The Groove

Rakuten Viber blocks around 2% of ads on purpose. At global scale, that is not a rounding error. It is a strategy. In this episode, we look at why one of the world’s largest messaging apps is willing to block demand in order to protect users, trust and long-term growth. I’m joined by Sebastian Totte, Programmatic Partnerships Manager at Rakuten Viber , to unpack how a people-first super app approa...

Vulcan Labs has quietly built one of Vietnam’s most successful subscription app businesses, and now it is doing the same with AI. Recorded live at Think Apps: The Google App Summit in APAC in Vietnam, I spoke with Trish Dang, CEO of Vulcan Labs, about the hard part of modern app growth: scaling subscriptions and ads without damaging user experience. Vulcan Labs has launched more than 60 apps globa...

Growth isn’t platform-to-platform anymore. It’s everything to everything . In this episode of MobileGroove, I spoke with Barak Witkowski, Chief Product Officer at AppsFlyer , about how growth teams are operating in a world where users move fluidly across apps, web, CTV, retail and alternative app stores, and why old mental models no longer hold up. Barak shares what AppsFlyer is seeing across the...

In this episode of the Full Funnel App Growth Series powered by Aarki, Peggy sits down with Rajeev Ranjan, VP of Product at Aarki , to demystify one of the most misunderstood topics in mobile marketing today: SKAN and privacy-first measurement. As data becomes delayed, aggregated, and harder to interpret, many teams see SKAN as a blackout. Rajeev argues the opposite. When approached correctly, SKA...

Footnote : Immersive in-game ads is currently in closed beta and is only available for selected publishers Most publishers are still relying on the same old ad formats and experiences. That feels safe, but it leaves money, premium demand and player trust on the table. In this episode, we dig into why traditional formats are overrated, why immersive in-game ads are underrated, and how a new hybrid...

For years, app and game growth felt like a sugar rush. Cheap installs, aggressive ads, quick wins. That era is over. Now we’re finally seeing hard data on what disruptive ad experiences really do to player retention – including how one bad ad can trigger instant churn and how repeat exposure can burn through half your audience. In this episode, I’m joined by Alexis de Charentenay, Director for EME...

Publishers are done being passive participants in their own monetization stacks. Recorded live at the Google App Summit in Dublin, this MobileGroove episode features two candid conversations with experienced publishers who are taking a clear, player-first stance on ad quality, trust and long-term value. I spoke with: Otto Simola, Head of Player Acquisition and Monetization at FingersoftAnastasiia...

Publishers are facing some tough questions: why are there so many bad ads, who actually owns ad quality, and what can publishers do about it right now? In this candid backstage debrief, I’m joined by Božo Janković (Ad Monetization Consultant at GameBiz Consulting) right after we leave the main stage at the Google App Summit in Dublin to unpack the realities publishers face every day. We talk throu...

Bad ads don’t just annoy users – they quietly drain your growth. Intrusive, misleading or unsafe creatives push players to churn, wreck trust and make your monetization look worse than it really is. This episode is about how to stop that leak and turn ad breaks into a player-first experience instead of a reason to uninstall. Berk Ulusoy works with leading app and game publishers at Google on the A...

Growing an app has never been harder. Privacy limits are rising, signals are shrinking, and marketers are expected to deliver more with less. In this episode, Nicoline Strøm-Jensen from Adjust tells me how teams can still grow with confidence when the data gets thin. Nicoline is an Engineering Operations Manager at Adjust and a Top 100 App Leader known for turning complex measurement into clear, a...

Rovio is showing the industry what’s possible when UA and re-engagement work together. In this new episode of the 2026 Full Funnel App Growth Series powered by Aarki , Peggy speaks with two of Rovio’s seasoned performance marketers , Martin Boccardi and Sinem Demiroz , to unpack how Angry Birds 2 is achieving exceptional results by rethinking segmentation, creative strategy, and predictive retarge...

What happens when you treat retargeting like a real growth channel—not just an experiment? For Aleyna Cerrah , UA Manager at APPS , the result was a jump from 30% to 100% ROAS in just 28 days —powered by a creative-first strategy and close collaboration with Aarki . In this MobileGroove episode (recorded at MAU), Aleyna breaks down how her team achieved those numbers by combining smart segmentatio...

Can a video game treat depression? Teach democracy? Help us remember history? In this special MobileGroove episode, we meet the creators who believe games can do all this — and more. Recorded at the POSSIBLE conference, Play with Purpose brings together three powerful conversations with game changers working at the intersection of entertainment and impact . 🎮 Jukka from Soihtu shares how his team...

