Interview with Antti Paikkala from Small Giant Games
Today we interview to Antti Paikkala, User Acquisition Manager at Small Giant Games. He is currently managing all digital marketing campaigns for Empires & Puzzles: RPG Quest. Before joining Small Giant Games, Antti worked at Rovio Entertainment, where he oversaw cross promotion of the Angry Birds portfolio and managed paid acquisition campaigns for titles such as Angry Birds Blast and Angry Birds Evolution, as well as multiple soft launches. He will be at Applause 2018 on Friday 1st of June at W Barcelona hotel.
Get to know more about him in this interview!
Quick quiz Antti Paikkala – Small Giant Games
Antti will give a workshop with Peter Fodor about how to create a media plan 😉 Keep on reading and know more about him!
1. How and when did you arrive to the mobile industry? Why did you decide to stay and work on this sector?
In 2012 I joined the Rovio licensing and merchandising team and was able to transition into games and mobile UA in 2015. As an avid gamer, I felt that I found something that’s very appealing to my professional and personal interests.
2. What project are you working on now?
I’m currently involved with performance marketing campaign management for Empires & Puzzles: RPG Quest, managing all social, video and programmatic networks for the title.
3. What is the most important professional quality an app marketer can have?
Consistency to make decisions based on the numbers that you see, rather than making too many decisions based on gut feeling.
4. What KPIs do you control every day? Which ones are the most important?
Marketing ROI is the most important one, followed by various game related KPI’s such as retention, ARPU, payer conversion, and CPI.
5. What problem do you face in your everyday as an app marketer?
Finding profitable ways to scale up marketing spend on any individual channel.
6. What is the best option to monetize a mobile app?
For mobile games, it would be in-app purchases and offers that appeal to various types of players, complemented with more targeted offers that unlock additional value within the game.
7. What advice would you give to a company or startup before launching a mobile app?
Consider the market realities of the industry you’re entering – competitors, budgets, potential audiences – and be very honest about your own product. If the app doesn’t perform competitively, or you don’t have the budget to fuel growth, then creating a profitable business can be challenging.
8. What trends will mark 2018?
GDPR and its various implications in Europe and international developers, as well as a more prominent move towards playable ads and other ad units around interactivity.
9. How do you keep up to date with all the news in the app marketing industry? What sources do you consult?
Mobiledevmemo.com is an absolute must, as well as following prominent influencers and writers on Twitter and LinkedIn, such as John Koetsier, TUNE; Yaniv Nitzan, Soomla; Daniel Peris, TheTool and many more.
10. What will you talk about in Applause 2018? Why the attendees shouldn’t miss your workshop?
Esteemed colleague Peter Fodor and myself will be exchanging words on media planning for soft and global launches, which should be relevant for gaming and non-gaming apps alike.
11. To finish, what apps or games have surprised you in the last year?
From a gaming perspective, while not surprising in any way, I’d have to give credit to developers like Peak Games and Playrix with their prominent launches of Toon Blast and Homescapes, respectively, being able to extend the successful formulas of existing games into sequel titles. More recently, the rise of various battle royale games on mobile has been quite the ride to follow.
Meet Antti next Friday 1st of June at Applause 2018. Purchase now your Early Bird Tickets!
