Marketers are constantly faced with strategic decisions that can make or break their campaign's success. One of the most critical decisions is whether to focus on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) or Cost Per Install (CPI) when optimizing campaigns.
In this blog post, we'll explore the nuances of both strategies and how XMP facilitates an integrated approach for optimal campaign performance.
What Are CPI and ROAS Campaigns?
A CPI Campaign is designed to manage the cost associated with each user install. This model ensures advertisers only pay when their app is downloaded, providing a straightforward way to scale the user base while maintaining budget control. CPI is particularly advantageous for new app launches, as it helps increase product visibility and drive initial user acquisition economically.
A ROAS Campaign is focused on maximizing the financial return from every dollar spent on advertising. It involves sophisticated tracking of conversion data and revenue to ensure profitability. With ROAS, the aim is to secure a higher yield from ad spend, ideal for mature products with significant value per conversion where user quality takes precedence over volume.
Differences Between ROAS and CPI Campaigns
- Differing Optimization Goals and Traffic Coverage:
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- ROAS campaigns prioritize traffic sources that are expected to convert at a higher rate and provide a better return on investment.
- CPI campaigns are cost-effective, targeting channels and audiences that offer lower costs per install to achieve scalable growth in user numbers.
- Control Over Campaign Adjustments:
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- ROAS campaigns rely on algorithm-driven optimizations, which provide limited direct control to the advertisers.
- CPI allows for hands-on adjustments, such as modifying bids, creating whitelists and blacklists, and fine-tuning subchannel strategies for cost management and performance.
Despite these differences, ROAS can be effectively combined with CPI to gather comprehensive data—from ad effectiveness and returns with ROAS to detailed cost controls and specific subchannel insights with CPI—crafting a more informed and balanced advertising strategy.
Combining Quality and Quantity: Dual Campaign Deployment
While ROAS campaigns utilize SDK ad network algorithms, CPI campaigns require detailed subchannel oversight. Relying solely on ROAS is sometimes a cause of traffic imbalances. This highlights the ongoing relevance of CPI for User Acquisition (UA).
Using XMP, advertisers gain enhanced clarity on the competitive landscape with features that:
- Track Similar Apps: Assess the coverage of similar apps across subchannels and receive performance tags compared to the industry average.
- Benchmark Performance: Review your app's CPI, eCPM, and Installs-per-Mille (IPM)/Install-to-View Rate (IVR) metrics directly against those of competitors in the same subchannels.
- Identify Lucrative Sub-Channels: Detect which subchannels deliver the highest ROAS to optimize investment strategies.
This ensures that any profitable subchannels overlooked by ROAS campaigns gain attention through CPI efforts. For example, advertisers can use XMP to directly review a list of the top 500 subchannels for Mintegral within the US market. If marketers identify that high-performing subchannels are overlooked by current campaigns, they can swiftly bridge this gap and capitalize on these untapped opportunities by utilizing XMP's 'One-click Traffic Booster' feature, which facilitates a seamless expansion into valuable subchannels.
This strategic move allows advertisers to quickly capitalize on high-potential channels, ensuring comprehensive market penetration and optimized user acquisition.
XMP simplifies the process of bidding adjustments by providing easy-to-use automatic features that adjust bids with a focus on improving ROAS. Advertisers can tap into XMP's intuitive Smart Assistant to seamlessly optimize their bids for CPI Campaigns.
This hands-free optimization is powered by data and considers essential metrics such as ROAS, Lifetime Value (LTV), Revenue, Cost, IPM/IVR, and CPM, among others, ensuring your campaigns perform efficiently without the need for complex input.
In conclusion, blending ROAS with CPI campaigns creates a well-rounded marketing strategy catering to different platform and channel needs. App businesses can achieve balanced growth and efficiency by leveraging the unique advantages of both strategies. To truly excel in User Acquisition and maximize your ad performance across the board, it's crucial not to settle for a one-size-fits-all solution.
About XMP
XMP is a one-stop cross-channel intelligent media buying platform dedicated to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of advertisers. It integrates global top media, SDK Ad Networks, and mobile measurement partners and enables advertisers to manage their advertising campaigns, creatives, and data across multiple channels all in one platform. Contact the XMP team today to start your journey to success!
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