Talking App Retargeting in Seoul

We recently co-hosted a Mobile Retargeting event in Seoul (South Korea) with Adjust, a leading attribution and analytics company and IMOMAD, experts in mobile media performance. The conversation centered around programmatic retargeting and ad fraud prevention, giving mobile marketing leaders the chance to openly discuss industry best practices, benchmarks and strategies in the setting of the South Korean mobile market.

About South Korea — know your market

South Korea is one of the most important app markets in the world. With an 85% mobile usage penetration in 2017, it’s definitely a market with big opportunities.

• Over 60% of leading app developers are South Korean.
• Android OS has over 66% of the market share, with Samsung as the most popular device vendor.
• Most mobile data is consumed between 9:00PM-1:00AM

Global Comparison of E-commerce Conversion Rate (CVR)

Also, looking at the click to purchase rate comparison, we can see that South Korea (KR on the above graph) performs consistently better than the other geos. These 2 trends, reliable Cost per Action (CPA) and higher Event Conversion Rate (ECR) means it’s very important (and rewarding) for marketers to implement long-term User Acquisition and Retargeting strategies in South Korea.

Global Comparison of E-commerce CPA

The above graph is a global comparison of the Cost Per Action for the e-commerce vertical, and it further evidences that South Korea offers a very efficient environment compared to the USA, where performance tends to be much more volatile. This stability greatly facilitates long-term strategies.

Key takeaways — Here are just a few of the main topics discussed at the event:

Screens are big and so is video

Most users opt for large-screen devices, which perhaps helps explain why video is more popular than in other regions. This is a great opportunity for marketers, as video creatives help show how the app works and its best features, while providing a richer experience for the user.

Creatives are a key aspect of app marketing, so identifying the formats preferred by users and how to cater them successfully is very important.

Some recommendations for successful video ads

• Video creatives should make sense without sound.
• App’s logo/icon should be present on the video (especially at the beginning and the end) and the general aesthetics/ look of the video should be coherent with the look of your app and app store page.
• Test both portrait and landscape versions (portrait/vertical ads are really taking off) as well as different video lengths. Programmatic technology enables a more efficient matchmaking process between creative and user, so advertisers can easily test multiple variations and glean real insights with advanced reporting.

Deep Linking Drives In-App Conversions

In a primarily android market, such as South Korea, deep linking can be tricky as there will be fragmented browsers, but it is essential to have deep links in place. Particularly, for retargeting campaigns.

Adjust’s Josh Jang explained how deep links are all about smart retargeting, as they enable advertisers to direct users anywhere within the app. Having hyper relevant ads won’t get marketers very far if those ads aren’t linked to the most relevant screen in the app.

Think of a retargeting ad for a shopping app, advertising a pair of Nike sneakers. The user is someone who already actively engages with the shopping app — they click the ad and they’re taken into the app, not just to their home screen but to the exact pair of sneakers advertised. It’s seamless, it saves time, and it significantly increases conversion rates.

Additionally, tracking deep linking campaigns provides extra data points on how the campaign is performing, which can help marketers identify which strategies are yielding the best results.

100% Transparency with Programmatic

Programmatic is gaining traction in the region as marketers actively seek more transparency. Impression level tracking both reduces the risk of fraud and increases brand safety by giving advertisers full control and visibility over the reach of their campaigns.

Furthermore, programmatic technology allows for enhanced targeting with granular insights and ad-hoc blacklisting, which result in an improved User Acquisition with better Life Time Value (LTV).

Wrapping Up

With high mobile penetration and strong mobile internet connectivity, South Korea is an extremely interesting market for apps. CPA and conversion rates tends to be more stable and competitive than in the rest of the world (including Europe and the USA) which implies that retargeting strategies focused on mobile can deliver a significant ROI and should be part of any app marketing strategy.