What is a mobile measurement partner (MMP)?

A mobile measurement partner (MMP) is a third-party company that collects, organizes, and visualizes mobile app data for paid ads. MMPs integrate with mobile app publishers and ad networks to track user behavior and attribute events. They provide marketers with a unified view of campaign performance across advertising channels.

Marketers, particularly performance marketers, need a way to collect, process, and analyze data from paid media campaigns so they can measure the success of not only the ad campaigns but also their mobile marketing campaigns in general. Mobile measurement partners, or MMPs, provide the services and tools marketers need to track customers along the user journey. MMPs collect and analyze data like clicks, impressions, and installs from various sources to attribute user actions back to specific campaigns, channels, or touchpoints. This data helps marketers identify the most effective strategies, allocate their budgets more efficiently for the highest return on ad spend (ROAS), and optimize user acquisition efforts.

How MMPs have evolved over time

The first iterations of MMPs were not very reliable due to fragmentation, but they did improve over time as they adopted standardized tracking methods. Over the past decade, MMPs have become more sophisticated in both data processing and attribution. Today, they’re a fundamental part of mobile app marketing with advanced features that analyze data in real time, are able to detect fraudulent activity, and work to continuously comply with evolving privacy regulations.

How does a mobile measurement partner work?

MMPs track and analyze mobile app user activity and provide app data and attribution analytics to performance marketers. Here is a closer look at how MMPs work.

SDK-driven tracking mechanisms: MMPs use software development kits (SDKs) to gather data for marketers, including detailed information about active users, app installs, in-app behavior, and the user journey.

• Holistic data integration: Different from standard analytics tools, MMPs work with consolidated data sources instead of fragmented data.
• Tracking across devices: MMPs use technology that can track user behavior across multiple devices, like mobile phones, tablets, and desktop or laptop computers.
• Analytics in real time: Unlike many standard mobile app analytics tools, MMPs can process data in real time.
• Privacy and compliance: MMPs help manage data privacy and user consent with features that include opt-in and opt-out preferences.
• In-app events: MMPs track critical data points — like registrations, purchases, level completions, or any custom-defined activities — to provide deeper insights into user behavior and app performance beyond basic installs and opens.

Benefits of using an MMP

Accurate attribution creates holistic insights, which gives marketers a clearer picture of their campaign’s performance across multiple platforms and channels, including social media and email marketing. This enables data-driven decisions that optimize return on ad spend and campaigns overall.

Marketers that use an MMP can make the most of their budget allocation because they’re getting accurate data about which channels are performing the best. This campaign data enables them to maximize their ad spends and operate their campaigns more cost efficiently.

Here are a few specific ways marketers can benefit from an MMP:

1. Analyze user behavior so you can attribute conversions to a specific marketing effort and optimize their campaigns.
2. Get a complete look at how well app marketing efforts are performing and how users are interacting within your app.
3. Gain a holistic view of the customer journey and more accurate attribution analytics than tools that only track interactions on a single device.
4. Adjust campaigns whenever needed, an ideal fit for digital marketing campaigns.
5. Comply with data privacy regulations like CCPA and GDPR and manage the process of gaining user consent, which is critical to building and maintaining trust with users as well as avoiding fines and penalties.
6. Understand how users engage with your app, identify key conversion points, and pinpoint areas for improvement.
7. Enhance your overall marketing effectiveness with optimized user experiences and refined targeting strategies
8. Measure the lifetime value (LTV) of users, segment audiences based on behavior, and run more targeted retargeting campaigns.
9. Monitor for mobile ad fraud to maintain the integrity of your mobile marketing data.

With the right MMP, marketers can focus confidently on strategic growth and campaign optimization, knowing they have a trusted partner handling the complexities of performance tracking, data privacy, and compliance regulations.

MMP marketing use cases

There are many ways to use MMPs to support marketing campaigns:

• Tracking performance: MMPs track how successful app install campaigns are, which helps marketers increase the number of downloads. With reliable and timely data, marketers make confident decisions and informed adjustments to optimize performance and ROI.
• User insights: MMPs provide detailed data about user behavior that empowers marketers to reduce churn and increase mobile user retention. With an MMP, marketers build audiences to keep their best users coming back and ensure every interaction across paid channels is captured with cross-platform, cross-device, and cross-channel views.
• Resource optimization: Data from MMPs helps performance marketers justify ad spend and optimize the way they use their resources by identifying what works and what doesn’t. This data can help marketers understand user trends, assess performance, and optimize marketing strategies.

Key MMP features and functions

MMPs offer marketers a wide range of features to help them optimize their performance, including the following.

