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 through a simple way to frame ad quality – from harmful content and deceptive templates to nonstop ad spam and hidden malicious code – and why ad experience is app experience for your users and your bottom line.Božo also shares insights from a Google / AdMob / Deloitte study showing that 1 in 5 players will quit a game after a negative ad experience. We also dig into what happens when the industry doesn’t fix this itself: user backlash, app store pressure and, eventually, regulation.This conversation is part of PlayerFirst Perspectives, a MobileGroove mini-series powered by AppHarbr. It’s a series about fixing ad quality and developing ad policies so users stay in your app or game, and you can enforce what you believe is right for your players.👉 Join the conversation -https://join.slack.com/t/playerfirstcollective/shared_invite/zt-3kcihn2oh-jXuCNSOYnqIFjynxegYUugBe part of the PlayerFirst Collective on Slack, where marketers, product teams and platforms swap real examples of bad ads, policy fixes and UX wins – and compare notes on what’s working. In this backstage episode, we talk about:- Why there may be more bad ads than good ones – from disgusting or misleading creatives to malware, spyware and scams hidden under the surface- A simple ad quality “stack”: ad content, ad templates and UX, ad implementation and frequency, and ad integrity- What the Google / AdMob / Deloitte data reveals about churn, player choice and the real revenue impact of negative vs positive ad experiences- The four key stakeholders in ad quality – advertisers, ad networks and mediation, publishers and app stores – and how responsibility and power are shared- Why publishers have more leverage than they think: defining ad policies, insisting networks enforce templates and shifting teams from quantity to quality- How communities help share solutions and push the industry toward higher standards- Why ignoring ad quality is no longer an option if you care about profitable growth, valuations and building a business with solid, sustainable metricsStay tuned for upcoming PlayerFirst Perspectives episodes on MobileGroove, where we continue to dig into how publishers, platforms and partners are turning ad quality, policy and player trust into a real growth advantage.*** Subscribe for More ***👉🏻YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PeggyAnneSalz?sub_confirmation=1👉🏻Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5yFF2InbeIgkIRcxvDy3jm👉🏻Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/28e1039b-4ead-4c48-aed7-8aceb5195fa6/mobilegroove👉🏻On Point Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7020756661006925824*** Let's Connect ***👉🏻 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggyannesalz👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/peggy.salz👉🏻 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/peggyannesalz👉🏻 Website - https://www.mobilegrove.com

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 AdMob team. He shares what Google’s best-performing partners do differently: how they spot bad ad UX before it becomes a churn problem, how they use segmentation to protect high-value users and why clear ad policies have become a growth lever, not just a brand-safety checkbox.

This conversation is part of PlayerFirst Perspectives, a new MobileGroove mini-series powered by AppHarbr. It’s a series about fixing ad quality and developing ad policies so users stay in your app or game, and you can enforce what you believe is right for your players.

👉 Join the conversation: Be part of the Player First Collective on Slack, where marketers, product teams and platforms swap examples of bad ads, policy fixes and UX wins. You’ll find the Slack invite link and more resources in the show notes.

In this episode, Berk tells me:

• Why one bad ad can be enough to make a player quit your app or game
• What Google is seeing in ad UX across EMEA and how different markets approach experimentation
• How to use segmentation (payers vs non-payers, regions, behaviors) to design smarter ad experiences
• How to think about formats, density and placements so ads feel integrated, not intrusive
• Why it pays to start conservative with monetization tests, then scale once you understand user expectations
• How to balance rewarded ads, IAP and other revenue streams without breaking UX
• How to work with partners like Google AdMob and AppHarbr to clean up bad ads and enforce your policies

Stay tuned for upcoming PlayerFirst Perspectives episodes on MobileGroove, where we dig into how publishers, platforms and partners are turning ad quality, policy and player trust into a real growth advantage.

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, actionable strategies. She explains why installs no longer tell the full story, how retention-led growth is reshaping budgets, and why user journeys now depend on transparency, trust, and deeper signals across the funnel.This conversation is part of the 2026 Full Funnel App Growth Series on MobileGroove powered by Aarki, where we unpack how growth really happens in a privacy first world — and why marketers need new playbooks, not just new tactics.In this episode, Nicoline tells me: • What Adjust’s data reveals about global shifts in app growth • Why healthy growth now depends on engagement and retention • How funnels are becoming continuous learning loops • Why the value contract matters for trust and personalization • How marketers can act on delayed or limited signals • How deep linking rebuilds journey continuity • Where AI assists with faster, clearer decision-makingStay tuned for the upcoming Full Funnel App Growth Playbook and future episodes in this series, where we explore how marketers are turning privacy, performance, and creativity into a real growth advantage.🔗 Connect with the GuestsNicoline Strøm-Jensen (Adjust) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinemdemiroz/ Adjust: https://www.adjust.com/