Business & Technology
Yodel Mobile appoints AI Innovation & ASO director
SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO
News Editor
Yodel Mobile has appointed Igor Blinov as AI Innovation & ASO Director, a newly created role.
He has been promoted as app marketers contend with rising volumes of data and changes in how users discover apps through the Apple and Google stores. His brief is to turn fragmented platform information and industry research into clearer strategic direction for clients.
Blinov has worked at Yodel Mobile for nearly six years and has more than 10 years of experience in app growth and app store optimisation. In the new role, he will track changes across app stores, assess their effect on client strategy and help the agency adjust its approach within one to two weeks of market shifts.
The appointment reflects a broader shift in app marketing. Agencies and brands now have access to large amounts of data but still struggle to turn that information into practical decisions. The new role is intended to bridge technical data analysis and commercial action.
Three priorities
The agency has set out three main priorities for the role: market synthesis, focused on condensing research and platform updates into strategy; AI tooling, centred on internal frameworks and tools to speed up insight delivery; and strategic storytelling, aimed at positioning app store optimisation in broader brand and user perception terms rather than only technical adjustments.
The remit also extends to internal operations. The role will identify repeatable patterns across the business and turn them into systems that can be used at scale, with collaborative automation workflows designed to reduce time spent sorting through disparate information.
The move comes as agencies respond to a more fragmented app discovery market. Search behaviour, store updates and AI-led user experiences are changing quickly, while many tools still produce large quantities of raw data without offering a clear path to action.
The challenge has become more pronounced as app store optimisation evolves beyond keyword ranking and metadata changes into a broader discipline that also touches on positioning, creative presentation and how users interpret listings. The speed of these shifts has made it harder for marketers to wait for accepted industry norms before changing course.
In a statement, Blinov outlined his view of the market shift.
“The way users discover apps is evolving rapidly through AI-driven experiences, shifting platform behaviours, and increasingly fragmented signals. Collecting data isn’t the hard part anymore. The goal now is building the intelligence and systems that cut through the noise and turn that complexity into meaningful action. I’m focused on how Yodel Mobile interprets and applies those insights to ensure we stay ahead of where app growth is going,” said Igor Blinov, AI Innovation & ASO Director, Yodel Mobile.
Founded in 2007, Yodel Mobile says it has worked on more than 2,500 app launches and growth programmes. Its clients include Royal Horticultural Society, TUI, Zenni Optical, UKTV, Global Player and Hinge.
The agency operates as Yodel Mobile by NP Digital and focuses on app marketing services across user acquisition, retention, engagement, conversion rate optimisation, creative and app store optimisation. The appointment of a dedicated executive for AI innovation and ASO suggests those areas are becoming more central to both agency operations and client advisory work.
Ijah Miller, Managing Director of Yodel Mobile, said the role is intended to address the gap between the pace of market change and the speed at which marketers adapt.
“Too much of the industry is still approaching ASO the way they have always done it, despite the pace of change across AI, search and app ecosystems. That gap between change and execution is where performance is being lost. With nearly two decades of experience in app growth, we know that staying ahead requires more than access to data, it requires the ability to interpret it faster than the market. This role is about formalising that capability, so we’re not waiting for best practice to emerge, we’re defining it and ensuring our clients are already executing against what comes next,” said Miller.
Jayden, 13 launched Jay’s Bakes from his home in Taunton Road in Bicester on Saturday, June 20.
His late nan, a keen baker herself, was the inspiration behind his passion, as well as time spent helping his uncle with his catering business.
Over the last 18 months he has honed his skills by preparing sweat treats every day after school.
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Determined to turn his hobby into something more, Jayden spent two and a half months researching requirements, gaining his Level 2 food hygiene certificate and officially registering his business, mostly without adult intervention.
After four days of preparation, the business officially launched.
Customers were treated to a wide selection of homemade goods, including M&M cookies, Kinder brownies, Biscoff cookies, Victoria sponge trays, lemon drizzle cups and viral ‘dot cakes’.
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His Kinder brownies proved particularly popular, and by the end of the day he had sold out of everything, taking £210.
Despite feeling “excited and a bit nervous” beforehand, Jayden said the opening was a success, with a strong turnout and positive feedback shared on social media.
