#67: Managing the UK’s largest under 5’s app portfolio with Ian Irving, Senior SEO & ASO Specialist in BBC

If you live in the United Kingdom and have kids under 5 years old, then there’s a big chance that they play with apps on their tablet developed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Today’s guest is Ian Irving, Senior Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and App Store Optimization (ASO) Specialist in the BBC Children’s and Education Department. Ian talks about what it takes to manage app marketing for the largest portfolio of mobile apps for children.

Today’s Topics Include:

✔️ Young at Heart: Ian’s journey from wanting to be a teacher to building apps for kids

✔️ BBC: Not only a reliable source for news, but educational and safe apps for children

✔️ Four Main CBeebies Apps: Playtime Island, Go Explore, Get Creative, and Storytime

✔️ App Marketing: You are not marketing to the children, you are marketing to their parents

✔️ Batman/Spiderman Line: Parents become uncool and don’t control their kid’s device

✔️ Three Primary Marketing Channels: TV advertising, socials, and organic SEO

✔️ App Stores: Top user acquisition, engagement, and downloads - Apple/iOS and Amazon

✔️ KPIs: Amazon app metrics are extremely limited; rely on external analytics providers

✔️ Seasonality: When audience undergoes specific emotional shift, increase acquisitions

✔️ AB Testing: Micro is variation of small elements; macro makes larger conversion impact

✔️ Learn Language: How marketers speak isn’t necessarily how people talk in real world

✔️ Android or iOS? Android

✔️ What apps and features would Ian miss most? Google Maps

✔️ What is missing from mobile app technology? Advancement of biomonitoring health

Links and Resources:

• Ian Irving on LinkedIn
• BBC
• CBeebies Apps
• David Attenborough
• Amazon Kindle Fire 7
• Amazon App Store

Quotes from Ian Irving:

“Every week, about 20 percent of 0-6 years old in the U.K. use one of those four apps.”

“You are not marketing to the children, you are marketing to their parents.”

“There’s a very, very clear line, which we call the Batman line or the Spiderman line and that is at 6 years old because once they hit that age, that’s when anything that their parents are trying to expose them to becomes uncool.”

“The idea of seasonality is when there are things happening offline, where your audience is undergoing a specific emotional shift, and the idea is that if you can catch them, if you can trigger that or align with that emotional shift that they are going through, you’re going to see an increase in acquisitions.”

Brought to you by Business Of Apps

• App industry marketplace
• Insights
• App Growth videos
• App Data
• App Events

A message from App Promotion Summit Discounted ticket prices are currently available on all of our 2024 summits https://apppromotionsummit.com/ London - 25 Apr 2024 NYC - 27 Jun 2024 San Francisco - 26 Sep 2024 Berlin - 5 Dec 2024