OEM Partnerships are strategic business development agreements between a mobile application publisher (or service provider) and an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)—the company that designs, manufactures, and sells mobile devices (e.g., Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo). These partnerships focus on securing pre-installation, deep system integration, or prominent visibility for the app or service directly on the device, often before the user even powers it on for the first time.
For the mobile marketer, an OEM partnership is the ultimate channel strategy. It bypasses the crowded, costly, and complex traditional user acquisition funnel, delivering a massive, guaranteed user base with zero ad spend and maximum visibility.
Why OEM access is an unfair advantage
While most marketers fight for visibility on the App Store or via paid advertising, OEM partnerships offer a step-change in scaling and stability:
- Zero-cost distribution: The most profound benefit is the elimination of Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) for millions of users. The app is already on the device, so marketers avoid bidding wars on platforms and the constant optimization required for paid campaigns.
- Guaranteed visibility and session initiation: OEMs can place apps in high-value, obvious locations, such as the first home screen fold or within a strategically named folder (e.g., “Productivity Essentials”). It ensures an unprecedented guarantee of discovery and initial session launch, which is the hardest part of the mobile funnel.
- Deep native integration: Partnerships often include deep technical integration, enabling the app to leverage native system features (such as the camera or specialized chip functions) in ways competitors cannot. It creates a superior, high-performance user experience that is harder for competitors to replicate.
- Targeting at scale: OEMs sell specific devices into specific global markets (e.g., budget phones in Southeast Asia, premium phones in Western Europe). It allows marketers to secure placements that offer precise geographic and demographic targeting, aligning the app perfectly with the intended user profile.A major component of advanced mobile targeting is Appographic Targeting. This strategy moves beyond traditional demographics by segmenting audiences based on the types of apps they have installed and actively use. By analyzing a user’s cross-app usage patterns (e.g., frequently using a mix of fitness trackers, meal prep apps, and running maps), marketers can infer their unique interests and intentions, leading to more highly personalized ads and significantly higher conversion rates and user Lifetime Value (LTV) for a new app.
Key partnership Types and marketer applications
OEM partnerships are structured based on the level of integration and placement:
- Pre-installation (the default app): The application is included in the base operating system image. It is the gold standard for wide distribution, but often requires the app to offer broad utility (e.g., a weather app, a health tracker, or a basic messaging service).
- Widget/folder placement: The app icon is placed prominently within a curated or sponsored folder, or a functional widget is placed on the home screen. It drives continuous re-engagement due to its high visibility.
- System default integration: The third-party app replaces a native OS feature (e.g., becoming the default photo gallery or keyboard). It requires deep technical collaboration and delivers the highest level of user loyalty and continuous usage.
- Monetization partnerships: The OEM may take a revenue share in exchange for distribution. Marketers must build financial models demonstrating that the sheer volume and low CAC of OEM users easily offset the revenue-share obligation.
- Dynamic Preloads (Post-Setup Installation): Users get suggestions to download and install the app automatically upon the user’s first connection to the internet after device setup, or during a targeted, staged rollout. This allows OEMs to maximize inventory on the device’s flash memory while still delivering guaranteed installation volume and allows marketers to target specific models or geographic regions with greater precision than a static preload.
Conclusion
OEM Partnerships are the difference between fighting for scraps in the App Store and controlling the distribution pipeline. For a professional mobile marketer focused on hitting massive scale targets, negotiating and managing these agreements is a core, high-level strategic imperative.