Behind Applift’s Rebrand, a Shift Toward Engagement

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With a sharper emphasis on user engagement over mobile installs, the mobile adtech platform Applift is repositioning itself and launching a solution that couples user acquisition and retargeting to satisfy the industry’s need for a more pure pricing model.

A new logo and website are just the face of a larger shift inside Applift, where the company is focusing more heavily on performance-centric outcomes through cost-per-action. Applift Managing Director and COO Stefan Benndorf says this rebranding is about delivering performance along the whole customer journey.

It’s not uncommon for brands and marketers to see high installs, but potentially low numbers of quality engaged customers, and Applift is hoping to change that with the launch of its new solution.

“The times for advertisers to solely focus on install volume are over, and it has become increasingly important to focus on engaging existing users to increase ROI,” Benndorf says. “For advertisers, it is important to not only reach and connect with their users, but also to continue to activate and convert them into customers for better ROAS.”

Although Applift had been increasingly focusing and evolving more toward LTV-optimization and CPA-pricing over the past few years, the company’s new solution, dubbed Mobile Journey Advertising, combines user acquisition and retargeting to deliver maximized return on advertising spend for mobile marketers.

With this brand strengthening, Benndorf says Applift is pioneering the emergence of a new era in mobile advertising and eliminating the siloed approach, which involves running user acquisition and retargeting campaigns separately.

These are big changes from where Applift first started. Back in 2012, the company’s efforts were focused on the needs of app advertisers. But it didn’t take long for the company’s executives to realize that a stronger focus on performance metrics would lead to greater successes, and Benndorf says Applift was one of the few firms in the industry to take LTV optimization seriously.

“Our new solution and true performance-pricing is an extension of our company’s focus to empower app advertisers across the globe to connect with their target audiences, acquire new users, and activate and re-engage existing users to become true customers,” he says.

Applift’s Mobile Journey Advertising solution allows advertisers to pay for acquired customers, rather than paying for potentially non-engaged or non-activated users. Benndorf believes this ultimately increases the advertiser’s return-on-advertising-spend and allows brands to pay for true results on a CPA pricing model.

Rebranding and launching a solution directly aimed at emphasizing user engagement over mobile installs isn’t the end game for Applift. As Benndorf sees it, this is just the start of an evolution in the reimagined experience for mobile advertisers.

“Applift’s journey has been that of a pioneer and a game-changer. And this brand positioning is a journey of another set of ‘firsts’ as we change the way the industry approaches user acquisition and retargeting,” he says. “Our brand strengthening and new solution reflect our journey with advertisers as we continue to make a true impact by creating the next-generation platform for mobile marketers to convert and re-engage their users.”

Stephanie Miles is a senior editor at Street Fight.

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Stephanie Miles is a journalist who covers personal finance, technology, and real estate. As Street Fight’s senior editor, she is particularly interested in how local merchants and national brands are utilizing hyperlocal technology to reach consumers. She has written for FHM, the Daily News, Working World, Gawker, Cityfile, and Recessionwire.