Branded3’s Stephen Kenwright explains the importance of speed for apps

Stephen Kenwright on Mobile Apps

In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Rebecca Liggero, Branded3 director Stephen Kenwright shares some tips on how to effectively market an app in the online gambling industry.

Many online gambling operators believe in taking things gradually: start the campaign slow and test to see what happens first. But Stephen Kenwright believes otherwise.

For the director of digital marketing agency Branded3, speed is the key.

“It’s all about speed basically. How fast does your app travel? How many people download it, how many people play it, and ultimately, how many people own and install it in the end,” Kenwright told CalvinAyre.com.

He explained that promoting an app works differently from normal ad works campaigns, in which people usually want to tweak and see what works.

“When it comes to promoting an app, all that matters really is getting people to notice it all at once. A high number of downloads inevitably makes the app rank higher on the app store and more people download it,” Kenwright said.

When it comes to marketing an app in the online gambling industry, the Branded3 director said affiliates must think about reach versus retention.

“If your consideration is getting new customers, acquire new customers, mobile is still pretty much the big one for that,” Kenwright noted. “One of the interesting things about search in general in the gambling space is because click through rate is so heavily rated as a ranking signal so much more than it is in a lot of sectors because, basically, you can’t trust links as much as [compared to] other industries. Click through rate becomes so much more important and a lot of that is down to the offer you’ve got. What is it that you’re giving the user aside from signup bonus… and you’ve got to keep giving—unfortunately if you’re in iGaming—to get people to then download an app.”

And for operators who want to get their app in the first place, Kenwright has this piece of advice: deep links.

“Make sure your app is indexed as a starting point, so whether that’s users who are searching for an app who don’t have it installed already… if they already have it installed, you can take them straight to the app,” Kenwright said. “Google Play is not so much of a consideration in the gambling industry, but Apple, the iOS store is about making sure the title is correct, making sure that you have reviews, positive reviews, as many reviews as possible.”