I decided to open this newsletter with the reality that right now, the world can feel a little shaky—from inflation pressures and shifting consumer spending to global trade tensions and economic uncertainty. It’s not just affecting households; it’s putting pressure on how businesses grow, spend, and connect with audiences.

That’s exactly why MAU Vegas is a must-attend this year. It’s where mobile leaders come together to share what’s working and build resilient growth strategies. When everything’s in motion—you need more than a Slack thread or a trend report. You need to be in the room where real solutions are being built, real discussions can shape your outlook, and build connections with your peers. MAU isn’t just a conference—it’s your competitive edge. So register today if you're one of the few who hasn't yet!

This year we asked an important question...what’s your primary reason for attending MAU and the results are in!

#1 NETWORKING

The biggest reason people attend MAU is the networking, so I’ll share highlights of what’s different this year to maximize your experience (even the badges are redesigned to make it easier for you to know who you’re talking to).

Download the MAU app to start connecting, setup your schedule and set those meetings!

Pre-Expo Day Highlights, Tuesday, May 20th

The 1:1 Education Meeting Zone is new this year, so you can book meetings through the app on Tuesday, May 20th before the Expo Hall is open. Don’t limit who you’re meeting with. This is the best opportunity to connect with peers or discover new product capabilities with solution providers.

MAU Clubhouse is your VIP lounge to enjoy comfortable surroundings, breakfast, lunch and snacks and specialty roundtables to energize you throughout the day. Add this to your pass during registration. Already registered? Contact info@mauvegas.com if you’d like to add this. Thanks to Yodel Mobile - App Marketing Agency of the Year for being the coffee sponsor!

The Women’s Forum is back, and with multiple roundtable topics and a fireside chat, this event always sets the stage for incredible discovery, candid conversations and real connections with topics led by Nicole Bansal Sonia Lent Gisele Lores, MBA Sara Malo Leah Marks Amber Paul-Ferris Danielle Raybuck MBA 🌟 and Nancy Roberts. As always, all allies of women in tech are welcome to attend. Many thanks to AppsFlyer as our sponsor, and LinkUnite as our official supporter.

The Opening Moves Party will be hosted at the MGM Grand Producer’s Pool from 4-6pm on Tuesday, May 20. Do not miss the opportunity to launch into conversations and jumpstart your MAU experience. Thanks to Google Ad services StackAdapt and Yango for being our sponsors!

MAU Week was recently launched to highlight events taking place after hours. Have a Topgolf fix? Join Reddit, Inc. after the Opening Moves Party to keep the conversations going. Space is limited to 150 guests, so request your invite!

Wednesday, May 21

First timers can start their day with an exclusive tour including how to locate the conference area, Expo hall, sponsor meeting rooms, MGM Grand Pool complex featuring our Cabanas and MGM SKYLOFT access. Remember, all these areas, plus all MAU programs, require a badge and wristband for access.

Following the incredible sessions in the morning on the Main Stage (I’ll get to those later), head to the Expo Hall at 11am for a reimagined show floor…and grab lunch!

Founders House is a new destination for Founders, Investors and Startups to hold 1:1 meetings. Over 300 Founders are registered to attend MAU!

And now we have Office Hours with evelinherrera.com. Evelin’s Apps & Games M&A Firm, EVHM, represents 150+ mobile deals chasing million-dollar exits, linking founders to 40+ PE firms and 8-figure investors. Join her Office Hours at MAU to master scaling and deal-making. She'll be available for 1:1 open questions and answers from 1-4pm (and again from 12-2 on May 22).

MAU Plaza is home to our meetups and mic drops each day. Meetups are designed to foster conversations with like groups.

MAU will host a happy hour in the Expo Hall, but if you’re looking for an event for Founders, join ACT | The App Association for a meetup at Founders House from 4:30 – 6pm.

And MAU Week is back. This time we’re highlighting The Afters. It’s not the official party, it’s the unofficial can’t-miss afterparty at Encore Beach Nightclub beginning at 10:30pm. Free to get in. Loud by design. This year MAU is a proud supporter. RSVP today and join MAU Vegas, Adikteev , CRAFTSMAN+ and Verve for one epic night.

The Afters featuring DJ Hugel at Encore Beach Club

Thursday, May 22

Are you more zen than bender? Join us for a Morning Reset: Yoga at MAU Vegas followed by a Roundtable: Mental Health in the Age of Always-On Marketing. If you're planning to do yoga, be sure to add it to your schedule so we have enough yoga mats on hand!

New this year, we’re excited to bring you a brunch experience, sponsored by MoEngage and Verve.