What happens when your audience becomes your investors—and your co-creators? In this episode of MobileGroove , recorded live at Gamescom , host Peggy Anne Salz talks with Dan Francis and Shem Selah of Fateless Games , the studio behind the upcoming game Godforge . It’s a deep dive into a community-powered game development model that’s raised $14M , attracted 50,000+ alpha testers , and brought tog...

Gaming is no longer a niche — it’s where culture, identity, and consumer attention all converge. In this MobileGroove x Gamescom special, Peggy Anne Salz sits down with Bastian Bergmann (COO of Solsten and author of Press Play) and Erika Wykes-Sneyd (Adidas, PlayStation) to explore how brands can truly show up in games — not just as logos, but as immersive, strategic partners in play. From buildin...

Rewarded ads are evolving—and return on ad spend is just the beginning. In this episode of MobileGroove , host Peggy Anne Salz sits down with David Ruggiero from TyrAds to explore a more holistic approach to rewarded user acquisition —one that blends personalization , timing , and real user motivation . With firsthand experience on the publisher side , David shares how TyrAds is: Building a new SD...

Offerwalls are back—and this time, they’re not just for whales. 🎯In this episode, recorded live at Gamescom, Travis Anderson, VP of Global Publisher Partnerships at Xsolla, breaks down why offerwalls are experiencing a resurgence—and how they’re evolving into something much bigger: a unified monetization layer that spans webshops, wallets, quests, and even cloud gaming. Travis shares how today’s...

From toothpaste to purple hair dye, brands are showing up inside games—and players are loving it. In this live episode from Gamescom, Sarah Chafer, SVP of Global Ad Sales at Xsolla, joins Peggy Anne Salz to explain why brand-formance is the future, how offerwalls are leveling up, and what makes a great reward-driven experience for players and brands alike.🎮 What gaming gets right about user senti...

Attribution is broken. Trust in the data is shaky. And most publishers are still leaning too hard on a single channel. But Geeklab is changing the game. In this episode recorded live at Gamescom, we sit down with Jani Torppa and Jesse Lempiäinen, the minds behind Geeklab, to unpack what’s really going on in the world of mobile growth—and what studios can do to fix it. They share how Geeklab helps...

Everyone’s talking about growth. Thomas Hopkins is diagnosing it. In this episode, the Head of Growth at GrowthOps unpacks why attribution is broken, why your creative probably isn’t working, and how to rewire your funnel around perception—not just awareness. 🎯 The three types of awareness (and why it changes your messaging) 🧠 The real reason B2B and B2C campaigns underperform 🎤 The influencer-...

What if your car could tell brands how to help you without giving up your privacy? Fred Dimesa, Head of Product for Marketing Solutions at Arity, joins host Peggy Anne Salz live at POSSIBLE in the Podcast Corner to show how mobility data has evolved from crude geofences and last-click coupons to predictive insights that anticipate needs, tailor messaging and guide retail foot traffic. Arity’s plat...

Why are more brands and agencies giving gaming a bigger seat at the table, and why might the next wave of premium advertising just be inside your favorite game? These are the questions Itamar Benedy , CEO and co-founder of Anzu , and host Peggy Anne Salz explore in a conversation recorded live at POSSIBLE in the Podcast Corner that zero in on how in-game advertising has reached a true tipping poin...

Can you create binge-worthy IP in 90 seconds or less? Michael Vito Valentino , Editor-In-Chief at NowThis, says yes. And the proof is in the numbers. In just three months, Are You OK? attracted 500,000 net new followers and now averages up to 1.5 million views per episode. The secret? A formula powered by comedy, consistency and a mission that’s as clear as it is catchy: “Make it into the group ch...

Creative fatigue, rising UA costs, AI hype—it’s a lot for today’s app marketing team. But Misha Syrotiuk, Head of Growth at Playvalve, cuts through it with a clear playbook. Recorded at the MobileGroove Podcast Suite @MAU, powered by Bigabid, this episode dives into why ad-driven studios need tighter creative strategies, how Playvalve balances monetization with player experience, and how AI is hel...

Some careers are planned. Others are built one brave “yes” at a time. Faith Price, Director of UA at DoubleDown Interactive, shares how she spotted the gaps, pitched her own role, and now uses that same mindset to lead teams, test AI tools and explore new growth channels. Recorded at the MobileGroove Podcast Suite @MAU, powered by Bigabid, this episode also dives into Faith’s nonprofit work with O...