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Themes from MAU 2024

Themes from MAU 2024

Over the past few years, Mobile Apps Unlocked has solidified its position as one of the most important mobile and app conferences in the U.S. Each spring, the conference brings together a group of leading mobile app marketers, suppliers, and brands for two days of activities and presentations. The conference sessions delve into the latest developments in the mobile marketing and growth marketing landscapes, making it an essential opportunity to gather and learn. 

Here are three key themes from MAU 2024…

1. AI is going creative

As AI evolves, it is becoming further embedded into creative processes. For example, AI is increasingly used to deliver elements such as creative analytics, enabling teams to understand which creative delivers KPIs. AI also enables the development of detailed creative testing plans, for example, understanding at a granular level which creative campaign versions resonate with specific audiences. One example used AI to test multiple creative variants of a mobile campaign and, as a result, identified that some target audiences preferred creative with eye contact; this testing was done before an entire campaign launched, effectively leading to optimized results.

2. Preparing for privacy is essential.

Preparing for Google Privacy Sandbox was, of course, a hot topic; even if the rollout is delayed into 2025, the message for advertisers was to prepare now. Establishing new measurement frameworks takes time and stakeholder buy-in so it is important to prepare effectively for signal loss this year.

Innovation and testing with media partners and MMPs will help brands future-proof campaigns. The need to move from attribution (outside of in-channel) to a measurement framework with Incrementality and Media Mix Models will be central to success. Signal loss caused by privacy changes means that there is a growing push for advertisers to have their own first-party data and MarTech stack available.

3. Testing remains key

There are a lot of media suppliers available to advertisers to test. From offer walls, DSPs, and networks to channels such as programmatic audio and CTV, a comprehensive testing plan and budget are essential to finding new, incremental, and niche audiences. In a presentation at MAU (available here), Guillaume Lelait, Chief Growth Officer for M&C Saatchi Performance, discussed with Matt Ferrel from TickPick how having a challenger mindset can enable brands to test channels such as podcasts.

Below is a link to the presentation delivered at MAU, watch a TickPick TV ad here and contact us if you have any questions about growing your brand profitably.

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