Never enough female bonding? We are pleased to host Women in Leader(sip) beginning at 11am. Over 75 people have already RSVPd. Featuring stimulating talks with Tiffany Flores, Sumee Oh, Ngozi Ogbonna (Morgan), Beth Berger, Olivia Barnett and Maulana Moore, plus activations including a Blowout Bar, gift suite, live podcast by Peggy Anne Salz and more, be sure to RSVP for this event proudly supported by MAU, and now in the MAU conference area located in the beautifully designed MAU Clubhouse. Plus, mark your calendar to join us at 2:25pm when Women in Leader(sip) and MAU Vegas both pledge a donation to Girls Inc.

Close the show (including new earlier hours and location) at our (K)NIGHT of Illusion Wrap Party now at Hakkasan from 6pm – 8pm. We'll wow the crowd, with special thanks to our sponsor, AppsFlyer.

WINDED YET? I HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN TO THE #2 REASON TO ATTEND – LEARNING!

We are proud to welcome 100 speakers to MAU Vegas this year over 4 new tracks, all dedicated to check the learning boxes for the diverse group of app practitioners at MAU Vegas (Slow clap for the MAU Vegas content team).

Who's really registered for MAU Vegas
 

Main Stage: We have a killer lineup this year, not to miss beginning at 8:30am.

Breaking news – the CMO of Scopely is confirmed to keynote MAU with his go-to-market strategy for MONOPOLY GO! Standby for an official announcement and full description!!!

Nicole Weiss VP of Marketing, PEOPLE app, talking about appealing to Gen Z with the wonderful Hannah Parvaz of @aperture ✓

How the rise of the independent app ecosystem—powered by AI and transparency—is unlocking incremental growth opportunities with Moloco ✓

CRM re-evaluated in a conversation about lifecycle management, agentic AI, and growth with the Paul Meinshausen CEO & Cofounder of Aampe, and Emmanuelle Paput Arrault VP of CRM at Deezer ✓

A state of subscription apps interactive Game Show with RevenueCat ✓

Practical conversations about leveraging AI to grow your business - from creative and campaign optimization to instant analysis, to operational agility with the Andrey K. CEO of Adjust ✓

Here are other great takeaways from session descriptions at MAU…my favorites include sessions that tackle the following challenges and address strategies for...

• Repeat customers and retention are far more important factors when it comes to building a stable business, especially in rocky economic times
• Rewardedadvertising is exploding in 2025
• Proven strategies for launching a web2app funnel
• Blueprint for structuring your team, optimizing spend, and staying ahead
• Unconventional approach to paywall optimization
• User-generated content (UGC) with variations and rapid testing
• What happened? In all likelihood, you pissed off your audience
• Build and implement a comprehensive brand health tracking system across disconnected touchpoints in a privacy-first digital landscape
• 10 patterns of viral videos learned from over 200 million views and coaching over 100 creators
• Leveraging the power of CTV
• AI, AI, AI!!! Here are just a few samples from sessions
• AI Agent Experiments for Mobile App Growth
• How the role of the marketing team is changing with the introduction of AI agents
• An AI toolkit that supercharges development, design, and growth
• Can AI actors outperform UGC creators and be an evergreen solution
• Moving beyond SKAN limitations
• From tech testing through worldwide launch
• Why ASO creative best practice and A/B testing screenshots for local markets are crucial to successful conversion improvement
• Retail Media is now called the third wave of advertising growth and most companies still aren't understanding and monetizing the gold mine
• How to combat the "race to the bottom” when monetizing with bidding
• Elevate both free MAU and premium subscriptions
• Navigating hypergrowth in emerging global markets

And I can't forget our new Mic Drop series and Meetup Series. Meetups are part content, part networking, all discovery.

• Join Alexander Guerra CRO of @shopinbaz for the Monetization + Revenue Meetup, opening with Unlock 5x Revenue Growth: The Retail Media Playbook That Can’t Be Ignored
• Join 18-year old (and Gen Z all-star) Zach Yadegari for the Growth Marketing Meetup, opening with "How an 18 Year Old Grew Cal AI to $30M ARR in Just 12 Months"

And soon we'll announce the full descriptions for Meetups featuring ASO with MoEngage, a #Gaming Meetup and Gummicube.

I'm really excited about our Mic Drop series, launching this year. These 8-minute power sessions will leave you wanting more with the ability to ask follow up with the speakers. Topics cover agentic marketing, monetization, breaking down SKAN and AI, AI, AI.

Housekeeping!

• If you haven't already registered, now is the time!
• Book your hotel room at The Signature MGM Grand by May 6...our last extension! VIP!!!
• If you made it to the bottom of this, give this post a heart emoji and I'll invite you to a VIP section of one of our parties!

Angela Harar 🔜 MAU Vegas this May

VP, Strategy and Growth