More than ever, consumers are interacting with brands through smartphones and tablets. The global smartphone audience will grow to 1.75 billion people this year, according to eMarketer, and smartphone adoption is expected to continue its rapid growth trajectory through 2017.
Mobile offers exciting new opportunities for delivering customized and hyperlocal advertising to the fast-expanding legions of mobile consumers who are on the go – yet, of the $110 billion spent last year on digital advertising, only $18 billion is allocated to mobile in 2014, according to Gartner.
That’s because many advertisers are still on the mobile learning curve. They tend to view it as a fragmented, confusing channel, and are yet to break through the organizational and data silos that typically isolate mobile from other digital channels.
Data collection is a key friction point: in the bandwidth-constrained mobile environment where connectivity comes and goes, the way firms track consumer behavior across smartphones and tablets is inconsistent at best – particularly for mobile apps, where browsers and cookies don’t exist. Why is this problematic? When data collection is poor, marketers cannot measure customer interactions, monetize experiences, improve applications and more.
Partner spotlight: AppLovin
AppLovin, a mobile marketing platform, says its mission is to help make mobile advertising work. Its platform enables brands to tap into data from customer interactions across smartphones, tablets and computer screens to deliver personalized recommendations on mobile to 1 billion consumers each month.
AppLovin applies predictive models to help brands better understand their audiences and deliver more relevant, dynamic experiences to their mobile devices.
As a Signal Certified Partner, AppLovin relies on Signal for critical capabilities that streamline and speed up the collection of essential mobile, website and app-level data across touchpoints – without relying on browser cookies. Using Server-Direct integration, Signal sends the data directly to AppLovin to power mutual clients’ mobile campaigns.
Granular information on browsing behavior, interests and transaction history enables AppLovin to serve tailored recommendations to customers and even predict what they’ll want next, creating a richer experience for the customer and advertiser alike.
“Signal makes integration with advertisers easy for us,” said John Krystynak, Co-Founder and Vice President of Engineering, AppLovin. “It enables AppLovin to deliver customer acquisition and retargeting faster to our mobile advertisers.”
AppLovin’s retargeting capabilities help advertisers remind shoppers about unpurchased products that have captured their interest, and suggest related items they’re likely to buy.
Its real-time reporting even provides visibility into how campaigns are performing. By attributing each dollar spent on mobile transactions, advertisers can measure their exact return on investment, prove that their campaigns are working and discover new ways to innovate.
With leaders such as AppLovin and Signal paving the way for the future of real-time, cross-channel marketing campaigns, it’s becoming easier for brands to navigate the mobile experience and capitalize on opportunities found within the palms of consumers.
Originally published May 14, 2014