The Post-IDFA Alliance – made up of Liftoff, Fyber, Chartboost, InMobi, Vungle, and Singular – has launched ‘No IDFA? No Problem’, a resource for mobile marketers and app publishers that aims to help to transition seamlessly in the wake of the upcoming iOS 14 update. This will give users the choice to block IDFA at app level and require the industry to adopt the App Tracking Transparency Framework (ATT) and SKAdNetwork inline with Apple’s consumer privacy guidelines.

The resource features a range of videos, articles, case studies, best practices, webinars, and tools to help guide mobile marketers and app publishers through the more privacy-centric mobile advertising environment.

The alliance is also working together to develop techniques and protocols to maximise client success, investing in research into alternatives such as ‘blended LAT traffic’.

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Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2020 kicked off today in California, where Apple leadership announced an array of new products and software updates, including iOS 14, the software system used on iPhones. Apple gave the audience a sneak peak of iOS 14, which will be released later this year, which will now include resizable widgets for easier user accessibility. These new widgets will be displayed on the iPhones home screen and can be organized through the Widget Gallery.

Another much-anticipated announcement at WWDC 2020 was the Apple CarKey, which can be used in iOS 13 and iOS 14, but is only compatible with the BMW 5-series as of now. Drivers will be able to remotely lock and unlock their cars and start the engine when their iPhone is on a designated pad inside the vehicle. Apple also announced the App Library feature, which will automatically organize all your apps depending on category, and App Clips, which will let users preview an app’s features without fully downloading or purchasing it.

Apple has added picture-in-picture to iPhones and Apple TV, so users can keep watching a video while using their devices for something else. Apple’s software for the Apple Watches, watchOS 7, will now be able to track additional exercises under the activity app such as dancing, and monitor the user’s sleep patterns with the new Sleep app. Lastly, watchOS 7 will be able to detect when a user is washing their hands, and will automatically display a countdown to thoroughly finish washing. 

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In just a few weeks, things are going to really change in the mobile advertising space. iOS 13 will be live on millions of devices, virtually overnight. When Apple announced that the impending release of iOS 13 would contain three major privacy features, I don’t think anyone was surprised. Privacy is a real concern for consumers, and companies and regulators have been acting on it for the past few years. First it was GDPR, which was seismic enough for those in Europe, and now the US has CCPA right around the corner. For Apple, consumer privacy and security has always been paramount – you can see that reflected across all of their products and services.

But what Apple announced and will be going live in September was bold. ‘Allow just once’ location settings, alerts for background app location tracking and protection against wi-fi and Bluetooth tracking (e.g. beacons) – which will be a significant blow to location data providers and the advertisers that rely on them.

It’s not just location, either. With single sign-on, Apple will create encrypted emails for accounts using that sign-in on a per-app/website basis. For the consumer, this will reduce email spam from every service they sign up for. But for the marketer, it means losing a universal identifier and obfuscating the user to the point where they are no longer a standalone individual that can be targeted as such. (And believe me, you want to target iOS users. They spend more money not just on apps, but in apps, and online shopping.)

Apple is doing this because they honestly do care about consumer privacy – but also because they don’t benefit from collecting user data. Facebook and Google, on the other hand, do benefit. And this move is definitely going to weaken the duopoly. In fact, it weakens any platform and/or advertiser that relies on the bevy of audience segments from third-party location providers, as well as cookie and service-based ad platforms.

It might feel, to some, that this is a chess move that Apple has played, leaving affected players reeling and struggling to adjust. But we can’t think of this as a single strike against the mobile advertising industry, a minor setback that we can hack our way around. There are no ‘five fast tips’ to solve this problem because privacy sensitivities (and legislation!), both locally and on a global scale, are only going to increase and become more stringent.

We must consider this a challenge to shift the way we think about mobile. This is an opportunity to embrace what consumers are actively asking for and to respect those wishes, while still chasing our end goal: ROAS. To do that, advertisers must shift their dollars from soon-to-be-unreliable mobile web and social platforms to channels that don’t rely on users’ emails or cookies, where the use of anonymous device IDs and historical behavioural data allows for audience creation without compromising individual privacy.

Because that’s what we want, right? We don’t want people, we want audiences.