• Mobile attribution data: Provide a clear and precise understanding of which marketing activities drive app installs, engagements, and in-app actions. By leveraging advanced attribution models like last-click attribution, multi-touch attribution, or probabilistic attribution, MMPs offer insights into the customer journey, making it easier to understand how different marketing channels contribute to overall performance.
• Immediate analytics: Track campaign performance data in real time, enabling marketers to adjust campaigns according to how users are responding.
• Tracking across devices: Track data across mobile, tablet, and desktop to gain a holistic view of the customer journey using cross-device attribution technology
• Sophisticated user segmentation: Empower marketers to segment users according to a range of criteria so they can target their marketing campaigns more effectively.
• Ad network integration: Offer a clear look at performance because they collect user data from multiple ad networks.
• Privacy and compliance management: Help marketers and app developers remain compliant with regulations around user data and privacy.
• Fraud prevention: Detect and deter fraudulent activities to help marketers and app developers maintain more accurate data.

Choosing the right MMP

Marketers should explore the features they need to ensure they select the right MMP for their needs. Here are some common features to consider.

• Usability and user interface: Ensure the MMP is intuitive and your team is comfortable using it.
• Data integrity and accuracy: Choose an MMP that provides reliable and accurate data so you can gain trustworthy insights from it.
• Technology, features, and customization: Select one with a wide range of value-adding features that you can customize to meet your unique needs.
• User reviews and reputation: Research potential MMP partners and carefully read reviews and feedback.
• Ease of integration: Choose an MMP with the capability to integrate with your other marketing platforms, tools, and partners, such as Braze and Amplitude.
• Pricing and scalability: The MMP should fit within your budget and be scalable so it can grow with your business over time.
• Compliance and security: Check that the MMP is designed to comply with data security best practices and regulatory requirements for user privacy.
• Available customer support: Ensure the MMP offers the customer support services your business needs.
• SKAdNetwork (SKAN) expertise: Apple’s SKAN is necessary to run paid media campaigns on iOS beyond Apple Search Ads. Find an MMP that can easily identify which events to track for a desired outcome. For example, Branch’s SKAN Magic Set Up is automated and provides tailored conversion value mapping recommendations.
• Deep linking: A robust deep linking solution allows marketers to create seamless paths for users coming from all channels. This can greatly improve conversion rates, user retention, and overall engagement by reducing friction in the user journey.

Conclusion

Marketers rely on accurate data about attribution to help them optimize their mobile advertising and marketing campaigns and increase their ROAS. MMPs provide the KPI insights they need to make data-driven decisions and deliver maximum revenue.

FAQs about MMPs

How do MMPs help increase user retention and decrease churn rates?

MMPs track user engagement metrics, including interaction with app features, frequency of app use, and length of session. MMPs analyze this data to look for insights about churn and user retention rates. Marketers use this information to optimize marketing strategies and target users with the right efforts to boost retention and customer loyalty.

Can MMPs be integrated with other marketing tools and platforms?

Yes, MMPs can be integrated with other measurement platforms, email marketing platforms, CRM systems, data management platforms (DMPs), and many other commonly used technologies.

What types of reports and dashboards do MMPs typically offer?

MMPs provide dashboards with a range of reports, such as lifetime value (LTV) reports, ad performance analysis, and cohort analysis. Through these dashboards, marketers access key metrics about installs, engagement rates, in-app purchases, and user retention. Marketers can usually customize the MMP dashboard to have a clear view of the metrics that matter most, which makes it easier for them to turn insights into action.

How do MMPs prevent ad fraud?

MMPs use advanced algorithms and machine learning to identify and deter fraudulent activities and protect the integrity and accuracy of the data they collect.

What are the challenges of using an MMP?

While attribution partners offer many benefits, some common challenges may include cross-device tracking, maintaining accurate data, complying with all privacy regulations, and integrating the MMP with other marketing platforms and tools. Attribution complexity and determining the right attribution model can also be challenging. Setting up a model that fairly attributes credit across all touchpoints can also be difficult, and changes in user behavior, privacy regulations, and limitations like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) can further complicate attribution.

How does an MMP help with campaign optimization?

Marketers see from the MMP’s detailed data which strategies are most successful so they can use their resources to deliver results and boost app growth. MMPs use real-time data, which also helps marketers monitor and adjust campaigns along the way as they learn new information.

What is the difference between an MMP and traditional web analytics tools?

MMPs provide granular insights into mobile app attribution using campaign performance and user behavior metrics. In contrast, traditional web analytics platforms track website interactions, like website traffic and user behavior on web pages.

How do MMPs contribute to mobile user acquisition strategies?

MMPs provide marketers with the necessary data to optimize marketing strategies for maximum app installs and user engagement.

What emerging trends could shape the future of MMPs?

Machine learning and AI integration will impact the way MMPs evolve. These technologies allow for improvements in fraud detection, enhanced privacy compliance, and better tracking across different devices and platforms. Changes to privacy, how users can be tracked, and what user data can be collected will also shape the future of MMPs. Learn more about the future of measurement in our blog.