Boredom Makes for a Great App Retention Tool

Boredom Makes

for a Great App

Retention Tool

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Everyone in marketing, especially mobile marketing, knows attention is

scarce. With attention spans getting shorter, the challenge of boosting

retention and engagement rates grows increasingly difficult. Every push

notification competes with screens, reminders and information coming from

all directions.

The $1 million question: When are people most receptive to marketing

content? The answer is when they aren't focusing on anything in particular. In

other words, when they’re bored.

The first step to understanding the connection between mobile phone usage

and boredom is by listening to what users themselves have to say in the

matter. Some 42% of mobile users in a Pew Research study do so to fight

boredom. The numbers were even higher, reaching 70%, when examining

those between 18 and 29 years old.

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Following up on that data, a user behavior study from Telefonica Research

collected more than 40 million user logs to create a machine-learning model

representing boredom. The research identified bored users based on their

mobile phone usage, finding that users who were bored tended to check

Instagram and email more than others.

Users also checked social media repeatedly, despite knowing not much had

changed since they last time they visited. Another interesting thing users did

was fiddle with their mobile device settings.

The researchers popped up push notifications to users who, based on their

mobile usage data, appeared to be bored, informing them about interesting

content that specifically aims to kill time. They discovered that those users

were significantly more receptive. Although there is still a long way to go in

research in this field, this is still an extremely valuable piece of information for

app marketers looking to boost retention and engagement among users.

Boredom Makes

for a Great App

Retention Tool

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When it comes to apps in the fields of dating, gaming, news and other types

of content, the time between when a push notification is received to when

the user taps it and revisits the app is critical. If too much time goes by, users

will be less likely to visit the app and more likely to ignore the notification.

Therefore, it is detrimental to the effectiveness of push notification that the

user is more receptive when the notification is sent out.

How can we determine when users are bored? Data.

The first thing that comes to mind is during waiting times, such as before a

doctor ’s appointment, at the bus or train station or during public

transportation commutes. Many marketers send out push notifications before

work hours, based on the assumption that users are on their morning

commute. But why not use location technologies to geofence bus stations

and train stations? The first thing users do when they get to one is pull out

their phones.

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Boredom Makes

for a Great App

Retention Tool

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Marketers can also identify these times based on app usage and advertise on

public transportation apps, based on the clever assumption that users are

waiting for their train at the moment.

A company that does this amazingly well is KLM. The Dutch airline created a

mobile app that lets users fly a paper jet over a virtual version of the city of

Amsterdam. The game acts as an entertaining pastime for users during one

of the most hated and boring waiting times: before boarding a flight.

The coolest feature about the game is that, using geolocation technologies, it

can tell when users are at the flight gate – they are immediately granted cool

rewards and extra points to advance quickly in the game and make it more

exciting. The promise of prizes and awards inspires users to keep coming

back to the app.

The KLM brand recognized an amazing opportunity to avoid obnoxiously

bombarding consumers with marketing messages and instead give back to

users in a thoughtful manner, taking into account consumers’ wants and

needs.

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Boredom Makes

for a Great App

Retention Tool

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When you disseminate branded messages while the user is having fun and

isn’t completely frustrated about lengthy waiting times, the message is

absorbed more effectively.

In today’s hectic reality, it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to grab

consumer attention and retain it. In order to make the cut, marketers must

change their perspective and shift focus from what it is that they wish to say

to what users will actually listen to. Creating the most interesting message is

great, but only if this message is delivered during users’ least interesting

moment. A brilliantly creative message combined with clever timing will win

users’ attention and loyalty.

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Boredom Makes

for a Great App

Retention Tool

About us

Moburst is a full service, global mobile marketing agency that helps

companies grow their mobile business. After redefining hundreds of apps

and A/B testing every possible feature in every vertical, our team knows

what works for each product, and how to deliver the most relevant

experiences for each user. We love solving clients’ tough mobile challenges

and believe that the combination of creative thinking, advanced technology,

and data drives success at scale.

Hundreds of companies, from local startups to large global brands such as:

Microsoft Accelerator, Get-Taxi, Conduit, Sony Music and Nielsen Innovation,

have leveraged our product refinement, app store optimization (ASO), user

acquisition, and mobile consulting services to enhance their product and

maximize their KPIs.

Every day, our team’s mission is to innovate creative solutions that connect

brands with highly targeted audiences that convert into loyal users.

Moburst has offices in New York City, Israel and San Francisco.

To learn more, visit www.moburst.com or contact us at hello@moburst.com.

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