Accurately measuring the effectiveness of campaigns is paramount in the data-driven world of mobile advertising. While metrics like impressions, clicks, and installs provide a basic understanding of campaign performance, they don’t necessarily tell the whole story. This is where incrementality comes into play. Incrementality is a crucial concept that helps mobile app marketers go beyond vanity metrics and assess the true impact of their advertising efforts on desired outcomes, such as in-app purchases or user registrations.

What is Incrementality in Mobile Advertising?

Incrementality measures the incremental lift, or the additional value, generated by a mobile advertising campaign. It answers the question: “How many desired actions (conversions) would have happened anyway, even without running this campaign?”

Here’s how it works:

• Control and Treatment Groups: For an incrementality test, a user base is divided into two groups: a treatment group exposed to the advertising campaign and a control group that is not.
• Baseline Measurement: Conversion rates (e.g., installs and purchases) are measured for both groups before the campaign launch to establish a baseline.
• Campaign Run and Post-Campaign Measurement: The campaign is run for the treatment group, and conversion rates are measured for both groups after the campaign ends.
• Lift Calculation: The difference in the lift in conversion rates between the treatment and control groups represents the incremental value attributed to the campaign.

Why is Incrementality Important in Mobile Advertising?

Incrementality offers several key benefits for mobile app marketers:

• Accurate Attribution: It helps isolate the true impact of your advertising efforts, differentiating organic growth from campaign-driven conversions.
• Efficient Budget Allocation: By understanding which campaigns drive incremental value, you can optimize your budget allocation and prioritize high-performing campaigns.
• Improved Campaign Optimization: This allows you to identify areas for improvement within your campaigns, such as targeting strategies or creative messaging.
• Combatting Misattribution: In today’s complex mobile ecosystem, clicks and impressions can be misleading. Incrementality helps address issues like multi-touch attribution and wasted spend.
• Future-Proofing Measurement: This provides a future-proof approach to campaign measurement as user privacy regulations evolve and cookies become less reliable,

Challenges of Implementing Incrementality Testing

While valuable, implementing incrementality testing does come with some challenges:

• Data Access and Integration: Running these tests often requires access to user-level data across different platforms, which can be complex to gather and integrate.
• Statistical Significance: A large enough user base is needed for statistically significant results, which might not be feasible for all app marketers.
• Cost and Resources: Setting up and managing these tests can require additional resources and expertise.

Strategies for Overcoming Incrementality Testing Challenges

Despite the challenges, there are strategies to ensure successful implementation of incrementality testing:

• Partner with a Measurement Partner: Consider partnering with a reputable mobile measurement provider (MMP) with the expertise and technology to conduct the tests. (e.g. AppsFlyer and Adjust)
• Leverage Server-Side Measurement: Utilize server-side data collection to overcome limitations imposed by privacy regulations and fragmented data sources.
• Focus on Cohort-Level Analysis: While individual user-level data might be limited, analyzing results at the cohort level can still provide valuable insights.
• Start Small and Scale Up: Begin with smaller-scale tests for specific campaigns and gradually expand your testing efforts based on the results.

5 Key Takeaways from Incrementality

• Beyond Vanity Metrics: This goes beyond clicks and impressions to measure a campaign’s true impact on desired outcomes.
• Isolating True Lift: It helps distinguish organic growth from campaign-driven conversions.
• Optimized Budgeting: Prioritize high-performing campaigns based on their incremental value.
• Future-Proof Measurement: This offers a reliable approach in a privacy-focused advertising landscape.
• Strategic Implementation: Partner with experts and leverage appropriate technologies for successful incrementality testing.

Gain a deeper understanding of your campaigns’ value by incorporating incrementality testing into your mobile advertising strategy. This data-driven approach empowers you to optimize campaigns, maximize return on investment (ROI), and ultimately achieve your mobile app’s growth goals. Remember, staying ahead of the curve by embracing new measurement methodologies like incrementality will be crucial for success in the ever-evolving mobile advertising landscape.