Don’t Get Left Behind: How to Scale Your Mobile User Acquisition Campaign with Managed DSPs

Chiara Patrizi
April 24, 2023
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Don’t Get Left Behind: How to Scale Your Mobile User Acquisition Campaign with Managed DSPs

In the world of mobile advertising, and specifically user acquisition campaigns, we often speak of campaign managers who are in charge of managing them. Effective campaign management is crucial for any mobile app business that wants to maximize the ROI of its advertising efforts. But what exactly is campaign management? In what activities does it consist? In this article not only will I look at the crucial aspects of setting up a mobile user acquisition campaign, but also what day-to-day management means.

Campaign managers and managed DSPs 

The figure of the campaign manager is to be found in managed DSPs context.

Generally speaking, DSPs (Demand Side Platforms), allow advertisers to automate the process of buying advertising and manage campaigns easily, as well as adjust and scale campaigns in real time, particularly in mobile app advertising where campaigns can be managed globally. Specifically, managed DSPs are a type of demand-side platform (DSP) where advertisers work with a managed service provider (MSP) to have their programmatic campaigns managed for them. This means that the MSP takes care of the day-to-day management of the mobile app ad campaigns, including strategy, optimization, and reporting. Managed DSPs compared to self-service DSP are cheaper and provide valuable assistance. The services offered by managed DSP platforms include configuring campaigns with an advertiser, setting start and end dates, overall budget, and other reporting options. The company also provides assistance in the optimization of campaigns to achieve the desired performance goals.

6 Steps to Plan a Mobile User Acquisition Campaign 

  • Set a Budget for the Ad Campaign
  • Identify the KPIs 
  • Choose Effective Creatives
  • Utilize Attribution Platforms
  • Tracking Links

The prerequisite for setting up a successful mobile user acquisition campaign is the negotiation phase with the advertiser to establish the campaign outline. Advertisers often start with a test to assess the performance of potential partners, then they establish the following details with them.

Set a Budget for Your Mobile User Acquisition Campaign

Setting a budget for a mobile user acquisition campaign can be a troubling task, but it's crucial for success. Especially in the case of an app install campaign, it is vital to set a minimum budget to allow DSPs to accumulate sufficient data to optimize campaigns. The second step is to define your goals and target audience, as this will help determine the appropriate channels and ad formats to use. From there, you can research the CPA or CPI for each channel and set a budget accordingly. It's important to also track and analyze the performance of your campaign regularly to ensure you're getting a return on your investment (ROI) and make adjustments as needed.

Identify the KPIs

Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is crucial for the management of a successful mobile user acquisition campaign. KPIs help advertisers understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize their ad spend. By setting clear goals and measuring relevant metrics, such as cost per acquisition (CPA), click-through rate (CTR), and conversion rate, advertisers can track their performance and identify areas for improvement. This allows them to adjust their strategy accordingly and ensure that their campaign is generating a positive return on investment (ROI). Ultimately, identifying KPIs allows advertisers to make informed decisions about where to allocate their resources and maximize the impact of their mobile user acquisition campaign.

Choose Effective Creatives

Ad creatives are the ads used in mobile user acquisition campaigns to capture the attention of potential customers and persuade them to take a specific action, such as downloading or purchasing an app.

Effective ad creatives can help increase visibility and downloads, leading to high quality user acquisition and better retention rates, which ultimately drive revenue and profitability. During the first stages of an app install campaign, advertisers provide partners with multiple formats of creatives (banners, videos, gifs, etc.). and then it is up to the campaign manager to choose with which ones to start the campaign.

Utilize Attribution Platforms

Mobile app attribution is crucial for understanding which of your networks are delivering users. Long story short, an app attribution platform allows you to discover where your users come from.

