After IOS 14.5 privacy policy comes into effect, SKAdNetwork will become the main mechanism for IOS to measure and optimize advertising effects. As a deterministic attribution mechanism, SKAdNetwork can provide advertisers with a certain amount of IOS marketing data. While Apple is constantly upgrading this mechanism for advertisers and application developers, it also introduces some key constraints. The potential loss of IDFA makes accurate mobile measurement on IOS more challenging than ever.
- The influence of iOS 14.5
SKAdNetwork and IOS 14 have fundamentally changed the way of attribution in the field of mobile performance marketing. Specifically, it is related to the following contents:
IDFA (IOS advertising device ID) – users’ explicit consent is required to use it now, and the selection rate is expected to be very low (ADXchanger). This actually terminates the IDFA as a reliable identifier for the user.
Attribution – Apple is effectively making internal attribution to ensure user privacy. User clicks will no longer be routed through any third party attribution provider (MMP).
The loss of IDFA eliminates user level tracking.
Each ad network must register directly with apple and obtain the ad network ID. Each ID is limited to 100 ad series IDs that will be used to track the effect of the ad series until the publisher, display location, source ID, etc. This reduces the granularity level available for the current setting.
Postback can be delayed by up to 24 hours, so that the click Install time or event time cannot be measured.
As far as the current mobile marketing system is concerned, IDFA is the key node for precise delivery:
First of all, advertisers obtain each independent user portrait through IDFA, so as to achieve accurate delivery; By tracking the effect of advertising, we can interpret the user’s advertising behavior, optimize the advertising activities, and avoid the waste of resources caused by repeated advertising;
Secondly, for the whole delivery ecological chain, IDFA as the device identification for the data exchange between the program advertising platforms, is the key node of the whole data chain.
Theoretically, as long as the user’s consent can be obtained, the access to IDFA data will not have much problem. But in fact, people hate being tracked and “watched”. In the questionnaire survey conducted by the MobileDev Memo Slack team, most of the respondents thought that the choice rate of allowing IDFA tracking would not be higher than 20%, and pessimistic prediction even thought that it would not be higher than 10%. It is know that the current data is 70%!
For those Internet companies that based on IDFA to obtain accurate information of users and carry out advertising business, it’s just a drop in the bucket. After the implementation of the IDFA new deal, the small and medium-sized procedural platform will not be able to track user behavior based on IDFA, the effect and quality of advertising will decline significantly, and the DMP system business based on IDFA will be unsustainable. For advertisers, accurate attribution based on IDFA can’t be used, and channel promotion effect can’t be accurately evaluated; Unabled to return user level converted data to the advertising platform or the advertiser BI system, these situations will directly affect the advertiser’s budget, which will greatly damage the advertising revenue of the program platform.
- FuseClick offer Skadnetwork integration for customers
To help advertisers achieve sustained growth and accurately improve advertising effect, FuseClick has added a one-stop solution based on a series of existing IOS 14 solutions. This comprehensive solution helps advertisers configure and optimize the SKAdNetwork conversion value, conduct data validation and intercept cheating, and seamlessly connect with partners. At present, it supports SKAdNetwork docking with partners such as AppFlyer、FraudScore、Forensiq, and supports advanced privacy mode configuration of the third party to ensure that key data such as return and conversion values can be accurately synchronized to FuseClick and other partners.
- FA-SK Service, the IOS 14.5 Customized Solution
As a third-party PAAS platform focusing on mobile marketing, FuseClick has been paying close attention to the progress of IOS 14.5 since Apple first announced the relevant decision last year, and constantly adjusting the product technology optimization and upgrading. After the release of the new regulations, FuseClick launched FA-SK service to deal with the challenges brought by IOS 14.5.
FA-SK service is compatible with IOS 14.5 ATT framework, which has the advantage that advertisers can view the SKAdNetwork transformation data without docking with each advertising platform, so as to ensure that the advertiser app will not be rejected by apple after integrating SDK; FA-SK services connect with various advertising platforms, open up the advertising account system, support a report to show the details of SKAdNetwork data, and meet the multi-dimensional data report viewing needs of advertisers; User behavior events can be associated with SKAdNetwork conversion value events at will, and callback templates can be set; Update the latest traffic anti cheating algorithm, improve the success rate of invalid traffic interception, without additional docking, greatly reducing the difficulty of integration.
- How to begin with SKAdNetwork?
Firstly, you need to register with Apple Developer. And then you need to obtain the Ad Network ID. To verify the verification process of APP install, channel developers need to put the ad Network ID in their app’s information property list.
Secondly, the private key and public key need to be generated. On the server of ad network, the set key is used to generate the signature; and the signature is used to set the value of the SK Store Product Parameter AdNetwork Attribution Signature parameter. For how to generate a signature, refer to Generating the Signature to Validate StoreKit-Rendered Ads, which mainly includes selecting parameters->aggregating parameters-> adding a signature-> encrypting.
