Apps Shift 20-40% Ad Spend to Open Internet Channels Beyond Walled Gardens
A guide from REPLUG explores how mobile app marketers are now allocating 20-40% of their budgets to "open internet" channels for user acquisition, moving beyond traditional platforms like Meta and Google. The guide focuses on diversified and resilient acquisition strategies, including OEM advertising, DSPs, rewarded user acquisition, and CTV. It aims to help mobile-first apps optimize their channel mix, measure quality, and scale user acquisition effectively.
Key Takeaways
- Top-spending apps allocate 20-40% of user acquisition budgets to 'open internet' channels.
- This shift moves beyond reliance on Meta, Google, TikTok, and Apple, where performance has plateaued.
- Channels included in the 'open internet' strategy are OEM advertising, DSPs, rewarded UA, and CTV.
- The guide focuses on building diversified channel mixes and measuring quality beyond CPI, incorporating events and retention.
Why It Matters
This reallocation of significant ad spend indicates a growing recognition that traditional walled gardens alone are insufficient for scalable and cost-effective mobile user acquisition. As app teams face rising CPIs and volatile ROAS on dominant platforms, diversifying into channels like CTV and DSPs demonstrates a systemic adaptation. This trend could accelerate fragmentation in ad spending, compelling advertising platforms to innovate beyond their current offerings. Watch for how other app marketing firms and ad tech providers respond to this budget shift and if it translates into increased investment in 'open internet' ad infrastructure.
Read full article at businessofapps.com