• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Google has made advancements in mobile ad formats around AI-powered tools and privacy-based measurement solutions for iOS app advertisers that provide advertisers with three ways to improve mobile campaign performance and connect with iOS users on Search, YouTube and the Display Network.

Measurement has changed under Google for iOS apps. It is based on privacy -- similar to an expanded, on-device conversion measurement solution that uses app event data that has been de-identified to improve campaign optimization and reporting. 

This technology protects user privacy, as user-identifying information never leaves the device. This means that data is never disclosed, even to Google.

A key benefit, Google said, is that it unlocks access to integrated conversion measurement (ICM) to provide more real-time, comprehensive and accurate attribution of iOS App campaign performance directly within third-party App Attribution Partner (AAP) reporting. 

Codeway, an AI-powered consumer app publisher, used Google’s ICM solution to unlock more precise measurement, observing a 6X increase in installs and an 80% lower cost per install in AAP reporting.

To improve app ad formats, Google expanded YouTube’s co-branded partnership ad format to App campaigns. It is now available for YouTube in-feed and Shorts app ads.

Co-branded partnership ads offer a more visually engaging and authentic ad experience with YouTube creator partners to improve campaign performance. On select AdMob inventory, playable ad formats can now be used as end cards after video ads to encourage increased interaction with viewers.

End cards, also known as end screens, are interactive elements that appear on YouTube videos in the last 5 to 20 seconds of the content. It is a video ads feature that allow advertisers to extend engagement after the main video content ends. These cards are static, dynamic, interactive, or playable.

Google also explained how AI has made app campaigns smarter, from bidding to developing creative content. Targeted return on ad spend (tROAS) bidding is not an option in iOS. The goal is for the value-based bidding options to help marketers more profitably acquire users.

Google gave this example: after adopting tROAS bidding, Uatas, an Indonesia-based lending app, achieved a 7% increase in ROAS compared to its historical iOS campaign performance.

The maximize conversion bidding strategy has been expanded to campaigns that optimize for in-app actions or a tROAS. This strategy uses Google AI to automatically set bids to get the most conversion volume for a campaign within a daily budget.

Google AI simplified refining ad creative with a video enhancement for app campaigns that adapts existing videos to fit different screen sizes and placements.

The technology extends videos beyond their original frames while preserving key visual content, and is intended to improve campaign performance across YouTube’s ad formats without any extra work.