not monetize as well as pure freemium Higher costs Limited advertising opportunities Don’t forget consumables! 23

24 Thank You! Paul O’Connor, Appy Entertainment 24