Welcome back to the Industry Exposed Series! In this instalment, we welcome Tyrone Sinclair, the COO of developer network Tap For Tap. Ty delved into the challenges facing smaller mobile developers today and expressed his views on the future of the mobile app advertising.
Tyrone is Tap for Tap’s COO. In the office you can find him doing everything from programming to graphic design but spends most of his time building relationships with strategic partners and talking through product iterations. He has spent the last 3 years working in the online reward space, everything from business development to technical development. Prior to that he’s sold 2 Internet companies, 1 brick-and-mortar company, and navigated successful fund raising. Tyrone is passionate about startups, technology and real estate.
Q: Can you introduce Tap for Tap in a few sentences and explain your value proposition?
Tap for Tap is a mobile ad platform that helps developers do the two things they need most: acquire new users and make more money. We try to be a one stop shop for indie developers. We offer global UA and ads which preserve the integrity of a game’s design, something particularly important to smaller studios. Our SDK gives access to multiple premium ad networks, that way developers can either set monetization to full programmatic autopilot or dynamically test networks against each other.
We’re a small start up and we’re always learning how to be better, but so is our growing community of developers. You won’t find a more enthusiastic and collaborative network out there.
Q: What were the reasons that led to to found Tap for Tap?
Tap for Tap was created by an experienced team looking to connect monetization and user acquisition in one platform for indie developers. Too many services did one well – but ignored the other – and a lot of them didn’t take into consideration the smaller developer set which represented a huge opportunity. When Pretio acquired Tap for Tap last year, it brought a new and innovative opportunity to bring greater scale and unique ad units – like Achievement Moments – to apps and games that didn’t always get the attention.
Q: How do you think the main mobile platforms and app stores will evolve in the coming years?
Consolidation will be the name of the game – both in terms of devices and app stores. And of course China will drive huge growth and innovation.
Q: Which ad units have you seen perform best lately?
We are really keen on moment-based formats – ads that target the psychological indicators of engagement and present a contextual and relevant message – regardless of format. Our Achievement Moments do this with rewards and we are seeing great results!
Q: Besides discoverability, what are the main challenges facing developers today?
Choices. There are a plethora of UA/monetization partners and developers need to do their homework. Finding a partner that is multi-faceted but not too big to pay attention to your needs is really important.
Q: What can be done from a legislative and regulatory point of view, in the EU and elsewhere, to help app developers thrive?
Tax benefits to help encourage investing in the development community will be important. The Netherlands and Scandinavia are doing some cool things in this area.
Q: Which upcoming technologies do you see as potentially helping developers get their apps discovered?
Mobile streaming companies like Kamcord will bring the swell of social media and streaming into mobile and greatly increase visibility.
Q: Which major evolutions do you see for the mobile ecosystem in the coming months and years?
VR seems hard to ignore, and a bigger push into mid and hardcore gaming titles.