After four generations of SKAdNetwork (SKAN), Apple unveiled AdAttributionKit (AAK) as its latest privacy-focused marketing framework. AAK improves on SKAN 4 by offering a more comprehensive advertising tracking solution.
Amongst various updates announced, the use-case that caught the most attention is the promise of re-engagement tracking for iOS campaigns. That’s because tracking re-engagement helps mobile marketers get a more complete view of lifetime value (LTV) and return on ad spend (ROAS) for their iOS campaigns. But what does this look like in action? We explore three major impacts on your iOS strategy below.
Reminder: it’s re-engagement, not re-targeting
AAK can now report users returning to your app following an ad. It does not offer any targeting: and iOS marketers should not expect to be able to use AAK to target specific individuals.
This means that device-level retargeting on iOS will continue to rely on IDFA, targeting only users who have opted into ATT tracking. (This can be a point of confusion when contrasted to Google’s Sandbox framework — which does offer retargeting in addition to measurement.)
The average ATT opt-in rate now sits at around 14%, meaning that precise retargeting on iOS is still quite limited when compared to Android, with most users not targetable.
AAK’s real benefit: a more complete view of your ROAS and LTV
With the introduction of AAK, marketers can now measure both app installs and re-engagements from a single ad or campaign. This is unlike SKAN, where any re-engagement actions would currently go unmeasured and cannot be used to steer a campaign goal.
Let’s outline some common cases below to compare and contrast SKAN 4.0 with AAK:
| User case | SKAN 4.0 postback sent? | AAK postback sent? |
|---|---|---|
| Standard UA: Someone follows an ad and installs your app for the first time. | Yes | Yes Postback contains ‘conversion type’ = ‘install’ |
| Standard UA: re-install Someone follows an ad and re-installs your app after previously having deleted it. | Yes Marked as re-install | Yes Postback contains ‘conversion type’ = ‘re-install’ |
| Standard UA with a purchase: The new user goes on to make a purchase in the app within 35 days | Yes | Yes Postback contains ‘conversion type’ = ‘install’ |
| Re-engagement: An existing user who hasn’t opened your app recently follows an ad and re-opens the app. | No postback sent (cannot be measured) | Yes (NEW) Postback contains ‘conversion type’ = ‘reengagement‘ |
| Re-engagement with a purchase: The same existing user then makes a purchase in the app (within 35 days), after reopening it. | No postback sent (cannot be measured) | Yes (NEW) The purchase event contains ‘conversion type’ = ‘reengagement‘ to show that this followed from a reengagement, not a fresh install. |
How mixed outcome campaigns can impact your iOS strategy
AAK offers the opportunity to shift to a mixed outcome approach for iOS campaigns where any one ad may both i) acquire new users, and ii) re-engage existing users. UA managers can use this new information to optimize toward their campaign goal.
- Example 1: Optimize your UA campaign’s contextual targeting to remove placements where you’re re-engaging too many existing users.
- Example 2: Adapt your creatives in contexts where you have a high hit-rate on existing users to bring more lapsed users back without relying on IDFA targeting.
More established apps — with larger install bases — have a much larger challenge and opportunity to use this new reengagement signal in their UA campaigns, since a far higher share of their contextual ads will inevitably be exposed to existing users.
Conversely, newer apps and/or apps with smaller audiences can more safely assume that the vast majority of people seeing their ads are unknown.
Making the most of AAK for user acquisition
AdAttributionKit unlocks a treasure trove of data that mobile marketers can use for highly effective iOS campaigns for both new and returning users.
For SKAN skeptics and fans alike, AAK presents exciting possibilities for user acquisition and reengagement. The time to get on board with AAK is now — putting it off only means missing out on growing your user base.
