Why Only Using SKAdNetwork for Campaign Optimization Is Insufficient
As clarity starts to form around how MMPs and ad networks plan to work with SKAdNetwork, we’d like to spend some time discussing in more detail how we can use Apple’s SKAdNetwork for performance marketing and why it’s critical to consider more than just this set of data for campaign optimization.
What does it mean to only use SKAdNetwork?
The key piece of data within SKAdNetwork to help with campaign optimization is “ConversionValue” (conversion value). This piece of data gives some indication of post-install performance and is sent to the ad network by the app and reported at the campaign level. This conversion value can be defined using early revenue, engagement, and retention events, or—most optimally—predicted LTV (pLTV).
An advertiser can decide to optimize their campaigns solely by using the conversion value, making bid and budget decisions based on the number of conversion values in any single campaign or channel, effectively normalizing the performance across channels and campaigns. In practice, this would mean that one conversion value from Facebook would be valued the same as one on, say, Unity Ads.
For the remainder of this article, we’ll assume that the final conversion value is sent to the ad network within the first 24 hours after install, as per Facebook’s definition. Therefore, using only SKAdNetwork data to optimize your mobile marketing campaigns means you:
- Only optimize campaigns toward D0 ROAS or other D0 KPIs
- Can’t update campaign ROAS based on updated cohort data
