On May 23, 2024, Branch hosted the highly anticipated Leaders in Mobile Growth event at The St. Regis Mumbai. The day included captivating sessions by esteemed speakers and industry experts, offering valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing marketers in today’s dynamic digital ecosystem. From navigating the intricacies of mobile user acquisition to harnessing the power of data analytics for personalized customer experiences, each session delved into key facets of mobile growth strategy, best practices, and emerging trends.

Our commitment to fostering dialogue and collaboration among participants was the foundation of the event, creating an environment conducive to learning, sharing, and networking. Through engaging panel discussions, thought-provoking keynotes, and interactive breakout sessions, attendees had the opportunity to exchange ideas, forge connections, and learn actionable strategies to drive mobile growth initiatives within their organizations.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of the key sessions: 

Navigating the Mobile Growth Horizon: Future-Forward Strategies in 2024

The day began with an enlightening keynote by Irina Bukatik, VP of product at Branch, who underscored the importance of going beyond user acquisition. She emphasized the need to focus on return on investment (ROI) and foster user engagement through exceptional experiences. Irina’s presentation set a forward-thinking tone, showcasing the shift toward sustainable growth methodologies within the mobile ecosystem.

Mastering Mobile Success: Decoding the Winning Formula

Ravinder Bhamra, country head at Bajaj Finserv, captivated the audience with compelling success stories of her company’s app’s growth trajectory, crediting a significant portion of its achievements to its collaboration with Branch. Her session gave attendees practical insights into attaining and sustaining mobile success, offering a replicable blueprint for other enterprises.

Strategic Brand Building & User Acquisition: Proven Paid Media Strategies

Shalet Roy, director of business development at our platinum sponsor, VEVE, delivered a thought-provoking keynote on effective paid media strategies in a smartphone-first world. Their expert analysis on strategic brand building and user acquisition, along with the demonstration of effective methodologies to thrive in today’s competitive market, resonated with the audience.

Leveraging Data and Martech for Tailored Customer Experiences

Arnab Ganguly, senior director of analytics and business insights at Tata Digital, presented actionable insights on leveraging data and marketing technology to create personalized customer experiences. His session highlighted the transformative power of data in crafting compelling marketing campaigns and fostering customer loyalty.

Maximizing Marketing Performance & ROI

A key highlight of the event was the panel discussion featuring industry leaders Chirag Gupta, AVP product at CarWale; Ameet Phadke, chief business officer at EatSure, Rebel Foods; and Stephanie Herndon-Rasse, VP customer experience at Branch. The panelists shared their top strategies for maximizing marketing performance and ROI, offering diverse perspectives and pragmatic advice.

They addressed challenges marketers face today, including increasingly complex customer journeys, measuring ROI in a fragmented digital landscape, and balancing short-term results with long-term brand equity. The panelists emphasized the importance of data analytics, agile marketing practices, and cross-functional collaboration to overcome these hurdles. They also stressed the necessity of keeping the customer at the forefront of all strategies. 

The panelists underscored the importance of personalized experiences to drive engagement and loyalty. They highlighted the significance of understanding and anticipating customer needs, preferences, and behaviors. Their insights on balancing budget constraints with innovation provided actionable strategies for navigating the evolving marketing landscape.

The Future of Marketing Measurement

In a captivating fireside chat, Srinivas Seshadri, SVP business operations at Sokrati, took center stage to explore the future of marketing measurement in a cookie-less environment. With the impending changes in digital privacy regulations, including the deprecation of identifiers like the identifier for advertisers (IDFA) and Google Advertising Identifier (GAID), marketers are encountering unprecedented challenges in tracking and measuring campaign efficacy.

Seshadri expertly navigated the complexities of this shifting paradigm, shedding light on the implications for marketers and advertisers alike. He emphasized the need for adaptive strategies that leverage alternative methods of measurement and attribution while also respecting user privacy and data protection regulations.

Seshadri also provided strategic solutions to overcome these challenges, including adopting first-party data strategies, implementing contextual targeting techniques, and exploring innovative measurement methodologies. His insights offered a road map for marketers to navigate the evolving landscape with confidence, ensuring campaigns remain effective and compliant in a cookie-less future.

Furthermore, Seshadri delved into the concept of Privacy Sandbox, Google’s initiative to develop a more privacy-centric ecosystem for digital advertising. By fostering collaboration and innovation within the industry, the Privacy Sandbox aims to strike a balance between user privacy and advertising effectiveness, presenting new opportunities for marketers to thrive without cookies.

Attendees left the session with a newfound understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving marketing measurement landscape. 

Engaging breakout sessions

Following the keynote sessions, attendees participated in smaller breakout groups to discuss pertinent topics, including:

1. Emerging & Alternative Channels for Driving Acquisition
2. Increasing Customer Retention
3. Omnichannel Marketing Strategies
4. Navigating Digital Transformation in a Mobile-Led World
5. Enhancing Engagement Throughout the Customer Lifecycle
6. The Future of Mobile Attribution and Linking in a World Without User-Level Identifiers
7. Designing a Customer Data Strategy for Efficient Mobile Growth
8. Bridging the Offline to Online User Journey

A night to remember

Of course, it wouldn’t be an LIMG event without some fun. We ended the night with a raffle, and we’re delighted to congratulate our iPad winner, Karthik KVS, AVP growth at PayNearby!

