Brand building is making a comeback, but on new terms. After years of hyper-targeted, lower-funnel performance marketing, brands are returning to their roots: storytelling, connecting to culture, and long-term brand equity. Our guest this week, Nina Brit Brando, CEO of Carat Deutschland GmbH, calls this a "renaissance in brand commitment." In a time when brands are all "fishing in the same lake"—competing for attention on saturated platforms where visibility is dictated by algorithms rather than ad spend—narrative-led advertising is what makes the bait worth biting. Nina shares her favourite examples of brands getting it right and her strategy for balancing storytelling and data to hook, catch, and keep valuable audiences in 2025. Nina Brit Brando - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-brit-brando-59916236/ Carat - https://www.carat.com/de-de…

Effective marketing turns ads into experiences. But smart marketers go further—using AI to personalize those experiences and even predict the creative that will resonate most with valuable consumers at the moment of inspiration. In this special MobileGroove episode, powered by Appier, Peggy Anne Salz sits down with Robert Chen, CTO at Appier, to learn how the agent-powered adtech company combines predictive and generative AI to personalize everything from content to customer journeys in real time. Robert explains how this hybrid approach creates a flywheel of performance that learns and adapts with every user interaction. He says that the future of marketing is "agent-powered" and that by leveraging real-time contextual signals, brands can evolve their ads to user experiences that feel intuitive, not intrusive. Tune in now! Robert Chen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-chen-13270919/ Appier - https://www.appier.com/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - The benefits of full-funnel AI marketing 04:22 - How to combine Gen AI and Predictive AI 8:00 - Solving the cold start problem 10:58 - Most exciting digital applications of AI 12:44 - AI that speaks SQL so you don't have to 16:15 - From journeys to data in minutes 18:35 - Right ad, right vibe, right now 23:50 - Make ads feel like Netflix 28:25 - The future of marketing is agent-powered…

Great speakers don't start their presentations by trying to be funny, persuasive, or polished—they start by being themselves. Whether you're on stage, in a boardroom, or featured on a podcast like MobileGroove, authenticity builds trust and allows you to connect with your audience in a way that feels real, not rehearsed. Speaking coach Reuben Milne compares public speaking to a muscle you build over time. He's built his hosting the UA Society London and working with brands like Google, LinkedIn, and Pfizer. He joins the show this week to share the exercises, strategies, and tactics you should know before your next speaking engagement. Tune in!Reuben Milne - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reubenmilne/https://reubenmilne.com/CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro02:44 - Breaking the ice08:00 - Practice makes perfect10:00 - Reframing your presentation 13:41 - "Who's in the room?"14:38 - The "books down" moment21:49 - Take them on a journey25:12 - The curse of knowledge27:56 - When have you lost the audience? 30:57 - Adapting to stand out online36:30 - How to get over nerves39:30 - Misconceptions about speaking42:46 - Where to connect with Reuben…

In a market saturated with FOMO and shame-driven lesson reminders, Zigzag shows that ethical UX and empathy-led CRM drive better retention and brand loyalty—especially for subscription apps. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz is joined by Lorna Winter (Co-Founder & Head of Programme) and Ed Williams (Growth Marketing Manager - Lifecycle & CRM) from Zigzag, the mission-led puppy training app doing things differently. Zigzag blends behavioral science, smart CRM, and a lot of heart—building real relationships through hyper-personalized journeys, AI support that doesn’t feel robotic, and a community that’s genuinely invested (Hi, Tate!). It’s a strategy that’s helped them double growth, boost lesson completions by 14%, and increase retention by 16% last year alone. Lorna, Ed, and Peggy dive into Zigzag's strategy behind hyper-personalized onboarding and lifecycle flows, how being B-Corp Certified shapes their growth, and what ethical, value-driven business practices look like in action. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:54 - Recognized for marketing 06:13 - Zigzag and Ziggy's origin story 11:27 - Balancing individual and the masses 14:51 - Generous marketing & b-corps 19:00 - Key KPIs & happiness research 25:42 - A winning "win back" strategy 33:10 - Shame-free CRM 40:35 - The vision for Ziggy 44:39 - What inspires Lorna & Ed 50:12 - Outro…

