Mobile Dev Memo Podcast

For the eighth installment of the MDM Mailbag series, I am joined by independent app growth consultant and advisor Thomas Petit. As a reminder: guests for MDM Mailbag episodes of the podcast are practitioners, and questions are sourced directly from the MDM community.
Thomas and I discuss the current state of measurement, the necessity of incrementality testing, and the challenges of scaling creative production in an automated environment. We also dive into the technical and ethical considerations of web-to-app funnels, as well as the ongoing legal battles surrounding app store commissions.
Among other topics, the questions Thomas fields pertain to:
Whether incrementality testing will ever completely replace deterministic last-click attribution models for large-scale mobile advertisers and networks
How the proliferation of media mix modeling vendors affects the quality of measurement insights available to smaller app developers
Why the mobile industry continues to struggle with ad fraud detection despite the availability of sophisticated third-party verification services
If the current trend toward massive creative volume is actually delivering diminishing returns for performance marketing campaigns on Meta
What the long-term impact of AI-generated video creative will be on the traditional role of performance marketing creative agencies
When the friction of web-to-app onboarding funnels becomes a secondary concern compared to the benefits of merchant flexibility
Whether Apple's proposed fifteen percent commission on external links will effectively stifle the growth of independent web-to-app payment ecosystems
Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast:
⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on.
⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back
Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on:
Spotify
YouTube
Apple Podcasts

On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Brian Albrecht, the Chief Economist at the International Center for Law and Economics. We explore the complex intersection of generative AI and labor economics, alongside a deep dive into the regulatory and economic implications of personalized pricing models. The podcast is tethered to two articles that Brian recently published: You are not a horse, from his Substack, Economic Forces; and Eliminate ‘personal pricing’ and you risk harming consumers, which he published as an op-ed in the Financial Times.
Among other things, we discuss:
Whether humans will face the same economic obsolescence as horses after the introduction of the internal combustion engine
How the redistribution of consumer savings from automated services creates new employment opportunities in diverse service sectors
If the historical stability of labor's share of income can survive the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence
What long-term productivity gains from previous technological revolutions reveal about the potential economic trajectory of modern AI
Why government policy responses to automation might inadvertently hinder productivity by imposing restrictive taxes on data and computation
How personalized pricing models actually improve market efficiency by reducing the deadweight loss associated with traditional discounting methods
When the public's perception of fairness in pricing conflicts with the economic reality of supply and demand for scarce resources
Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast:
⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on.
⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back
Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on:
Spotify
YouTube
Apple Podcasts

On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Maor Sadra, the co-founder and CEO of INCRMNTAL, to discuss the current cycle of M&A in digital advertising and the industry-wide shift toward intelligence-based measurement. Maor is well-positioned to discuss this topic, as INCRMNTAL was recently acquired by Smartly.
Maor and I analyze how acquisitions are moving away from simple inventory reach toward deeper integration of data, identity, and causal signal. Among other things, we discuss:
Why causal measurement is becoming a strategic necessity for large-scale creative and media optimization platforms
How the transition from legacy to AI-first companies creates opportunities for consolidation across the advertising stack
Whether enterprise clients will prioritize deep domain expertise over general machine learning capabilities when selecting partners
If the recent investment in AppsFlyer signals a permanent shift toward a collaborative industry-wide attribution infrastructure
What the rise of zero-click platforms like ChatGPT means for traditional performance marketing metrics and models
How e-commerce and retail media giants are leveraging CTV acquisitions to challenge established advertising platforms
When the current wave of AI-labeled startups will face the reality of high-volume performance requirements
Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast:
⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on.
⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back
Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on:
Spotify
YouTube
Apple Podcasts

On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Offer Yehudai, the co-founder of Arya, to discuss the intersection of artificial intelligence and human intimacy. We explore the development of AI-driven companions designed to improve relationship health and the delicate balance between automation and human expertise. Among other things, we discuss:
Whether the lack of human judgment in AI interactions encourages users to share more intimate personal details
Why a hybrid model combining automated intelligence with human oversight remains necessary for maintaining consumer trust in sensitive topics like intimacy
What role long-term contextual memory plays in developing sophisticated AI tools that truly understand complex human dynamics
If the current explosion of low-quality AI applications will lead to a permanent erosion of consumer confidence
How utility app developers can leverage community roll-ups to achieve sustainable growth in a competitive advertising market
When the integration of commerce and physical products will become a standard component of digital wellness subscriptions
Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast:
⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on.
Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics.
⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back
Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on:
Spotify
YouTube
Apple Podcasts

On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Michael Kaminsky, co-founder and co-CEO of Recast. We explore the rise of open-source Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) tools and the challenges of measuring modern ad spend. Among other things, we discuss:
Whether open-source MMM libraries like Robyn and Meridian are truly unbiased tools or subtle instruments for big tech self-grading
How marketers can effectively evaluate the accuracy of MMM outputs through techniques like parameter recovery and predictive forecasting
Why smaller, performance-driven brands might actually find more value in last-touch attribution than in complex econometric modeling
If the inherent uncertainty in MMM estimates makes them fundamentally incompatible with the fast-paced feedback loops of digital advertising
What role generative AI and large language models play in democratizing access to sophisticated marketing data science analysis
When a brand should transition from simple attribution methods to a multi-layered approach involving incrementality and econometric modeling
How the shift toward CTV and non-trackable channels is forcing a resurgence in probabilistic measurement frameworks like MMM
Thanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast:
⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on.
Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics.
⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming back
Interested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.
The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on:
Spotify
YouTube
Apple Podcasts