Dive Brief:
- Mobile app data and insights company App Annie released its annual list of the highest earning app publishers for 2016 with 30 of the top 52 app publishers coming from the Asia-Pacific region and, as usual, the entire list had a strong gaming component, including newcomer U.S. Niantic, the publisher of Pokemon Go, per a press release.
- The list also includes some first-timers outside the gaming realm such as Netflix in the U.S. and Chinese web services company Baidu in Asia-Pacific.
- “ … media and entertainment companies are seeing growth in mobile revenue and this is demonstrated by Netflix joining the Top 52,” said Danielle Levitas, SVP of Research at App Annie, in the press release.
Dive Insight:
The dominance of game app publishers isn’t news. However, Niantic's debut on the list points to the significant success of Pokemon Go, which was released last summer and quickly became a cultural phenemon, underscoring the potential of combing augmented reality with real-world experiences along the way.
The fact that Netflix cracked the top 52 is an indicator that people are spending more time watching on the app. Growth in mobile revenue for media and entertainment companies is a trend marketers should continue to watch because it reflects where consumers are spending their time.
Mobile marketing is still young enough as an independent channel marketers need to track where people are interacting online whether on mobile websites or within apps. As media and entertainment apps grow into gaming app territory, they become more compelling places to find and engage with mobile audiences. And beyond finding audiences, marketers can take cues from what is working with media and entertainment apps for their own branded apps strategies.
While it is no longer considered necessary for all brands to invest in a branded app, opportunities clearly still remain in gaming and entertainment for apps, which provide a more immersive, feature-rich experience for mobile users than a website can.
