Case Study · Mobile Marketing Tech

Closing the loop from unattributed installs to ROI-driven acquisition across 4 platforms.

Marketing had no way to attribute installs, compare paid channels, or build first-party audiences for a leanback 21-35 audience split across free and subscription tiers. I devised a data strategy, working with engineering, to implement Adjust across Android, iOS, Fire TV, and Roku and forward conversion events server-side to power lookalike, churn-risk, and exclusion audiences.

Role Led the data strategy for Adjust attribution and server-side CDP forwarding, partnering with engineering on implementation

2021-current Adjust MMP 4 platforms covered Segment/Rudderstack server-side CDP 21-35 core audience
01 — The Business Driver

Marketing needed precise reach for a leanback audience

Joyn's 21-35 leanback viewers needed to be acquired efficiently across ad-supported and subscription paths, with spend that could be justified by ROI.

REACH

Two acquisition paths to balance

Campaigns had to drive installs for both ad-tolerant free-tier users and users willing to subscribe for an ad-free originals catalogue.

Free and subscription tiers = one funnel had to serve both
CHANNELS

Multi-channel spend needed attribution

Paid search, social, and affiliate channels all competed for budget, but with no attribution mix to show which drove the best ROI.

Search, social, affiliate = no shared view of what drove ROI
AUDIENCES

No first-party audience targeting

Marketing had no way to build lookalike, churn-risk, or exclusion audiences from first-party behavioral data.

No first-party audiences = spend not targeted to value
02 — The Obstacles

What stood in the way of attribution-led spend

Audiences were the goal, but first the basics were missing: a way to capture installs, a consistent spec across four platforms, and a path to get that data to vendors.

TRACKING

No mobile measurement layer

Without an MMP in place, app installs and in-app conversion events couldn't be tracked or attributed to a specific campaign.

No MMP in place = installs couldn't be tied to a campaign
PLATFORMS

Fragmented across four platforms

Android, iOS, Fire TV, and Roku each needed consistent tracking and deep-link support for influencer and paid campaigns.

4 separate platforms = tracking had to be consistent across all of them
FORWARDING

Vendors needed conversion data

Marketing vendors needed conversion events forwarded server-side to optimize campaigns, with no pipeline in place to do it.

No forwarding pipeline = vendors couldn't optimize on real data
03 — The Solution

Adjust for attribution, CDP for server-side forwarding

A data strategy paired Adjust's attribution layer with a server-side CDP, closing the loop from install to campaign optimization.

1
Adjust integration install → attribution

Implemented Adjust across the app to capture and attribute install campaigns, with custom trackers and deep links for influencer marketing.Adjust · attribution

2
Server-side event forwarding

Captured and forwarded conversion events server-side using a customer data platform such as Segment or Rudderstack.Segment · Rudderstack

3
Vendor optimization loop

Forwarded attributed conversion data from Adjust to marketing vendors so paid search, social, and affiliate campaigns could self-optimize.Vendor feeds · optimization

4
Audience & campaign management

Enabled lookalike, churn-risk, and exclusion audiences in market­ing platforms, and ran apple search and SKAdNetwork campaigns on first-party signals.Lookalike · SKAdNetwork

04 — Quantified Impact

A measurable, optimizable acquisition stack

4
Platforms instrumented
Android, iOS, Fire TV, Roku
3
Audience types enabled
Lookalike, churn-risk, exclusion
3+
Channels attributed
Search, social, affiliate
05 — Strategic Outcomes Unlocked

From blind installs to a self-optimizing acquisition stack

⚡

Data-driven spend across every channel

Attribution and audience data now flow continuously from app install through to vendor optimization, letting marketing identify the best-performing channels and reallocate spend in near real time.

✕

Fraud prevention built in

Adjust's fraud detection protects budget across all four platforms from invalid installs and clicks.

⊕

Reusable server-side event pipeline

The Adjust-to-CDP forwarding pattern extends to any future marketing vendor without new app instrumentation.

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