Neo Radar #12
From the impact of poor ad experiences to performance insights across mobile gaming, here’s what caught our radar this week.
In this 📡 Neo Radar edition:
🧠 User Sentiment Around Ad Quality by AppHarbr
✨ Apps built by women, loved by thousands by Adapty.io
☁️ 2025 State of Mobile Gaming by Moloco
📸 How Remini app turned the Ghibli wave into Growth by Neo Ads
🔮 +3 handpicked Linkedin posts
🧠 Player Sentiment Around Ad Quality by AppHarbr 🔗 LINK
This new player survey confirms what we all feel: ad fatigue is real.
84% of players uninstall games after encountering disruptive ads.
37% have left a negative review due to ad quality issues.
Intrusive ads can erode trust and retention.
Why you should care: Monetization is crucial, but ignoring ad quality directly affects retention, engagement and player trust.
✨ Apps built by women, loved by thousands by Adapty.io 🔗 LINK
This article spotlights 5 apps built by women, each showcasing unique approaches to paywall strategy, from refund guarantees and gender-based personalization to emotion-driven UX and social proof.
Some standout strategies:
Foodvisor uses a money-back guarantee instead of a free trial to build trust.
Pure Dating adapts its paywall by gender and leverages smart pricing nudges to drive long-term plans.
Waterllama blends clean UX, discounts, and strong social proof for frictionless conversion.
Why you should care: This issue is packed with real examples of thoughtful monetization done right. This proves again that clarity, structure, and trust still win in 2025.
☁️ 2025 State of Mobile Gaming by Moloco 🔗 LINK
The mobile gaming industry is entering a new phase, between post-correction and growth-focused. The report dives into how monetization, UA, and retention strategies are evolving for long-term success.
Key highlights:
Just 0.02% of global installs (top 5% of U.S. iOS payers) are now generating 20% of total gaming revenue.
Top advertisers think differently:
Spending 20% more outside the U.S.
Using 5x more playable ads
Allocating 19% more to ROAS-optimized campaigns
Investing 3x more in re-engagement
Why you should care:
This report highlights the growing divide between average and top-performing games. High-value user segments, smarter ad formats, and global expansion are driving the next wave of growth.
The Ghibli Wave: How Remini app turned a viral moment into Growth
Unless you've lived under a rock (or completely disconnected but then you would not be here reading this), you must have seen the Ghibli trend taking over the internet in the past weeks.
🔮 +3 handpicked Linkedin posts
Nurik Satlykov shares his experience with Words of Wonders by Fugo Games, uninstalling after just 30 minutes, not due to gameplay, but because of excessive ads. The post breaks down why this approach may backfire.
Julie Tonna shares a deep dive into the Studio Ghibli AI trend and how it sparked a wave of creative growth for photo & video apps. A solid case study in trend-jacking and turning viral moments into install surges.
Mike Ryan highlights that Temu’s app growth is almost entirely driven by paid advertising, with its App Store ranking collapsing just days after halting Google Shopping ads.
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