US-BASED Software as a Service (SaaS) mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform, AppsFlyer offers real-time mobile attribution and an analytics platform as well as enterprise-grade mobile fraud protection for advanced marketers.
Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, California, the company transformed from a traditional advertising tech (ad-tech) model to a SaaS model where it provides subscription-based service.
“The change happened because the industry was so focused on the installment as the single transaction that mattered, but over the years, customers evolved to being more focused on post-install value namely in-app events, providing tools like anti-fraud suite, custom dashboards, and other critical components that are common to SaaS businesses,” says AppsFlyer president and managing director APAC Ronen Mense to Digital News Asia.
He adds that AppsFlyer works with a wide range of app-developers, brands and ad-agencies across various industry verticals including travel, fraud, gaming and e-commerce.
To date, AppsFlyer works with more than 4,000 networks and technology partners to support its growing portfolio of over 12,000 brands as clients globally.
“The world’s largest advertisers look to AppsFlyer as an independent and unbiased third party. Unlike other attribution providers, we have no financial interest in paid products for advertising or affiliate networks.
“As the market leader in mobile advertising attribution and analytics, our solutions provide our clients with the insights to measure and optimise their users’ acquisition.”
He says that the company’s state-of-the-art real-time infrastructure, advanced security and data protection, independence certifications and global regulatory compliance have earned the trust of the world’s leading brands.
“We will continue to evolve with the changing dynamics of the mobile landscape, exploring new avenues for data-driven insights, including broader measurement capabilities and deeper, AI-driven insights and sophisticated analytics.”
Mense thinks that most app marketers now understand that an install is only a stage in their funnel – the goal remains monetisation; measuring data and using analytics is the key to this.
“Our products are developed to help mobile marketers optimise their campaigns by measuring data that allows them to improve aspects such as user acquisition and retargeting ROI.
“These solutions are also deeply integrated with leading networks such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Twitter to determine customer lifetime value and the ROI of each campaign, all in real time.”
AppsFlyer’s technology is fully built by in-house team and did not utilise open source software that can easily be hacked. The company also built a team of over 100 research and development teams at its 15 global offices.
As reported on VentureBeat, AppsFlyer generated annual recurring revenue of US$100 million in Q318. Mense says that the company is only successful if its clients are and in the past year, it has formed partnerships with several prominent brands, including eBay, NBCUniversal, Adidas, Hyundai, and Coca- Cola.
“In the Asia-Pacific region, we are also working closely with the likes of Times Internet, Grab, and ByteDance. Our technology is now found on nearly seven billion mobile devices, up from 4.5 billion devices at the same time last year.”
When asked whether they are considering an IPO, trade sale or another stage of funding, Mense says, “We are not focused on an exit, but rather building the most robust measurement platform and delivering value to our clients and partners around the world.”
Southeast Asia a growing region
Mense sees Southeast Asia (SEA) as a mobile-first and mobile-native economy and e-commerce has grown in tandem with the development of digital payments platforms and better internet connectivity.
“With the plethora of retail options available to consumers, SEA mobile marketers need to develop omni-channel solutions to offer a frictionless user experience.
“Beyond this, SEA is also a hugely diverse landscape which encompasses a broad range of language, cultures and consumer preferences. For mobile marketers to succeed, they will need to develop a deep understanding of SEA’s online consumers and their rapidly shifting behaviour, as well as effectively measure consumer data to identify personalised, contextual, and timely engagement strategies at scale.”
He uses the phenomenon that Singles Day (11.11) has proven e-commerce will continue to grow from strength to strength in the region.
“Singles Day in 2017 processed a record-breaking U$25 billion in revenue, up about 74% from the previous year. Mobile played an integral role in this with 90% of Alibaba’s sales processed via mobile (increase from 2016’s 82%).”
AppsFlyer have been active in Indonesia since 2014 and are working with the leading players in the market to help support their growth.
“Indonesia is a market at the forefront of innovation, technology, and consumer growth. As an example, more people becoming relevant to this space, mobile connectivity getting better, and 45% deeper handset penetration.”
Mense says the company will continue to invest resources in support of the market’s rapid growth and clients in Indonesia including Go-Jek and Tokopedia.
“The pace at which the industry is evolving is very rapid; we always have to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate where our customers are going and what their needs are including industry, clients, and partners.”