It used to be that a marketer's tools defined their differentiation. But as AI democratizes the ability to craft compelling mobile creatives—and to do so at an unprecedented volume—Kenjy Vanitou, Lead Creative Manager at Voodoo, says it's brand, optimization, and a curiosity to learn that will determine what separates the good games marketing and the great. He joins Peggy Anne Salz at Gamesforum Barcelona to share how Voodoo sets the standard for AI and creatives and how marketers should shape their strategy for success in 2025. Kenjy Vanitou - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenjyvanitou/ Voodoo - https://voodoo.io/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:39 - Testing AI creatives 05:16 - Who will be the creative directors? 07:15 - Kenjy's approach to AI 09:41 - How to differentiate 11:40 - Voodoo's next steps 14:40 - Predictions for 2025…

The games industry is in the “midst of a revolution,” and Shalom Michaeli , Managing Director of Alternative App Stores at Digital Turbine , emphasizes that how brands act now will directly impact their revenue and performance in the years ahead. This is a make-or-break moment for studios across genres, as developers increasingly turn to alternative stores as a growth strategy in 2025. In this exclusive Gamesforum Barcelona interview, Shalom joins Peggy Anne Salz to unveil the first-mover advantages developers can seize before the market becomes saturated—plus the actionable steps any studio can take today to position itself for sustained growth. Shalom Michaeli - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalom-michaeli-19b54742/ Digital Turbine - https://www.digitalturbine.com/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:20 - The opportunities in alternative stores 06:38 - Alternatives as a strategy not a tactic…

When you think of Swaarm , think of James Bond meets Nikola Tesla. A brand shaking up the app industry with bold, sleek, and seamless integrations to bring electrifying and actionable real-time data to marketers across verticals in search of a simpler way to track their campaigns. Swaarm Co-Founder and CEO Yogeeta Chainani speaks in this episode of Mobile Groove about how Swaarm combines automation, affordability, and baked-in privacy-compliant features in one award-winning no-code event tracking dashboard. But Swaarm isn’t just redefining tracking—it’s reimagining performance marketing as a whole. Much like how Microsoft offers Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as an interconnected suite, Swaarm provides Perform and Monetization, giving marketers the flexibility to analyze, automate, and optimize their campaigns in real-time. In this episode, Yogeeta also shares how Swaarm’s innovations in search syndication bring clarity to one of the industry’s biggest blind spots, unlocking real-time data visibility and driving unprecedented ROAS improvements. Plus, a surprising case study that reveals how one company boosted organic installs by 66% —all thanks to a small but game-changing shift in their approach. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:50 - Swaarm as a person 04:30? - How Swaarm started 08:35 - Swaarm's standout features 15:28 - Swaarm use cases 30:17 - Good vs great marketing 36:47 - Keeping up with complexity 39:10 - Describing Swaarm 41:00 - Yogeeta in 4 words…

If you ask anyone in the games industry which studios have undeniably shaped the adventure genre—and the industry as a whole—you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t mention Revolution Software . The British video game developer has been creating iconic point-and-click adventure games since 1990, most notably, Broken Sword . In this episode of MobileGroove , Charles Cecil —co-founder and CEO of Revolution Software—sits down with Peggy Anne Salz to share his insights on building products that stand the test of time. As one of the industry's most respected veterans, Charles has witnessed gaming’s many metamorpheses, from the shift from PC to console and now mobile, to the rise of new monetization models and cross-platform strategies. In this show, he shares his experience updating Broken Sword to 4K, revealing what it takes to modernize a beloved classic while staying true to the original. Through this process, he offers lessons in adaptation, expert tips on future-proofing, and a strategic approach to design that extends a hit product’s lifespan, so it can continue to captivate users across generations. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:32 - The early days of gaming 03:50 - Designing to improve gameplay 11:32 - Where it went south 17:30 - Lessons in legacy 20:55 - "Change but not too much" 26:32 - Where AI can help 29:30 - Predictions for 2025…

Bootstrapping a brand that markets itself requires a three-pronged strategy. First, a clear vision of your target audience. Second, a foundation built on deep empathy for their needs. And third, a fierce dedication to delivering an outstanding product shaped by real user insights. YouCanBookMe (YCBM) stands out as a brand that hits the mark on all three. Over its 13 years, the online scheduling tool—recently acquired by Capacity—has leaned on customer listening and advocacy to lead its growth strategy and reach $5 million in annual revenue without VC support. Peggy Anne Salz speaks with YCBM Founder Bridget Harris on what it takes to scale a product-led business and the rebrand that brought YCMB back to its roots while rocketing growth. YouCanBookMe - https://youcanbook.me/ Bridget Harris - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetharris Capacity - https://capacity.com/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:55 - Breaking down the rebrand 06:30 - The customer is always right 10:50 - A pivot toward small businesses 17:25 - Growing with empathy 21:16 - A guide to bootstrapping 23:41 - Staying connected as you grow 28:00 - Brand metrics 30:18 - Tools to being a better Bridget 32:56 - Rapid-fire Q&A…