Leaders in Mobile Growth Mumbai was an invaluable experience that brought together the industry’s leading minds. The exchange of ideas, strategies, and insights will undoubtedly influence the future of the mobile growth landscape. We can’t wait for the next editions to continue this journey of innovation and success!

We extend our gratitude to all the speakers, sponsors, and attendees for contributing to the remarkable success of this event. See you next time!

The post Leaders in Mobile Growth Mumbai 2024: Here’s What You Missed appeared first on Branch.

Growth is the end goal of almost every app marketer.

To achieve it, we master different paid user acquisition (UA) channels. Apple Search Ads is one such platform that can help acquire high lifetime value (LTV) users. Just like any channel, it keeps evolving, meaning industry benchmarks and best practices also change. So, whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just dipping your toes into Apple Search Ads, there is always something new to learn.

This post is all about that — learning. Get ready to delve deep into the latest Apple Search Ads benchmarks and life hacks that will help your Apple Search Ads campaigns rise to new heights in 2024.

Handle account structure with care

When starting with Apple Search Ads, focus on setting up your account correctly. There are two main ways to do this: the semantics-based approach and the value-based one.

Let’s start with the semantics-based approach. This is a proven method for most advertisers.

1. Split your account into five campaigns: Brand, Generic, Competitors, Discovery, and Proxy.
2. Add keywords as an exact match in all campaigns except Discovery, where Broad and Search Match are used to mine keyword ideas.
3. Run Brand campaigns to retain users and counteract competition.
4. Target all age ranges and genders in Generic and Competitors campaigns to avoid missing out on traffic.
5. Target iPhone and iPad users together in Generic and Competitors campaigns, adjusting bids only if necessary.
6. Use Proxy campaigns to test the downstream performance of keywords from Discovery.
7. Allocate budget to branded keywords first, then distribute remaining budget across mid- and lower-performing keywords.
8. Target three user types: new users, returning users, and all users in separate ad groups for Brand, Generic, and Competitors campaigns.
9. Divide theme ad groups based on user intent into audiences: new, returning, and all users, and share the same keyword list within each theme.

The second approach is  value-based. Here, we group keywords based on how valuable they are to your target audience. Stick to these rules:

1. Organize keywords into campaigns based on their value to you as an app marketer.
2. Create the recommended structure: Brand campaign, Discovery campaign, and Tiered campaigns (usually with three tiers).
3. Allocate your maximum bid to the Brand campaign to attract users interested in your brand, potentially leading to high-value conversions.
4. For Tier 1 campaigns, identify keywords that bring high LTV users and set a competitive bid to maximize impression share.
5. Use Tier 2 campaigns to target users with medium value, with a bid lower than Tier 1 but higher than Tier 3.
6. Set the lowest bid for Tier 3 campaigns, as these users have the lowest value for your business.
7. In the Discovery campaign, match the bid with Tier 2 or Tier 1 campaigns to compete effectively and discover new search terms.
8. Consider creating a Probing/Proxy campaign to test discovered keywords’ conversion rates, using Exact Match keywords from the Discovery campaign.
9. Implement a budget waterfall strategy, prioritizing spending on high-value keywords first and gradually allocating resources downward to mitigate risks and maximize profits.

Before you move forward, make sure you fully understand these approaches. Remember: A structured account reduces statistical dilution and self-competition, providing a clearer understanding of your performance.

Now, let’s get into some best practices.

1. Automate and optimize

Optimizing Apple Search Ads is crucial for maximizing performance.

Start by eliminating potential data discrepancies between Apple Search Ads and your mobile measurement partner (MMP). This is easily done by integrating a  third-party tool like SplitMetrics Acquire, which streamlines data gathering and allows you to see all metrics in a single dashboard.

This is how Auto Trader, a digital marketplace for buying and selling new and used vehicles, achieved growth with SplitMetrics Acquire. It previously struggled with manual optimization, finding it time-consuming and challenging to keep up with changes.

SplitMetrics Acquire provided automated tools to weed out non-performing keywords and optimize bid strategies. With SplitMetrics Acquire, Auto Trader saw a 15% increase in downloads, a 25% decrease in cost per download, and a 51% increase in tap-through rate.

You can experience the convenience  for yourself by signing up for a totally free plan by SplitMetrics Acquire.

2. Do keyword research on a regular basis

Finding high-performing keywords is an ongoing job.

The best you can do here is invest your time and energy into thorough keyword research. Here are some tips:

• Analyze competitors’ keywords, both organic and bid-on, to gain insights.
• Utilize Search Match to connect ads with relevant search queries on the App Store.
• Leverage third-party tools like SplitMetrics Acquire, equipped with a Keyword Planner for comprehensive keyword analysis. You can also install a free Chrome Extension to view Search Popularity numeric values and max possible impressions right in your Apple Search Ads and SplitMetrics Acquire accounts.
• Explore new keyword suggestions directly on the App Store’s search section.
• Enhance your keyword list by picking up synonyms for your high-performing keywords. AI tools like ChatGPT can be pretty helpful here.

