Do you get excited about regulations? This is the second episode in our podcast series hosted by the 2023 Awards Advisory Board. Here, ZEFR Senior PM Bharat Manglani leads the conversation. He sits down with Google Play Product & Business Consultant Tammy Taw. Their conversation is all about AdTech. (Be sure to check out our Adtech infographic.) They talk quite a bit about regulations, including why they can be exciting. They also discuss opportunities in AdTech, for example in the free-to-play gaming space.
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On why AdTech regulations can be exciting
Tammy says, “This is not a popular opinion. But I actually am pretty excited about some of the regulation that has been coming around. Obviously, we all know about GDPR, COPPA, CCPA. But I think more and more attention on these regulations is important not only just for the end consumer, but for these businesses. And why it excites me is because I think transparency is great, and user experience. But I like solving for problems in this space. Because it’s not it’s not zero to one. It’s not black or white. It’s trying to find solutions outside of the box. And I find that really exciting.”
Bharat agrees, saying, “it’s great to hear about these regulations coming through, really putting the consumer first. And making sure that we’re protecting them as we’re moving forward in the AdTech space.”
On the opportunities in AdTech within gaming
Tammy says, “The free-to-play gaming space was really created because of the smartphone and the touchscreen devices and the App Store. The App Store created this ability for anyone to develop a game and publish an app, without being a huge game publisher like EA. Which kind of sparked a completely different industry, in terms of the advertising opportunity. It is quite large, when you think about what percent of users are actually paying for the app through an app purchase or subscription. It’s usually around the 1%-2% mark. Users that are actually buying something directly from you.
“So when you think about that, 98% of the users are using the app for free. And if you look a little deeper into the data, you’ll notice that those users are probably playing your game for years. In effect, these users are using your game for free. So in that regard, I think there’s an opportunity to show advertising for those users that are using the app for free.
“But I think it’s also important to be tactful about it and not just throw a bunch of ads around the app. That’s probably the last thing you want to do. I think having a rewarded ad model is really important in showing a good value proposition of engaging in ads to earn some kind of currency. Or another life in the game play. That’s a huge opportunity. You’re definitely leaving money on the table if you don’t adopt ads in your games.”
On advice for compliance with privacy regulations
Tammy says that complying with privacy regulations “is a very confusing space. And when you try to read the regulations, it makes very little sense. At least on like, how to operate on it. And sometimes you just want to know, yes or no, can I do this?”
She continues, “One of the things that I did while I was at EA and at Disney was really work with the legal team on their understanding and interpretation of the regulations. And then putting that against like tactical, operational things. Like if we did this, like ask the user how old they are, so we can make sure we’re CCPA compliant or COPPA compliant, I should say, would this fit the regulation? Or putting it very tactical, like user experience scenarios, to the regulation and matching and making sure that those things are covered.
“The other thing is, the industry events in the AtTech space are a great place to get ideas on what other people are doing. Because everyone else has this problem. And I don’t think there’s just one solution. So it’s good to always talk to others to get ideas on how to solve it within your app. And then connect with a bunch of other stakeholders within the organization to make sure everyone’s aligned.”