How Phiture, a mobile growth consultancy, soared from simple beginnings to industry leaders

Less than five years later, Phiture is one of the leading app marketing companies. It offers highly-specialized services to the world’s best-known brands and is renowned for principle expertise in App Store Optimization (the process of increasing visibility and conversion in key mobile marketplaces to drive organic downloads), CRM and retention, performance marketing and subscription optimization.

Phiture won numerous accolades at the 2019 App Growth Awards, including agency of the year and best retention campaign, and has been recognized for outstanding technological innovation by The Drum and the Braze Torchie Awards. However, managing director Pablo Penny believes reaching 100 employees might be its greatest achievement yet, marking a new chapter in its meteoric journey.

He says: “It’s a fantastic milestone and I’m amazed to see how far we’ve come. We’ve grown organically from 30 employees to 100 in just a few years, with 50 new Phiturians joining us in 2021 alone. I’m inspired by how we’ve managed to build a collaborative, talented and diverse team. Everyone pours their hearts into the company’s success and ensures we deliver excellent services to our clients.”

Industry and client growth

While Penny attributes the company’s success to the drive and talent of the Phiture team, the sharp increase in demand for app marketing expertise also plays a role. Revenues in the app stores surpassed $100bn in 2020, with that figure expected to rise to around $270bn by 2025, according to marketing intelligence tool Sensortower.

Despite Covid-19, Phiture’s experts have adapted to the challenges of the dynamic mobile environment and led the company to its most memorable milestone. Penny says: “Our clients include lots of tech and mobile-first companies, and we’re increasingly adding global brands and household names to our portfolio. The companies we work with seek agile, clear, ROI-driven approaches to their business challenges – and our team always meets their needs head-on with our own data insights and tech innovation.”

Phiture’s holistic, full-funnel approach starts with user acquisition and works in tandem with CRM, retention and monetization, and has become an industry standard.

“Sharing knowledge and educating the teams we work with have always been central to our core values. We’re very transparent when we collaborate with clients –it’s important they grasp the work we do so they can internalize the practices and fully understand the impact on their business.”

Penny attributes much of the success to its talented staff, and feels lucky to be part of one of the top destinations for ambitious mobile practitioners.

“Having fantastic international talent is invaluable for us. We have representatives from 41 different nations, which has helped us gain a more nuanced understanding of our global portfolio of brands and apps.”

Future milestones

When asked what’s next for Phiture, Penny asserts the company is set on building the world’s biggest mobile growth consultancy and becoming the dominant market player.

“We want to establish a foothold in key regions and become a truly global consultancy. We’ll be opening offices in Asia, the US and other major European capitals and growing to several hundred employees in the coming years. But our number-one priority will continue to be investing in our talent pool to develop the next generation of leaders in the industry, being home to the best and brightest.”