Everything marketers need to know about optimizing mobile OEM user acquisition campaigns
Mobile OEM inventory is increasing with year-over-year growth of 3.8 percent, with shipments expected to reach 1.43 billion by the end of 2022. Within this space, the smartphone Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Oppo (Realme and OnePlus), Vivo, Samsung, and Xiaomi occupy 52% of the market share as of Q1 2022.
The traffic generated by the mobile OEMs provides a tremendous competitive advantage to mobile marketers as it continues to scale for as long as smartphones dominate the telecommunications industry. As a result, mobile OEMs have proven to be the best alternative for mobile marketers' marketing mix as a user acquisition channel.
Getting Started - How to look at campaign optimization with mobile OEMs
When mobile advertisers don't see the right results for their campaigns, there's a great temptation to pause the campaign right away. However, doing so without looking in-depth at how the campaign could be optimized to bring better results can be just a little short-sighted. Mobile OEMs provide an efficient system for advertisers to run their advertising (ad) campaigns smoothly with clear visibility to keep checking the performance metrics on how the ads have performed.
Moreover, finding the right price point to advertise with mobile OEMs can also be challenging. But through multiple ways of optimizing campaigns, app developers and brands can gain a lot more from mobile OEMs' offerings.
To get better outcomes and higher engagements, mobile marketers can consider two levels to optimize their user acquisition (UA) ad campaign -
Advertisement placement optimization: Not all placements will drive the same level of quality. Advertisers need to look at which placements are driving quality users as compared to others and increase the bid for those placements so they can leverage more traffic. In addition, there are advertising (ad) placements that drive volumes but not quality - those can be optimized in two ways:
- Advertisers can either choose to pause the entire placement but in this case, they will lose the entire traffic coming from mobile OEM inventory.
- Or, they need to calculate the Return On Ad Spend (ROAS) for a particular ad placement so they can decrease the bid and still get positive results for the ROAS and at the same time, retain volumes as well.
Creative optimization: When mobile advertisers are buying media, they need to ensure that they are preventing advertising fatigue - meaning if users are seeing the same advert multiple times, they will eventually stop interacting with it. Therefore, advertisers need to constantly rotate the creatives with the overall visual appeal of their brand, so the engagement of the ad remains constant as users get to see something new each time the advert is displayed. The higher the engagement of the ad, the better will be the conversion rate and Effective Cost Per Install (ECPI) for the advertiser.
Targeting optimization: Some app stores also offer appographic targeting that helps app advertisers promote their apps to new users based on their unique app interests. It allows the advertiser to target over 200 appographic segments based on app interests and leverages audience insights beyond category and ownership and all of this is user privacy compliant.
The pricing models for advertising with mobile OEMs also remain flexible with the different ad placements, inventories, and the types of creatives mobile marketers want to experiment with. They can choose the kind of ads they want to cater to their audience, for example, native ads, interstitial ads, banner ads, and more, depending on the mobile OEM inventory they have decided to leverage.
Optimize on pricing with Oppo and Vivo
For mobile OEMs like Oppo and Vivo which offer ad placements within the App Store, how can mobile marketers optimize their campaigns since they cannot remove the app completely or pause the campaign?
They can optimize on pricing! Mobile marketers and advertisers can initially run all placements using the CPI (Cost Per Install) model which is competitive for them to win bids for maximum placements within the app store for testing traffic across all those placements. After learning which placements drive the best quality, they can calculate the ROAS and bid based on these results.
View-Through Attribution (VTA) is key
The aforementioned mobile OEMs offer mobile marketers to leverage high-impact placements such as interstitial ads, video ads, and splash ads. To promote ads with these placements, it is imperative for mobile advertisers to enable View-Through Attribution (VTA). VTA allows advertisers to attribute installs or actions from mobile advertising campaigns that are impression-based. A lot of high-impact placements within Xiaomi and Huawei do not open unless VTA is enabled by the advertisers.
How should advertisers optimize their advertising spend based on upcoming special promotions?
For advertisers to place their ads during special promotions, they need to start by planning way ahead at least three weeks in advance from creative planning to getting approvals from mobile OEMs.
