In this section, we are testing your ability to communicate externally to clients.
a.Methodology Change: From time to time, App Annie – (https://www.appannie.com, mobile app intelligence provider) changes
our methodology for generating particular reports. One example of this is a change that we enacted with regards to our
“Market Size” report. Previously, when reporting estimates for the size of “Parent Categories ,” (Overall and Games 1, 2
on iOS) we would include the estimates only for those apps that had ranked in the parent category (Games or Overall) but
would not sum those that were present in sub¬categories only i.e the 400th ¬ranked Free iPhone app on iPhone may never
achieve an Overall rank and would, thus, always be excluded. In order to calculate a more complete Game market size
estimate, we created a different report called “Category Size” that had a Games market size estimate without double
¬counting (games can be in multiple categories on iOS).
So in order to get the information contained in the current Market Size report, a client had to consult 2 reports:
• Category Size: ¬ This report contained a true aggregation of the total Games market for iOS. Additionally it
contained estimates of all other main categories on iOS. Many of these, however, were slightly different than those
provided for the same categories provided in the Store Stats Country/Category (described below).
• Store Stats Country/Category: ¬ This report contained aggregated estimates for categories under the old
methodology. As discussed, only apps that obtained a ranking in the larger “Overall” and “Games” categories would be
included in the Overall or Games estimate. Those apps in the long¬tail were unaccounted for in either of these
categories. There was, however, a “category” in this report called TOTAL that presented the aggregate size of all “apps”
in the same way that Overall is calculated under the new methodology. Because the methodology in these reports differed,
they contained different estimates for the same markets (device, country, period) for the aggregate size of categories.
For example, Games in the Store Stats Country/Category report was always less than the Games estimate in the Category
Size report (as Category Size included the long tail of apps that only ranked in sub¬categories). For example, the United
States Games iPhone Free Downloads in December of 2013 may be 10,000,000 in the “Category Size” report but only 8,000,000
in the “Store Stats/Country/Category” report. The difference being due to the long¬tail of apps that ranked only in Games
sub¬categories.
o 1 Parent Category is not the same as a main category. Every app can have one and only one main category. On iOS,
“Games” is used as a main category rather than a sub-category such as “Games Racing.” This is because, on iOS, apps can
rank in two sub-categories so it is more consistent to choose the larger connection of “Games.”
o 2 Note that when selecting “Games” there is drop¬down allowing you to select sub-categories.
The new methodology used in “Market Size” does account for this. For example, Overall in the new methodology sums up all
unique apps for which we have an estimate in a particular country, device, and month while Games sums includes estimates
for apps that ranked in sub¬categories but never in the Games Parent category.
An example on iOS will illustrate:
App A: Ranked in Games Racing for 30 Days in a particular month
App B: Ranked in Games 1 Day and Games Action for 2 days in the same month
Under the old methodology, App A would not be included in under “Games” in the “Store Stats Country/Category” reports
estimates while App B would be included. Under the new methodology both apps would be included in the Overall Market Size
estimate.
Assignment: Please prepare a communication to the customer explaining the methodology shift as well as reasons for the
shift from two reports (Category Size and Store Stats Category/Country) to one report (Market Size). Feel free to include
a PPT if you feel this would help clients better understand the change. What are some of the questions a customer might
ask?
b.Publicly Available Information Conflicts with App Annie Intelligence
One potential issue with customers can be an application that ranks number one for a long time for which we have no
anchored value (as they are not Analytics users). From time to time, the publishers of these companies may release public
statements that deviate considerably from what we have reported. In cases such as these, we are prepared to restate our
previous estimates and revise our algorithm to be more accurate moving forward.
Assignment: a. Prepare a response to an angry customer who is referring to an article that indicates a significant
difference between our estimates and what the company reported. Keeping in mind that our estimates are for iOS and Google
Play only, net of payments to stores, can you identify potential causes of the discrepancy?
b. Please prepare a pre¬emptive notice to customers indicating we are looking into the issue and plan on releasing the
figures when we have appropriate information and improved estimates with which we are more confident.
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