What is a Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP)?

Everything you need to know about MMPs and why you need one

What is an MMP?

MMP stands for mobile measurement partner. It is an independent third-party platform that measures, organizes, and visualizes mobile app data to give marketers a unified view of campaign performance across media channels and partners.

How does an MMP work?

To start, an advertiser integrates the MMP’s software development kit (SDK) into their mobile app to measure all app installs and in-app events.

Once installs and events are successfully being measured, the advertiser can easily launch and measure omni-channel campaigns leveraging the MMP’s integrations with demand-side platforms (DSPs), ad networks, affiliate networks, social networks, and super publishers like Facebook, Google Ads, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. 

Capture all campaign activity with impression and/or click tracking URLs. Advertisers can also use MMP tracking tags to measure owned media efforts across email, web, social, and beyond. 

Once the mobile measurement partner receives all installs and events from the app, as well as all impression and click data across the advertiser’s omni-channel marketing campaigns, the MMP’s attribution engine deciphers which campaign ad drove installs and/or in-app conversions.

After attribution is awarded between a particular advertisement and a conversion (install or event), the MMP sends an immediate data postback to all of the advertiser’s media partners to report the conversion outcome. This data postback aids in campaign optimization, targeting suppression, network reporting, billing, and other marketing functions. 

The result is the MMP as a single source of truth on what drove install and in-app conversions for the advertiser and the use of that data to inform ongoing marketing optimization to effect maximum return on ad spend (ROAS).

Why are MMPs important?

There are three main benefits to having an MMP:

1. They enable an advertiser to integrate one SDK into their mobile app rather than the advertiser integrating a new SDK for every ad network or publisher they want to run a campaign with.
2. They provide unbiased and independent attribution by acting as a single source of truth for advertisers on what campaign ad drove a particular conversion. 
3. They host ad fraud prevention technology that prevents advertisers from losing valuable ad spend to fraudulent tactics such as SDK spoofing, click spamming/flooding, click injection, install hijacking, bot traffic, ad stacking, and beyond. 

What if I already have Google Analytics? Do I still need an MMP? 

This is a common question for marketers entering into the MMP search for the first time. Google Analytics is a powerful tool for measuring and reporting on website traffic and can also incorporate mobile app data collected through the Google Firebase SDK or Google Tag Manager. While Google Analytics gathers a lot of helpful information, it departs from the values and capabilities of an independent MMP in four key ways: 

1. Google Analytics lacks granular, row-level data that marketers need to fully optimize their omni-channel marketing efforts. 
2. With Google Ads being a major player in the advertising ecosystem (Google Search, YouTube, and display ad inventory), it is unable to take the role of an unbiased and independent attribution provider for all of your other campaigns with Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and thousands of other independent ad networks, DSPs, affiliate networks, and beyond. Google Ads campaigns may directly compete with these other media partners for conversion credit and thus, cannot take the place of an independent source of truth. 
3. Google Analytics and the Firebase SDK do not provide post-install conversion value support for SKAdNetwork which is vital to maximizing user quality and post-install performance insights on SKAdNetwork campaigns.  
4. Lastly, Google does not offer built-in ad fraud prevention tools to deal with prevalent fraud tactics across the mobile advertising ecosystem (eg, click flooding, install hijacking, bots, etc.).

Google Analytics plays an invaluable role in any organization for website analytics and optimization but is not a replacement or suitable alternative to an independent MMP like Kochava. 

iOS 14 and AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework

MMPs not only make running ad campaigns easier, but they also aid advertisers in adapting to changes within the marketing ecosystem and provide the most up-to-date industry-compliant solutions. Since Apple announced ATT enforcement with the iOS 14.5 update, many MMPs have been working to support their advertiser clients with effective attribution and measurement solutions post-ATT enforcement. It is more important than ever to work with an MMP to ensure you have the information and tools you need to continue growing your business no matter what change occurs within the adtech world.

SKAdNetwork Solutions

With the enforcement of the ATT framework, achieving measurement and attribution on iOS will change. SKAdNetwork provides cohorted, anonymized performance insights while an MMP, like Kochava, provides granular omni-channel attribution across devices and platforms. Utilizing SKAdNetwork solutions from an MMP like Kochava supplies advertisers with the most holistic measurement and attribution insights all within a single dashboard. It is strongly recommended to partner with an MMP that provides maximum insights within the bounds of Apple’s SKAdNetwork. while also incorporating SKAdNetwork into your marketing strategy.

How to choose an MMP: Three key considerations

No two MMPs are alike. When choosing an MMP, be sure to ask the right questions. 

Read “Shopping for an MMP? Top Questions To Ask” for helpful information about MMP considerations.

Summary

• An MMP helps gather and communicate mobile app data to provide marketers with a clear understanding of their marketing campaigns by compiling click and impression data from ad networks to perform attribution.
• MMPs are important because they act as a single source of truth for advertisers and provide modern solutions for growth.
• Before the enforcement of ATT with iOS 14.5, be sure to utilize SKAdNetwork alongside an MMP to ensure the most accurate measurement and attribution data.
• When choosing an MMP, consider your marketing goals and make sure they align with the MMP you want to work with.

For more information about Mobile Measurement Partners, contact support@kochava.com or visit https://www.kochava.com/get-started/ to learn more about Kochava solutions and offerings.