- (1) Merge parameters. The parameters set in the first step are combined in a fixed order and separated by ‘ \u2063 ‘. The following is the combined string of version 2.2: version + ‘\u2063’ + ad-network-id + ‘\u2063’ + campaign-id + ‘\u2063’ + itunes-item-id + ‘\u2063’ + nonce + ‘\u2063’ + source-app-id + ‘\u2063’ + fidelity-type + ‘\u2063’ + timestamp.
- (2) Signature of the string: use the private key of Ad Network, use the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) with a SHA-256 hash, the result should be the binary value of DER (Digital Encoding Rules) format, this binary value is the signature.
- (3) encode signature: encode the generated binary signature into a Base 64 string to get the attribute signature of Ad Network. The corresponding parameter name is SK Store Product Parameter Ad Network Attribution Signature. The signature is similar to MEQCIEQlmZRNfYzKBSE8QnhLTIHZZZWCFgZpRqRxHss65KoFAiAJgJKjdrWdkLUOCCjuEx2RmFS7daRzSVZRVZ8RyMyUXg==
- (4) Use the generated signature string: after the signature is generated, the channel app calls load Product (with Parameters: completion Block) all ad network installation validation parameters required by the function.
Then you have to add all the data to FuseClick. Create a SKAdNetwork configuration file: Advertisers->SKAdNetwork->create SKAdNetwork：
Title: the name of SKAdNetwork.
- Skadnetwork ID: insert your / your advertiser’s SKAdNetwork ID.
- Private Key: insert the private key you generated in SKAdNetwork.
- Public Key: insert the public key you generated in SKAdNetwork.
- Campaign ID: Apple provides a campaign ID, and apple allows each campaign to create up to 100 traffic sources.
Then, you need to add the SKAdNetwork profile to the advertiser’s profile in FuseClick.
The final step is to create an offer. In order to get the Postback in the correct way, you need to return the following parameters:
- Ad Network ID;
- Apple App ID;
- Campaign ID;
- SKAdNetwork Postback
To receive a postback from SKAdNetwork, you need to create a postback link:
https://offers-companyname.fuseclick.com/skad
It is sent by SKAdNetwork in JSON format through Post method and contains the following information:
- Version: The version of the SKAdNetwork API. The latest is 2.2.
- Ad Network ID: your ID in SKAdNetwork if you’re a direct Advertiser or ID of your Advertiser, who uses SKAdNetwork.
- Campaign ID: the campaign ID you’ve set up on the SKAdNetwork edit page in FuseClick.
- Transaction ID: the ID of the conversion (unique for each conversion regardless of anything).
- App ID: the ID of the application that should exist in the offer in FuseClick.
- Attribution signature: your personal/your Advertiser’s Private key that should exist in SKAdNetwork profile in FuseClick.
- Redownload: a flag that indicates the end-user redownloaded and reinstalled the application.
- Source App ID: the ID of the application in App Store, which contains anadvertisement.
- Conversion value: the Conversion value.
- Fidelity type: indicates whether the install was generated via an impression or a click.
Send back verification process
FuseClick receives the Postback and checks whether it has the required parameters: ad network ID, Apple App ID and campaign ID. In order to verify that the request is from apple, the signature must be verified. Apple’s public key is used to decode the signature, and the decoded information is compared with the Byte Array reconstructed with the same parameters. A UTF-8 string is created by placing the parameters in a fixed order and separating them with the implicit character ‘ \u2063’.
You will see all the parameters that SKAdNetwork sends to you:
{
“version” : “2.2”,
“ad-network-id” : “com.example”,
“campaign-id” : 42,
“transaction-id” :”6aafb7a5-0170-41b5-bbe4-fe71dedf1e28″,
“app-id” : 525463029,
“attribution-signature” :”MEYCIQDTuQ1Z4Tpy9D3aEKbxLl5J5iKiTumcqZikuY/AOD2U7QIhAJAaiAv89AoquHXJffcieEQXdWHpcV8ZgbKN0EwV9/sY”,
“redownload”: true,
“source-app-id”: 1234567891,
“fidelity-type”: 1,
“conversion-value”: 20
}
- Continuous, efficient and stable
The newly launched FA-SK service will greatly improve the usability of products and enhance the continuity of operation. While helping partners adapt to the new challenge of IOS 14.5 faster and better, enabling partners to have more powerful marketing data analysis ability, more friendly with user interaction experience, and achieve sustained, efficient and stable business growth!
You can log in www.fuseclick.com Learn more about professional content. Send an email to client@fuseclick.com, and send a copy to the service personnel who connect with you. We will assign special person for you to answer and guide the docking work until you can use it easily.
FuseClick is a third-party PAAS platform focusing on providing global mobile advertising tracking, effect analysis and optimization, and operation management for enterprise customers such as global alliance, mobile advertising agencies, media organizations, and mobile game publishers.
