Creating a Content Engine to Establish Market Leadership

CHALLENGE

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As an app store data and analytics startup headquartered in Beijing, App Annie had gained initial early traction with mobile app publishers and developers, but had yet to establish its presence in the U.S. Additionally, the company was significantly lagging in media share to competitors, including Flurry and Distimo, both of whom entered the market much earlier. The challenge was to launch App Annie in the U.S. with a bang and sustain momentum in order to close the significant media share gap between the company and its more established competitors.

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STRATEGY

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App Annie’s award-winning launch in the U.S. hinged on a multi-exclusive media strategy that told App Annie’s product story, data story and corporate story. Bateman placed the first exclusive story focused on the product launch with TechCrunch. In order to highlight the data made possible with the new product, Bateman secured a second exclusive on an original “Game of Phones” infographic with Mashable. The infographic, inspired by the hit HBO show “Game of Thrones”, was strategically tied to the launch of App Annie for Google Play while appealing to the current media cycle surrounding the iOS versus Android app wars. Finally, to tell the corporate story, Bateman and App Annie granted an exclusive on the company’s Series A funding to All Things D. The in-depth exclusive coverage provided the buzz and credibility required to extend App Annie’s launch virally across literally hundreds of traditional, online and social media outlets.

App Annie surpassed all competitors in media share of voice

To accelerate momentum post-launch, Mission North conceptualized and launched the monthly App Annie Index(tm), which has emerged as the de facto source for app store data and trend analysis. According to Pando Daily, “You can’t throw a rock at the tech blogosphere without hitting an article sourcing App Annie’s data.” In addition, Mission North facilitated a strategic content partnership with IDC resulting in the quarterly IDC/App Annie report charting the gaming app economy. In less than one year, App Annie surpassed all competitors in media share of voice, consistently garnering coverage in major tech blogs and national business publications such as AllThingsD, MSNBC, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes and the Economist.

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IMPACT

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• Dominates media share of voice over all competitors
• Increased headcount from 13 employees to 359 in 11 offices worldwide
• Increased revenues by 300 percent three consecutive years in a row
• Positive momentum helped App Annie close $94 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and others