Mobile ad network Tapjoy is in the process of changing itself from a business-to-business company to a consumer application discovery tool. In that vein, the company announced this morning that it is partnering with PapayaMobile to create a social marketplace for apps that will allow users to see what the popular Android games based on what their friends are playing.
Essentially, it is the merging of two SDKs — the PapayaMobile social community mixed Tapjoy’s in-app marketplace. The idea is to create higher engagement levels so Tapjoy can target more relevant ads at users and developers can increase their bottom lines.
This move is the second public step that we have seen Tapjoy take to become a more consumer-focused business. The first was a couple of weeks ago when it announced Tapjoy Games, a Web-based games repository intended to implement its pay-per-action service intended to work around Apple’s App Store terms of service.
Tapjoy is not making a full consumer pivot. Its existing ad network, video offerings and partnerships are not effected by its new lean on consumer benefits. Tapjoy is nothing if not aggressive and the moves we have seen it make over the last several months show that it is trying to diversify its product solutions to avoid the trouble it got in with Apple that threatened its entire business.
In terms of social and mobile engagement, this is an area of the industry that is rapidly taking off. Read the ReadWriteMobile archives over the last month or so and you will see a plethora of articles focused on increasing engagement, creating actionable data and turning that data into money. Some companies have built the solutions themselves (see Apsalar) or, like Tapjoy, have gone the route of partnership to achieve the same goals.
“Our entire business is built around delivering as much value to consumers as possible, and clearly there’s considerable value in helping them discover new games based on what their friends are playing,” said Mihir Shah, president and CEO of Tapjoy in a press release. “PapayaMobile’s social network has the scale and reach, particularly across the U.S. and China, to help make our ads further targeted and more engaging for users.”
The Social Marketplace will suggest games to users based on the popularity within their connection in the Papaya network. The interest graph is calculated using anonymous data to guard privacy. The Social Marketplace be available for developers by the end of the year.
It is another vertical for Tapjoy and another shot to increase its portfolio. What do you think of Tapjoy? Is it a company grasping at straws or are these astute strategic partnerships? Let us know in the comments.
