MobileGroove

Creative fatigue, rising UA costs, AI hype—it’s a lot for today’s app marketing team. But Misha Syrotiuk, Head of Growth at Playvalve, cuts through it with a clear playbook.

Recorded at the MobileGroove Podcast Suite @MAU, powered by Bigabid, this episode dives into why ad-driven studios need tighter creative strategies, how Playvalve balances monetization with player experience, and how AI is helping scale smarter.

No buzzwords. No silver bullets. Just the direction you need to succeed in 2H 2025.

Some careers are planned. Others are built one brave “yes” at a time. Faith Price, Director of UA at DoubleDown Interactive, shares how she spotted the gaps, pitched her own role, and now uses that same mindset to lead teams, test AI tools and explore new growth channels. Recorded at the MobileGroove Podcast Suite @MAU, powered by Bigabid, this episode also dives into Faith’s nonprofit work with Open Arms Giving Network and the deeper meaning behind long-term growth.

What if leading growth wasn’t about doing more—but about doing what actually works?

At Fetch, Abby Patton leads UA as part of a lean, two-person team. But she’s not scaling by stretching thin. She’s scaling by building trust—on her team and with her users.

Abby doesn’t push harder. She listens deeper. She meets people where they are and brings them into the conversation. Whether it’s optimizing performance or tackling tough feedback, her approach is grounded, clear and intentional.

In our Women in Leader(sip) x MobileGroove episode (powered by Xsolla), we talked about value, strategy, and the shift from acquisition-at-all-costs to quality that lasts.

Angela Humphrey started as a junior account manager. Now she leads Growth, Sales and Client Success at YouAppi.

She climbed without code-switching. Pivoted without apology. And brought her Elle Woods energy to every room—owning her value while making space for others to rise.

In our Women in Leader(sip) x MobileGroove series (powered by Xsolla), we talk about what it means to lead without fitting in, give back while you're still growing, and turn being underestimated into your edge.

Angela’s take: “Do it your way—and make space for someone coming up behind you.”

Jess Jackson isn’t just VP of People Ops at CRAFTSMAN+ — she’s the culture architect, coach and “sidekick” who makes sure the team has the space (and support) to do their best work.

She leads with empathy, honesty and accountability—but she’s crystal clear: kindness isn’t avoiding the hard conversations. It’s having them.

In our Women in Leader(sip) x MobileGroove series (powered by Xsolla), Jess shares the leadership lessons that shaped her—and the one truth she stands by:

“You’re not helping someone by holding back. If the world’s going to hit them hard, you owe them honesty.”

That’s Sarah Chafer, who’s lived mobile’s M&A wave from the inside.

Tapjoy. IronSource. Unity. Now Xsolla.

Three acquisitions, four companies, and one powerful truth: you can’t control the chaos, but you can lead through it.

In our latest conversation (part of the Women in Leader(sip) x MobileGroove series powered by Xsolla), we go beyond buzzwords to talk about what it really means to lead through seismic change.

From navigating acquisitions to avoiding stock-option traps, Sarah breaks down what most women don’t get told about leadership, value and showing up when the rules change.

The equity advice every woman needs.

The confidence to walk into the room without apology.

And the strategy to make sure your options are opportunity—not handcuffs.

Fragmented marketing in a privacy-first world demands a full funnel approach. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz reconnects with Avi Das, CRO at Aarki, for an “encore” conversation recorded live at MAU. One year after unveiling Aarki 2.0, the spotlight is where it should be. Marketers are rethinking how UA and retargeting work together, and this episode offers a blueprint for building a new kind of growth engine.

Avi walks through the evolution of Aarki’s Encore platform and how deep neural networks, trained on more than 5 million queries per second, equip marketers to find “invisible needles” in a privacy-constrained haystack and reach high-value users even when identifiers are missing.

From Rovio case studies to SKAN 4 wins, this episode shows why doing it right matters more than doing it fast.

Move beyond buzzwords and get real about how agentic AI and infrastructure-first thinking are changing the rules of modern marketing. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz reconnects with Aman Sareen, CEO of Aarki, to unpack how owning your tech stack (not renting it)reshapes everything from performance to privacy compliance.

Aman shares why building your own data centers pays off, how marketers should rethink retention vs. acquisition, and what it really means to give users meaningful choice. From AI orchestration to “precision blast” campaigns that outperform SMS with 3x ROI, this episode is packed with examples, strategic vision and sharp insight into the tech quietly redefining performance marketing. 👉 If you care about cost efficiency, user privacy, and future-proofing your tech stack, this is a must-hear.

Aman Sareen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asareen/

Aarki: https://www.aarki.com

AI isn’t replacing marketers; it’s becoming their greatest creative ally. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz sits down with Wangxin Li, VP of Decision Science and Global Operations at Aarki, to explore how she’s not just building AI, but reimagining the way marketers collaborate with it. At the heart of this transformation is Encore, Aarki’s full-funnel platform powered by real-time decisioning, deep neural networks and custom generative AI. Wangxin breaks down how Encore slashes creative testing cycles from weeks to just days, boosts campaign performance across UA and retargeting, and functions like an “Iron Man suit for marketers.” It’s all about empowering teams with smarter, real-time decisions and effortless scalability. Tune in to discover how Wangxin and Encore not only improve performance; together they create full-funnel campaigns that truly resonate.

Wangxin Li LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wangxin-li/

Aarki: https://www.aarki.com

What does Mad Max: Furiosa have to do with mobile ad performance? Everything. Michael Akkerman, Chief Business Officer at Digital Turbine, shares how brands are turning blockbuster energy into in-game engagement—driving 35% lift in brand preference and 4x higher interaction rates with ad formats consumers actually want to experience. In this special on-location episode from POSSIBLE in Miami, Akkerman breaks down how brands like H&M, Coca-Cola, and Panda Express are crafting immersive, playable ad campaigns that don't just entertain—they outperform social, deliver intent and redefine what "premium" really means.Michael Akkerman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeakkerman/Digital Turbine - https://www.digitalturbine.com/