Shift your thinking and change what you care about. What does an email tell you about its owner? Well, first, that owner might not even exist, or, also likely, be a junk email they use just for ‘marketing crap’ and never even look at. Does it tell you that they are a Male, High-Income Millennial? Not really.

Taking it even further, people are more than their demographics. What if I told you that user was a car enthusiast? Or that from behavioural modelling we know he is more likely to watch a video advert all the way to the end in order to get a coupon for a larger coffee? Audiences are built by behaviours, not email addresses. Shift the data you value, and you’ll find yourself back on top.

And marketers, I can’t say this enough: Own that data. The data from your CRM, from your subscriptions and your social channels – all of that is gold. You know it’s accurate, and because it comes straight from your audience, you know it’s relevant to your business. Use the behaviours, actions and interests demonstrated across your website(s) and app(s) to predict future patterns and personalize content and ads. The best part about first-party data? It’s yours. You own it, and privacy concerns around it are minimal because you know exactly where it came from. It’s addressed by your privacy policy.

Brands, agencies, DSPs: Take back responsibility of data and the insights and targeting capabilities it creates. First, because it allows your chosen ad platform to focus on what they’re good at: providing media at scale, and using whatever anonymized first-party data and behavioural models they do have to better serve and optimize adverts.

Second, because it puts you back in the driver seat, back in control. You won’t ever be in the position of watching a WWDC and feeling your whole body tighten with anxiety over one announcement. You won’t see your ROAS plummet with the flip of an iOS upgrade switch.

Because this will happen again, and we need to be prepared. The next iteration of this could limit the passing device IDs. Or, if this is as popular as Apple thinks it will be, it could be a catalyst for the entire industry, and other major players will follow suit. When it’s no longer Apple, but an industry best practice, you’ll be relieved that you shifted your strategy right when it all started – now.

The post Seismic shifts in privacy: What this means for marketers appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Google and Facebook have remained the best mobile ad networks for a maximized ROI, swapping first and second rankings in almost every single category in Singular’s newly released 2019 ROI Index: Top Media Source. Singular’s ROI Index measures the best-performing ad networks for mobile marketers on both iOS and Android devices, in terms of ROI and retention. For the study, Singular analyzed $1.5bn in ad spend, $2.7bn in revenue, more than 700 media sources, and 560m installs with ROI.

According to Singular, a marketing analytics firm, Facebook and Google are virtually the same in three ways: scale, or ability to access almost every audience you might need, quality of conversions, and popularity among mobile marketers. When it comes to mobile app installs, Google beats Facebook on Android, and Facebook beats Google on iOS. Although they are the top performers for ROI in iOS and Android devices, they are being closely followed by Apple Search Ads and Unity.

The top-ranking platform for both iOS and Android customer retention was Facebook, proving the website can still keep users engaged and interested in content. On iOS devices, Twitter placed second in retention, and ranked in 11 more global, region, and platform specific charts.

After making strategic changes to benefit advertisers in late 2018, Snapchat ranked in almost every ROI Index category, and placed third for non-gaming ROI in both iOS and Android systems, behind major players Apple Search Ads, Facebook and Google Ads.

Trust played a large part in the rankings of this year’s ROI Index, as Singular was forced to remove 15 ad networks that would have ranked in multiple categories due to excessive levels of fraud. According to Singular, there are numerous networks with great metrics like clicks, app installs, and conversions, but in reality, are actually stealing other ad networks’ conversions.

Singular said that a clear giveaway of phony metrics is the clicks-to-installs ratio (CTI). A more credible media source like Facebook or Google may have a ratio of 5-8 per install, mid-tiers might have 20-40, and unreliable media sources may have thousands. There are some cases where a “scammy” network may have more than 10,000 clicks per install, a major indicator of an illegitimate ad network. 

To better combat advertising fraud, Singular reported that more mobile ad partners such as Jammp, Aarki, ironSource, Vungle, AppLovin, and ChartBoost are prioritizing transparency with brands, and are promising to provide more details on where advertising dollars is being distributed to.

“At Singular, our goal is to help marketers win,” said Singular CEO Gadi Eliashiv. “Helping them reliably find the highest return on investment is a critical part of the marketing intelligence we provide.”

