Here is an analysis of the global non-gaming App user acquisition marketing trends for August 2024, based on ad data from 50 countries/regions and 28 global media platforms, according to AppGrowing's report.
In August 2024, the top three app categories in terms of app share in global ad placements remained Shopping, Finance, and Tools, consistent with July's data.
The top three newly placed apps for the month were in the Business, Food & Drink, and Health & Fitness categories, reflecting the continued activity of niche products in the "new arrivals" trend.
In terms of ad volume, Shopping maintained a clear lead, with ad volume surging to 4 million, further widening the gap with other categories. The number of de-duplicated creative assets reached nearly 2 million, also ranking the highest.
Entertainment ranked second in ad volume, followed by Tools in third place.
Regarding the distribution of creative formats and video length, the proportion of image-based creatives further increased this month, exceeding 60%. Video content shorter than 15 seconds remained dominant, accounting for 42.86%, consistent with July’s distribution.
According to AppGrowing, in the Top 30 list of overseas app developers by ad placements in August, the top three were TEMU , Particle Media, and Roadget Business PTE..
Overall, most of the developers in the rankings are familiar names, highlighting the solidified head positions in the global app advertising market.
This month, 12 Chinese developers made it onto the list, down by 3 from July. Notably, two developer accounts under Alibaba ranked in the Top 30.
Looking at the Top 30 apps by ad placement, Shopping and short drama apps dominated the top five, with TEMU maintaining its first-place position, seeing a significant 174.22% month-over-month increase in ad volume.
Health & Fitness apps were also active in placements this period. The American health app Orangetheory Fitness continued to grow its ad volume, breaking into the Top 15, while BetterMe: Health Coaching saw a staggering 415.1% increase in ad volume, making it into the Top 30.
For this edition, AppGrowing selected Social + Voice Chat Room, Tool, Short Drama, and AI + Companion as the four main categories to focus on.
Talkie AI: Chat With Character was the standout app in this ranking, securing the top spot for both "Social + Voice Chat Room" and "AI + Companion" placements. AppGrowing had previously analyzed this product.
Talkie, developed by the domestic AI large model company Minimax, aims to lower the user onboarding barrier. Through AI, it allows users to create characters with one click, from appearance to various character details, enabling new users to quickly enjoy personalized AI conversations.
Recently, AppGrowing launched a secondary AI application label filter function, offering more detailed insights into the competitive landscape of global AI apps across different markets and sectors.
Users can gain targeted insights into specific categories or compare competition across multiple dimensions, providing a more comprehensive understanding of trends in the overseas AI app market, aiding in crafting better global strategies.
The Tools category rankings primarily featured apps for phone cleaning or wallpaper downloads, with some leveraging AI as a selling point, such as 4K AI Dynamic Live Wallpaper, which ranked sixth.
In the Short Drama category, familiar Chinese developers dominated, with CRATER PTE. LTD.’s Dreameshort securing third place.
This month's report introduced the new "Google Play Download Rankings," providing reference data from store downloads. This ranking feature is now available on AppGrowing, offering filtering options based on period downloads, ad volume, and month-over-month download changes.
Now, let’s look at the Google Play Download Rankings for this period. The TOP15 in terms of period downloads were largely occupied by apps from major developers, with Google products taking up all top 10 spots.
In terms of month-over-month change, the TOP15 saw more Tools apps ranking, with Spin The Wheel Random Roulette taking first place.
AnyDoor: Diverse AI Worlds is a new “AI + Companion” app launched by ByteDance this year. It represents ByteDance’s latest exploration in the AI niche after Cici and PicPic.
Simply put, AnyDoor focuses on “chatting with virtual AI characters,” blending short drama content with social scenarios to provide users with more personalized emotional value.
According to AppGrowing, this app maintained a steady ad placement volume in August, averaging over 1,200 sets of ads per day, though the volume declined slightly towards the end of the month.
Regarding creative content, AnyDoor’s ads focus on showcasing the app’s features and selling points, emphasizing its variety of virtual characters and conversations. To mitigate user fatigue from ad content, AnyDoor uses internet memes and short-video elements to enhance appeal.
For example, in one set of creatives, a popular “cat meme” and related emojis were used to attract younger users. The video starts with a “shocked cat” image paired with questioning text to quickly capture user interest, followed by App use demonstrations and content displays, with cat meme emojis inserted to add a fun element.