You can choose to follow only one strategy from this list, but to get as many valuable keywords as possible, it’s best to use multiple keyword sources.

3. Enhance relevance and explore ASO/Apple Search Ads synergy

Ensuring relevance is a must in Apple Search Ads.

Optimize the app’s metadata, including the title, subtitle, and creatives, to enhance relevance. Make sure they all highlight your app’s value proposition and contain keywords relevant to your category. Doing so will help streamline keyword visibility in Apple Search Ads.

In turn, Apple Search Ads can support your app store optimization (ASO) efforts by providing keyword conversion data, daily installs volumes, and more.

4. Keep an eye on Apple Search Ads benchmarks

Monitoring Apple Search Ads benchmarks helps you stay competitive in the market.

You can see how your performance stacks up against competitors and adjust your bidding strategy, ad creatives, and other parameters based on what’s working well for others in your industry.

What’s more, Apple Search Ads benchmarks can indicate the overall state of this user acquisition channel. Here’s an example:

In the first six months of 2023, the average tap-through rate (TTR) for Apple Search Ads search results was 10.22%, surpassing the 9.93% recorded in the second half of 2022. This data is from the latest Apple Search Ads Search Results Benchmarks Report by SplitMetrics.

The report features comments from industry experts that explain the reasons behind this increase. In particular, they name a higher adoption rate of custom product pages and new ad placements in the channel.

For app marketers, this knowledge can be pretty helpful. It’s a signal that you should try out custom product pages and new placements yourself.

5. Use custom product pages

If you haven’t started using custom product pages, think again.

They offer several benefits for ad campaigns in search results:

• App marketers can experiment with different value propositions to see which works best.
• Ad campaigns can display messages tailored to the needs of diverse audiences, enhancing relevance and engagement.
• App marketers can segment their audience and run targeted campaigns for each segment.
• Customizing ads for specific markets with cultural differences in mind allows for more impactful campaigns.
• App marketers can easily create dedicated ads for holidays and other events.

Moreover, custom product pages are essential for Today tab campaigns, serving as both destinations and sources of creatives for ad backgrounds.

6. Explore different Apple Search Ads placements

In 2024, understanding how different Apple Search Ads placements impact your paid UA strategy is essential. Utilizing all four placements can help maximize reach and improve conversions.

Search results ads are great for capturing user demand and can be paired with Search tab ads to enhance brand awareness. Today, tab ads further elevate brand visibility, influencing user decisions when they encounter the app in search results. Additionally, product page ads offer opportunities to showcase app offerings right on competitors’ pages.

Being reasonable is key here. Ensure that expanding to new placements is in line with your budgeting first.

The bottom line

With industry benchmarks and best practices, you can ensure your Apple Search Ads campaigns are on the right track.

Monitoring benchmarks and trends never hurts. Be on the constant lookout for new insights and UA news. This ongoing vigilance allows you to adapt your campaigns to changes in the market and capitalize on new opportunities as they arise.

After all, there’s nothing better than knowledge.

The post 7 Proven Ways to Grow With Apple Search Ads: Benchmarks and Best Practices for 2024  appeared first on Branch.

• Google’s Privacy Sandbox and the User Lifecycle: Thriving in a Post-Identifier Deprecation Landscape
• Navigating iOS 17’s Privacy Landscape: The Road Ahead for App Developers and Advertisers
• Making Sense of Aggregate Data: Keeping Marketing Effective Using Privacy-Centric Measurement

With this context, we’ll dive into some of the highlights from a recent webinar featuring industry experts — Adam Landis, Head of Growth at Branch, and David Philippson, Co-founder and CEO at Dataseat (now part of the Verve Group) — to get to the bottom of what’s really going on with SKAdNetwork (SKAN) and Google Privacy Sandbox, and how marketers should be preparing for the future of privacy and measurement.

TL;DR

• Don’t shy from the complexity — and don’t be fooled, privacy is complex.
• It may be tempting to break the rules (we’re looking at you, fingerprinting) — but do you want to wake up with your business on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for breaking them?
• Deterministic measurement is going away. Invest in strategies now that will stand the test of time (or privacy) —  this will ensure continuity and set you up to thrive in the future.

What’s really going on with SKAdNetwork adoption?

Current SKAdNetwork industry adoption rates hover around 30%. But why? Much of the reason falls to Apple itself with what many considered subpar products in SKAN 2 and SKAN 3 that didn’t deliver much of a return on effort as well as a wishy-washy approach to enforcement, but those days are coming to a close. As of May 1, 2024, Apple has started requiring something called privacy manifest, which is intended to stop fingerprinting — a practice that involves collecting and analyzing unique device and user data to create a distinct identifier for a user during a specific point in time — and force advertisers to use SKAN only.