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The nine justices of the Supreme Court are set to hear arguments from Apples lawyers, who claim that allowing Apple to be sued by consumers in this area could threaten the eCommerce industry and cause retail sales to slow. Apple is also pointing to a decades-old Supreme Court precedent in its appeal against a decision made by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which gave the go-ahead to a consumer class-action lawsuit last year.

The case largely centres on whether or not Apples iOS App Store constitutes a monopoly in terms of distribution of iOS apps, and if so, does Apples 30 per cent cut of app purchases and transactions count as it exploiting that monopoly for financial gain. If the Supreme Court upholds the existing decision, then Apple is potentially responsible for millions in over-spending by consumers, and those who have bought apps via the App Store or made in-app purchases through iOS apps could pursue class-action suits to reclaim that money.

The plaintiffs in the current case, as well as antitrust watchdog groups, have argued that if the Supreme Court goes against the current ruling and finds in Apples favour, it will close the door to those purchasing digital products and could lead to more tech firms adopting monopolistic strategies.

“A lot of tech platforms will start making the argument that consumers dont have standing to bring antitrust suits against us,” said Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director for the Open Markets Institute, an antitrust advocacy group. “Uber could say, were just providing communication services to ride-sharing drivers. If theres an antitrust issue, the drivers can bring a claim but passengers do not have standing.”

A 1977 Supreme Court ruling limits damages for anti-competitive conduct to those directly overcharged instead of indirect victims who paid an overcharge passed on by others. Apples argument is that it only acts as the agent for app developers to sell to consumers through its App Store, and that upholding the 9th Circuits ruling could be dangerous for the eCommerce industry, which increasingly relies on agent-based sales models. While the Trump administration has supported Apples argument, the plaintiffs are backed up by the attorneys general of 30 states, including California, New York, Texas and Florida.

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Since Apple’s release of the iOS 12 beta version to the public, legions of iPhone designers and developers have begun looking towards the new features for ideas on how to make the next generation of apps. For anyone developing apps for enterprise, ARkit 2, Siri Shortcuts and Sirikit,and Password Autofill are the highlights among the bulk of features iOS 12 is bringing to the table.

ARkit 2 and augmented reality overhauls
For developers using ARkit for augmented reality development, the new and improved ARkit 2 allows for 3D object recognition. ARKit 2 recognizes objects and orientation, information that developers can use that to incorporate objects into AR experiences.

Most importantly for enterprise companies and developers is the .usdz file format. This file format is a zero compression zip of USD, a format Pixar has been using for 3D imaging for years. Simply, this allows users and developers to share augmented reality, virtual reality, and a number of other 3D files.

Through email and messages, AR app developers can now integrate social aspects into their products. A ubiquitous, easy-to-sshare AR file format is going to make developing and user testing AR demos much quicker. On the development end, this is a godsend.

On the user side, sharing AR experiences is finally a possibility. ARkit 2 allows for features like shared AR environments, where augmented reality experiences can now be shared and fixed to a certain location. This allows for local multiplayer gaming and creative collaboration in AR like never before.

Adobe is already confirmed as a major early adopter, meaning users will be able to use Photoshop, Dimensions and other Adobe products to create AR content.

These AR advances could benefit e-commerce companies looking to create more immersive marketplaces. Major publishers in the video game space could use shared AR environments to build innovative, new gaming experiences.

Siri Shortcuts
At the 2018 WWDC conference, Apple announced numerous updates to the current Siri offerings. Leading the charge was Siri Suggestions, which lets users program multi-step tasks for Siri to perform. Based on one command, Siri can now execute on a series of actions across multiple apps. Siri also will learn user behaviour and suggest shortcuts to create a more efficient user flow.

This isn’t just a usability tool that lets users quickly navigate through multiple apps; it can be designed into the core functionality of your app. iOS app developers can work to create shortcuts with the new Sirikit API. Sirikit lets developers build more situations where Siri handles all of the user interaction via voice recognition and works with your app to get information and handle user requests. For example, if you have a ride-sharing app, you can request a ride through Siri Shortcuts. If you have a messaging app, Siri can send messages through whichever app the user specifies.

Security and privacy updates to streamline enterprise apps
iOS 12 updates like Automatic Passwords, Security AutoFill, and Password Reuse Auditing will streamline and unify security, which could be a major relief for app developers trying to find the best options for keeping data secure.

