Holiday Season Insights for Mobile App Advertising

Episode #21 of the Mass Appeal podcast

This week on the Mass Appeal Podcast, host Tommy sits down with Seema Shah, VP of Research and Insights at SensorTower, to explore the ever-evolving landscape of mobile app analytics and advertising trends. SensorTower, a leader in mobile data and insights, powers a significant portion of the research used by platforms like adjoe and beyond.

If you’re curious about macro-level trends, user behavior patterns, and how brands are navigating the mobile and digital ad space, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

You’ll learn how platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Meta are capturing users’ attention and why resurrected users — people who return to an app after a break — are crucial to understanding mobile behavior. Seema also dives into SensorTower’s expanding products and what these insights mean for app marketers and advertisers in today’s competitive digital economy.

What’s the Topic?

From understanding alternative data to exploring the latest shifts in social platforms, here are the key questions covered in the conversation:

• What is alternative data, and why is it essential for understanding mobile performance?
• How do trends like short-form video and digital ad spending shape user engagement?
• Why are resurrected users critical for mobile app success?
• What’s the significance of retail media networks in the digital ad space?
• How are platforms like YouTube Shorts and Meta’s Reels competing with TikTok?

What to Listen Out for

Seema shares her first-hand knowledge into how mobile data trends influence marketing decisions, app performance, and user behavior. Here are some standout moments and topics to tune into:

• 08:24 — The Busy Season for Research and Analytics
  Why fall is a critical period for research, from tracking NFL ad spend to analyzing holiday shopping trends.
• 15:42 — The Role of Alternative Data in App Insights
  How data helps brands and investors gauge performance beyond traditional financial metrics.
• 22:31 — Resurrected Users and Promotions
  Which sectors — like streaming and food delivery — see the most user churn and what drives people to return.
• 35:19 — The Dominance of Short-Form Video
  Why YouTube leads in total hours engaged per day, driven by the success of Shorts.
• 48:05 — Retail Media Networks and New Ad Opportunities
  Explore how platforms like Uber and Instacart are leveraging their data to create high-value ad spaces for brands.

Quote

“We follow companies’ earnings reports to see how our data corroborates with their qualitative commentary — is the consumer stronger or weaker? It’s a sanity check every three months.”

– Seema Shah, VP of Research and Insights at SensorTower