Breaking Design Patterns and Annoying your Dev can Still Lead to Success
Creating a custom Android Smart Banner increased engagement despite a disagreement over implementation.
Fullscreen - Custom Android Deep Link Banner
Company: Fullscreen
Product: SVOD - Android and iOS
Project: Android Custom Smart Banner and Universal Links
Opportunity
Back in 2016, Android did not have native support for a Smart Banner as iOS did, and so we saw low installation rates from our Android device users from mobile web to the Android Fullscreen app. The iOS Smart Banner was helping iOS to pace at 15% more installations than Android. We were also observing that native app engagement (minutes/unique) on iOS and Android was 83% higher than on desktop so there was a clear opportunity to improve this metric if we could get more Android users on the app.
Example: Netflix - iOS Smart Banner
Example: Bands in Town - Custom Deep Link Banner
Example: Netflix - iOS Facebook App Link Dialogue
Solution
Much to the chagrin of the web developer (an Android user) who worked on this project, we implemented a custom Android “Smart Banner” work-around leveraging deep-links/app links. His reticence was derived from the perspective that we were creating an unorthodox user pattern in the face of Android Material Design best practices. He didn’t agree with me and begrudgingly developed it.
In the same project, we also augmented our iOS native app engagement from all browsers through universal links, and implemented Facebook App Links for iOS and Android much like our competitors.
NOTE! Android recently got hip to the situation and now supports this functionality even more gracefully than iOS, Yay for us!
Result
The email below from our BI team aptly demonstrates the lift we saw. “There was an 8% improvement in Day 1 activations for Android mobile web... which was activating 50% signups [and] it’s now at 72%!”
A side benefit we discovered after the fact helped our Email Marketing colleague with her email campaigns. Now when recipients clicked on links within the emails, they would seamlessly be directed to the promoted content.
Takeaways
When doing a deep linking project it’s important to take stock of all the channels your company is using to drive people to your native app... from email marketing to push notifications to social posts.
While not ideal, developers aren’t always going to agree with you and it’s ok. Just like the professionalism with which you approach a project that you think is a bad idea, it’s a fair expectation to have a developer respect your decision. Disagreement is fine. Being sour is not. I internalized his bad attitude as a reflection of something I had done wrong, so when it was successful, I gloated in redemption. That was a mistake. Looking back, I wish I had spoken frankly with him about his behavior and nipped that shit in the bud. And if that didn’t work, tell his manager about it.
Sometimes platforms won’t have the tools and format to support the innovation seen on other platforms. It’s ok to take this design risk and bend the rules sometimes! It’s just a test!