AVOW aims to make India a regional hub for APAC in mobile OEM space: Ashwin Shekhar
In conversation with Adgully, Ashwin Shekhar, Co-Founder and CRO, AVOW, speaks about the growth of mobile OEM advertising in India in the last few years, the trends, challenges, opportunities in the mobile OEM advertising space at present, the trends dominating the space in 2025, how the sectors such as travel, fintech, Q-commerce, e-commerce businesses are growing rapidly because of the role played by mobile OEM advertising. He also hares his observations on the consumer behavioral patterns across these sectors and how it is assisting app developers and digital marketers to understand the market dynamics and timing for effective advertising and more.
Could you shed light on the growth of mobile OEM advertising in India over the years?
India is an Android-heavy market, whose dominant market share stands at 95.73% as of September 2024. This in turn has helped the alternate app stores of major players such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Vivo, Transsion, and Oppo and their app stores Samsung Galaxy Store, Xiaomi GetApps store, or Vivo V-App Store, Oppo Store to come to the forefront as lucrative options for marketers to harness.
Parallel to the above scenario, in the last few years, app developers have been facing increasing constraints due to the duopoly of Google and Apple, which limits their freedom of choice. As of early 2024, the Google Play Store was hosting approximately 2.3 million apps versus over 2 million apps on the Apple App Store. Together, these two platforms wield immense influence over app distribution.
Mobile OEM advertising platforms are emerging as a lucrative and effective alternative to traditional app stores. Mobile OEMs providing dedicated app stores (along with their own ad inventory, and ad units) are actively challenging the dominance of Google and Apple. This shift offers developers and brands innovative ways to drive app installs and conversions outside traditional search and social media channels. India’s app market continues to grow, with 26.4 billion app downloads recorded in 2023.
Countries like India and key markets in Southeast Asia are fostering a more balanced ecosystem that benefits app developers.
What are the trends, challenges, opportunities in the mobile OEM advertising space in India currently and what are the trends that will dominate the space in 2025?
The mobile app economy continues to expand rapidly, fueled by growing smartphone and tablet adoption, app-based services, and digital transformation. As of early 2024, India recorded 1.12 billion active mobile connections – covering 78% of the population (Source: DataReportal). Notably, in India, 26.4 billion apps were downloaded in 2023. The Indian mobile app landscape in 2024 reflects a high degree of user engagement. On average, smartphone users in the country engage with 10 apps daily and use around 30 apps each month. India is steadily climbing the global mobile engagement ranks and is currently 6th globally. This trend could very soon see India entering the top 3 of those ranks as mobile ubiquity becomes the norm.
Evidently, the mobile app landscape has become increasingly saturated and highly competitive. As a result, marketers must get creative and come up with an innovative marketing mix to stay ahead of the competition and attract new users. Mobile OEMs like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Realme, which command over 62% of India’s market share, are helping brands penetrate diverse markets across Asia, EMEA, and LATAM. Their on-device ad inventory enables seamless advertising beyond traditional app stores. Mobile OEMs also offer flexible CPI pricing, avoiding the rigid cost structures of Google and Facebook, and guarantee fraud-free user acquisition through direct app distribution.
App developers and marketers can benefit from advanced appographic targeting, privacy-compliant tools like OAID, and dynamic preload campaigns, which place their apps directly on new devices to boost visibility and organic rankings. Integration with leading attribution platforms allows real-time campaign optimization, while OEM app stores provide developers the freedom to select payment solutions and automate app updates across stores. This ecosystem not only reduces marketing costs but also enhances reach, engagement, and monetization opportunities for brands.
How are the sectors such as travel, fintech, Q-commerce, e-commerce businesses growing rapidly because of the role played by mobile OEM advertising?
These sectors have anyhow been growing due to multiple factors but mobile OEM advertising has certainly given a push to its growth.
While the travel sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.93% and reach $43.74 million by 2029, Fintech has been growing at an unprecedented growth rate of over 30% estimated to reach $421.48 billion (2029) from $111.14 billion (2024). India’s e-commerce market is poised to reach $100 billion (2024) and $350 billion (2030), according to IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).
India’s rapid expansion in smartphone penetration has cultivated a distinct and dynamic app ecosystem. Unlike other regions, Indian apps often cater to specific niches and offer innovative solutions. The country’s affordable mobile data has further accelerated the adoption of apps for diverse purposes, including quick commerce, content consumption on OTT, and more. India’s advancements in infrastructure and last-mile delivery have further supported the growth of app-based services.
AVOW is working closely with prominent market players from these sectors, helping them maximize the output from their mobile OEM advertising efforts. By collaborating with mobile OEMs and leveraging advanced targeting capabilities, AVOW is assisting brands in reaching specific user segments, whether it's high-spending consumers for quick commerce apps or potential drivers for delivery services. This tailored approach is empowering app developers to effectively expand their user base and broaden their reach within the competitive Indian market.
Could you share your observations on the consumer behavioral patterns across these sectors and how it is assisting app developers and digital marketers to comprehend the market dynamics and timing for effective advertising?
Let’s take Fintech as an example. The rapid adoption of fintech apps in India reveals a young, tech-savvy audience. An audience that prefers mobile-first solutions that provide quick, flexible financial services, including cryptocurrencies and trading apps. India also has the highest crypto adoption rate in the world. Put all of those together, and what you have is a market ripe for the picking and a channel that lets you tap into your preferred audience.