Monetization, marketing, and the ad space that can boost your revenue without sacrificing retention. InMobi Advertising's Chief Business Officer, Kunal Nagpal, breaks down the biggest ad trends of 2025 and how publishers can escape the endless churn-and-burn of user acquisition with smart platform partnerships and performance-powered branding. Kunal Nagpal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nagpalkunal/InMobi Advertising - https://advertising.inmobi.com/*** Related Videos ***👉🏻 You can watch more of our Groove Content here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXTrGPJvMlk&list=PLE8Ke9Ah2_Nk7PDT4ZIkd21abhFlNRTMz*** Subscribe for More ***👉🏻 https://www.youtube.com/c/PeggyAnneSalz?sub_confirmation=1*** Let's Connect ***👉🏻 Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/peggyanne👉🏻 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggyannesalz👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/peggy.salz👉🏻 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/peggyannesalz👉🏻 Website - https://www.mobilegrove.com*** What We Do ***Educating marketers on the latest trends in mobile marketing, helping companies navigate the complex landscape. Top 50 ranked destination providing analysis, custom research, and strategic content marketing to the global mobile industry, and mentoring and consulting to tech startups. Peggy Anne Salz is a Senior Forbes contributor and contributes to a variety of leading media outlets — including Harvard Business Review — where she shares her insights on mobile marketing, mobile apps, customer engagement, and business innovation.Named one of the Top 100 Influencer at Mobile World Congress. Podcast host on The Groove, Mobile Presence, Liftoff Mobile Heroes Uncensored, The Hive, Clevertap Engage, spotlighting the global mobile trends, tools, and tips that allow marketers to drive customer connection, dramatically grow retention, and generate new revenue streams on mobile using individualized campaigns and communications needed to harness & drive lasting loyalty.Author of hundreds of articles, dozens of white papers, and authored nine books about mobile, both as a lead author and in partnership with global companies including Gemalto, InMobi, SAP Mobile Services and the Mobile Marketing Association.Author of Apponomics: The Insider’s Guide To A Billion Dollar App Business with InMobi, which provides actionable insights into how companies can market and monetize their apps. It builds on the success of my first book on mobile apps, The Everything Guide To Mobile Apps: A Practical Guide To Affordable Mobile App Development For Your Business, a practical, crowd-sourced book providing businesses and developers with insights on how to make, monetize and market mobile apps. Also edited and produced the Mobile Operator Guide 2013: The Evolution of Mobile Services: Challenges, Strategies, Opportunities and the Mobile Commerce Guide 2013: Engage Customers & Build Loyalty In Developed And Emerging Marke…

To turn a title into a breakout success, studios must think beyond traditional UA—blending marketing, product, and player experience to drive growth. In this episode of MobileGroove, powered by Verve, Peggy Anne Salz speaks with Luis de la Cámara, VP of Marketing at Rovio, about how Rovio masters this formula and the steps indie studios can take today to stand out. An industry veteran, Luis shares his advice on diving into powerful IP and in-game collaborations, product-led growth, and engaging players across demographics. He also explains how app store algorithms amplify top-grossing games, trends to watch in 2025, and the UA channels that give studios the best chance of breaking into the market and disrupting the status quo. Luis de la Cámara - https://www.linkedin.com/in/luiscamaraking/ Rovio - https://www.rovio.com/ Verve - https://verve.com/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:30 - Product-led marketing 08:40 - The "Snowball Effect" in mobile gaming 11:48 - Hybridcasual trends 13:42 - Promising alternative targeting techniques 17:02 - Most effective UA channels 20:09 - How demographics shape gaming genres 25:07 - Building publisher-side audiences 26:20 - Bringing brands into games 30:02 - Monetization trends in 2025…

