Mario Viviani, a technology evangelist at Amazon, discusses the challenges and opportunities in app monetization, particularly highlighting the Amazon Underground program. This new model allows developers to generate revenue from all users by offering apps and games for free, leading to improved user engagement and revenue growth. Positive feedback from both users and developers indicates that Amazon Underground could be a game-changer in the mobile app industry.

1. MARIO VIVIANI
T E C H N O L O G Y E V A N G E L I S T, A M A Z O N A P P S T O R E U K
@mariuxtheone linkedin.com/in/marioviviani
AMAZ ON UNDERGROUND
A YEAR AFTER

2. I T ’ S A - M E !
Mario V iviani
Technology Evangelist, Amazon Appstore UK
@mariuxtheone
Android Developer from 2010
95+ apps published
12,000,000+ downloads
Google Developer Expert 2013-15
Startup Founder, Co-Worker
Speaker at: Droidcon, Android Dev
Days, Google I/O, Develop

3. CONNECT
DEVELOPERS
AND
CUSTOMERS
TO D AY ’ S T H E M E

4. MANY MONETIZATION OPTIONS
Premium In-App Purchase Ads

5. F R E E M I U M
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH
FREEMIUM APP MODELS IS THAT 97%
OF CONSUMERS DON’T CONVERT,
INSTEAD STICKING TO THE FREE
FEATURES.
T h e Wa l l S t r e e t J o u r n a l
h t t p : / / w w w . w s j . c o m / a r t i c l e s / m o b i l e - g a m e - m a k e r s - t r y -
t o - c a t c h - m o r e - w h a l e s - w h o - p a y - f o r - f r e e - g a m e s -
1 4 3 1 3 0 6 1 1 5

6. M O N E T I S AT I O N
80% OF REVENUE
CAPTURED BY
100 DEVELOPERS
N e w Z o o ( 2 0 1 5 )
P h o n e a n d T a b l e t g a m e s N e w Z o o 2 0 1 5

7. A NEW
MONETISATION
MODEL

9. THEY PLAY.
WE PAY.
YOU WIN.

11. • Generate Revenue from Every Customer
• Increase Apps User Base
• Focus on Building Great User Experiences
• Start Earning Right Away
THEY PLAY. WE PAY. YOU WIN.

13. Available now on Android & Fire Devices in the US, UK, DE, FR, IT, and ES.
www.amazonunderground.com

16. A NEW OPTION
Premium In-App Purchase Ads
Amazon
Underground

17. GOAT SIMULATOR
Most Downloaded Game
in Amazon Underground
in 2015
4 BILLION
MINUTES
consumed in Amazon
Underground program
82%
OF UNDERGROUND GAMES
generating more revenue than they
were through traditional Appstore
business model
+750% Revenue
Generated by Top Title Game
through Amazon Underground

18. APPS
ON
UNDERGROUND

19. PREMIUM
APPS

21. G O AT S I M U L ATO R
O T H E R P L AT F O R M S
£3.29 FREE

22. GOAT SIMULATOR MADE MORE MONEY ON
AMAZON UNDERGROUND IN DECEMBER
THAN ON ANY OTHER ANDROID STORE

23. G O AT S I M U L ATO R
FOR US, EVALUATING NEW PLATFORMS IS VERY
IMPORTANT, AND UNDERGROUND HAS BEEN ONE
EXAMPLE SHOWING IT CAN BE WORTH IT FOR US!
IF YOU HAVE A PRODUCT THAT DOES WELL IN
GENERAL, MOVING IT ONTO NEW PLATFORMS IS THE
WAY TO GO!

24. FREEMIUM
APPS

26. F I N A L K I C K
O T H E R P L AT F O R M S
FREEMIUM
IAP
FREE
ENTITLED IAP
ITEMS

27. FINAL KICK CUSTOMERS PLAY TWICE AS LONG
IN AMAZON UNDERGROUND AS THEY DO ON
GOOGLE PLAY
"I SEE THE AMAZON
UNDERGROUND MODEL AS
THE NEW BIG MOVEMENT
FOR THE MOBILE GAME
INDUSTRY."

29. WHAT ARE
DEVELOPERS
SAYING?

30. "IF YOU WANT TO GET
YOUR APPS IN THE
HANDS OF AS MANY
USERS AS POSSIBLE,
THIS REALLY IS THE
WAY TO GO."

