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/

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 retargeting windows.

🎯 Results They Achieved:

• Beat Day 90 ROI goals by 1.7x on average

• Hit their Day 365 LTV target in just 3 months

• Increased retention and sessions even as installs dipped

• Scaled retargeting operations through dynamic (daily) list uploads

• Uncovered high-potential “movable middle” audiences previously missed
  

In this conversation, Martin and Sinem share how Rovio:

• Shifted from static rules to predictive re-engagement thinking

• Identified audiences with high future value — not just past purchases

• Shortened inactivity windows despite higher organic overlap

• Built a creative flywheel where UA insights feed retargeting (and back again)

• Embraced nostalgia-driven creatives that perform across the funnel

• Adopted a testing culture where “don’t be afraid” is the growth mindset
  

This episode is packed with learnings about segmentation, timing, creative strategy, and collaboration — and why retargeting is no longer an afterthought but a core growth lever in a privacy-first world.

🔗 Connect with the Guests

Sinem Demiroz (Rovio)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinemdemiroz/Rovio: https://www.rovio.com/

Martin Boccardi (Rovio)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-boccardi/ Rovio: https://www.rovio.com/

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 segmentation, AI-generated creative hooks, and weekly iteration. Plus: why playables aren’t great for re-engagement, what KPIs matter most, and how retargeting became a bridge between UA and product.

🎯 This is the full-funnel blueprint for turning retargeting into your next major growth engine.

Aleyna Cerrah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleyna-cerrah/

APPS: https://apps.com.tr/

#ROAS #Retargeting #AppMarketing #MobileGrowth #Aarki #MobileGroove #CreativeTesting #FullFunnelMarketing #UserAcquisition #PerformanceMarketing

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 is designing a game to treat major depression — a title that’s already seen 1,000+ patients play for 46+ hours and is moving toward FDA approval.

🇩🇪 Felix from the German Federal Agency for Civic Education explains how their agency is supporting indie games that explore democracy, media literacy, and social justice.

🕹️ Luc from Of Light and Darkness tells the story behind his Holocaust education game, played by over 2 million people globally — and why it’s sparking conversations that outlast gameplay.

If you’re a developer, brand, educator, or someone who believes games can spark change, this episode will challenge and inspire you.

Jukka Laakso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juklaakso/

Soihtu DTX: https://soihtudtx.com/

Felix Zimmermann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-zimmermann-07694a1a5/ and https://felix-zimmermann.net/

Germany Federal Agency for Civic Education: https://www.bpb.de/die-bpb/ueber-uns/federal-agency-for-civic-education/

Luc Bernard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardluc/

Voices of the Forgotten: https://www.voicesoftheforgotten.com/

Other Mentions:

Media Circus: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3868010/Media_Circus/

Take Us North: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/takeusnorth/take-us-north/rewards

Compensation Not Guaranteed: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2795590/Compensation_Not_Guaranteed/

The Darkest Files: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2058730/The_Darkest_Files/

Glasshouse: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244700/Glasshouse/

Tears of Libya: https://www.voicesoftheforgotten.com/tearsoflibya

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 together Emmy-winning talent and game veterans—all without traditional VC funding.

They unpack:

🎮 How their content creator roots shaped a community-first approach

🧱 Why they designed the entire alpha as a tower-based competition

🔥 What it takes to build not just a game—but a living, breathing IP and brand

🎯 Why modern devs must master activations, narrative, and long-tail loyalty

If you’re building a game, brand, or fanbase from the ground up, this is a masterclass in turning early engagement into lasting momentum.

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 building a 24/7 virtual store in Roblox to selling NFT-based avatars, Erika shares how she led Adidas’ gaming evolution and aligned internal stakeholders along the way. Bastian explains how Solsten helps brands move from stereotype to strategy — and why it’s time to treat gaming like the channel it is, not just an experiment.Whether you’re in marketing, brand strategy, product, or innovation — this is your playbook for getting gaming right.