3 ways ad creatives are changing on iOS 14.5

By Henry Wang | April 1, 2021
Creative, User acquisition

Get ready – this is a fun one!

How will mobile ad creatives change post-IDFA?

Let’s start with how creatives work with IDFA.

With IDFA, you can do a lot with creatives.

You can deliver personalized ads to specific user segments. For example, showing “we miss you” to users who made a purchase in your app but have not opened your app for more than 3 days.

You can run rapid creative a/b tests to see which creatives are working. For example, testing 2 different messaging to see which drove a higher impression-to-install rate.

You can run incrementality testing to measure lift. For example, showing a public service ad (PSA) and your ad creative to separate groups of users to see if your ad creative drove incremental lift.

Without IDFA, creatives will change big time.

  1. Personalization of ads based on user history will not be possible. For example, you won’t be able to retarget users who purchased in your app with a specific creative since most bid requests will not contain IDFA (we expect opt-out rates to be high).
  2. Creative a/b testing will take longer. For example, you can still run creative a/b tests but it will take some time to see results since SKAdNetwork postbacks contain limited data and are delayed. 
  3. Incrementality testing will not be possible. For example, you won’t be able to track how many users who did not see your ad (but saw the PSA ad instead) converted vs those who did.

With less data granularity for tracking and targeting, marketers will need to focus on building creatives that speak to a broader audience to drive installs. 

Here are some ways marketers can do adapt their creatives to a post-IDFA world:

Use clear and succinct messaging. Assume a user is seeing your ad for the first time, so make sure to share your key value proposition in a few key words. It’s also a good idea to show what your in-app experience looks like.

Leverage videos to tell a story. Video ads are a great way to engage with consumers and leave a lasting impression. Make sure your video ad is compatible for landscape and vertical formats and add captions so that your viewer is able to understand what’s going on without having to turn on audio.

Update your product feeds to show the most popular products. Without IDFA, you won’t be able to show the most relevant products but you can still show the most popular products that have been frequently bought. These products usually resonate well with new users.

Focus on building a strategy for UA. Unless you’re a giant brand with massive market penetration, most users who see your ad won’t have already installed your app. Don’t obsess over building a creative strategy that works for both UA and Re-Engagement. Instead, focus on building creatives to drive installs.  For example, prioritize showing a tried-and-true CTA that speaks to a new user like “Get” or “Install” rather than a CTA that tries to do both like “Shop” or “Browse.”