According to Phillipson, “What Apple has done is listed five commonly-used APIs within the Apple operating system that a developer or a third-party partner can access. They’re basically saying, if you or any third party is using any of these APIs, you need a privacy manifest, and you then have to explain why you’re using these APIs. What this will allow is for Apple, the App Store, and the app developer to actually have a ‘privacy nutrition label.’ So that consumers that are in the App Store looking at your app will be able to say, ‘Well, this app from a privacy perspective, is very clean.”

Essentially, app owners will be responsible for letting Apple know what they’re doing with private user information. But if the onus falls on app owners, can’t they just lie? Maybe. But at what cost? Nobody wants to be caught in a potentially business-damaging scandal.

In some ways, Apple is relying on honesty. But Phillipson suggested that, “If you have an app, you’re very likely using the disk space API, so that means you need a privacy manifest. If you have a privacy manifest, you have a variable in your privacy manifest called NS privacy tracking. It’s a yes or a no, and you need to indicate whether you or a third party do any tracking. So at that point you’re either going to have to say, ‘yes, we have an MMP SDK,’ or you’re gonna have to lie. You’re a brave person if you’re going to lie.”

Given Apple’s previous ambiguity on the rules and how many of them are left up for interpretation, starting May 1 in a post-privacy manifest world Apple will start rejecting apps that don’t publish a privacy manifest. The good news is that most of the supply side is raring to go; Dataseat found that, as of February 2024, 94% of inventory is SKAN-ready.

What’s really going on with Google Privacy Sandbox?

Google Privacy Sandbox suddenly doesn’t seem like some far-flung future state; it’s much more real now.

“Google is very advertising friendly. It’s privacy-first for the consumer, but ensuring it supports the ad ecosystem. Friendliness comes with a downside, which is speed,” Philippson said.

Google’s mobile devices are much more varied than Apple’s. Whereas Apple could just turn off IDFA with an update, Google has many more hoops to jump through to get their GAID off handsets made by other companies like Samsung and OnePlus.

Philippson predicted, “GAID not being an identifier for adtech whether it’s MMPs for attribution or DSP for retargeting impression, frequency, capping — all of the important stuff that persistent identifiers are useful for — is still going to be available in 2025, and it’s still going to be available, very likely, in the first part of 2026.”

Does this mean you can ignore the Privacy Sandbox right now? Nope. While these identifiers are still available, you should try to get to parity without them before they go away. More on that later.

What is the purpose of a mobile measurement partner in this new world?

If all this attribution data is going away, getting aggregated, or becoming anonymized, what’s the point of an MMP — which integrates with mobile app publishers and ad networks to track user behavior and attribute events?

“The purpose of the MMP is to abstract the complexity of these multiple data sources and help the advertiser arrive at a source of truth. So you’re going to have constantly conflicting data sources with intentions that are just naturally selfish. Facebook is selfish in saying, ‘I drove this conversion,’ and they might have had a hand in driving this conversion, but it might have also come from Google, [or] it might have come from Apple search. So the short answer is, you take all these data sources and then you figure out a way to normalize them through incrementality lift testing: you shut one off [to] find out how much else you drove. You’ll get a coefficient of what Facebook overreports or underreports. That’s a number, and then you track all three of those moving forward,” Landis said.

MMPs are massively important in this new world because they are on point to give you one attribution source of truth. It might just be a little different than what you’re used to. As Landis explained, “Measurement is the past; signal is the future.” So it will go from knowing you got 40 installs from this source to being 95% sure it caused 40-ish installs, which is still very helpful given the amount of data that is going away.

What should marketers do to prepare now?

Should marketers take advantage of user-level information up until the last second they are allowed to or be more proactive and change strategies now? The consensus in the webinar was: invest now to thrive in the future.

When it comes to Privacy Sandbox, Landis advised that “user-level info is going to go away, period. It’s going to be anonymized. It’s going to be aggregated. It’s going to be opaque. We’re not going to be able to do deterministic tracking in the future. So you need to figure out how to do business without it today or else you’re gonna lose…Make sure that you’re not getting a huge hit to your business in revenue if it goes away because it is going away. And, if it’s going to cause you to lose money, then you better figure out now — before you lose money — how to deal with it. Run it in parallel. Figure out how to get to parity without the ID while you have the ID to lean on.”

And for SKAN, Phillipson said, “What you should not do is ignore that SKAN is coming or have the attitude that ‘I’m going to be able to carry on probabilistically matching with another MMP forever.’ There are other MMPs out there saying to advertisers that this isn’t going away. Carry on using it. Carry on paying my [MMP’s] extortion license fees, but they haven’t got nearly as wide a value proposition as Branch. If all you do is attribution, of course you fear it going away because you haven’t got much value proposition.”

This is just a glimpse of what was discussed. For the full, in-depth conversation, watch The Unpopular Truth about the State of Privacy webinar. If you have questions about the future of privacy, reach out to our team!

The post SKAdNetwork Adoption, Privacy Sandbox Updates, and How Marketers Should Prepare for Changes Now appeared first on Branch.

SKAN 5

Current state: Adoption of SKAN 4 has been lukewarm, with only about 30% of advertisers on board. The upcoming SKAN 5 promises to enable retargeting measurement but falls short of improving targeting capabilities, focusing instead on reidentification of users post-install.

