• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 13, 2014

AppsFlyer, a mobile attribution analytics company, has tweaked a few features in its platform, which was initially launched for app developers to support advertising agencies that want to help brand clients track mobile app downloads, installs and use.

The platform, initially intended for app developers, measures and analyzes user acquisitions. The demand from brands and agencies led AppsFlyer to build out services for advertising agencies and their clients.

Jeremy Siegel, supervisor of digital investment and mobile strategy at OMD, uses features that track attribution across paid social, network and publisher partners. He said the simple cost structure doesn't force the agency to ration performance metrics. About 20 agencies use the platform.

AppsFlyer CEO Oren Kaniel explains how the app can identify loyal users and frequently used keywords, as well as optimize in real-time social targeting, given its partnership with Facebook to measure mobile interactions. In fact, the platform provides access to more than 450 sources of traffic to ensure that each campaign reaches its intended target.

Agencies can plug into the platforms API to determine cost per action, cost per download and cost per registration, and "feed their algorithms into their media-buying process," he said. It also supports the ability to manage mobile retargeting campaigns.

Since cookies don't exist on mobile browsers, AppsFlyer developed a technology to work around it. Rather than rely on browser cookies, the company uses IP matching and fingerprinting to match the actions to intent like a hotel booking or purchase within the past seven days. "We report back to the agency, so they can optimize the app to determine what works and doesn't," Kaniel said. "We also have custom APIs that enable agencies, for example, to take into account weather conditions or time of day."