Interview with Roberto Sbrolla from InfoJobs
Roberto Sbrolla is Online Marketing Manager B2C at InfoJobs. He’s a digital marketing expert with over 10 years experience in the online business. For the last 4 years, Roberto has been specializing in app marketing, working for advertising agencies and managing ASO, user acquisition and retention for global brands such as Burger King, Just Eat and Nickelodeon, as well as tech startups. He’s currently working as online marketing manager at InfoJobs, the #1 job board in Spain.
Roberto, as speaker at Applause 2017, will participate at two panel discussions. In the morning, will take place the ASO Panel Discussion with: MobileGroove, 8fit, Phiture, TheTool, InfoJobs and WiM; and in the afternoon, the App Marketing Panel Discussion with Mobile Dev Memo, Geenapp, Swrve and TBC.
Don’t miss the chance to listen and speak with the best experts in ASO and App Marketing at Applause 2017. Remember that the event will be held at W Barcelona next May 27th and you’re still on time to buy your tickets!
Find out more about Roberto in this interview and enjoy it 😉
Quick Quiz Roberto Sbrolla – InfoJobs
1. What is your story? Could you please share some interesting facts about yourself?
I was born in 78 and I consider myself an early Millennial. Not only a digital native, since I was there from day one, but also someone who experienced all the digital transformation: from a heavy desktop computer running with tapes and noisy 56k dial-up modems to our 4G smartphones. I always had a computer at home and that lead me to become a tech geek. A curious fact is that I won my first mobile phone in the nineties in a lottery during a local trade in Italy. It was a huge Nokia. Not even thinking about to have it in a pocket. I had to pull out the antenna before any call. At university I discovered marketing and it was love at first sight. The same happened to me a few years later with mobile and app marketing. I really like technology but I believe that people are what makes this life so special and interesting. With mobile marketing I have the possibility to stay up to date with technology and close to people, understanding them and bringing them value. Nowadays one of the most intimate relationships we have is with our smartphone.
2. How is your day-to-day?
At work it’s a lot about data: analysing, understanding, optimising, planning and executing. Performance marketing is a never ending process. There is always margin to improve something and to do it better. At InfoJobs, part of my job is to manage online marketing for our two apps (Android and iOS). Every month I’m dealing with more than one million people in Spain who are using them. It’s stimulating to help people with their working life and companies to find the best talent. As if 8 hours in front of a PC is not enough… as a hobby I’m currently learning java and I have been developing Android apps. I’m looking forward to publish my first app and to start playing around with ASO.
3. What was your biggest mistake and what did you learn from it?
In the past, I should have said more often NO. I’m talking on a personal and professional level. All of us tend to be very demanding with others but our time is a precious resource. When you say no you can save time and be more productive. Giving an example, I think about all the requests I get to attend a meeting. It’s not a question of saying always no but to get control of our decisions and how much of ourselves we are ready to give. On the other side when we say NO to something we are more conscious about our decision and, at the same time, we are saying YES to something else.
4. If you didn’t work in app marketing sector, what would you be doing?
I would be working as an Android app developer 🙂 or probably always in marketing but maybe in another sector. For example, in e-commerce. I’ve been always fascinated by video editing, 3D, and special effects. In my case marketing really got me and I’m very passionate about it but who knows if taking a different crossroad in my life (one of these paths in destiny that we cross every day) would have lead me to work in the movie or 3d animation industry.
5. How many years have you been working in the mobile industry? What has changed since you started to nowadays?
I’ve been working in mobile for more than 4 years now. Surely there is more awareness and knowledge about the topic these days. There is no need to start from zero each time, explaining all the concepts. I’m saying this because when I started working at advertising agencies, I helped some brands and start-ups which have really no clue about app marketing, user acquisition, and retention back then. We had to plan and build all from scratch. The switch to mobile was really fast, as well as the rise and death of advertising channels, in-app tracking tools, best practices, etc. After this initial phase, I’ve got the impression now, that everything runs more slowly and there are no big game changers or new disruptive technologies.
6. Which are the hottest apps that have surprised you the most?
“Less is more” and a simple idea can be very powerful. I enjoyed a lot playing with the app 2048. It’s a kind of puzzle with numbers. Really easy to play and to understand but difficult enough to challenge and entertain yourself. Visually I liked the app Peak a lot which is currently ranking high in Education. You get daily exercises to train and maintain your brain fit. The design is fresh and modern. You could definitely get inspiration about how to build a successful freemium app. Another app I found very interesting is the app Habitica where you get points and experience completing tasks in real life. The authors say it’s an open-source habit building program (cool definition) that treats your life like a Role Playing Game.
7. What is the main contribution of apps to our society?
People have different needs. Each app normally gives a solution to a specific need or sometimes even to more than one. We might question if there are really helpful apps. Well… pretty much all apps are helpful but maybe not for all the people. A game, for example, can be considered a totally waste of time or a fantastic way of being entertained and having fun. Apps help to satisfy our needs and to make our life easier.
8. How do you think the app marketing ecosystem would be in 3-5 years?
In the future smartphones are going to be like magic wands and apps will be our spells. Thanks to AI and IoT (Internet Of Things) for example we will be able to have a more personalized and interactive experience with our environment. This will make all the big players even stronger since they will be the ones leading this tech revolution. For those who didn’t invest in their own technology is going to be difficult. The new apps, in order to succeed, will focus more and more on specific niches. Data is going to be even more crucial, especially on advertising and video will keep growing.
9. If you’d have to give any advice to an entrepreneur/business who’s ready to launch an app, what would it be?
If it’s a brand new native app, they should start validating their business model and only then scaling up. Fine tuning on the way is important but a well-defined plan from the beginning can make the difference (customer first but monetization second). It’s not necessary to have it all ready. Consider a soft launch if necessary, launch locally or with a minimum viable product but don’t wait to have the perfect app. Perfection is hard to achieve and it’s much better a crash test with real users (test/learn/improve). For an established business that is going to launch its own app is important to remember that users are cross-device. With the new app they will not only open to mobile native users but they will impact the habits of their own users as well (hopefully in a positive way). Understanding a cross-device user might be challenging. Be ready!
10. Could you give us a hint about your keynote?
I’ll join a panel about app marketing. I’ll share my point of view about the topics that will arise during the discussion. Since the panel will be at the end of this new edition of Applause, it will be a good opportunity to review what has been presented during the event. I was in the audience last year and it was an event of great value. One of the few marketing events where buying the ticket really pays you off. My recommendation? Don’t miss it, hurry up and buy the ticket!
11. What do you think it would be the next app marketing hit?
I’m waiting for the next-generation of Siri. In general AI and machine learning will be able to unleash an all new set of functions, giving new powers to our smartphones. If Pokémon GO merged successfully the real world with virtual reality, then I expect that apps using AI will open a totally new scenario of interactions, hitting hard on the mobile ecosystem.
Buy Applause 2017 tickets
If you want to learn about the future of ASO and App Marketing, don’t miss Applause 2017 and buy your tickets now!