Prediction: The impact of SKAN 5’s launch will likely be minimal. We believe the industry will largely ignore the update due to its limited improvements compared to previous versions and the bevy of complexities it introduces. 

Edit (5/30): We’re still weeks away from the conference, but there’s already compelling evidence that this prediction is incorrect. Our friends at DataSeat published a strong prediction that SKAN 5 will be renamed (and reissued) AdAttributionKit. Our take? Probably correct. Call it whatever you want; it’s SKAN 5 with alternative app store support. Why drop the Store KitAd Network moniker? To protect the Apple App Store brand, of course!

Privacy Manifest

Current state: As of May 1, Privacy Manifest now requires apps to declare their data usage. Apple’s enforcement seems primarily focused on apps that do not properly declare their Required Reason APIs;  notably, we’ve seen numerous App Store submission rejections of apps that haven’t declared their own or their third-party usage of Required Reason APIs. 

Prediction: It’s unlikely we’ll see any major announcements regarding Privacy Manifest. However, there is anticipation that third-party tracking declarations will directly correspond with Apps Privacy Nutrition Label declarations. 

App Store adjustments

Current state: In January, Apple announced a number of changes to its App Store policies as a result of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Most notably, the ability to sideload apps from third-party app stores in the EU. The changes generated significant buzz, though they’ve been perceived as overly restrictive. 

Prediction: Apple will likely announce slight changes to its policies to align with these regulations, but don’t expect them to make alternative app stores any more viable. Apple’s stance appears firm, unless future legal actions force it to reconsider.

Vision Pro

Current state: Expectations around Apple’s first 3D camera are tempered. Predictions of slow sales, compounded by limited content availability, deters developers from investing in the platform.

Prediction: Apple is likely to adopt a conservative approach to the iteration of Vision Pro devices — similar to its strategy with iPads — focusing on long-term development.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Current state: Although Apple has shown signs of AI innovation, notably through its published research papers, general sentiment suggests that its announcements will focus on what’s planned rather than what’s currently available. 

Prediction: AI is poised to be the centerpiece of this year’s announcements. Expect to see enhancements in how AI integrates with the Apple ecosystem, increased access through developer frameworks, and more on-device AI capabilities for Siri, like real-time analysis using the iOS 18 camera. There is also a distinct possibility that OpenAI and Apple will announce a partnership to enable Apple hardware users direct, customized access to OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs).

Questions we hope WWDC answers

As always, while we make predictions based on current trends and information, the actual announcements are sure to surprise. This year, we hope Apple clears a few things up:

1. What is the long-term plan with SKAN? It’s imperfect, and that has impacted adoption. How does Apple plan to address the shortcomings?
2. Will there be additional methods of policing fingerprinting? Apple has continually made it clear fingerprinting is not allowed, but it’s still widely practiced. What does Apple intend to do about this? 
3. Would Apple ever enforce a “nuclear option”? If Apple really wanted to put an end to device fingerprinting, it could potentially turn on its iCloud+ Privacy Relay feature for all, or part of, iOS devices. This would eliminate device IP addresses for enough web and in-app network traffic to render fingerprinting moot. 

Stay tuned for what promises to be an exciting event at WWDC 2024 and our annual post-event recap!

The post WWDC 2024: Predictions on Apple’s Announcements appeared first on Branch.

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Branch, the industry’s leading linking and measurement partner for growth-focused teams, today announces the release of Branch Advanced Compliance, a premium solution that provides enhanced security, privacy and data measures for customers in heavily regulated industries like healthcare. For over a decade, Branch has pioneered the development of privacy-first products and services that respect and protect end-user data. In alignment with evolving guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Branch Advanced Compliance offers enhanced security and privacy measures to help customers satisfy their HIPAA obligations.

“To remain competitive in today’s market, healthcare companies need to invest in innovative technology that drives consistent patient experiences while still safeguarding data and alleviating privacy concerns,” shared Irina Bukatik, VP of products, Branch. “Advanced Compliance is a leap forward for healthcare organizations that want to prioritize mobile app growth and user engagement while confidently navigating regulation requirements and meeting HIPAA compliance goals.”

The use of mobile devices and applications in the healthcare industry is steadily increasing as patients expect their healthcare information to be more accessible. However, a majority of surveyed patients (75%) are still concerned about protecting the privacy of their data.

The ability to provide patients with access to data while maintaining compliance is top of mind for healthcare executives and C-suite leaders. Eighty-seven percent identified shifting government regulations as a disruption to their business, and 70% reported that patient demands directly impact their firms’ long-term strategies. Meanwhile, over half (54%) of surveyed healthcare leaders recognized that having the right partner can help them navigate these complex industry changes.

With Advanced Compliance, Branch benefits leading healthcare enterprises by:

• Offering enhanced data privacy features to meet the highest standards of security and compliance for secure handling of Protected Health Information (PHI).
• Driving and measuring user engagement with reliable links that ensure proper and safe attribution within a protected data architecture.
• Minimizing cost to serve with streamlined mobile experiences that reduce the need for support tickets and high-volume customer service calls, thereby decreasing operational expenses.
• Formalizing commitment by signing a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), where Branch agrees to process certain limited individually identifying health information on behalf of a Covered Entity in compliance with HIPAA rules.

