Advertisers are increasing focus on optimisation to reach high-value users: Simon Dussart

Simon ‘Bobby’ Dussart, CEO, Adjust, a global mobile marketing analytics platform, shared with e4m insights from a recent report on mobile app trends, the influence of CTV and more

by Shantanu David
Published - Apr 11, 2023 9:02 AM | 4 min read

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Despite economic headwinds, a surfeit of global crises, and a seemingly assured grim dystopian future, things aren’t all bad. For instance, advertising spends have increased as more and more people tune in to zone out. Simon ‘Bobby’ Dussart, CEO, Adjust, a global mobile marketing analytics platform, spoke to exchange4media on verticals that are helping the advertising domain to expand, the resurgence of gaming and entertainment, and where CTV ads fit into the funnel.

“I think the main surprises that we've had when it comes to 2023, is that in 2022, we saw this contraction as companies weren't really sure what was going to happen when it comes to their spend, or about how they want to grow, what they wanted to do, because it was a time of uncertainty and fears of the economy shrinking. What we're seeing since Q4, and that trend in Q1 is continuing is that there's a bit of a reversal on that trend,” Dussart says, noting that companies were being a bit more optimistic and bullish with their ad spends.

Adjust recently released its annual Mobile App Trends report, which showed upward momentum for e-commerce, fintech and gaming apps thus far in 2023. While 2022 marked the industry's first-ever slowdown, 2023’s early indicators show a turnaround is already well underway — with mobile app installs trending upward in e-commerce (+4%), fintech (+13%), and gaming (+10%) against their 2022 averages.

The report — based on datasets totalling more than 100,000 apps tracked by Adjust — analyses long-term trends in installs, sessions, time spent in-app, retention, re-attribution rates, and more, across the globe. These insights enable developers and marketers to better understand their audience and the state of the app economy. “Global conditions and user needs are evolving rapidly, but the need for growth and ROI in the mobile app marketing industry remains the same,” said Dussart.

This means there’s an increasing focus on the optimization side to make sure that companies are going after high-value users. And one of the key drivers of this is Connected TV, with Dussart mentioning that every conversation that Adjust has with advertisers now revolves heavily around CTV and its potential.

“The main difference is that the ads that are being served (on CTV) or the experience for the user is very different. So, on your phone when you see an ad, you click on it, and then you get redirected to the store to install it and open that other app. Whereas CTV is usually not the last touch before install because you’re not going to pause what you’re watching and go to install an app. But it is still in the funnel.”

Observing that CTV is all about impression, Dussart notes that while direct conversion is not that high, almost everyone who installs a brand’s app has seen it on CTV at some point, and it has helped in that decision to install the said app.

This is what led Adjust to launch its Assists Dashboard late last year. As a dedicated dashboard available in Datascape, this premium solution allows advertisers to get a full-funnel perspective on their marketing campaigns. Combining last-touch attribution logic with a new tool (assisting touch points), advertisers can now look beyond their attributed data to see the role of each engagement a user makes as part of their conversion journey.

When it comes to ad spends on CTV, Dussart notes, “As usual, gaming is at the forefront, because gaming companies are always curious to try out new channels and technologies. This naturally leads into lifestyle and e-commerce. And then we are also seeing fintech companies also eager to explore the space.”

Indeed, it’s becoming similar to linear TV, with the appetite for advertisers, consumers, and the go-betweens only growing.