Should I stay or should I go?
When going global means going local.
Some quick notes about myself
• I work with mobile since 2004
• I’m on my 3rd start-up - so far, it’s a tie: a draw, a failure, and now, it seems, a hit
• I set-up the MMA LATAM Chapter, as their Managing Director
• I change my mobile each 6 months
• And I don’t use the beard anymore - at my daughter’s request
And about Grupo.Mobi
• Founded in 2007
• Brazil’s largest mobile marketing and advertising group
• 190 employees, 5 offices in Brazil, 1 in London, upcoming: Buenos Aires and Miami (or New York, we’re still not sure)
• What we do:
• Mobile web and apps - Fingertips (http://ftips.com.br)
• Mobile advertising network - Hands (http://hands.com.br)
• Mobile games - Monster Juice (http://monsterjuice.com.br)
• Mobile marketing platforms - Aorta (http://aorta.com.br)
Mobile Inventory
Mobile Inventory
Amount of advertising impressions available
Mobile Inventory
Admob used to tell us how much each month
Mobile Inventory
Now they just couldn’t care less
Well, I care.
Mobile inventory = Local + Originated at
Can you guess the ratio of gringo/local in Brazil?
As my daughter would say...
It’s infinite times!
Now, why is that?
• Angry Birds?
• Cut the Rope?
• Echofon?
• Oh, I know, (insert big app here)!
Now, why is that?
• No, no, no and no.
• Well, they do help.
• But it’s the long tail and the not so long tail
• e-Buddy, Nimbuzz, Echofon, AntSmasher, and most of what’s free and fun. And helpful.
And then
Apps I never heard of started talking to us about their local inventory (Brazil/LATAM)
• Do these guys had a global strategy?
• Did they had a global/local strategy?
• Were they doing the right stuff?
• Should you have a global strategy?
• Should you have a global/local strategy?
• I hope you’ll do the right stuff.
Customizing or localizing content for specific markets and cultures will multiply the desired effect
It’s about familiarity
• EA localized car racing games in Russia:
• 600% ROI over the English version
• LUG (online games distributor in BR):
• A game localized in Portuguese yielded 15X more revenue
Source: http://lingoport.com
Should every app have a localization strategy?
Are you any of these?
A global app
A localized app
A local app
Meanwhile, at the App Store
• Games are king
• But less so, when it comes to free apps
• Free:
• Entertain
• Help
• Search
• Boost
Meanwhile, at the App Store
• US App Store:
• Paid Apps:
• Games are 75-80% of top 300
• Free Apps:
• Games are 35-40% of top 300
• More apps to compete (social apps)
Meanwhile, at the App Store
• LATAM App Stores (BR/MX/AR):
• Paid and Free Apps:
• Games are ~30% of top 300
How many of them are local/localized?
• LATAM App Stores BR/MX/AR:
• Local: ~12% of apps (excluding games)
• Localized: ~25% of apps (excluding games)
Those numbers, I calculated them myself.
Feeling local makes a difference
• Sky Night X Star Walk: Sky Night (localized)
• Outfit 7: apps in local language get more downloads
• Weather: local apps are more downloaded (even though they
might not be as good or complete)
• Flight tracker apps: local or localized got more downloads
• Medical apps: local or localized apps
• Tools in general: localized apps
• And even games - Gameloft and Disney localize their games
What does it mean going local?
You have the local apps: you have to be local...
What does it mean going local?
• You have the partially localized apps:
• That’s easy - translate your presentation texts at the App Stores
• And that’s it. Just doing this will get you more downloads
What does it mean going local?
• And you have fully localized apps:
• That’s hard - you need everything translated. And it needs to be right
• But you will make yourself a local!
• (People don’t know who’s local. They just assume.)
Paid or Free?
• LATAM: people don’t like to pay. They do. But it’s harder. A partially localized version should be a 1st choice.
• Advertising: you will need a local partner and a lot of impressions - a fully localized app is the best option.
Which platform?
• Apple outnumbers all others in terms of downloads
• You need to check each market for other options (Blackberry still rules in Colombia and Venezuela, for instance)
And how should I do some noise?Total downloads over time
Time
Mobile Media
Earned Media
Paid Media
Own Media
That chart, I calculated it myself too.
A few more “rules”
Universal Rules
• The MVA (Minimum Viable App)
Deciding
• Check your numbers
• Check the app stores (there are a lot of apps for that)
• Research the market when you find one
Preparing
• Run tests to identify localization readiness
• Real estate limitations: languages different than English may break the layout
• A style guide and a glossary will help
Go for it
• Translate
• Find local partners for localization, distribution and monetization
• Have someone in charge