Automatic strong passwords can be created in apps and stored in iCloud Keychain. This means no more worrying about password requirements, just let the OS handle it for you. That’s just the beginning of the iOS 12 conveniences for enterprise app developers.

These improvements will ease the heavy lifting at your user’s end too. Security Code Autofill means SMS one-time passwords will appear as AutoFill suggestions, removing frustrating steps in the user journey for app developers that need to send SMS codes for increased security measures.

Password Reuse Auditing keeps track of iOS users’ frequently used passwords and will suggest automatically-generated strong passwords in their stead. This helps keeps your user’s data more secure, as the OS ensures they use different passwords for each app – but it helps them keep track of these passwords as well. Users can now easily import any passwords they have stored in third-party password managers, making log-in easier and enhancing your enterprise app user flow without developers needing to do a thing.

The post iOS 12 – enterprise grade appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The study, which covered the UK and Western Europe, also examined data from over 80bn app opens and 290m installs with cost data, accounting for $250m (£189m) in revenue, revealing a number of app marketing trends as well as indicating the path the industry will likely take in the future.

Facebook and Google remained the top two drivers of app installs, but Apple Search Ads and Snapchat both made their first appearance in the top 10 for the first time in 2018.

Video in particular has played a key role in driving app installs and opens from top platforms, including Google, Facebook and others. In 2018, installs from video ads in the UK grew 71 per cent year-on-year.

When it comes to app usage, while figures are on the rise across the board, apps are being used for a shorter period of time. Based on that, marketers are increasing their investment in retention campaigns designed to bring users back to their app, especially in the UK.

App install cost is increasing, with CPI growing by 10 per cent year-on-year, and iOS consistently more expensive at 50 per cent higher than Android. Android was found to provide better ROI than iOS in both the UK and Western Europe.

In more worrying news, app install fraud rates are high, especially in the UK, where high click-flood rates have driven the rate 20 – 30 per cent higher than the rest of Western Europe. Studies have shown that fraud tends to happen in waves, and after a drop in recent months, an incease is expected to hit once again.

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Apple recently announced some bold moves at WWDC to make it easier for users to fine-tune their notification experiences. Their continuing focus on empowering users makes it increasingly clear that notifications are an ever-more-essential part of our everyday lives.

In iOS 12, Notification Center will become the most prominent inbox in Apple users’ lives. It will also become the primary place users go for everything from critical alerts and important messages that justify interruption and require action, to consuming personalized interactive content passively.

It’s also a sharp reminder for brands to stay smart — and get even smarter — about how, when and where they connect with customers. To state the obvious, more controls mean more opportunities for customers to shut down communications from brands who aren’t meeting their needs. Here’s what marketers should be thinking about in relation to the new notification-related announcements at WWDC 2018.

Notification Management
iOS 12 simplifies settings and introduces the concept of “quiet” notifications that go to the Notification Center (rather than the lock screen) and “prominent” notifications that go to the lock screen. This bifurcation empowers the user to more easily control which notifications interrupt them, and which they will get to after they are done focusing elsewhere.

Lock Screen notifications are more “prominent” while those in the Notification Center are more “quiet.” iOS 12 is also making it much easier for users to manage notifications from within Notification Center. Users can 3D press a notification and adjust settings for a particular app.

App-specific notification preference centers have always been beneficial to users as they can finely tune which type of notifications they want to receive from you. With iOS 12 they are critical. Every app that sends notifications should have one. Here’s why: iOS 12 will deep link to your app’s preference center from iOS notification settings and from the “Turn off” notifications confirmation prompt.

Grouped Notifications
Grouped notifications make it easier to view notifications as (you guessed it) a group, making notifications more consolidated and organized. Until now, notifications have been in chronological order which can be overwhelming. Now, notifications are grouped by app by default.

Brands can also go one step further and create threads of notifications and set summary text on the threaded group. This is great for all sorts of use cases including specific sports matches, emerging news stories, day of travel, and order tracking.

Provisional Authorization
The app “first run” and notification onboarding experience is seeing a major change that will increase opt-in rates — if you send relevant notifications. iOS 12 supports an automatic trial of notifications from your app with no authorization prompt, which will help users make a more informed decision of whether they want your notifications or not.

