Casual Connect SF 2014


Three days of Red Bulls, great conversations and impressive after-parties mark another great year at Casual Connect San Francisco. This year we manned a booth in the usual hustle and bustle of the exhibit floor and caught a few really insightful sessions. Read below for a quick review of three key session themes by Aarki Account Executive Titania Tran.

Casual Connect SF

Transparency

Transparency rose above as the defining quality for successful partnerships in 2014. Representatives from Gree and MunkyFun spoke at Casual Connect on how transparency has helped them build a strong relationship with each other. They encourage other partnerships to adopt transparency in communication, especially when it comes to metrics, campaign weaknesses, and game development operations. By remaining transparent, a partnership will develop mutually beneficial goals, making companies better on both sides and maximizing ROI. While Gree and MunkyFun’s partnership is specific to publishing, the value of transparency in partnerships is universal.

APAC

This year, industry leaders are focused on APAC. This emerging market will be responsible for more than half of all new users to the mobile market; China and India alone are expected to introduce more than 1 billion new mobile users. Lance Johnson, VP of Vserv.mobi, stressed the importance of mobile for new users in APAC, “Mobile is not just another screen, it’s the primary screen.” Lance went on to describe how in some cases, mobile isn’t just the primary screen, it is the only screen. Several of these new users will not only be interacting with mobile for the first time, but the Internet. The key to tapping into these emerging markets will continue to be creating culturally relevant content. Success will be rewarded to companies with enough cultural sensitivity to make emotional connections with users.

Mobile Beyond Tech

The spread of mobile is a milestone not only for the tech space, but for other sectors as well. Increased mobile presence translates to increased connectivity for areas that had been, and would otherwise continue to be isolated. Their newfound connectivity empowers them with sweeping economic growth, and boundless access to information. “Mobile development goes hand in hand with economic and health development,” said Lance.

Sessions at Casual Connect this year pointed towards three larger themes; transparency as a keystone in relationships, growth in emerging markets, and human advancement as the product of all efforts. At Aarki, we continue to value transparency in our relationships, build our offices in APAC and believe in the power of mobile. We are excited and ready for the developments that will come from the continuous adoption and spread of mobile.

The Red Bull cans have been crushed and recycled, truly the end of another great Casual Connect San Francisco! If you missed us this year and would like to chat with our team about performance marketing strategies, please contact us.

Topics: Events