Authored By Ashwin Shekhar, Co-founder, AVOW
One of the industries which is continuing to thrive in the post pandemic era is that of mobile apps. From being a source of entertainment, numerous conveniences and also being a profitable business for many ventures, as a space, mobile apps address varied needs of users. 6.3 billion smartphone (source- Statistica) users globally are driving app usage steadily- a trend which will only accelerate in times ahead.
The growth of this market is intrinsically linked to the exponential rise of the smartphone era. The year 2021 witnessed over 1.53 billion smartphones being sold worldwide (Source- Statistica). Within this space, the Android Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Oppo (Realme and OnePlus), Vivo, Samsung, and Xiaomi occupy 75% of the market share with 2.8 billion active users. They have steadily emerged as an effective alternative against the backdrop of the market saturation where every brand is trying to get the best out of their mobile advertising campaigns.
As per some estimates, an individual on an average sees between 6000- 10000 ads per day. Marketers are rightfully looking out to break from the clutter and create top of the mind recall for their apps amongst their key audience. This is where Dynamic Preloads have come to the forefront as a channel which ensures that an advertiser is the first one on a device before any of its competitors.
Dynamic preloads are apps that are installed on brand new smartphones and happen when a user activates the mobile device for the first time. Such users are presented with an opportunity to download a preloaded app while the mobile setup occurs. To put it simply, mobile marketers can think of dynamic preloads as a highly relevant and premium way to amplify user acquisition strategy and stay ahead of their competition.
With dynamic preloads, Google Play Store enables direct app downloads over the air (OTA) where Android Application Packages (APKs) get auto-installed once the mobile device connects to a network. Usually, APKs are pushed for downloads in other preload offerings which in the end, might not provide the users with the latest version of apps for download even after doing long-drawn-out processes.
Here’s why and how marketers can optimize Dynamic Preloads on Mobile OEMs and include it within their strategic marketing mix in 2022.
Mobile OEMs such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi can configure which apps will be recommended in the Google portal and which group of devices to reach and target. Google created an auto-install functionality - the Google Play AutoInstall (Google PAI) - within Mobile OEMs that automatically downloads apps from the Play Store. Let’s take an example of a game app developer looking to launch and promote a mobile app heavily in India.
The data for the mobile games market in India shows that the gaming category will continue to bear a huge growth potential in this region in the coming years. Its revenue is projected to reach US$3.83bn in 2022 alone (source- Statista), and the user penetration is expected to grow to 193.5 million by the end of the year.
Indian app developers or mobile marketers, can gain the substantial competitive advantage they need to launch a game app successfully - as dynamic preloads apps can create massive opportunities to gain new users each time a smartphone is activated by first-time users and elevate the app brand at the same time since the app is visible in a premium spot.
It has come as no surprise that with the continuous innovation in the mobile industry, app advertisers prefer dynamic preloads over traditional factory preloads to meet both the growing demands of users and advertisers’ needs. Let’s deep drive into this a bit further and understand the top factors behind its relevance and growth.
Advertising with traditional factory preloads brings uncertainty and consumes a lot of time for the apps to go live. By the time a smartphone is shipped to a user, they receive an old app version (devoid of multiple updates that would have happened from the time the app is preloaded in the smartphone to when the user activates the device). They finally end up deleting the apps with older versions and hence advertisers are unable to measure and optimize to reach their acquisition goals.
Moreover, an advertiser ends up paying for Cost per Download (CPD) rather than Cost per Install (CPI), which they can pay only when the app is launched with one partner agency that acts as your single source of truth. This makes it highly essential for marketers to shift their focus to an ecosystem that has become more agile, fast, flexible, and cost-effective with the arrival of dynamic preloads.
With dynamic preloads, App developers can see a quicker turnaround from the launch to app discovery. Additionally, advertisers do not need to divert their energies into matters like SDK implementation or technical integration. Last but certainly not the least, advertisers and marketers can optimize based on device models after the initial launch.
It is a win-win situation for users as well who can make use of ‘opt-out’ functionality if they wish not to use a preloaded app on their device.
Dynamic Preloads are the way forward
For an advertiser and marketer, looking to get their app in front of the customers of leading smartphone OEMs, dynamic preloads offer one of the most effective, exclusive, and direct routes to do so most reliably. Since their app is available to users by being on the device first, it gives their app a strong visibility to be a ‘go-to’ app for a fresh set of users.
Agencies that have exclusive partnerships with smartphone OEMs can help advertisers and marketers reach closer to their user acquisition goals with dynamic preload options. Such agencies can effectively help app developers, and brands launch their apps on dedicated phones with specific geo-targeting depending on the markets they want to reach.
