Much like discovering the BFG 900 weapon in the latest edition of Doom, a featured placement in a mobile app store can do wonders for a product's downloads and sales. A recent report from App Annie highlights the impact that a featured placement can have on the success of an app.
...[App Annie's results] suggest that the featuring periods examined were responsible for a median increase in downloads of around 80%, but many increased downloads by 500% or more.
Just like any Doom player knows, using the BFG 9000 requires a certain amount of skill to achieve the most devastating shot possible. The same is true of using a 'promoted' place in the app store. The opportunity creates a huge increase in the volume of downloads, and developers need to be ready to maximise their return when it happens. The promotion gets people in the door, it's what you do once they are in the door that will help create long-term success.
That said, most of the battle today is how to get people through the door, which makes these spots incredibly valuable. A promotional spot is going to be cheaper than the user acquisition cost, and will bring in magnitudes more users. That means there is a huge amount of power vested in the decision-making process about who gets to be featured. Developers need to follow the rules imposed by the guardians of the stores if they want a chance to get what is, effectively, a temporary quad-download pick-up.
This is how companies can effectively impose their views on what makes a good app or game for their individual platforms. While there are some hard and fast rules about what can and cannot be in an app that is cleared to be listed in the store, the soft-power projection of what needs to be done to be featured is even more powerful. The major developers know just how important promotion can be, and will ensure their apps will meet the criteria. Smaller developers need to consider just how much effort they will make to try to gain favour, or if they will tread a lonely road that relies on external user-acquisition strategies
All that remains for the app stores is to ensure the everyone realises just how big a boost a promotional spot can have on the financial investment in their application, and the market will adjust itself accordingly to meet the demands of the spot... even if only a fraction of a percent of the apps submitted will ever feature in the fiefdom's most rewarding seat.
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