The pandemic has been a time of overwhelming success for the mobile industry around the world, including in Eastern Europe. According to App Annie , in 2020 the total amount of in-app purchases to $ 1,330 in Russia, $ 220 billion in Ukraine and $ 390 billion in Poland. A study by the IAB showed that during the pandemic, Romanians were more active in using smartphones and tablets for entertainment and shopping. This led to mobile advertising accounting for 60% of total online ad revenue in Romania last year.
The Eastern European market offers many unique opportunities for app promotion not available in other markets. In this region, the CPM is lower, and the legislation is more loyal, which creates excellent conditions for testing. Also in the CIS countries, 5G technology became available, which accelerated data transfer - another advantage for mobile marketers.
However, it is still not so easy to outflank competitors and succeed in the Eastern European market. Below we will share tips on how to promote apps in this region.
A good field for experimentation
Some of the world's most innovative apps have emerged in Eastern Europe. For example, Skype, TransferWise and Bolt were all created in Estonia. Poland was one of the first European countries to launch an app that collects personal data to combat the pandemic. It is worth noting that many applications developed in Eastern Europe receive most of the profits in other global markets.
But are marketers missing out on the advantages of the Eastern European market, especially with such low advertising prices? Russia has one of the lowest CPI (cost per install) compared to the world , $ 0.86 for iOS and $ 0.44 for Android.
Dariya Opanasyuk, Marketing Director of Impulse - Brain Training, notes: “For applications that are not tied to a specific region and can be used all over the world, Eastern Europe is an excellent market to conduct soft launch and marketing tests. Low CPM allows you to reduce marketing costs, and the ability to buy traffic in this region using the same traffic channels as in Tier1 countries saves a lot of time. The Eastern European market gives marketers the opportunity to find the most effective ways to promote without investing a lot of money. "
Vladimir Ilchenko, Head of User Acquisition at Nakusi Games, says: “We do not have such strict laws as in China, and it is quite easy to enter the market. This makes our market similar to the markets of other European countries, but with lower eCPMs. "
Max Mikhedov, Lead of User Acquisition Department at Easybrain, says: “I believe that these markets are still underestimated, perhaps companies believe that they can make less money on them. On the other hand, it is an opportunity, because there is less competition in the market and it is easier to take leadership positions in your niches. "
Unique local features
Eastern Europeans are accustomed to the fact that products are offered in their local language, regardless of whether they are applications of local companies or global players. To compete successfully in this region, marketers need to localize creatives. For translation, it is important to take into account local conditions, both in the social and in the business sphere.
Kirill Grigorev, Senior User Acquisition Manager at Dataduck, notes: “Most people in Eastern Europe do not speak English, so it is very important to localize creatives. In addition, to create a successful marketing campaign, you need to study the peculiarities of local thinking, so as not to accidentally provoke negative associations among potential customers. "
Alexey Golovachev, head of UA at Awem Games, says: “The share of Eastern European countries in the marketing mix is usually small, so many developers neglect localization. However, this is critical. In Russia, for example, no more than 5% of the population know English (according to the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion). "
Alexei Tishakov, Marketing Director of ZiMAD, says: “The Eastern European market, especially Russia, has grown in recent years and has provided an opportunity for game developers to expand their player base. In general, understanding regional peculiarities is the key to a successful marketing strategy, but unlike, for example, specific Asian countries, there is no need to introduce any unique user flow, language localization is enough. "
iOS 14.5
The iOS 14.5 update limiting the use of IDFAs affected app marketers around the world, and Eastern Europe was no exception. Marketers are looking for new ways to collect user data, target the right audience, and serve personalized ads.
Vladimir Ilchenko comments: “Like companies around the world, in Eastern Europe we faced difficulties related to iOS 14.5. Some developers have already started testing new products on Android. "
Danuta Bouquet, Head of Sales for Eastern and Central Europe at Liftoff, adds: “The iOS 14.5 update has rocked the app marketing industry. In Eastern Europe, developers have started investing in advertising on Android because on that OS they can still get app performance data and use it to optimize content. But it is too early to draw conclusions. Many of us expect that as more users migrate to iOS 14.5 and marketers begin to adapt to new realities, advertising spending on iOS will return to full value. ”
Galina Efremova, CEO of SUITSME, adds: “A significant factor that forced marketers to reconsider their strategies is the introduction of restrictions on the transfer of personal data by Apple. Against this background, the promotion of applications through influencers, both local and global, is becoming more and more in demand. "
Sergey Tsondinov, head of the marketing team at Beresnev Games, notes: “I would say that all mobile marketers face the problem of having to adapt to the new realities of working with traffic on iOS and the upcoming changes on the part of Android. These changes have already greatly influenced the approaches of purchasing and traffic estimation, until I saw the perfect solution to this problem. It is quite possible that this problem will result in a concomitant one - the need for even closer integration of marketing and product. Both from the point of view of the general idea and setting of the future project, as well as its monetization and further operation. "
Eastern Europe holds many more untapped opportunities for mobile marketing. Low prices allow even companies with a small budget to take advantage of this region. In addition, the use of smartphones and tablets has now reached unprecedented levels, creating a favorable environment for mobile advertising in Eastern Europe. However, in order to succeed and outperform competitors in this region, it is very important to understand the specifics of the market.
To learn more about mobile marketing trends in Eastern Europe, read what Liftoff Mobile Heroes members from the region have to say.