IronSource is launching a new way for app and game developers to accurately measure ad revenue on the user level and then link that data to the marketing channel that brought in that specific user.
The mobile monetization and marketing company said its User Ad Revenue (UAR) can reveal how much in-app advertising revenue each individual user generates across all networks, and it can attribute that revenue to the relevant marketing channel.
The company hopes that UAR empowers app developers to dramatically optimize both their monetization and user acquisition activities.
The lack of accurate user-level data on ad revenue has been a significant blind spot for both monetization and user acquisition managers, especially with the rising importance of ad monetization, which App Annie predicts will more than double by 2020 to $120 billion globally.
Up until today, the efficiency of user acquisition spend was evaluated solely in terms of in-app purchase revenue generated by acquired users, which left app marketers in the dark about potential top performing marketing channels bringing in high-value users in terms of ad monetization.
For any developer monetizing through ads, UAR ensures that no marketing channel is mistakenly blacklisted or disregarded, thus maximizing overall revenue, the company said.
IronSource’s solution is unique in that it leverages data from the company’s mobile ad mediation platform to show accurate, user-level data on ad revenue generated from across all the major ad networks. By partnering with the leading attribution companies to gain insights into user acquisition channels, ironSource closes the loop on monetization and marketing.
This measurement of users enables app marketers and user-acquisition managers to shift campaign optimization from a retention-based model to incorporate ad revenue as well when it comes to return on ad spend (ROAS).
“We developed this capability to enable our partners to finally generate profitable and efficient user acquisition across all the marketing channels,” said Tal Shoham, chief operating officer of developer solutions at IronSource, in a statement. “As a mediation provider we have visibility that other networks simply don’t have, allowing us to provide a picture of ad revenue generated across all the top networks. Coupled with our partnerships with the leading attribution providers, we’re able to generate a comprehensive view of the monetization and marketing cycle that no company has managed before. This is a true game changer. It allows an app marketer to not only bid accurately but it gives them the confidence that their marketing investment is indeed profitable.”
Developers will be able to see the ad revenue generated by acquired users through the dashboards of any participating attribution provider — Adjust, AppsFlyer, Kochava, Singular, and Tenjin. Those using IronSource’s mediation platform will be able to see the complete breakdown by network.
“The User Ad Revenue from ironSource greatly enhances our user acquisition campaign management and optimization,” said Jeff Gurian, vice president of marketing and ad monetization at Kongregate, in a statement. “Previously we were estimating this revenue based on in game ad events and extrapolating the impact to LTVs, which has some known drawbacks. The User Ad Revenue enables us to spend more efficiently across our marketing channels by providing a more accurate view of revenue across all ad types.  This ultimately moves our business forward on many different levels.”
Until now, developers were essentially blind to the value of the users they acquired in terms of ad revenue. They could see how much revenue each user generated in terms of in-app purchases but not in terms of ad revenue.
This led to a situation where an advertiser might believe that they were acquiring low-revenue users from a specific campaign source, without realizing that actually these users were incredibly valuable in terms of advertising revenue.
In the same way that whales, or high-spending users, exist with in-app purchases, these characters also exist in ad monetization. Developers need to tools to dissect and understand these users.

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