For example, if there is a shopping app that wants to run a campaign for promotional offers (special promotions) for a specific time period - marketers of the app need to reach out to their agency partner that can help them leverage the right mobile OEM inventory mix for a certain period against certain placements that work best for their shopping app. When the shopping app is featured within alternative app stores on any of these promotional days, the:
- conversion rate goes up
- volumes are higher
- effective cost per acquisition per user will be much lower in case the shopping app has also been promoted through offline mediums and other networks like TV, and 3rd party ad networks.
Counting on mobile OEMs for their marketing mix during timely events like these, apps tend to generate higher install rates with good quality. All that marketers need to do is to plan ahead of time for featuring requests and approvals for certain dates with the help of their agency partner.
3 key tips to consider for campaign optimization
Mobile OEMs offer untapped access to larger user audiences owning smartphones outside the realm of search and social. Optimizing efforts for app marketing can be challenging, but mobile marketers can tackle the situations by:
- Experiment with pricing: Firstly, mobile marketers need to look at pricing based on quality. They should never remove an entire mobile OEM ecosystem because of quality. They need to be careful that app discoverability decreases if they pause the campaigns on a specific smartphone OEM. Therefore, they can always choose to negotiate pricing deals based on quality.
- Measure mobile OEM performance: Every mobile OEM has different levels to offer placements and inventories to get apps launched in their respective app stores since each is at a different maturity level in its offerings. Analyzing which one works best, is the key to placing and winning bids for advertising a user acquisition campaign.
- Choose one agency partner: Mobile marketers often tend to cannibalize when bidding for multiple inventories from their agency partners. They need an agency that acts as a single source of truth, specializes in mobile OEM inventory, and has exclusive or official partnerships with those mobile OEMs. They need the know-how to deal with the individual platforms from launch to running user acquisition campaigns and optimization.
Advertisers need the know-how to deal with the individual platforms from launch to running UA campaigns and optimization. AVOW offers an untapped inventory with exclusive partnerships with OEMs such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo (OnePlus and Realme), Samsung, and Vivo. Our integrated Mobile OEM partners dominate 71% of the global Android market share and can advertise without Google, Facebook, or 3rd party ad networks.
Contact us today to help you champion your app user acquisition goals with mobile OEMs!
Seasonality & Sports Apps: What it means for mobile marketers in 2022
Sports events in the post-COVID era
As the world recovers from COVID-19 since its first outbreak in 2020, many sporting events can be seen opening their doors to the larger public, which garner viewers from across the globe. The viewership for sporting events is enjoyed by people worldwide, like the Euro 2020 finals, where the cumulative live match audience was recorded at 5.23 billion. With major sporting events taking place this year, such as the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon, UEFA Champions League Finals, and many more, the numbers alone give an insight into how significant these events are, and how marketers should leverage them for advertising their sports apps.
With so many eyeballs to grab, it enables endless possibilities for mobile marketers to stand out from the crowd where they can get peak visibility to showcase and advertise their sports apps.
First, let us look at the past viewership of some of the major sporting events which will take place in 2022 globally.
This will help mobile marketers identify the most relevant ones to tap into newer and more extensive audiences within mobile OEMs, allowing them to increase the reach and audience for their mobile app in the sports category.
Expand your reach with mobile OEMs
Mobile OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) are smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi, Huawei Oppo, Vivo, and Samsung who have global user audiences with a combined worldwide market share of 48% as of December 2021. These mobile OEMs have their own app stores for their devices, also known as alternative app stores, and resell their inventory, thus enabling mobile app developers and marketers to leverage the vast user bases they own during these peak sporting events in 2022. Mobile OEMs get sports apps in front of billions of viewers globally and help mobile marketers reach closer to their app’s user acquisition goals.
Sporting events create millions of daily viewers and are an excellent opportunity for sports app marketers to tap into markets of such colossal potential where they can get access to the most relevant users in their category with mobile OEMs and generate user action on their apps.
Why should sports app marketers make the best of major sporting events in 2022?
Sports are a universal language that connects all. The whole industry is benefitting from the revolution of smartphones globally. As per a report by PR Newswire, the global sports market is expected to grow from $354.96 billion in 2021 to $501.43 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.3%.
