The new era of data protection, which has seen Apple enforce advertising identifier (IDFA) changes and Google get ready to phase out third party cookies, has seen app developers hit hard and three-fifths of marketers lose revenue.
That is according to a new report from Bango, dubbed “The App-ocalypse”, which argues that the changes are altering the face of app marketing forever.
The research, which surveyed over 300 app developers and app marketers, found that 64% of marketers are concerned about the implications Google’s removal of third-party cookies will have on their user acquisition strategy, with 21% being very concerned. Some 61% of marketers have also reported that they have lost sleep because of the new changes.
The Bango report also discusses the iOS IDFA privacy changes already in effect – which allow users to opt out of being tracked. Although the updates have complicated user acquisition strategies, marketers do understand the need for privacy. In fact, 59% agree that user privacy is a top priority for their company in 2022.
Nevertheless, concerns about how to acquire new users are still rife, with 61% of marketers agreeing that they are having to rethink their user acquisition strategy. A similar proportion (63%) are actively looking for new ways to target paying users without IDFA, cookies or data privacy issues.
The Bango report, authored by Anil Malhotra, CMO, and Brett Orlanski, SVP Bango Audiences, argues that in a new privacy conscious world the only way to reach new paying app users is to rethink strategy and adopt purchase behaviour targeting.
Malhotra explained: “Traditional audience targeting might have worked once but new changes and regulations have made – at least from the point of view of app marketers – users unreachable, and unattainable, like zombies that they desperately need to bring back to life. In this new world, marketers are having to rethink their user acquisition strategies or risk falling victim to the App-ocalypse.”
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