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Adjust’s new year predictions: the rise of OTT, accuracy in iOS 14 and the importance of retention for 2021

David Hartery, Senior Content Marketing Editor, Adjust, Jan 08, 2021.

Introduction

As we begin 2021 after a year of great upheaval, it seems difficult to guess what will happen in the coming months. In the world of mobile, 2020 was a year where trends intensified and accelerated - with more people turning to their smartphones than ever before to keep them connected and entertained. So then, is 2021 likely to be a year of further change in consumption patterns and a speeding up of mobile transformation?

Adjust’s experts have weighed in on the topic, sharing their mobile marketing predictions for 2021. Read more below to see how the rise of OTT, the introduction of iOS 14, and the impact of COVID-19 will influence this year’s marketing strategies - and how you can future proof your marketing plans by spotting trends early.

Part 1

OTT is a channel marketers can no longer afford to ignore

eMarketer’s report Mobile Advertising Outlook 2021 featured Adjust’s Chief Product Officer, Katie Madding. Katie explained how mobile is the future of TV — with revenue in the video streaming segment expected to grow to $30.4 billion by 2024.

Recent research conducted by Adjust showed that younger consumers lead the pack in mobile streaming — with Gen Z and Millennials most likely to pay for streaming and on-demand entertainment services than any other generation — and Katie says that “the opportunity that Over The Top (OTT) media affords mobile marketers is enormous.”

As mobile marketers tap into OTT and ratchet up their spending on advertising for user acquisition, the question for 2021 is really how they’re spending and how they attribute users. Many companies are investing heavily in OTT, but often have no way of understanding what drives value — measurement is the answer.

Katie Madding

Chief Product Officer, Adjust

Find out how you can measure the success of your CTV apps with Adjust here.

Katie also believes that more apps will turn to a subscription-based model in 2021, as regular and forecastable revenue proves to be a big benefit for brands - making subscription attribution more important than ever.

“With ad targeting set to get harder on iOS 14, we expect an increasing number of apps will be looking to diversify their monetization models beyond ad revenue in 2021 — and subscriptions will become the ultimate income stream for many publishers and advertisers.”

Part 2

Keeping measurement accurate through iOS14 changes is key

Paul H. Müller, co-founder and CTO at Adjust, spoke with MarTechSeries to outline how looming iOS 14 changes will make measuring data accurately, while protecting users’ privacy, the critical challenge of 2021.

Adjust’s primary focus heading into 2021 is supporting a seamless transition to Apple’s new privacy guidelines, set to take effect early in the year. We've started our own research program with the help of our leading UX and UA experts to enable our clients to implement the best consent flow and UX design that fits their app — and maximizes opt-ins. So far, we’ve seen opt-ins of between 30-60% for certain clients we’ve been working with.

Paul H. Müller

Co-founder and CTO, Adjust

You can get tips on how to maximise user opt-ins here.

Adjust recently launched a new iOS SDK to support all iOS 14 privacy features — from AppTrackingTransparency to SKAdNetwork — allowing app developers to test out different options to determine the best way to handle the transition.

This means, Paul says, that “regardless of what plays out with the coming changes, we’re confident that the industry can use this opportunity to create a sustainable future for app developers, advertisers, and end users alike.”

Part 3

The “great acceleration” towards an app-focused world

Andy Chandler, VP Customer Success at Adjust, spoke to MediaPost, and explained how 2021 will see brands put their foot to the floor in terms of mobile transformation.

“In 2021, we’ll likely see more and more businesses investing in their apps and using them as a primary channel to interact with their users. Traditional brands will also need to invest in their apps if they are to compete with companies with mobile at the heart of their strategy.”

For marketers, the priority going into the new year will be how they can retain the users they gained throughout the course of 2020 — particularly when we get back to relative normality — as well as how to build more utility into their app. The pandemic has proven the value in going one step further and really thinking about what it is your users need, especially in very difficult times. As with any successful brand, it’s about putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and seeing what small things your company can do to make their lives easier and safer.

Andy Chandler

VP Customer Success, Adjust

If you’re interested in any of these topics, you can read about Adjust’s solution for iOS 14, find out how attribution on CTV works and learn from industry experts how to define your mobile transformation.

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