“At Branch, we measure success by our impact on our customers’ ability to grow their businesses,” said Paula Mantle, VP of marketing, Branch. “Being the first mobile attribution provider to offer a HIPAA-eligible solution is a testament to the industry-leading partnership and solutions Branch provides that empower our customers to create secure and seamless experiences for their users.”

Branch’s Advanced Compliance solution is available to enterprise contract customers seeking to comply with HIPAA regulations. To learn more about how Branch and Advanced Compliance can help drive digital user acquisition and make a measurable impact on your business, visit our website and read more on our blog.

The post Branch Launches Premium Healthcare Solution To Accelerate Mobile App Adoption and Engagement appeared first on Branch.

The mobile opportunity

Today, consumers seek instant access to relevant healthcare resources, whether booking appointments, view claim information, or managing prescriptions — all from the palm of their hand. To meet consumer expectations, healthcare organizations need to incorporate mobile-first technologies into their growth strategy.

Leading healthcare brands set the bar with Branch by delivering seamless mobile experiences and connecting consumers to the information they need from wherever they are.

Introducing Advanced Compliance

Navigating the complexities of regulatory compliance, especially under HIPAA, can be daunting for healthcare organizations. As the trusted enterprise partner, Branch is committed to supporting the enhanced security, privacy, and compliance needs of healthcare organizations. Our Advanced Compliance solution was built with these principles in mind and is trusted by leading healthcare enterprises.

Advanced Compliance offers an isolated network, protected endpoint, and security gateway with custom traffic routing, strong authentication, and multiple levels of encryption. These features work together to create a robust and secure environment, enabling the secure handling of protected health information (PHI) when performing attribution.

With these enhanced privacy and data measures, Branch uniquely empowers customers in highly regulated industries like healthcare to eliminate user friction and drive engagement without compromising compliance goals.

Unlocking mobile growth

Channels like SEO, social media, offline, web, and email serve as a gateway to deliver value to patients, increase engagement, and reduce operational costs. As the connector between these essential touchpoints and the app, Branch is crucial for any growth-minded marketer or product leader’s toolbox.

With Advanced Compliance, healthcare companies can accelerate mobile app adoption and engagement by deploying robust deep links that seamlessly direct users to expected content across platforms and accurately attribute app activities to the digital channels that prompted them.

From deploying web-to-app banners and QR codes to executing social campaigns and reclaiming SEO app attribution, Branch solutions drive and measure growth from key marketing channels while ensuring safe data handling.

By guiding users to relevant content and providing insight into the clicks, opens, and installs driven organic growth efforts, Branch empowers healthcare organizations to deliver a cohesive and connected healthcare experience for their users.

Advanced Compliance and HIPAA

Security and compliance is a shared responsibility between Branch and our customers. Business associates like IT service providers are responsible for designing their services with adequate security and compliance features. Covered entities like healthcare providers and insurance companies are responsible for configuring those services to meet their specific security and compliance needs.

When covered entities seek assistance from partners to process PHI in compliance with HIPAA regulations, Branch stands ready as a trusted business associate. This partnership enables us to formalize our commitment through a specialized business associate agreement (BAA) tailored specifically for our Advanced Compliance solution.

Whether you’re looking to improve your cost to serve, app adoption, or lifetime value (LTV), Branch can help by seamlessly delivering users to app content and features from owned and earned channels while securely measuring campaign impact.

If your organization wants to optimize mobile experiences and measurement while satisfying your compliance needs, look no further than Branch’s Advanced Compliance solution. We look forward to hearing from you here!

The post Advanced Compliance for Healthcare: Safeguard Your Data With Branch appeared first on Branch.

“Branch has always prioritized building a high-performing, award-winning organization and culture that attracts top talent,” said Mada Seghete, Branch board member and co-founder. “David’s wealth of industry expertise and experience as a strategic leader is a natural fit to lead the company into its next phase of growth.”

As an executive leader and marketing technology industry veteran with over 25 years of experience, David has a proven record as a scalable team builder and world-class operator at Adobe, Efficient Frontier, Yahoo! and Overture. Most recently he served as a strategic advisor and interim Chief Revenue Officer at Pantheon. He has also served on the Boards of Demandbase, Vantiv, Quantifind and JumpTap, along with Senior Advisory appointments at Redpoint Ventures, and TPG Capital.

“Branch has long been a pioneer of solutions that support evolving digital strategies to drive impactful growth for its customers,” shared David Karnstedt, Chief Executive Officer. “I’m excited to continue to raise the bar and lead this incredible team to expand the value we bring to customers and partners.” 

Additional strategic hires and appointments
Irina Butatik has been named VP of products to lead innovation and shape Branch’s product vision.

Rick Johnson has been named VP of finance to lead Branch’s financial strategy and operations.

Stephanie Herndon-Rasse has been named VP of customer experience to lead programs that nurture Branch customers’ journeys.

