Interview
3 min read
In a revealing interview with David de Ridder, Head of Talkatone, we explore the key strategies and challenges driving one of the leading communication apps. Talkatone’s unique offering of free calling and texting without traditional cell plans has garnered a user base exceeding 1 million monthly active users. De Ridder discusses the company’s reliance on ad monetization, emphasizing its evolving strategies to balance revenue generation with user experience. From regional adaptation to recent experiments in ad formats, this interview provides valuable insights into Talkatone’s journey and its proactive approach to navigating the dynamic digital advertising landscape.
Talkatone is an ad-supported leading mobile app (Top-400) for Android and iOS with over 1M monthly active users, providing free calling and texting to and from US & Canadian phone numbers. David is responsible for P&L, Revenue Partnerships, Marketing, Product Management and managing the Engineering team.
Can you provide an overview of Talkatone and its unique value proposition in the communications app ecosystem? What specific advantages does it offer its users compared to traditional communication services?
Talkatone provides free calling and texting to and from phone numbers in the US and Canada. Talkatone is free to use for the vast majority of our users, whether they use Talkatone as their primary phone number, a second line for their business needs, or other use cases such as international travel or privacy concerns. Talkatone doesn’t require the user to have a cell plan: a mobile phone or tablet with a data connection such as Wifi is enough to use the app.
Can you describe the primary strategies Talkatone employs for ad monetization within your mobile app ecosystem and how these strategies have evolved over time?
Most users don’t pay us anything so we rely heavily on ad monetization to run Talkatone. We work with a variety of ad partners around the world to ensure optimal coverage and monetization of our userbase. Whereas in the past we relied more on static pricing and mostly banners, our current ad mix has shifted to include many other formats such as interstitial ads and native ads, as well as a dramatic shift towards dynamically priced demand.
With over 1 million monthly active users, what key metrics or KPIs do you prioritize to measure the effectiveness of your ad monetization efforts?
Revenue is the ultimate measure of monetization effectiveness. Some partners fill better at lower prices than others whereas some partners have specific strengths at specific pricepoints or in certain geographies. The key is to compose a roster where partners can complement each other.
Talkatone operates in a competitive market. How does the company differentiate its ad monetization approach from other similar apps, and what unique challenges does this present?
Because we provide out-of-network calling and texting, we need to pay a carrier for the user’s phone number, call minutes and messaging costs. These non-trivial costs mean that we need to be very focused on margins. At the same time, we believe Talkatone differentiates itself from its peers by providing a very competitive offering that remains free for most users.
As Head of Talkatone, you oversee various business aspects, including revenue partnerships and product management. How do these functions intersect with ad monetization, and how do you ensure alignment across different departments?
This is a tricky balance to get right, and especially in a utility app where users have other choices. Nobody wants to have to watch an interstitial or rewarded video before answering a call, or when they send an urgent message. So we always need to weigh incremental monetization against the user’s experience. Sometime that means A/B testing to make sure we get it right, sometimes it means saying no against certain monetization opportunities.
Talkatone also provides services to Canadian users. How does your ad monetization strategy adapt to accommodate different regional markets, regulatory environments, and user preferences?
We tailor our product offerings based on the users geography, expected costs and monetization rates in the user’s region. As we are part of a public company, that also means we strive to comply with all relevant privacy and telecommunications regulations in the states and countries we offer our services.
Could you elaborate on any recent innovations or experiments Talkatone has undertaken in ad monetization? How do you evaluate the success of these initiatives?
We recently started experimenting with new interstitials. As we were concerned about the user experience, we closely monitored the impact through instrumentation and made sure we could easily roll back the change without impacting our users. We obviously also monitored the monetization. In the end, you have to make a decision weighing lift and user experience.
In a rapidly evolving digital advertising landscape, how does Talkatone stay ahead of trends and technologies to optimize ad revenue while maintaining user privacy and security?
We want to stay on the right side of the law and user’s expectations when it comes to privacy. That means keeping up with developments both inside the ad industry, either from legislators or major players, but also general developments in legal frameworks not specific to ads or mobile apps. Talkatone is fortunate to be part of a publicly traded company, and has the support of a solid in-house legal team.
Looking to the future, what are the key opportunities and challenges you foresee for Talkatone in terms of ad monetization, and how do you plan to navigate them?
Changing regulations and user expectations around privacy and telecommunications are definitely important to have on our radar, not just for Talkatone but mobile apps in general. We are also excited about new ad formats and always looking for ways to integrate them into Talkatone with minimal impact to the user experience.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Important Security Notice
Beware of scammers impersonating Tappx brand
We have identified fraudulent activities where malicious actors are imitating Tappx assets. These scams may compromise your security.
⚠️ Warning: The URL you came from has been flagged as potentially harmful.
To stay safe, only trust communications and services from the official Tappx domain: tappx.com