Provisional authorization comes with quiet notifications. You can ask for permission to send to lock screen — and potentially get rejected — or automatically send them quietly on a trial basis. If you do prompt for lock screen notifications, we recommend never doing it on a user’s first app open. Instead, educate users why they will benefit from notifications at the right time.

Critical Alerts
A new type of notification in iOS 12, is Critical Alerts. These are meant to be highly disruptive, playing a loud sound (that you specify) and bypassing Do Not Disturb and the ringer switch. Critical Alerts require approval from Apple and are intended for medical or health apps, home and security apps, or for public safety purposes. Critical Alerts will be great for apps that meet Apple’s (thankfully) stringent requirements.

Other Notable iOS 12 Updates
Notification Content Extensions: Notifications have been expanded so that app developers can create actions directly inside of them or launch the app. Interactive notifications now support more than a single tap.

Do Not Disturb: As users start experimenting with “do not disturb” and begin understanding where they spend their time and placing limits on specific apps or types of apps, brands will need to double-down on their notification strategy focusing on utility and value.

Screen Time: This new feature tells you which apps you are using the most, which are sending you the most notifications, offers controls on time limits (good for all of us — particularly my child!), schedule down time, and asks you if you want to keep or manage needy notifications on apps you havent used in a while.

Brands must make sure they’re delivering value to their users’ screens. Customers will be okay with getting a high volume of notifications from apps IF those notifications are high value, provide utility, and ask for the right level of permission (critical, prominent, or quiet).

Mike Herrick is senior vice president of product & engineering at Urban Airship

The post New opportunities for marketers with Apples iOS 12 notification changes appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The new ‘Business Chat’ feature enables users to communicate directly with businesses from within Messages, without the user sharing their contact information with the business. Through the feature, users will be able to have a conversation with a service representative, schedule appointments, or make purchases using Apple Pay. It will launch in beta when iOS 11.3 roll out to the public. News of the arrival of the feature comes not long after WhatsApp launched WhatsApp Business – an app dedicated to helping businesses connect with consumers. That app, at least for the time being, is only available on Android however.

The arrival of iOS 11 will also see ARKit 1.5 enter the fray, giving developers more experiences and tools to power AR apps. With this, ARKit will now be able to place objects on vertical surfaces and ‘more accurately map irregularly shaped surfaces’. In addition, the AR platform can now integrate real-world 2D images into AR experiences – such as bringing a movie poster to life.

iOS 11.3 will bring a ‘Health Records’ feature to the Health app. This feature combines app data with the user’s medical data available from multiple providers, so the user can keep up-to-date with all their medical needs. Health Records will be encrypted and protected with a passcode. And, speaking of health, Apple is including features for the user to see the health of their battery.

Other updates arriving with iOS 11.3 include the arrival of music video streaming on Apple Music, the introduction of a ‘Video’ group in the ‘For You’ section of Apple News, HomeKit software authentication, and support for Advanced Mobile Location (AML) to automatically send the user’s location when they are making a call to the emergency services. And, last but not least, for downloading the update, users will also be rewarded with four new Animoji in the form of a lion, bear, dragon, and skull.

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The so-called ‘text bomb’, called ChaiOS, was discovered by software developer Abraham Masri – who tweeted about the flaw.

The bug can be activated on somebody’s device by simply sending them a message containing a link, which is included in Masri’s tweet. Just sending the message to the recipient will cause the Messages app on their iPhone or Mac to stop working, without them ever having to open the link.

The code has since been removed from GitHub, where Masri had been hosting it, however it is likely to have been replicated by someone else in the time it was available.

“The bug I released was to get Apples attention. Its just an html file,” tweeted Masri. “… I always report bugs before releasing them.

“Im not going to re-upload it. I made my point. Apple needs to take such bugs more seriously.”

According to security expert Graham Cluley, the bug is more of an annoyance than a threat to files being accessed and any data being stolen from the user.

“Something about the so-called ChaiOS bugs code gives your Apple device a brainstorm,” wrote Cluley in a blog post. “Ashamed about the mess it gets itself in, Messages decides the least embarrassing thing to do is to crash.

“Nasty. But, thankfully, more of a nuisance than something that will lead to data being stolen from your computer or a malicious hacker being able to access your files.”

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