Smart. Scalable. Viral. Three words to sum up what3words’ smart marketing strategy that excels on three fronts: an in-house programmatic team that moves fast and optimizes faster, a word-of-mouth flywheel that gets customers to spread the message for them, and big-league brand partnerships that rocket revenue and reach. In this episode of MobileGroove, our host, Peggy Anne Salz, chats with Jane Stephenson , Marketing Director at what3words, and Michelle Dunn , Head of Consumer Marketing, about how they’ve turned a simple but powerful idea—dividing the world into 3x3 meter squares with unique three-word addresses—into an international success. With millions of users across 193 countries, partnerships with brands like Lamborghini, Land Rover, and DHL, and real-world impact through collaborations with emergency services like the LA Fire Department, what3words is more than just another app—it’s a case study in strategic marketing, organic growth, and brand storytelling done right. From TV shows casually featuring them in plotlines to real-life rescue stories that fuel social media buzz, they’ve mastered the art of making their audience do the talking. If you’re into creative, high-impact marketing that gets results (without breaking the bank), you won’t want to miss this one! 00:00 - Intro 02:16 - What is what3words? 04:35 - Making functional feel personal 06:23 - Successful brand partnerships 09:58 - The wild use cases 11:40 - Measuring what works 15:10 - In-house performance marketing 18:58 - Building beyond the app 23:48 - Media equity and alternative ads 29:50 - How what3words makes money 32:32 - A pivotal moment…

Marked by a crazy dynamic of fewer downloads and stronger player spending, mobile gaming is gearing up for its climactic finale against the industry's biggest boss in what Gonçalo Martins , VP of Marketing at BoomBit , calls the "mobile gaming trilogy." In this episode of MobileGroove, powered by Verve , Gonçalo releases his director's cut, complete with strategies BoomBit is using to adapt and thrive in 2025. From cross-promotion to get more value out of interested players to new ad mon approaches that make more out of first-party data, he candidly shares the strategies BoomBit will follow to make sure 2025 is a blockbuster success for your studio—so tune in for tips and trend data you can harness to make this a banner year for your game. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:38 - Mobile gaming as a movie genre 03:39 - Spending trends (hypercasual trends) 05:43 - What different demographics want 08:00 - Leveraging cross-promo 13:00 - Alternative targeting strategies 16:16 - First-party data strategies 21:52 - Brand advertising in games 23;52 - Monetization trends 26:08 - BI as a service 27:57 - SSP and DSP partnerships 31:05 - Predictions for 2025 35:00 - 2025 as a movie…

Monetization in mobile gaming is a lot like composing a hit song—it’s all about finding the perfect balance between melody (user experience) and rhythm (ad revenue). In this episode of Mobile Groove, powered by Verve, we jam with Andrew Seow , Director of Monetization at Tripledot Studios and music aficionado, to uncover how his studio fine-tunes its monetization strategy to hit all the right notes—without compromising the user experience. Andrew dives into the first-party data dilemma, the balancing act between ad frequency and CPMs, and the shift from waterfalls to bidding—and what it all means for publishers. Whether you’re a monetization maestro or just tuning into ad strategies, this episode will help you keep your 2025 game plan in perfect harmony, from ID-less solutions and new ad formats to evolving monetization models. 00:00 - Intro 02:10 - Why ad monetization feels like a broken record 06:00 - The music genres of mobile gaming: Groundhog Day vs. Firebird Suite 10:45 - Google’s bidding changes + a new rhythm for publishers 15:30 - How has Tripledot adapted its tune after IDFA 20:55 - Is first-party data a chart-topping hit or a one-hit wonder? 26:20 - Striking the right chord between ad quality and revenue 30:10 - Remixing ad formats 34:50 - Andrew’s wishlist for networks and the industry in 2025 39:20 - Ad monetization in music…

Winning in performance marketing in 2025 will require a big step back from the “numbers for numbers’ sake” mindset and force companies to finally embrace smarter, more meaningful strategies that drive sustainable growth. This is the view of Megan Price , Programmatic Supervisor, and Michael Hew , Associate Director of Data & Reporting Ops at M&C Saatchi Performance , who joined Peggy Anne Salz on this episode of In The Groove . Megan reveals opportunities to diversify your media spend and adopt an audience-first approach that breaks through the silos that keep valuable customer and contextual data from becoming actionable. At the same time, Michael shares M&C Saatchi's measurement trifecta—an essential toolkit that combines attribution, incremental testing, and marketing mix modeling for marketers looking to balance real-time insights with a long-term vision. Join us as Megan, Michael, and Peggy Anne Salz bust popular programmatic myths and prep your data for success in 2025. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:57 - Most pressing challenges of 2025 05:04 - Practical steps to use data effectively 13:06 - Something surprising 15:50 - The exciting part of old tools 17:51 - Diversification 21:19 - Performance can serve brand marketing too 26:17 - The right metrics to follow 29:50 - 2025 cheatsheet for brands 35:58 - The top industry trends 38:34 - Privacy-focused challenges in 2025 40:48 - Rapid-fire insights…