Mobile app marketing
User acquisition for apps, measured properly
ADEX runs paid user acquisition for apps with measurement built in — MMP attribution, SKAN-aware campaign design, creative testing and retention analysis — so growth is judged by activated, retained users, not raw installs.
The problem
Apps are easy to scale on installs and easy to fool. A cheap CPI can hide low-quality users who never activate, never pay and churn in a week — and post-ATT, the measurement gap makes that easy to miss.
Without attribution wired to activation and retention, an app growth team optimizes to the top of the funnel and discovers the damage a month later in the cohort data, when the budget is already spent.
How ADEX runs it
- 01
Wire measurement first
Stand up MMP attribution and a SKAN schema so installs connect to activation, payer conversion and retention before scaling spend.
- 02
Structure for app channels
Build campaigns around the way app networks and self-attributing networks actually optimize, with a structure that survives iOS measurement limits.
- 03
Test creative as the lever
On apps, creative is the primary performance lever — run a disciplined testing cadence against downstream quality, not just CTR.
- 04
Judge by cohorts
Evaluate campaigns on D7/D30 retention, payer conversion and LTV by cohort, so budget follows users who stay, not users who install.
- 05
Feed the loop back
Route cohort and quality signals back into bidding and audience decisions, so acquisition improves as the data matures.
Proof
- Operated across 18 countries, including gaming, fintech, delivery and consumer apps.
- App measurement is run on the same certified MMP stack (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular, Branch) ADEX uses for attribution and migration work.
- Acquisition, attribution and dashboards are one system, so install, activation and revenue reconcile.
App growth depends on the product, retention and market as much as on media. Post-ATT, some iOS measurement is modeled — we are explicit about what is deterministic and what is not.
What you get
Measurement
- MMP attribution setup
- SKAN conversion schema
- Activation and retention events
Acquisition
- App channel campaign management
- Creative testing cadence
- Bid and audience strategy
Analysis
- Cohort retention and LTV
- Payer conversion analysis
- Quality-adjusted CAC
When this is right
- You run an app and are scaling paid user acquisition.
- You suspect cheap installs are hiding low-quality users.
- You need acquisition, attribution and retention analyzed as one system.
When it isn't
- You have no app — this is app UA, not web performance.
- Your app has no retention yet — fix the product loop before pouring in paid installs.
- You only want the cheapest possible CPI — that usually buys users who never pay.