The introduction of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework significantly changed how to accurately measure the impact of iOS campaigns in user acquisition. With SKAdNetwork (SKAN) becoming the primary attribution method for iOS campaigns, marketers faced a big challenge in visibility.
For mobile game and app marketers, this attribution blind spot makes optimizing campaigns difficult. Without timely and granular data, decision-making is based on incomplete information. This has lead to wasted budgets, inefficient creative strategies, and user acquisition becoming increasingly hard. But here’s our solution. Creative-level attribution and analytics with Audiencelab.
The iOS visibility challenge
Let’s break down the visibility issues marketers face with SKAN:
Delayed reporting → The fastest available log from SKAN comes after 48 hours, making it challenging to optimize in real time.
Short attribution window → SKAN only provides insights within a 30-day window, making long-term campaign evaluation nearly impossible.
Lack of granular creative-level data → SKAN aggregates data in a way that hides individual creative performance. While campaign-level data is available, it forces marketers to rely on guesswork when it comes to individual ads.
Post-install blindness → Marketers have limited visibility into post-install engagement, meaning they struggle to connect campaign performance to in-app behavior beyond the SKAN window.
If your Google searches look like this “how to accurately measure the impact of iOS campaigns beyond SKAN’s limitations?”, continue reading.
How creative-level attribution solves this
Our creative-level framework Audiencelab provides a data-driven solution to regain lost visibility and make iOS campaign performance measurable and actionable.
- Creative-level attribution for real-time insights
Instead of waiting 48+ hours for SKAN logs, Audiencelab enables near real-time tracking of creative performance. By analyzing ad-level data, marketers can identify winning creatives faster and adjust budgets accordingly.
- Extended performance tracking beyond D30
With SKAN limiting insights to a 30-day window, Audiencelab bridges the gap by correlating data with install metrics and post-install activity beyond Day 30. This means marketers can measure true ROAS and LTV trends rather than relying solely on short-term conversion windows.
- Unified Data for Holistic UA Optimization
Audiencelab serves as both the analytics and attribution partner for self-attributing networks. We not only handle attribution but also directly manage networks through our dashboard, including full campaign setup. Audiencelab integrates multiple data sources, from ad platform data down to in-app analytics, in order to create a more complete and accurate picture of user behavior across creatives and campaigns.
The impact of regaining visibility
By leveraging Audiencelab’s creative-level attribution and analytics, mobile marketers can optimize campaigns faster by making real-time adjustments instead of waiting for delayed SKAN logs. Additionally it helps reduce wasted ad spend by identifying underperforming creatives before they drain budgets. LTV predictions and campaign scaling decisions are easier with extending measurement beyond Day 30. All these factors play a role in optimizing UA investments with reliable insights that go beyond SKAN’s limitations.
Conclusion
The lack of visibility in iOS campaigns under SKAN isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a fundamental challenge that has impacted user acquisition efficiency and long-term revenue growth. With Audiencelab’s creative-level attribution and advanced analytics, we can bypass SKAN’s blind spots, regain control over their campaigns, and drive smarter, more profitable UA strategies.
Ready to stop shooting in the dark? Let’s talk!
