The gaming market is in constant flux with new issues to worry about cropping up all the time. There are many paths to success and at Casual Connect USA speakers for Market Navigation will help attendees get to where they want to go!

How the Market Has Evolved

In the game industry it used to be common to just “fire-and-forget”. Titles were released and it was presumed that users would be able to find you. Smart promotion is a huge part of making a game successful, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a complete chore. Data experts at Casual Connect will talk about using the right sort of game advertisements to get users in front of the games they want. In the end, user acquisition can be used to benefit both players and developers.

But it’s not enough to promote things properly – you have to make sure you’re covered legally as well. Protecting a brand and IP is hugely important, using copyrights, trademarks, and patents. In Market Navigation, learn how and when to register an IP – and how similar they can be to others without prompting legal action. Most importantly, developers will learn why trademarks are the best defense for mobile app IP.

Protecting that one key IP can be key even for mobile game studios, since they tend to focus on bigger games that are fewer in number. Because of this, getting the most revenue out of these releases is key. Casual Connect speakers will discuss what to do when bringing a mobile property global. Key questions will be addressed, such as where to release a game, whether to partner with a local company, and what markets are the ones most likely to grow?

Reaching Customers

Despite the fact that smartphones are filled with data about their users, ads on them are still often low in quality and irrelevant to the consumer. This results in ads not connecting to the right market and ad revenue decreasing. Casual Connect will offer content on persona-based marketing and personalizing in-app advertisements so both the user and the advertiser get more out of the experience.

While there is still huge potential in the smartphones field, it’s a market that’s become extremely saturated and more difficult to penetrate than ever before. It’s important to understand the trends shaping the industry while finding the right audience and best monetization method for your games. Discussions about winning strategies for combining user acquisition and monetization will be abundant on Casual Connect’s Market Navigation track.

This targeting is key, since marketing is everywhere in modern society, and it’s easy for players to become sick of it. Oversaturated marketing can turn players off of a brand and even make them feel hostility toward it. Speakers on Market Navigation will talk about engaging players with a personalized approach that will optimize ROI and spread information to your customers in a positive way.

RELATIONSHIP DISRUPTION 

Targeted advertising and saturated markets are all well and good, but some are still working on getting a proper publishing deal. This is a key sticking point, since there are business models which are disrupting conventional developer-publisher relationships.

Whether it’s equity-based deals, crowdfunding or some sort of hybrid, industry deal makers will be on hand in Market Navigation to give all the details. Representatives from both sides, including legal and publishers, will talk about how financing has evolved to where it is and what sort of creativity goes into making deals.

NETWORKING AND MORE

Reps from developers King, Nexon and 505 Games will be navigating their way to Casual Connect USA . Market Navigation will also have expert marketers from Optimove, Starting Point and glispa.

Whether you’re a publisher looking to sign a developer’s game, a studio looking to pitch your game to a publisher or find funding, or an investor looking to back innovative ideas, Casual Connect USA will have plenty of developers, investors, publishers and more in attendance – and there will be networking opportunities with hundreds of game industry professionals all throughout the event.

Casual Connect USA is expected to have around 3,000 attendees and over 250 scheduled speakers across all its tracks, along with the means to search and arrange business meetings. The event takes place at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on July 18-20. Find out more at usa.casualconnect.org.