Mada Seghete, Branch co-founder, has been elected to the Branch Board of Directors. She joins other notable advisors and investors including Scott Sandell (NEA) and Zach Coelius (Coelius Capital).

About Branch
Branch is the linking and measurement partner for growth-focused teams, trusted to maximize the value of their evolving digital strategies. World-class brands like Instacart, Western Union, NBCUniversal, Zocdoc and Sephora rely on Branch to acquire users, retain customers and drive more conversions.

The post Branch Strengthens Leadership Team With Executive Appointments appeared first on Branch.

What you’ll learn:

• The fundamentals of deep linking and its impact on user experience
• Insights into various deep linking systems such as Universal Links, App Links, and Chrome Intents
• Best practices for effective deep linking implementation across channels
• The importance of choosing the right deep linking partner for your organization’s needs

The post Dive Into Deep Linking With Branch appeared first on Branch.

Topics include:

• How much should you invest in ASA and ASO?
• How to measure ASO cannibalization
• How to optimize testing and customization for higher conversion rates

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The post TechTalks #4 | Unlocking the Power of ASA and ASO appeared first on Branch.

By the end of this year, adults will spend 43 more minutes per day on smartphones than on TVs.

The average American spends five hours and 24 minutes on their mobile device each day and checks it every 10 minutes on average. 

At least 79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last six months.

As smartphones have become an integral part of consumers’ lives, businesses have shifted their focus toward mobile marketing strategies. Since good marketing strategies rely on good data, the need for mobile attribution — a method that enables businesses to attribute conversions and user actions to specific marketing sources — will inevitably rise. In the context of large enterprises, the complexity of marketing campaigns, the scale of data needed, and the nuances of privacy compliance make mobile attribution challenging yet indispensable.

Understanding mobile attribution

Mobile attribution tracks and analyzes user interactions on mobile marketing channels to determine which campaigns, channels, or touchpoints contribute to conversions. For large enterprises, the scope of mobile attribution extends beyond simple click tracking; it encompasses a multi-dimensional analysis of user behavior across various touchpoints, devices, and channels.

Key components of mobile attribution:

• User touchpoints: Enterprises must consider the diverse behaviors users exhibit throughout their journey, such as app installs, in-app purchases, and interactions with push notifications. Comprehensive mobile attribution should account for each touchpoint’s influence on the user’s decision-making process.
• Multi-channel analysis: Large businesses use a combination of marketing channels, including social media, email, in-app advertising, offline advertising, and mobile ads. Mobile attribution accurately attributes conversions across these diverse channels so marketers gain a holistic view of campaign metrics and performance — and then invest in the right optimization strategies.
• Cross-device tracking: Users frequently switch between devices throughout their customer journey. Enterprise-grade mobile attribution data should include cross-device tracking to understand how users move across platforms and devices, ensuring a seamless and personalized experience.

Challenges in enterprise-grade mobile attribution

While mobile attribution is crucial for large enterprises, implementing it at scale comes with its own set of challenges.

• Data volume and complexity: Large enterprises generate massive amounts of data from various sources, making it challenging to consolidate and analyze. Enterprise analytics tools and mobile attribution providers must be equipped to efficiently handle and process this extensive data.
• Privacy and compliance: As privacy concerns rise and regulations like GDPR and CCPA become more stringent, enterprises must navigate the extremely complex landscape of data privacy. Mobile app attribution solutions must adhere to these data collection regulations while providing actionable insights.
• Demise of third-party identifiers: The demise of third-party identifiers, cookies, and changes within the Apple ads ecosystem (i.e., SKAdNetwork) presents a challenge for enterprises that rely on these methods for mobile attribution.
• Integration with existing systems: Enterprises often have a multitude of existing systems, including customer relationship management (CRM), analytics, and marketing automation tools. Integrating mobile attribution seamlessly with these systems as well as being able to easily export data into the often-customized data analytics tools enterprises use is vital for a unified view of customer interactions.
• Fragmentation: As digital usage explodes and consumers interact with brands in new and different ways, everything changes, from how end users use technology to the tools enterprises need to understand modern, complex behaviors. This fragmentation makes mobile attribution challenging — unless you have the right measurement partner.
• Business complexity: Most enterprises handle multiple brands, extensive campaigns, different markets, various internal decision makers, and so much more. The size and scale are staggering, so it’s important to have mobile attribution and measurement tools that are easy to use and internally available to everyone who needs them.

Choosing the right mobile attribution tools

Selecting the appropriate mobile attribution solution is a critical decision for large enterprises. Here are some specific needs and challenges that enterprises should consider:

• Scalability: The chosen mobile attribution platform should scale alongside the enterprise’s growth. It should handle increasing data volumes and provide insights that remain actionable as the business expands.
• Customization and flexibility: Enterprises have unique app marketing strategies and goals. A robust mobile attribution solution should be customizable to accommodate the specific requirements and nuances of the enterprise’s marketing ecosystem.
• Operational efficiency: Enterprises should be able to drive revenue and save costs with easy workflows, scalability, strategic support, and expertise to help navigate complex policy changes and evolving digital strategies. That way, businesses never have to choose between performance and compliance.
• Smarter investments: You can’t improve what you can’t measure. Brands need visibility into all cross-channel marketing efforts, so they can have consistent data to help direct spend and efforts for the highest ROI.
• Data exporting: While dashboards and visualizations are important, most enterprises benefit from being able to export data into the more functional and customized analysis tools they already use.