This statistic denotes a massive opportunity for mobile marketers to acquire new and relevant users for their sports apps during these sporting events season. There will be a positive response from users in the sports category in the coming years, as sports apps on Google Play will reach nearly one billion downloads by 2023.
Gamezy, one of AVOW’s clients in the sports category took a step forward by placing their bet on smartphone OEMs and this is what Minhaz Hazarika, their Director of Digital Marketing has to say about Gamezy’s journey with AVOW -
“IPL is an important season for app developers like us to reach out to the larger masses. Standing out from the crowd during this peak season is a big challenge. However, with the help of AVOW and their Mobile OEM partnerships, we were able to tap into new users all across the country,”
Some of the top advantages for mobile marketers to consider advertising their sports apps with OEMs during peak sporting events -
- With mobile OEM app advertising, mobile marketers can leverage an exclusive app store featuring per day and specific dates with multiple advertising formats such as video ads, rewarded ads, native ads, and banner ads with unique ad placements.
- Get exclusive screen takeovers with splash ads so marketers can show the best of their sports and gaming apps on the entire smartphone screen in a video format to create instant brand awareness and interest among users.
- Make way for Appographic Targeting to help promote apps to users with similar interests beyond category and ownership to elevate app install rates.
- Mobile OEMs offer customized push notifications to target high-value users during sporting events to enable app discovery, as there is a 72.71% YoY growth for gaming apps.
- Explore PMP deals at private marketplaces (PMPs) with mobile OEMs. Marketers can bid on suggested inventories for a specific time, such as seasonal events, to get the best out of their user acquisition campaigns.
- Mobile OEMs provide brand-safe, fraud-free, and more cost-effective opportunities for mobile marketers due to lower CPIs, thus offering the same benefits as 3rd party networks such as Google and Facebook.
How can AVOW help?
With access to over 1.5 daily billion active users, AVOW has premium partnerships with OEM inventories such as Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Oneplus, Huawei, Realme, and Transsion that sell inventories to advertisers like yourself and provide a huge opportunity for apps like yourself to target and reach out to potential customers for achieving their user acquisition goals.
In-App Advertising: Understanding Market Size, Revenue & Trends
In today's digital age, mobile applications have become an essential part of our lives. As a result, in-app advertising has emerged as a popular form of marketing for businesses, which refers to the practice of displaying ads within mobile applications.
The ads can be in the form of banners, videos, or interactive content. In this blog, we will discuss the in-app advertising market, its size, and revenue model.
Market Size of In-App Advertising
The market size of in-app advertising has been steadily increasing in recent years. According to a report by eMarketer, the global mobile advertising market is expected to reach $290 billion by 2022, with in-app advertising accounting for a significant portion of this market.
The report further suggests that in-app advertising will be the fastest-growing segment of the mobile advertising market, with an expected growth rate of 19.4% in 2022.
Another report by data.ai (previously App Annie) reveals that the average time spent on mobile devices has increased by 20% in 2020. As people spend more time on their mobile devices, it presents a significant opportunity for businesses to advertise their products and services through in-app advertising.
Revenue Model of In-App Advertising
There are various revenue models for in-app advertising. The most common ones are:
- Cost Per Mille (CPM) - In this revenue model, advertisers pay a fixed amount for every thousand impressions of their ad. The advertiser is charged regardless of whether the user interacts with the ad or not.
- Cost Per Click (CPC) - In this revenue model, the advertiser pays a fixed amount for every click on their ad. This model is commonly used for ads that aim to generate traffic to a website.
- Cost Per Action (CPA) - In this revenue model, the advertiser pays when the user takes a specific action, such as downloading an app or signing up for a service.
- Cost Per Install (CPI) - In this revenue model, the advertiser pays when the user installs their app after clicking on the ad.
The revenue model that businesses choose depends on their marketing objectives and the type of ad they are displaying.
Benefits of In-App Advertising
In-app advertising offers several benefits to businesses. Here are some of them:
- Highly Targeted - In-app advertising allows businesses to target their ads to a specific audience based on factors such as age, gender, location, interests, and behavior. This targeting ensures that the ad is displayed to the right audience, increasing the chances of conversion.
- High Engagement - In-app ads have a higher engagement rate compared to other forms of digital advertising. This is because users are already engaged with the app, and the ad appears in a non-intrusive manner.