31. "THIS NEW PROGRAM
FROM AMAZON IS A
REALLY EXCITING
OPPORTUNITY FOR
DEVELOPERS TO MAKE
MONEY IN A NEW KIND
OF WAY."

32. "WE DEFINITELY SEE
THIS AS REALLY BOLD
AND DISRUPTIVE.
IT'S GOING TO CHANGE
THE COMPETITIVE
MARKETPLACE FOR THE
OTHER APPSTORES."

33. WHAT ARE
USERS SAYING?

34. “ G O O D B U T N O W B E S T ”
This app was a fun game buy you had to
pay for more levels. Now with
Underground I can play it for free. This is
why Amazon is a good platform for games
they get that we want, something that is
actually free.
C a r d b o a r d M o n e y
A u g u s t 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

35. “ T H I S I S J U S T T H E B E S T G A M E E V E R ! ”
So I went in the Appstore and this thing popped up that said I was in Amazon
underground and I had no idea what that meant. Well I figured out what that is.
Now I think i'm glad to have a Kindle Fire instead of an iPad or something for
once! I can't believe we get free apps that Google and Apple users have to pay
for!
Anyway, I got this game free, and I just LOVE IT SO MUCH!
THE HELICOTERS, THE BUGS, THE HATS, THE JOY OF PUSHING PEOPLE OFF
DOCKS WHILE THEY PROPOSE MARRIAGE!
Get it.
Get it now.
I mean it!
A s t ro C a t
A u g u s t 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

37. GETTING STARTED

38. Q U A L I F I C AT I O N S
ANDROID
PREMIUM OR IAP IN
ANOTHER STORE
RELEASE TO US, UK,
GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY,
OR SPAIN
R E Q U I R E M E N T S

39. APPLY THE SASH TO LAUNCHER ICON
SET THE PACKAGE NAME
com.company.example.underground
bit.ly/UndergroundMigration
P R E PA R I N G T H E A P P

40. SUBMIT IAP ITEMS AND AMAZON
WILL SHOW STRIKE THROUGH
PRICES
or
REMOVE IAP AND ENTITLE THE
ITEMS.
Note that “Pay to remove ads” Freemium apps are not
eligible for Amazon Underground. Amazon Underground
apps provide core app and game experiences for free.
I A P M I G R AT I O N O P T I O N S

41. Game Circle
Mobile Ads API
Mobile Associates API
Amazon Device Messaging (ADM)
Login with Amazon
OT H E R A P I M I G R AT I O N

42. SUBMITTING
Free for developers. Register and submit at
developer.amazon.com/underground
Things to think about:
• Name doesn’t change
• Description explains value
• Testing instructions include a link to app
in other stores
• We’ll automatically sash icons you add
during the submission process
developer.amazon.com/underground
bit.ly/90sAppTest

52. OPTIMIZING

53. Revenue = Sessions X Minutes X Rate
For 100% of your users, every minute they use your app
bit.ly/AmazonUndergroundCalc

54. PREMIUM
$1.99 to download
200 downloads per month (2400 / yr)
Subtract 30% commission
Subtract $0.35/download cost for user
acquisition
Yields $2500 / yr
Assume 8 min per day or 240 min per month
(with fall off over time)
240 x $0.002 = $0.48 per user, per month
2400 users generate 3.1 Million usage minutes
Yields about $5,400 / yr
Plus,
additional organic 200 users playing for only 2
min per day
Yields $6,900 / yr
E X A M P L E : P R E M I U M U T I L I T Y A P P

55. FREEMIUM
Assume 10,000 monthly active users
growing 5% month-over-month
3% paying $2.99 / month
For 17,100 players and $10,000 in
royalties
with user acquisition of $0.50 per user
Yields $1,400 / yr
Assuming 20 min per week per user
Yields $19,000 / yr
IAP monthly ARPU would need to exceed $8.25
to match this.
E X A M P L E : F R E E M I U M C A S UA L G A M E

56. So, the focus is
Fun
Useful
Exciting
Scary
Clever
Unique
… whatever got you
into this business!

57. THANK YOU!
Mario Viviani
@mariuxtheone
@AmazonAppDev
vivianim@amazon.co.uk
developer.amazon.com/appstore
bit.ly/AmazonSummitFeedback