Snapchat is expanding its Unified Attribution capability to the global level with mobile measurement partners Adjust and AppsFlyer, Marketing Dive can share, with plans to bring on additional MMPs to the program moving forward.
Unified Attribution, which entered beta testing in May, provides advertisers with a single view into data drawn from across Snapchat and MMP platforms in an effort to resolve fragmentation and improve metrics like return on ad spend. The offering signals that Snapchat is open to integrating more directly with third-party measurement providers to help advertisers glean a better understanding of what’s resonating on the ephemeral messaging app and move faster to optimize their marketing.
“It's very simple in terms of why it's useful, but that's also the beauty of it, because you get one data set to make your decisions out of,” Adjust CEO Andrey Kazakov said of Unified Attribution in an interview.
Several brands experimented with Unified Attribution over the monthslong beta period. Mohegan Sun Online Casino, which paired AppsFlyer data with Snapchat’s insights, drove a nearly 90% lift in ROAS while reducing cost per install for its app campaigns when compared to previous methods. Muzz, a marriage app targeted at Muslim consumers, linked its Adjust data to Snapchat’s Unified Attribution to drive 41% more installs and 47% more sign-ups, along with slashing its CPIs by 29% and generating 26% lower cost per sign-up when weighed against its past campaign optimization strategy.
“For the first time, Snap's optimization and advertiser measurement are working from the same data,” said Bright Park, AppsFlyer’s principal partner development manager. “That closes a gap that existed across the industry for a long time.”
Other brands tapping into Unified Attribution include pizza chain Maestro Pizza, mobile app publisher Codeway and financial app Deblock.
Performance in the spotlight
Unified Attribution aligns with a larger trend in mobile measurement that prioritizes actionable data versus sheer volume. Advertisers — once hungry for more sources of data — are now contending with a landscape where data is arguably oversaturated. Even with advancements in artificial intelligence, sifting through troves of often siloed information to find quality data can be a pain. Unified Attribution promotes a single set of data to work off of, which may free up time to improve campaigns in other ways, partner executives explained.
Snapchat last year began revamping its advertising suite to offer more robust performance products. Other recent moves aimed at souping up precision marketing include partnering with HubSpot to bolster lead generation campaigns on Snapchat.
Revenue at parent company Snap rose 19% year over year in Q2 to $1.6 billion. Ad revenue rose 9% for the period to $1.28 billion, still accounting for the lion’s share of Snap’s business amid a bigger push into areas like hardware and subscriptions. Snap executives on an earnings call attributed advertising momentum to better uptake with both large North American advertisers and more small- and medium-sized businesses, along with traction for its AI-powered smart campaign tools.
“We're delivering stronger performance, especially for app, e-commerce and other lower-funnel advertisers, and we're making campaigns easier to manage with better automation, optimization, measurement and attribution,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said on the call.
Snap has worked to differentiate from far larger social media rivals that have gravitated toward algorithmic scrolling, positioning itself as a platform that remains focused on fostering social connections through messaging. Unified Attribution could act as another way to separate from the pack.
“It's a good thing for everybody where we can decrease the amount of decision making that's not directly valuable for advertisers so they can focus on how valuable the platform could be,” said Kazakov. “Essentially, that helps Snap stand out.”
