3 Takeaways from MAU 2025. What App Marketers Need to Know
Once again, Mobile Apps Unlocked (otherwise known as MAU) delivered a plethora of insights for mobile marketers. The 2-day mobile extravaganza is the place for marketers to spend time absorbing all things mobile, and as a leading performance agency, it’s one of the best places to meet like-minded app and mobile specialists. This year, we were excited to be involved in several initiatives, including;
- Presenting growth strategies with SoundCloud.
- Presenting App Store Optimization strategies with Headspace
- Lauren Park, Global Head of ASO, joined a Women in Mobile panel with LiftOff, Google, Digital Turbine, and Sensor Tower.
The full recordings of the two presentations will be available soon, but you can download the presentations here;
There are a plethora of presentations, panels, and networking to attend to learn about all things mobile, but here are three takeaways from our time at MAU in 2025.
1. AI-Driven Growth: Where Product Meets Marketing
AI is no longer just a tool for automation—it’s the connective tissue between product and marketing. At MAU, speakers emphasized how AI is enabling advancement in areas such as:
- Real-time campaign optimization based on behavioral signals.
- Creative testing at scale, with AI-generated variations tailored to user segments.
- Product-marketing alignment, ensuring that acquisition messaging mirrors in-app experiences.
For subscription apps, this means fewer mismatched expectations and more engaged, retained users. What does this mean for marketers? No significant change aside from accelerated pace and the need to be agile and adaptable to the pace of change.
Growth teams must continue to work closely with product to ensure AI is used not just to acquire users, but also to retain them. As Lauren Park, Global Head of ASO, said; “One of the key threads running through MAU this year was the growing sophistication of AI not just as a tool for automation, but as a driver of deeper user understanding. That, paired with a sharp focus on relevancy and personalisation, underscores the shift towards more nuanced, context-aware marketing strategies with AI driving efficiencies.”
2. Creative That Converts: Intent-Led Storytelling
App marketers are moving beyond flashy creatives and are focusing on user intent and behavior, for example:
- What problem is the user trying to solve, or what pain point are they trying to resolve?
- How can an app help them build habits or achieve goals?
- Does the onboarding experience reflect the promise made in the ad creative? Mismatches in expectation lead to instant discontent for the user, something to avoid at all costs.
Aligning creative content with real user motivations, such as focus, wellbeing, or productivity, will lead to higher conversion rates and greater retention. For subscription apps, this means building trust from the first touchpoint and avoiding poor experiences, especially during onboarding.
3. Monetization Innovation: Beyond the Paywall
With rising acquisition costs, monetization strategies were a central topic. Key trends at the conference included:
- Dynamic pricing and A/B testing of paywalls.
- Gamified engagement loops to increase session time and reduce churn.
- Alternative revenue models, such as freemium tiers with upsell paths.
For subscription brands, the message was clear: sustainable growth comes from maximizing lifetime value and retaining or re-engaging customers.
IN SUMMARY
The themes this year focused on mobile growth, lying in cross-functional collaboration, and AI-powered personalization. For subscription-based apps, this is the moment to rethink how to acquire, engage, and retain users, because the brands that win will be the ones that align performance with purpose.
To discuss any of these topics or how our specialist teams enable clients to grow, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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