Singular releases its ROI index of top media sources for marketers and advertisers.
Today, Singular, the analytics and attribution solutions provider, released its Singular ROI Index of top media sources, which explores the impact of the pandemic and related events on media platform performance. The report suggests that advertisers and marketers collectively spent over $10 billion in ads in 2020 and achieved nearly $3 billion in app installs.
So, it is not surprising that after a year marked by massive disruption and rapid change, we are witnessing innovation in mobile marketing. It is not just COVID-19 or iOS 14 either; it is emerging platforms and emerging mobile user acquisition strategies specifically and mobile marketing in general.
Also read: Video-Based Ads To Help Marketers Maximize Marketing ROI in 2021: New Data Reveals
Let us look at some of the key highlights of the 2021 edition of the report.
It may be 2020 or reflective of a changing ecosystem. Or it may be part of the change that is bringing iOS 14 and SKAdNetwork. Whatever the reason, this year has a lot of changes in the global list.
Here are media sources, ad networks, and platforms that are new to the Singular ROI Index. Some have been honorable mentions before, but none of these featured in the 2020 Index. This year, they are not only on one or two of the top lists, but they are on the overall global all-regions all-verticals list:
- ironSource Aura
- Blind Ferret
- BlueStacks
- FluNet
- Mistplay
- JetFuel
Plus, three other networks have appeared on regional or vertical-specific lists before but are new to the global ROI list:
- Digital Turbine
- Fyber
- Line Ads
On-platform, OEM publishing, and Advertising Solutions
OEM or on-device platforms such as Digital Turbine, ironSource Aura, and AppNext are performing exceptionally well. They perform on-device app discovery via a persistent experience on new devices and a set-up wizard upon activation. They can tie into the home and/or lock screens and offer live updates on new apps to try.
Digital Turbine and ironSource Aura together account for eight spots in the 2021 ROI top charts and offer extremely impressive ROI.
Platform Expansion, but Not the Way You Think
It is no secret that platforms are powerful. Platforms like Google and Facebook, which can generate much of the supply that they then feed with demand in their own proprietary ad platforms, are incredibly successful.
In a sense, these are two-sided marketplaces connecting advertisers (who pay with money) and consumers (who pay with attention).
What is new?
This year, we are seeing an expansion of that model with players who have been around for some time but are showing increasing strength. They are getting more successful at generating extremely low fraud and high-value media for mobile user acquisition.
The list includes:
- Apple
- BlueStacks
- Snap
- TikTok
All told, these players occupy 86 spaces on the top lists. That is impressive. What is particularly impressive is the performance of Twitter and Snap, both of which take 25 spaces each. These platforms have consistently featured on Singular’s list, but now, they are becoming more default options alongside Google and Facebook.
That said, “classic†ad networks such as Liftoff, IronSource, and Unity are doing very well indeed, showing there’s still plenty of room for partners that perform. And Moloco had amazing results, especially in gaming and retention.
Gamified Ads + Loyalty Network
Mistplay made the Singular ROI Index for the first time in 2021, and not just in one list. The social game discovery ad network with a loyalty and rewards program gamified ads in a platform sense instead of a playable ads sense. The result was impressive: they made five different lists. Advertising is a challenging space right now, but this approach clearly has legs.
Mistplay has high spending and very low fraud, with good ROI. But only a limited number of Singular customers are currently spending on the platform, suggesting that Mistplay is a hidden gem that others should consider.
BlueStacks
Speaking of platforms, BlueStacks deserves a highlight. The desktop gaming platform for Android apps got an honorable mention last year but hit no charts. This year it is a fixture: ranking on no fewer than nine charts, including Global ROI – Android, Global ROI for Gaming – Android, and multiple others.
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BlueStacks offers over a million games and has over 400 million users. It is a significant force in Android gaming — and possibly one of the reasons Apple has chosen to allow iOS apps, including games, to run on Apple silicon Macs. It is also a significant force in advertising.
Influencer Marketing for Mobile User Acquisition Goes Big
Influencer marketing has been a thing for years now. But it was always challenging to measure and monitor and therefore assign ROI to. JetFuel is changing that by focusing on what it calls “direct-response influencer marketing.â€
JetFuel debuts on the Singular ROI Index in three top lists and shows that there is a path to generating and measuring growth impact for mobile user acquisition via influencer marketing.
Social Stays Strong
As expected, Facebook leads in the ROI Index on the social side. But Twitter did amazingly well, and so did Snap. And JetFuel, mentioned above, shows that it is not just the big platforms themselves who can be effective on social.
Singular’s key finding – retention.
Social is extremely strong at delivering users who stick. Singular found that Facebook and Twitter rank high here.
Search Goes Dark(er)
Google is the other perennial leader, along with Facebook, of Singular ROI Index top lists. This year Google again tied Facebook with 27 rankings in 27 opportunities.
But there have been some changes.
Google’s rankings have dropped somewhat in the order, according to Singular. That is not necessarily because Google is not working as well for mobile user acquisition; it is because there is less granular visibility into Google advertising performance on iOS. That is the continuing impact of Google expanding access to iOS search inventory in mid-2019, but the inability to provide user-level insights for that data. That does reflect, of course, a different reality on iOS than Android, and it is in some sense a minor forerunner to Apple’s IDFA changes in iOS 14.
Google Ads conversion and revenue data still show up in aggregated reporting. The difference is that a significant percentage of Google’s conversions are not reported and de-duped by MMPs on a user-by-user level, which is the way Singular analyzes data for the ROI index. Thus, a part of Google’s return on advertising doesn’t boost Google’s rankings as much as it otherwise would.
This is something data-driven advertisers were forced to deal with in 2020, having part of their conversions counted by the self-attributing networks but not having access to this user-level data to run their advanced internal models. It is something that the report identifies both in Google advertising on iOS and by Facebook decisions on viewthrough attribution.
TikTok Goes Global
Last year TikTok burst onto the mobile stage. But it only ranked on two lists and was still working on releasing significant advertiser tools. This year, TikTok is on seven lists, including all three major regions Singular focuses on – North America, EMEA, and APAC.
Also read: Rather Than Focus On Content Marketing’s ROI, Measure Its ‘Success’
Non-gaming is the sweet spot for TikTok, with on-demand and delivery customers as well as betting customers. What is working well on TikTok include:
- Influencer marketing
- Native ads
- Video (of course)
- Brand (broad reach) & retail (shoppable ads)
Apple: Winning
Apple’s only in 14 lists this year out of 27 possible. But that masks, of course, that the other lists are Android focused. In other words, everywhere it could rank, Apple ranked. And not just third, or fourth, or sixth like the 2020 ROI Index. This year, Apple ranks first in almost every list it is eligible for.
Hidden Gems and Honorable Mentions
Singular shares several honorable mentions to certain networks that almost made it into the 2021 ROI Index.
These are worthy of consideration by advertisers and could make it into the Index in coming years:
- Adjoe
- Zucks (formerly AppLike)
For hidden gems, a few companies highlighted include the following. These players often show great results but are sometimes overlooked:
- Aarki
- AdColony
- Blind Ferret
- Fluent
- Fyber
- Mistplay