Note: As of January 28th, 2021, Apple has changed its policies regarding attribution on iOS 14. Read about that update and Branch’s latest stance here.
This blog post is part of a series with Fyber and Moloco. Find Fyber’s announcement here and MOLOCO’s announcement here.
Soon after Apple’s announcement of its intention to fundamentally change how advertising-related privacy settings work in the iOS ecosystem, it released SKAdNetwork 2.0, an updated version of its app install validation framework.
While the SKAdNetwok 2.0 added much-needed data parameters that were missing from version 1.0 of the framework, it did not address one element that put the entire programmatic app ecosystem in flux – in order to receive SKAdNetwork postbacks and validate installs, the demand-side company must have its SDK integrated into the publisher’s app.
This implementation does not account for Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) that play an important role in the user acquisition strategy of many top app publishers, but do not have their own SDK and rather rely on real-time bidding to access inventory and run their campaigns.
Solving SKAdNetwork for programmatic user acquisition – a collaboration between supply, demand, and measurement
In order for programmatic UA to successfully transition to the post-IDFA era, close collaboration is required between supply, demand, and measurement, each playing a critical role in the successful implementation of SKAdNetwork and execution of the ad campaign.
This led the teams at Fyber, MOLOCO, and Branch to partner in running an end-to-end test that would ensure that each part of the value chain is sending and receiving the necessary signals to provide optimal service to their clients.
Fyber – Laying the supply-side groundwork
To facilitate the end-to-end testing of campaign execution, Fyber developed a self-serve DSP Test App that allows DSP partners to test their integration and creatives on Fyber’s inventory and gain transparency on Fyber’s SDK components and behaviors.
“Fyber enabled iOS 14 and SKAdNetwork support in our SDK and DSP Test App to give our trusted partners, like MOLOCO and Branch, an easy-to-use sandbox environment for end-to-end testing of their iOS 14 campaigns,” says Alon Golan, VP Product at Fyber. “Partners can vet that postbacks are received from Apple, verify contextual data can be targeted properly, and confirm advanced creatives deliver a high-quality user experience.”
MOLOCO – demand-side execution
MOLOCO set up a campaign that targeted the self-serve DSP Test App and was able to confirm that:
- SKAdNetwork ID is properly listed in the info.plist Fyber provided to its publishers
- SKAdNetwork bid requests are properly identified in the bid stream
- Bid responses that require SKAdNetwork support are passed correctly to Fyber, including MOLOCO’s encoded signature, which lead to the optimal rendering of the ad creative
- SKAdNetwork postbacks are being successfully received from Apple
“At MOLOCO, we understand that SKAdNetwork is the future and have been collaborating with a few of our partner exchanges and MMPs to make sure we can test and support SKAdNetwork postbacks. This was a unique challenge because it required simultaneous changes from many players – advertiser, publisher, exchange, DSP, and MMP” says Thomas Shin, VP of Sales, at MOLOCO. “With help from Fyber’s DSP Test App and Branch’s test environment, MOLOCO was able to sort through the complexity and build an end to end integration. Together, we will continue to pioneer solutions that will help the entire ecosystem continue to evolve and prepare for this entirely new chapter that we are all about to enter.”
Following the successful test, MOLOCO enabled buying of live iOS 14 traffic from Fyber and is successfully receiving SKAdNetwork postbacks, gradually increasing the volume of this activity.
Branch – closing the marketing loop
To support the end-to-end execution of this test, Branch set up a testing environment for MOLOCO to send SKAdNetwork postbacks to. Upon receipt of the SKAdNetwork postbacks from MOLOCO, Branch was able to validate that the postbacks were indeed complete and could be successfully aggregated and analyzed, enabling marketers who use Branch to see all SKAdNetwork data in one place and identify opportunities to optimize campaigns as well as budget allocation across advertising channels.
“Branch has always been about better customer experiences and more comprehensive measurement due to better attribution. Partners have always played a critical role for Branch in delivering that mission to our end clients.” Says Eric Stein, EVP & GM at Branch. “That’s all the more so true today given the impending changes to iOS14 and the IDFA. We are working closely with partners like Moloco, Fyber, and others across the ads ecosystem – whether that’s demand, supply, and measurement – to ensure that the solutions we bring to market in 2021 will help ensure our clients’ success and the user’s expectation for privacy.”
“Fyber’s technology is focused on setting clients and partners up for success through efficiency and scale, and that impact is best achieved when you have willing and capable collaborators like the teams at Branch and MOLOCO.” adds Alon Golan “For SKAdNetwork to work properly in a bidding environment, it is crucial to have seamless collaboration between demand, supply, and measurement, and we’re eager to collaborate with additional partners in our ecosystem to ensure marketers and publishers can be confident in their iOS 14 readiness.”
This collaboration between Fyber, MOLOCO, and Branch marks the first successful execution of a standardized solution to support SKAdNetwork and gives all companies involved the confidence in our ability to support our respective clients in their transition to the post-IDFA era. We collectively encourage marketers and publishers to participate in these end-to-end tests to ensure their readiness and gain confidence in their implementation of SKAdNetwork, and in their ability to deliver positive ROAS on one end, and enjoy sustainable monetization on the other.
Learn more in the video below:
Click here for more information about how to prepare for the post-IDFA era.