- Cost-Effective - In-app advertising is cost-effective, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Advertisers can choose a revenue model that suits their budget and marketing objectives.
- Measurable - In-app advertising allows businesses to track the performance of their ads. Advertisers can track metrics such as impressions, clicks, installs, and conversions, allowing them to optimize their ads for better performance.
Challenges of In-App Advertising
In-app advertising also presents some challenges for businesses. Here are some of them:
- Ad Blockers - Ad blockers can prevent users from seeing in-app ads, reducing the effectiveness of the ad campaign.
- App Store Guidelines - App store guidelines can restrict the types of ads that businesses can display within their app. Advertisers must adhere to these guidelines to avoid getting their app banned from the app store.
- Ad Fatigue - Users can become tired of seeing the same ads repeatedly, reducing the effectiveness of the ad campaign.
- Fraud - In-app advertising is susceptible to fraud, such as click fraud, where advertisers are charged for clicks that are not generated by real users. Advertisers must take measures to prevent ad fraud and ensure that their ad campaigns are reaching real users.
- User Experience - In-app advertising can negatively impact the user experience if the ads are intrusive or irrelevant. This can result in users uninstalling the app or developing a negative perception of the brand.
- Ad Format Limitations - Different ad formats work better for different types of apps and audiences. Some apps may not support certain ad formats, limiting the options for advertisers.
Trends and Future of In-App Advertising
In-app advertising is constantly evolving, with new trends emerging every year. Here are some of the latest trends in in-app advertising:
- Native Advertising - Native advertising is a type of in-app advertising that blends in with the app's design and user experience, making it less intrusive and more effective. Native ads match the look and feel of the app, resulting in higher engagement rates and better user experience.
- Programmatic Advertising - Programmatic advertising is an automated process that allows businesses to buy and sell ads in real-time, using data to target the right audience. Programmatic advertising is cost-effective and efficient, as it eliminates the need for manual ad buying and optimization.
- Interactive Ads - Interactive ads are a new form of in-app advertising that allows users to engage with the ad content, leading to higher engagement rates and better user experience. Interactive ads can be in the form of playable ads, augmented reality ads, or 360-degree video ads.
- Influencer Marketing - Influencer marketing is a type of in-app advertising that involves partnering with social media influencers to promote a brand or product. Influencer marketing is effective in reaching younger audiences and building brand awareness.
The future of in-app advertising looks promising, with new technologies and innovations driving the market. Here are some additional trends that are expected to shape the future of in-app advertising:
- 5G Technology - 5G technology is expected to revolutionize the market by enabling faster loading times and higher-quality ads. 5G technology will also allow for more interactive and immersive ad experiences, such as virtual reality and augmented reality ads.
- Artificial Intelligence - Artificial intelligence will play a crucial role by allowing businesses to personalize ads based on user behavior and preferences. AI-powered ad optimization will also enable advertisers to make data-driven decisions and improve their ad performance.
- Privacy Regulations - Privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), will impact the market by requiring businesses to obtain user consent and provide more transparency regarding data collection and usage.
- Voice-Activated Ads - Voice-activated ads will become more prevalent with the increasing usage of virtual assistants, such as Siri and Alexa. Voice-activated ads will provide a new way for businesses to engage with their audience and promote their products and services.
Conclusion
In conclusion, in-app advertising is a growing market that presents a significant opportunity for businesses to reach their target audience effectively. The market size is expected to continue to increase, with new revenue models and targeting options available for advertisers. However, businesses must also consider the challenges of in-app advertising, such as ad fraud and ad fatigue, to ensure that their ad campaigns are successful. By keeping up with the latest trends and innovations, businesses can create effective campaigns that generate higher returns on investment.
Words of pride: The importance of creating a culture of Diversity & Inclusion
In our final interview of the blog series 'Words of Pride', AVOW's co-founders, Orietta Mendez and Robert Wildner, share valuable insights, and thoughts on what it means to lead and celebrate a diverse workplace and how inclusion leads to the success of a healthy work environment.
What role do Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) of the LGBTQ+ community play at AVOW?
At AVOW, a diverse and inclusive workforce is necessary to drive innovation, foster creativity, and guide business strategies. Therefore, we believe in creating an open, supportive and inclusive environment for all our employees that allows and encourages them to bring their authentic selves to work.
