Q&A with Scott

This Q&A reflects Scott's time as Head of Marketing Partnerships at Rappi. Currently, Scott is Head of Growth Marketing at Audiomack.

Scott Kepnach has been working in mobile growth since 2006, starting at Universal Music Group then moving on to top gaming companies Glu and Zynga. Scott’s experience includes managing teams of up to 20+, and working at early-stage start-ups including SwiftKey (acquired by Microsoft) and Drivemode (acquired by Honda). After 14 years working in mobile growth, Scott currently leads marketing and partnerships at Latin America's largest on-demand delivery platform, Rappi.

In your own words, tell us about the apps that you manage?

I manage all strategic marketing partnerships for the on-demand food, drink, and grocery delivery app, Rappi. I build strategic marketing customer acquisition plans and partnerships with top tech companies such as Snapchat, Twitter, Apple Search Ads, Reddit, Pinterest, Waze, Spotify, Twitch, Tik Tok, Facebook, Google, and many others.

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How did you get started in mobile marketing?

I was hired just out of Rutgers University to manage the emerging mobile strategy for Universal Music Group, leading the strategy for mobile content such as ringtones, wallpapers, mobile videos, artist mobile subscriber lists, and development of apps for top UMG artists such as Lil Wayne, Taylor Swift, Jack Johnson, Drake, and many others.

What do you like most about mobile marketing?

The speed in which innovation and evolution is constantly changing. As a marketer I am constantly adapting and adopting new strategies for mobile growth while being at the cutting edge of new technologies in the mobile marketing space.

What does it take to succeed in mobile marketing?

A positive attitude and desire to adapt to change are essential, as well as an inherent competitive and data-driven nature to constantly be looking for new ways, methods, and tactics to tackle the rapid changes in the industry.

What strategies work best to convert installs into engaged app users?

Engaging creative that speaks to your core user base in ways that will exemplify to them how your product will enrich their lives for the better, coupled with smart targeting strategies to identify your audience, are the key ingredients.

In the past year, what is one tip you can share which made the biggest performance difference for your UA strategy?

Being a thought leader at my company to ensure that consumer insights and methodology for understanding user behavior, desires, and needs are being met not only with our marketing strategy, but also within other areas of the company. This will help us prioritize a product roadmap that further contributes to our users' lives in a positive way.

What advice can you offer marketers to successfully re-engage mobile app users?

I would suggest speaking to your users regularly to understand how your app positively impacts their lives. This can include one-to-one communication with them, deploying surveys to find out more about what they value, A/B testing messaging and creative, and conducting focus groups. You want to develop a grounded and compassionate understanding of your user base, and thus know how to extend a consumer's lifecycle and increase retention for your app.

What’s your top tip when it comes to mobile ad creative?

As mentioned before, you should always inform the development of your ad creative by rooting in consumer feedback, both with data to back up your hypotheses, but also through qualitative measures such as consumer insights that can help develop your voice and brand that is consistent with the creative you are deploying in your marketing campaigns.

What advice can you offer to help marketers combat mobile ad fraud?

Develop strong partnership with data analysts and product teams in your organization. You need them to build a strict and robust process and methodology for analyzing campaigns to quickly identify fraudulent behavior in each of your marketing campaigns and the partners you work with.

What is your go-to resource for keeping up with the mobile ad tech industry?

I am in various Slack groups with mobile marketing professionals where we share information and support each other when we have questions or need assistance with a particular campaign, strategy, or partner, and I also read the Mobile Heroes and Mobile Dev Memo blogs regularly.


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