His favourite moment came when he officially opened the shed by cutting the ribbon.
Supported by his mum, stepdad, grandparents and uncle, Jayden first began selling from a table in May before building and painting his now-signature blue cake shed.
He now plans to continue baking and selling regularly, bringing his creations to the local community.
Lidl has been given planning permission to build its ninth supermarket in Oxfordshire, despite concerns over flooding.
Aldi opened in Didcot in 2015 and has a supermarket at the Jubilee Way roundabout but shoppers in the town have had to wait over a decade for Lidl to follow.
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South Oxfordshire District Council has now backed plans by the German retailer for a new supermarket in Abingdon Road.
Former Didcot mayor Mocky Khan said: “This give the residents of Didcot more choice, especially when you consider the cost of living environment we have at the moment.
“The town is growing with more new homes being built, and with more growth it’s good to have a wide variety of supermarkets to fit all budgets,”
The plans for the new supermarket were first submitted in 2024.
Didcot Town Council previously objected to the scheme, on the grounds of a lack of flood risk mitigation measures, along with the county council who said there was “insufficient information”.
The town council noted there are “several flooding incidents in the area, especially when the Marsh Bridge water pumps fail”.
But in a report by planning officers granting permission to the supermarket, those issues have now been addressed by Lidl.
The officers said the proposals “largely accord” with the policies around planning, and more can be done to “break up” the car park with greenery.
Planning officers chose to let Lidl build the new supermarket subject to conditions.
They said in a report: “Balanced against this policy conflict is the fact that this is a previously developed site, which is currently in a dilapidated state.
“The proposals represent a significant improvement on the current underutilisation of the site and on its appearance.
“The National Planning Policy Framework and Local Plan set out significant support for the reuse of previously developed land.
“As stated in the applicant’s planning statement, there have been previous enquiries as to the redevelopment of the site that have not come to fruition.
“Given this, finding a viable use for the site is a clear benefit which I consider to be of substantial benefit.”
Thirty-four residents had objected to Lidl’s plans, highlighting concerns over extra traffic, there being no need for another supermarket in the town and there being more appropriate locations to build in their view.
Didcot already has an Aldi store just off Broadway and a Sainsbury’s, M&S Foodhall and Asda.
The nearest Lidl to the proposed site are in Lupton Road, Wallingford, and Marcham Road in Abingdon.
Three people wrote in to support the new Lidl, recognising the benefits of a discount food store and the further jobs it will create.
Lidl has said its proposals for a Didcot supermarket would deliver 40 full-time equivalent jobs as well as further employment during the construction phase.
No opening date was given by the retailer, while the developer is currently on site progressing with the enabling works.
A spokesman said: “We’ve seen demand for our affordable, high-quality products continue to rise in Oxfordshire, and we are committed to serving more communities in the area.
“Our new store will create around 40 new jobs and build on our continued growth.
“We’re excited to be a step closer to opening this store and thank everyone who has supported us on our journey so far.”
It also said the £12m investment would work with the 6,300 new homes allocated to be built, as per the local plan.
Dalcour Maclaren, a specialist in utilities and infrastructure, announced the news on June 22, following a detailed assessment of its operations, including governance, employee wellbeing, environmental impact, and social responsibility.
James Neil, CEO of Dalcour Maclaren, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Dalcour Maclaren.
“B Corp status gives us the official badge that recognises everything that matters most to us in our culture, our values, and how we make decisions for our people and our clients. We thrive on doing things differently at DM and B Corp absolutely endorses this.”
The certification means the company meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
Dalcour Maclaren now joins more than 10,000 B Corps worldwide and over 2,600 in the UK, including well-known names such as The Guardian, Innocent Drinks, Patagonia, and The Big Issue.
Chris Turner, CEO of B Lab UK, said: “Welcoming Dalcour Maclaren to the B Corp community is hugely exciting. Its commitment to doing business differently will be an inspiration to others and will help spread the notion that success in business is as much about people and planet as it is profit.”
Dalcour Maclaren operates across the UK and Ireland, supporting major projects in energy, water, transport, and digital infrastructure. The company’s services include land, planning, environment, stakeholder engagement, and geospatial services.
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