Attribution platforms are essential for mobile user acquisition campaigns as they help advertisers understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and allocate their budgets accordingly. By tracking user engagement and behavior, attribution platforms provide valuable insights into which channels and campaigns are driving the most app installs, engagement, and revenue. This data allows advertisers to optimize their campaigns in real-time, adjust their targeting strategy, and make data-driven decisions to maximize their ROI. Without attribution platforms, it can be difficult for advertisers to accurately measure the success of their campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Thanks to MMPs advertisers build links to track campaign activity, the so-called Tracking links, which are indispensable requirements for proper attribution tracking. Basically, they are hyperlinks, whose goal is to keep track of users who click the link and then download the app so that the ad publisher can be given credit for downloads. 

Mobile User Acquisition Campaign Management Day by Day

During the day by day management of a mobile user acquisition campaign, there are important procedures to follow:

AI and Machine Learning Analysis

During the day by day management of a Mobile User Acquisition Campaign, the campaign manager has to deal with machine learning algorithms that handle much of the data analysis that optimize traffic acquisition.

Therefore, machine learning analysis is a crucial aspect to consider.  It refers to the use of AI-driven algorithms to mine and analyze data, track user behavior and preferences, and deliver personalized and targeted advertisements to users. Machine learning enables predictive analysis, which can improve ad targeting and user engagement. Furthermore, it also helps in identifying potential fraud and threats improving overall security. Machine learning has become even more important following the latest updates regarding user privacy. Therefore, it is a crucial praxis in the contextual targeting of users, as it can analyze multiple contextual signals.

During the management of a mobile user acquisition campaign then, on the one hand there is an efficient technology that accurately analyzes and optimizes campaigns and on the other hand a human component that is equally necessary, which always monitors everything and makes strategic decisions about campaign optimization. 

Checking day by day performance

During a day in the life of a campaign manager, one of the most important tasks is to check the campaign’s performance. It is important to monitor the performance to see whether it is in line with the customer's KPIs or it needs to be adjusted. 

This optimization process is possible thanks to the monitoring of key metrics such as CTR, ROI/ ROAS, conversion rate and in-app events rate. It goes without saying that this monitoring process must be complemented by the use of strategies aimed at optimizing these metrics.

A/B Creatives Testing

When managing a mobile app install campaign, creatives cover a key role. User Acquisition campaigns can indeed work with more creatives and ad formats but not all of them achieve the same results. Different audiences react in different ways, for this reason A/B testing is important, because every campaign is unique and something that functions well for one might not always work for another.

Briefly, thanks to Creative A/B testing campaign managers can assess the performance of different creatives, since you can notice how a specific format performs alongside another.

Problem Solving Skills are Key

Running a Mobile User Acquisition campaign does not come without problems, therefore problem-solving skills and reactivity are key qualities to be found in a campaign manager

It is crucial for a campaign manager to always respond to customer needs and at the same time to be responsive to unforeseen events in the campaign (e.g. launch campaign on a new geo because of advertiser’s new market penetration, or change campaign pricing model, for example by switching from CPI to CPA to make the campaign more profitable for the advertiser.)

Key Takeaways for a Successful Mobile UA Campaign Management

  • Setting the right budget is crucial for your Mobile App Ad Campaign success.

  • Identify the KPIs that allow you to understand the effectiveness of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize the ad spend.

  • Choosing effective ad creatives leads to increased app visibility and downloads, leading to high quality user acquisition and better retention rates, which ultimately drive revenue and profitability.

  • Without attribution platforms, it can be difficult for advertisers to accurately measure the success of their campaigns and identify areas for improvement. Tracking Links are indispensable requirements for proper attribution tracking.

  • Utilizing machine learning algorithms is important for the management of a mobile app advertising campaign, since they analyze data, track user behavior and preferences, and deliver personalized and targeted advertisements to users.

  • Despite the presence of AI-driven algorithms, human intervention is always necessary to monitor  everything and make strategic decisions about campaign optimization.

  • Day by day monitoring of the performance is crucial to understand whether the campaign is working or needs to be adjusted. 

  • Running A/B creatives testing is important, because every campaign is unique and an ad format that functions well for one might not always work for another.

  • Last but not least, problem-solving skills and reactiveness are key qualities for the perfect campaign manager.