4 ways to overcome the great (mobile app) wall of China

With 725 million mobile users, China is an extremely exciting market for app developers and marketers. According to digital advertising platform Smaato, China saw a 90 percent growth in mobile ad spend between Q1 2016 and Q1 2017, the highest rate in the world.

That said, it’s important to understand that all things mobile work quite differently in China than the rest of the world, with one-of-a-kind challenges and huge opportunities. For any businesses looking to enter the country this year, take note of the following tips.

A different Android animal

While iOS works more or less the same way in China as elsewhere, Android is far more complex.

In China, Android has over 300 different app stores and traffic sources, as opposed to the more standardized Google Play. App developers then need to generate different app install files (Android Package Kit or APK) and set up custom events for each store. It is relatively easy to modify a single piece of code, but it is still a lot of work—much more work than marketers and app developers would experience in other markets.

Globally, the store is the point of sale and the media stands as marketing catalyst. In China, however, each app store drives all of its own marketing activities.

Releasing to a single app store is not an option–unless the app has a strong brand–as they lack reach.

Hands on

As foreigners, launching campaigns in China is a challenging endeavor due to the language barrier, cultural differences, and a complex ecosystem. So, here’s how you can up your chances of experiencing early success.

1. Find the right local partner

The first step begins with finding a reliable local agency to work with. These agencies include but not limited to:

• Local companies that can handle the complex Android market and manage Android package updates
• Experienced media buying companies
• Local media sources (build direct connections with media giants such as Tencent and Baidu)
• For gaming apps, agencies that specialize in gaming that can take care of ongoing optimization, local integration, and bureaucracies (you may partner up via a revenue-sharing model)

2. Overcome bureaucracy

Non-gaming apps do not require pre-evaluation other than the standard app store screening. However, due to the rampant game piracy in the country, Chinese authorities are very strict when it comes to releasing new gaming apps.

This is what you will need to do to launch an iOS/Android game in China:

• Set up a local entity.
• Fill out the required forms.
• Load your game onto a smartphone and send it to the authorities.
• If mobile content is found to be appropriate for Chinese citizens, the game will be issued a publication number.