Our core belief revolves around the principle that equal opportunities embraced with dignity and respect for all are what makes us a trustworthy, globally diverse organization. Hence, our mission is to build a culture of inclusion, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.
LGBTQ+ inclusion at AVOW is of prime importance. We are committed to fostering an environment in which people feel respected, valued, and involved and facilitating an environment that ensures the participation of all employees from the LGBTQ+ community.
Why is an LGBTQ+ community at work important?
Sometimes the work environment is one of the only safe environments LGBTQ+ employees have for various reasons. This is why employers should let employees know their workplace welcomes diversity and inclusion at all levels, no matter how small their organization is.
Our leadership team strongly emphasizes diversity and inclusion - not only because it's the right thing to do, but because it's the best thing for our people. It's crucial for engaging our workforce and equally important for recruiting the next best person out there.
How do you manage the topics of D&I of the LGBTQ+ community within your recruitment process and your company culture?
Hiring individuals from different backgrounds to maintain diversity isn't sustainable without a culture of inclusion that sincerely welcomes all individuals for who they are and encourages everyone to succeed at work. This is why we have set great importance on establishing and living by a set of values that reinforce this type of culture. Being 'out' at work is a choice. Many people won't feel safe or comfortable outing themselves at work, so design your programs to include people, whether they are 'out' or not.
From the talent acquisition perspective, we pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer and leading by example in terms of running our recruitment processes in an open, welcoming, and fair manner.
On the inclusion front, we take it as a core responsibility to create a safe space for all employees, which means being vigilant against discrimination regardless of how subtle it may be. In addition, we are engaged in creating and nurturing a culture where people are respected, appreciated, and included.
How are you enabling awareness about Pride Month at AVOW?
We dedicate the month of June to celebrate PRIDE to acknowledge and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and their journey so far.
The three pillars of our activities are:
- Raising awareness by keeping Pride present daily (from office decoration to our topics of conversation).
- Highlighting and sharing team member stories.
- Connecting with other organizations and individuals with similar views to create a D&I network of support and best practices.
What is your biggest piece of advice for getting started with D&I?
Firstly, don't try to boil the ocean. Secondly, start somewhere!
This work is enormous and can become overwhelming if you try to tackle everything at once. Instead, create a list of all the things you want to tackle and start with one or two. For instance, use more inclusive language, or create an experience-sharing group. Every step can help build an environment that is more inclusive and welcoming to underrepresented groups. Finally, ask for help from those who have done this in other organizations. Katee says she is always open to a conversation if it will help to move this work along in a company.
How do you think other people can make an impact this month to support their colleagues and the community in general?
Here are just a few ideas to get started:
- Read up on terminology so you can talk about the issues confidently
- Celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month or other awareness days and campaigns to show support
- Call out offensive, negative or abusive language and ‘banter’ when you hear it
- Set up an LGBTQ+ staff network group (or LGBTQ+ & Allies/ Friends group)
- Open up space to talk – you could mention LGBTQ+ issues you’ve seen in the media and get some real conversations started
- Work with your HR department to make sure their policies and procedures cover diversity, inclusion, rights, and protections for LGBTQ+ employees
- March, sponsor or volunteer at your local Pride as an organization.
How can companies create inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ employees?
Awareness and education are always good places to start.
From our side, we launched #WordsOfPride which aims to create an open door educating our employees and followers about all things LGBTQ+ through the stories and experiences of our team members who are part of this community. This blog series is meant to raise awareness about what it means to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community and dispel some myths about the community that still exists.
Do you have any advice for people in leadership positions to encourage them to brace D&I at their companies?
Every employer's mission should be to maintain a workplace that embraces diversity and provides an environment of respect, trust, collaboration, and cooperation for all employees.
Following a motto of "Inclusion without Exception" and addressing unconscious biases will help create an environment of inclusion where everyone feels that they belong.
Showing solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community for Pride Month is a positive step toward inclusion. But true LGBTQ+ inclusion must go further than a branding exercise. We strongly encourage all small and big companies who adopt the rainbow for June to closely examine their internal hiring processes and policies to ensure they genuinely support the LGBTQ+ community.