Welcome to another installment of our Stargazer Series: a quarterly predictions report dedicated to the intersection of technology, innovation and the stars! In each report, Astrologer Ariel Neidermeier gives a rundown of the top technology trends based on the astrology of the quarter to help you better market your app. 

In this report we cover Q3 2021 appstrology trends including an impulse to rebel against Big Tech, the possibility of analysis paralysis and a focus on relationship building.

Stargazing in Q3 2021

Hi friends and congratulations: you survived eclipse season. If you read my Q2 trends report, you know that the last quarter kicked off with a total lunar eclipse in Sagittarius on May 26 and a solar eclipse in Gemini two weeks later on June 10. Thankfully, we’ll get reprieve from this transformational energy in Q3, as eclipses are known to activate dramatic shake-ups and surprises.

Overall, with Jupiter transiting its home sign of Pisces for most of Q2, last quarter gave us a peek into what to expect energetically in 2022 when Jupiter makes its official entrance into Pisces.

As the planet of personal expansion, travel and idealism, Jupiter’s transit through its home sign of Pisces imbued the collective with a general feeling of hopefulness and forward movement. This quarter will see a cooling of this energy, with Jupiter’s retrograde back into Aquarius. Combined with fiery oppositional aspects from planets moving through Leo, this quarter will challenge us to build better negotiating skills. That is, sharpen our ability to common ground and take a measured, fair-minded approach when we disagree.

What do the stars have in store for Q3? Here are 3 key Q3 2021 astrological trends and how to use them to optimize your mobile strategy and beyond.

1. Learn to Be A Rebel With a Cause

The quarter kicks off with a fiery set of planetary aspects between Mars, Uranus and Saturn. In astrology, all three planets are known as “malefics.” In other words, their movements inspire challenges that help us grow.

At the beginning of the quarter, in the first week of July, Mars will be traveling through the sign of Leo. Along with making tense aspects to both Saturn and Uranus, Mars will form a confrontational aspect pattern - known as a T-square - with both planets. In astrology, T-squares stimulate drive and courage, but also tension and conflict. Since this T-square will occur in fixed signs, the quality of the energies at play will be stubborn, unyielding, and illuminate themes of holding on to problems and frustrations for too long.

As mentioned above, this T-square will include Saturn, Uranus and Mars, activating the following themes:

  • Saturn is the planet of traditions, structures, accepted authority figures and the status quo.
  • Uranus is the planet of innovation, liberation, change and rebelling against accepted practices.
  • Mars is the planet of action, anger, drive, self-assertion and severing.

In basic terms, Q3 will kick off with events in which traditional systems and pillars of authority (Saturn) will be challenged (Mars) by innovative and progressive ways of being ( Uranus). To understand how this will affect you on a personal level, check the house in your natal chart where Taurus falls. This will mark the realm of life where you will feel an urge to rebel against the status quo.

How this could affect your mobile marketing strategy:

What happens when the forerunners of innovation become pillars of authority? With Apple and Google’s continuing march towards a privacy-driven landscape, mobile marketers have been called to align their data strategies with mandates handed down from the top. In the face of these tech giants calling the shots, it’s completely normal to feel angry, especially in light of news that they may be acting in self-interested ways.

The key to aligning these energies? Most importantly, It’s critical to cooperate with Apple’s privacy measures in the name of consumers’ interests and data privacy. But there is still room to make tiny revolutions in your data strategy while still toeing the line set out by Apple (and eventually Google). Consider implementing an IDFA pre-permission prompt in your opt-in strategy. Test different verbiage, timing and areas in which to discuss the new data restrictions with your users. Timing your IDFA prompt, in particular, can significantly increase your opt-in rate. In fact, Appsflyer found that delaying your SDK by a few seconds and playing your opt-in prompt beforehand can increase your rate by 32%.

The key here is to finetune your ability to rebel against big tech but doing so with a cause; the cause being enhanced data security in the name of consumer rights.

2. Watch out for Analysis Paralysis 

For much of the quarter, Mercury, Mars and Venus will be traveling through the sign of Virgo. This means Virgo values of analysis, attention to detail and taking a methodical approach will be front and center.

The sign of Virgo is ruled by the planet of communication, Mercury. This makes Virgo especially information-centric so be prepared to have more conversations (especially of a technical nature) in Q3. Along with being focused on information, Virgo is known as a mutable sign which makes it incredibly agile at adaptation and editing existing processes to be more efficient. Finally, Virgo is the sign of service, so matters related to assisting others in perfecting themselves and reaching their goals will also be a theme.

Throughout August, Mercury and Mars will be traveling very close together and making a conjunction on August 18. This will create an energy of ferocious analysis and problem-solving mid-August. Beware of kicking this energy into hyperfocus and falling prey to analysis paralysis (i.e. analyzing to the point of immobilizing your decision-making), anxiety, perfectionism and being overly critical of yourself and others.

How this could affect your mobile marketing strategy:

Given its archetypal focus on detail and rationality, in many ways, Virgo is the patron saint of data. With so many planets in Virgo throughout Q3, it will be a good time to examine your data strategy. Timing wise, this is smart, as the mobile industry has undergone some drastic changes in the face of recent data privacy changes. But, there’s still much uncertainty in our collective understanding of how many users, on average, will opt-in to Apple's new tracking framework.

In the meantime, build out ways to collect more first-party data directly and consensually from your users. Incentivize them to share information about their purchase intent and preferences via short surveys and discounts. Leverage email communications with compelling subject lines and promotions. Refocus your marketing strategy to create valuable, human connections with your users that helps them derive value from your product. Remember: Virgo is the sign of service. How can you use your marketing communications to authentically serve the needs of your customer?

Use the hyper analytical energy on August 18 to schedule a meeting with your engineering team, revisit your product road map and/or tackle technical challenges.

3. A Focus on Relationship-Building

Venus will be entering its home sign of Libra on August 16. Venus will also be making favorable aspects to both Saturn (August 22) and Jupiter (September 5). This will create conditions for finding common ground and building agreement in the face of disagreements. Libra is the sign of diplomacy. When Venus - the planet of values - is in Libra, we find value in reaching diplomatic solutions in our relationships. Mercury will also be transiting Libra starting August 3. This will bring favorable conditions for having productive conversations that find supportive outcomes for all parties.

How this could affect your mobile marketing strategy:

End of August through mid-September will be a wonderful time to tackle tough negotiations or discussions you’ve been dreading. Need to have a real conversation with your higher-ups about diversifying ad spend across different channels? With iOS devices’ waning data addressability, it might be time to consider moving spend to emerging markets where Android dominates; or, alternative offline channels altogether.

As Libra is also the sign of relationships, focus on team building at this time. Good relationships are the bedrock of good negotiations. Also, the best outcome of any negotiation is one in which all parties walk away feeling supported. How can you leverage relationship-building to get the outcome that you want? How can you reframe negotiations from “I win, you lose,” to “you lose, I lose”?