As we move from a mobile-first world to a mobile-only world, brands are betting on it as the key to winning in 2025 and beyond. To help meet rising brand demand for strategic app marketing services, NP Digital has acquired Yodel Mobile, a top U.K.-based mobile app marketing agency and 2024 App Growth Awards winner.
The move is a direct response to how users consume content today—and what brands expect will drive performance tomorrow.
Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are reallocating budgets. Mobile-first strategies are now the foundation of marketing versus a line item. Gen Z lives on their phones, and mobile conversion rates now outperform desktop across many verticals.
This acquisition puts NP Digital at the center of that shift, with deeper mobile capabilities and a stronger global presence.
Key Takeaways
- NP Digital’s acquisition of Yodel Mobile adds elite mobile app marketing talent and doubles the size of its London team.
- Yodel’s services include app store optimization (ASO), user acquisition, and full-funnel mobile growth strategy.
- Consumers, especially Gen Z, are spending more time in apps and expect hyper-personalized experiences.
- Mobile apps convert better than mobile web, giving brands a higher return on investment (ROI) and deeper engagement.
- CMOs are investing in mobile-first performance strategies, pushing agencies to lead across every screen.
Table of Contents
- Key Takeaways
- What Is Yodel Mobile, and Why Did NP Digital Acquire It?
- Why Mobile App Marketing Is So Important for Digital Marketing Agencies
- Moving Forward With Yodel Mobile
- FAQs
- Conclusion
What Is Yodel Mobile, and Why Did NP Digital Acquire It?
Yodel Mobile isn’t new to the game. It’s been driving app growth for brands like Tinder, B&Q, and UKTV since its founding in 2007. Yodel’s expertise lies in helping companies launch and scale apps with precision. That means ASO, user acquisition, retention frameworks, and the kind of consultative guidance most agencies can’t offer at scale.
NP Digital’s acquisition brings that firepower in-house.
The goal? To deliver deeper, faster mobile wins for clients. This means full alignment between web and app strategies, something many brands are now demanding as users shift platforms mid-journey.
This also isn’t NP Digital’s first acquisition. Yodel follows recent expansions into Canada and Asia-Pacific through strategic acquisitions. But it’s the clearest signal yet that NP Digital is prioritizing mobile performance as a core offering (and not just an add-on).
Why Mobile App Marketing Is So Important for Digital Marketing Agencies
Mobile isn’t just another channel. It’s the front door for millions of users and, increasingly, where the entire customer journey plays out. To understand why mobile app marketing is now a core focus for digital strategy, let’s break down the key drivers of this shift.
Gen Z Lives in Mobile Apps
Surfing the web isn’t how Gen Z consumes mobile content. Instead, they’re practically living in apps. A staggering 98 percent of Gen Zers own a smartphone, and more than 1 in 3 spend over five hours a day on mobile apps.
That time equals attention—and attention fuels conversions.
Your website still matters, but you’re missing the generation that’s setting trends and driving spend if you’re not investing in mobile app strategy.
Mobile Apps Convert Better—and the Gap Is Growing
Mobile app users are more likely to convert than mobile web visitors. One study found mobile apps drive conversion rates 157 percent higher than mobile websites.
Why? Apps offer faster load times, better personalization, and smoother checkouts. That adds up, especially in segments like retail, finance, and health.
You’re leaving revenue on the table if your growth plan doesn’t include a mobile app strategy.
CMOs Are Demanding Mobile-First Campaigns
In boardrooms everywhere, mobile has graduated from buzzword to budget category. More CMOs are pulling dollars from traditional channels and placing bets on mobile-first execution.
From paid user acquisition to deep-funnel re-engagement, brands want their media and creative aligned across mobile touchpoints. That requires a partner with in-house mobile expertise—not one outsourcing ASO or scrambling for app analytics insights.
Yodel brings that in spades, and now it’s part of NP Digital’s core offering.
Market Shifts Are Fueling App Demand
People spend more than 100 billion hours on mobile apps each year. On top of that, consumers are spending more time in-app than ever before. That trend shows no signs of slowing.
Mobile is now the fastest-growing digital marketing segment. Whether it’s e-commerce, travel, or finance, brands are realizing that real engagement happens inside apps, not around them.
ASO Is the New SEO
App stores are search engines with their own algorithms. Ranking high in the App Store or Google Play includes downloads, discoverability, relevance, and retention. That’s where app store optimization comes in.
ASO impacts everything from first impressions to install rates. It also requires different thinking from traditional SEO. Yodel’s team brings this expertise into NP Digital, creating a more seamless cross-channel approach.
Global Reach Needs Mobile Flexibility
Markets like Latin America (LATAM), Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) are seeing mobile usage leapfrog desktop. This makes mobile apps the default entry point for brands expanding into new regions.
With Yodel in the mix, NP Digital is better equipped to build mobile-first strategies across verticals—finance, wellness, hospitality, education, and more. Meeting users where they are with localized campaigns, culturally relevant user experiences (UX), and multilingual app content is no longer niche. It’s a must.
Moving Forward With Yodel Mobile
Since the beginning of 2024, NP Digital has announced three major international acquisitions: SearchGuru in Asia-Pacific, REBL House in Canada, and now Yodel Mobile in the U.K. Every move was deliberate. Each filled a capability gap. And all of them together point to a single, focused goal: building the most comprehensive, performance-driven digital marketing network on the planet.
Yodel’s deep specialization in mobile app growth, from ASO to lifecycle engagement, is now integrated directly into NP Digital’s core services. For existing clients, this means more mobile horsepower and smoother omnichannel execution. For potential clients, it means a global agency with specialized teams ready to activate across web and app campaigns, from L.A. to London to Kuala Lumpur.
Yodel also doubles NP Digital’s London office, reinforcing its presence across EMEA and giving brands in Europe greater access to high-impact mobile solutions without sacrificing local nuance or speed.
Mark Fagan, Managing Director of NP Digital EMEA, said it best:
“Yodel and NP Digital’s coming together reinforces our dedication to helping clients meet consumer needs as they navigate this AI-influenced world of digital marketing.”
Mobile is no longer a silo, and your agency shouldn’t treat it like one.
FAQs
Why did NP Digital acquire Yodel Mobile?
To add deeper mobile app marketing capabilities and meet growing demand from clients for app-first strategies.
What is Yodel Mobile best known for?
Its award-winning work in app store optimization (ASO), user acquisition, and scalable mobile growth.
How does this benefit existing NP Digital clients?
Clients now have access to mobile app expertise under the same roof—helping bridge gaps between mobile web, app strategy, and performance campaigns.
Conclusion
Mobile-first has shifted from a trend to the baseline for growth, and brands that don’t adapt will fall behind.
With Yodel Mobile now part of NP Digital, clients get best-in-class mobile performance strategies under one roof. That means tighter alignment, faster wins, and better results, no matter what screen your customer is on.
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