Which attribution model is best for enterprises?

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, it’s crucial to evaluate each method’s effectiveness and precision when considering the optimal attribution method. You need accurate data to make well-informed business decisions. While traditional methods like install touch have seen past success, they no longer suffice. And, although multi-touch attribution can be beneficial, as device identifiers go away, without a clear idea of who an individual is and how they interact with a brand across platforms and over a period of time, multi-touch attribution breaks and is generally unreliable.

Branch prefers last-touch attribution because it aligns with the evolving priorities of modern mobile marketers. This approach offers a clearer perspective on which campaigns truly drive conversions beyond mere installations. It also ensures that credit is rightfully attributed to touchpoints directly responsible for conversions, encompassing more valuable actions like conversions, revenue, retention, engagement, and lifetime value.

Successful implementations of enterprise-grade mobile attribution

To illustrate the practical impact of enterprise-grade mobile attribution and marketing analytics, we’ll explore a few case studies where large businesses have effectively leveraged mobile attribution solutions.

Banking

Nubank is one of the world’s largest digital banking platforms. It partners with Branch as its mobile measurement partner (MMP) and leverages Branch’s attribution flexibility to test multiple ad networks and measure ad spend and campaign results. This allows the Nubank team to understand their true impact, make timely campaign optimizations, and double down on their highest performing network. Learn more.

E-commerce

Beyond deep linking, email, and smart banners, Tokopedia — Indonesia’s largest e-commerce platform — also leverages Branch’s attribution model for insights into pre-install user experiences. Unlike legacy attribution providers, Branch’s attribution gives the Tokopedia team a full view of the user journey across platforms and devices, which allows them to optimize budget allocation, prioritize channels, and maximize ROI. Learn more.

Food and beverage

The Chefz, a premium food and sweets delivery platform, eliminated attribution blindspots to grow app revenue by 650%. By implementing Branch deep links across all of its campaigns, The Chefz gained holistic visibility into its key performance metrics in real time via the Branch Dashboard. Learn more.

Gaming

Baazi Games uses Branch for a cross-platform, cross-device, and cross-channel view of its attribution data from paid, owned, and earned channels — a truly holistic view of marketing campaigns. Learn more.

The future of enterprise-grade mobile attribution

As technology continues to advance, the future of enterprise-grade mobile attribution holds exciting possibilities.

With users seamlessly transitioning between devices, mobile attribution will likely see significant advancements in cross-device tracking technologies. Overall, advancements will empower enterprises to gain deeper insights into user behavior and improve the accuracy of mobile attribution. By responsibly and ethically leveraging these technologies, and partnering with industry experts like Branch, enterprises can optimize their marketing strategies and ad campaigns, enhance user experiences, and drive business growth in the dynamic landscape of mobile attribution.

These advancements will provide enterprises with a more refined understanding of user journeys across various touchpoints, with in-depth insights into user acquisition, ROAS, LTV, KPIs, conversion rates, and many more metrics to guide decision making in new and exciting ways.

Challenges in cross-device tracking

Advancements in cross-device tracking will also pose challenges in terms of user privacy and data security. Enterprises will need to prioritize user consent, transparency, and data protection measures to mitigate associated privacy risks.

Beyond evolving capabilities and privacy concerns, the impending demise of third-party cookies, accelerated by platform updates and privacy regulations, will fundamentally alter the landscape of digital advertising and attribution. Third-party cookies have long been a cornerstone of digital marketing, enabling cross-site tracking and attribution across various platforms and devices. However, their deprecation presents a challenge for enterprises reliant on these cookies for mobile attribution.

Strategies for the future

In a post-cookie world, enterprises will need to adopt alternative methods to track and attribute user actions on mobile devices.

• First-party data will become increasingly valuable because it allows for direct tracking of user interactions within owned properties like mobile apps and websites.
• Investing in robust customer relationship management (CRM) systems and measurement tools will be essential for capturing and analyzing first-party data effectively.

The convergence of privacy and security considerations with post-cookie changes will necessitate a paradigm shift in enterprise-grade mobile attribution strategies. Enterprises that prioritize user privacy, invest in first-party data capabilities, and leverage attribution and measurement solutions will be well-positioned to thrive in this evolving landscape.

Enterprises need mobile attribution

Enterprise-grade mobile attribution is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity for large businesses navigating the complex landscape of mobile marketing. By understanding the challenges, choosing the right solutions, and embracing future obstacles head-on, enterprises can unlock actionable insights that drive informed decision making. As technology evolves, the future of mobile attribution promises even greater precision, personalization, and effectiveness in measuring the impact of mobile marketing efforts for large enterprises.

Learn more about Branch’s enterprise attribution solutions, or request a demo today!

The post Enterprise-Grade Mobile Attribution: What Large Businesses Need To Know appeared first on Branch.