Kailey Christensen
Ad Placement
Company: Tramigo
Date: September 24, 2021
Summary
Our app was initially launched without a monetization strategy. After carefully weighing our options, we decided to pursue advertising as our primary source of revenue. To ensure maximum success, I conducted extensive user research and discovered that integrated ads were the most effective approach. Additionally, I proactively reached out to local businesses for a potential partnership opportunity, allowing us to monetize sponsored ads. As a result, our approach has proven to be successful, with highly satisfied businesses expressing their desire to continue advertising with us.
Problem
Tramigo is a dynamic start-up with a clear mission to connect travelers with other travelers and events. The challenge we faced was finding a way to monetize our platform while keeping it free for users. We were confident that we could find a solution that would allow us to display advertisements without compromising the user experience.
❗️APP LACKS MONETIZATION
Solution
I worked to determine what types of ads would be best for this platform. After conducting user research I found that users were most drawn to ads related to activities found on the app. I also found that local businesses were most interested in advertising on our platform. After gathering this information I determined that displaying a sponsored event on the events page would be the most efficient way to advertise.
💡GET RELEVANT BUSINESSES TO ADVERTISE EVENTS ON APP
Process
Research
I conducted 30 in-person surveys and an additional online survey with 100 participants using the same questions. The purpose of this research was to determine how people feel about different types of advertisements while using an app, as well as the type of content users prefer.
Key Takeaways
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Users prefer ads that are incorporated into the content.
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Relevant and local content is more popular among users.
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The types of businesses we need to gain relationships with are restaurants, music venues, and places that host outdoor activities.
Insights
During the in-person interviews, users were encouraged to provide additional open-ended feedback. Here are some of the comments that were made. One of the main concerns raised by users is the distraction caused by ads while using the app. Another notable issue is that ads can be time-consuming and can decrease overall productivity.
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Influence
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Users do not want to see any ads that take up the whole screen, so we need to incorporate them into the app itself.
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Local and relevant content is preferred by users which also makes integrating ads into the app itself the best direction for advertising.
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Since the app is almost a directory of local activities we could get partnered business, from the preferred business types, to advertise by posting an event on the events page.
Design
I decided that the primary design of the app will not be altered too drastically to incorporate the new placement for advertisements. The ad will appear as an event on the events page.
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Business Partners
In order to run advertisements on our app, we need to gain business partners who are willing to run sponsored events as ads on our platform. As a start-up, it is important for us to take advantage of cross-promotion opportunities. While these businesses would be paying to feature an ad on our platform, we can also use their promoted events to distribute other marketing materials. These methods would vary based on the nature of these events.
Usability
The final design successfully enabled our business partners to advertise on our platforms without the need for invasive ads that would otherwise negatively impact the user experience of our app. This not only resulted in benefits for our own business, but also allowed our partners to take advantage of the action-based promotion feature on our app. Our partners were pleased with the outcome and were more than willing to pay for these advertisements, resulting in a mutually beneficial monetization for both parties.
Our first business partner, VYBZ Night Club in San Diego, hosts live music played by local DJs. They approached us to create an event on a Monday night with the aim of increasing business on their slowest night of the week. We placed their ad as the first event, ensuring maximum visibility and reach among the app's users that week. VYBZ Night Club expressed their satisfaction with the results and plans to continue running more ads with us in the future.