It is the same for e-commerce. 60% of Indian shoppers don’t just prefer shopping online but specifically prefer using apps to shop online. Consumers are drawn to personalization and instant access to deals, especially around shopping seasons and festivals such as Diwali and Black Friday. Through mobile OEM partnerships, e-commerce brands can push tailored promotions and exclusive offers directly to users' devices, meeting demand peaks and maintaining brand visibility. OEM app stores robust targeting features enhance engagement, allowing marketers to tap into cultural shopping trends and improve campaign timing and effectiveness.
With Dynamic Product Ads, e-commerce and q-commerce brands can take advantage of OEMs’ latest innovations. Combining OEMs’ comprehensive targeting features with Dynamic, on-demand, and real-time advertising, brands can not only target relevant users, but can also show the most relevant products to those users in real-time, all with the up-to-date offer and pricing information.
As consumer behaviours and market trends evolve, so will mobile OEM’s advertising offerings. Having the right partners who understand the shifting mobile advertising landscape and local consumer behaviours can make all the difference in staying ahead of the curve.
How have the unique advantages of mobile OEM advertising been a game changer for brands?
As mentioned earlier, brands have to deal with the limitations when their marketing mix largely focuses on Google and/or Facebook. Against this scenario, Mobile OEM advertising by leveraging alternative app stores offers several advantages for brands, including access to previously untapped audiences, targeted reach, increased visibility, cost-effectiveness, a fraud-free environment, and dynamic preloads which lends them an edge by being one of the first apps on a new device.
These factors make mobile OEM advertising a valuable addition to the marketing strategies of brands seeking to boost user acquisition, and engagement and expand into new territories. But as always, the proof is in the pudding, and the advantages of mobile OEM advertising can be summed up with the success our clients have enjoyed with us and mobile OEMs. One e-commerce client saw user growth of 30% quarter-over-quarter, while another e-commerce client saw their average basket size increase by 25%. A fintech client saw their installs increase by a whopping 170%. In contrast, a gaming client managed to expand their audience to over 30 countries, reaching a huge untapped audience previously inaccessible to them. In short, mobile OEM advertising is and will continue to be a game changer for brands moving forward. And the best part is that any brand, from any vertical, can enjoy success with mobile OEMs.
What sets AVOW apart from its competitors and how is it helping advertisers to discover new audiences?
AVOW provides a distinctive solution for mobile OEM aggregation that enhances app discovery across alternative app stores leading to a higher return on advertising spend (ROAS). This allows app developers and mobile marketers to engage with a previously untapped user base that is inaccessible through SDK networks, social media, or search. Our exceptional growth is fueled by our greater and better access to the latent user base and a strong customer-centric approach. Our competitive edge stems from our team of mobile OEM experts, a strong relationship with mobile OEMs that has grown over the years and garnering their accolades through various awards and recognitions, as well as a strong commitment to meeting advertisers’ growth needs.
These offerings make up our special value proposition for the market:
- Access to 1.5+ billion daily active users (DAU)
- Risk-free CPI inventory to begin with
- Complete transparency and control over traffic
- Premium ad placements and latest targeting options in alternative app stores
- 100% Fraud Free Ad Units, as confirmed by major MMPs
- Optimized real-time enhanced engagement levels
The strategic collaboration between AVOW and KYLN empowers us to provide a comprehensive solution that seamlessly delivers both app distribution and user acquisition services. This distinctive blend positions us uniquely within the mobile industry landscape. Through our proprietary technology AVOW Intelligence, we offer a unified view of media inventory across premium mobile OEMs, in one platform. This allows us to provide clients with a competitive advantage when running user acquisition campaigns on alternative app stores.
How has the year 2024 been for AVOW. What are the growth targets and focus areas for 2025-26? What are the global expansion plans of AVOW and its team size?
The year 2024 has been remarkable for us. Starting in late 2023 and early this year, we expanded our global leadership team by welcoming industry veterans like Melissa Bohlsen as CMO and Guenole Le Gall as VP of Revenue to accelerate the company's growth and success. We solidified our strong presence in major global markets including India, Indonesia, the USA, the UK, Vietnam, Brazil, Korea, the Philippines, France, and Turkey and as of today are well poised to address the growing needs of our clients in the coming year.
Our innovative solutions and strategic partnerships also played an integral role in our growth. On the partnership front, we signed an agreement with Samsung and further strengthened our partnership with Huawei in the first half of the year. Earlier in May 2024, AVOW jointly formed KYLN (formerly GameBake) - a premium multi-channel distribution platform (SaaS) for game app developers.
In India, we see significant potential in sectors such as travel, fintech, mobility, OTT, e-commerce, and Q-commerce to leverage mobile OEM advertising within the larger marketing mix. We will enhance our India and global teams as we grow our client portfolio across key geographies.
What role does India play in AVOW’s global business operations?
At AVOW, we prioritize human capital and technology-driven solutions. India is the biggest market outside Germany. Our aim is to establish India as a regional hub for Southeast Asia and the APAC region, expanding our operations with a diverse team across sales, operations, account management, and HR.
How has the journey of AVOW been in India so far and the key milestones on its journey? What is the marketing/ media mix strategy of AVOW?
AVOW has achieved exponential growth over the past six years, becoming a leader in the mobile OEM marketing space. It is the only company with exclusive partnerships across all major OEMs, including Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, Transsion, and Vivo, which together account for over 62% of the Indian market.
In a rapidly evolving market like India, we have fostered partnerships with industry giants such as Amazon Shopping, Navi, Coinswitch, Swiggy, Pizza Hut, KFC, Zupee, and My11 Circle, among others, to drive significant user growth and engagement for their mobile apps. We have achieved a notable 30% increase in partnerships within the Indian market over the past three years. Our competent and passionate servicing team, committed to working as an extension of clients’ internal growth teams, provides end-to-end support for app launches and user acquisition campaigns.
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