Matt Tubergen
EVP of Global Revenues and Growth at Digital Turbine
Where to hear and read about Matt Tubergen1 episode or test
Matt Tubergen is EVP of Global Revenues and Growth at Digital Turbine, whose Ignite platform sits inside Android firmware and powers carrier and OEM app preloads. The thing most worth learning from him is that store friction loses most users between ad click and install, and removing it can lift conversion several times over.
typically the higher the the resolution of the ad type and the deeper the ad experience is the higher the conversion rate improvements are
Native App Preloads with Digital Turbine
Matt Tubergen: the story and the lessons
1How Digital Turbine grew from carrier tool to ad channel
Ignite began as a customization tool for carriers and phone makers. Digital Turbine started by letting telcos and OEMs around the globe shape their phones, with widgets and folders that recommend content. It used to be classed as a value added services company.
Single Tap is the newest product, built for app advertisers on top of the same system.
Ignite lives in the operating system image, not in a store app. The firmware is installed before the device reaches stores and distributors, and Ignite wakes when a user or retailer first turns the phone on. It checks for an LTE, 4G or 5G connection, then selects the apps.
Carriers and makers such as Verizon, AT&T and Samsung ship Android firmware with Ignite in the system partition.
Ignite picks four to six preload apps per device. The choice depends on device make and model, carrier and country.
Carriers and OEMs always want fresh content, and that demand for new apps is what opens the door for smaller providers.
2Why Tubergen says app store redirects cost marketers installs
Store friction can cut installs by up to 75 percent. Without Single Tap, a click passes through several redirects and lands on a store page full of rival app suggestions. That loss comes on top of the 30% platform cut.
The problem hits all ad spend, including big advertisers on Facebook and Google UAC.
Single Tap starts the download straight from the ad click. It works from a banner, video or playable ad inside a normal ad campaign. The user never sees the store page or the other apps it recommends.
In his words, "single tap literally starts the download directly from the single tap and from from our ignite platform".
Tubergen benchmarks normal click-to-install at 1.5 to 2 percent at best. With Single Tap, he reports 10 to 15 percent open rates on campaigns that use it.
He notes that campaigns differ, so results vary. Click to install here means the user taps the ad and then opens the app.
3Tubergen on choosing ad formats and who can use Single Tap
Ad format drives the gain, not app category. Weather, news, sports and gaming apps perform about alike. Richer ads give a smoother path from click to download to first use.
He advises choosing where to use Single Tap by the ad type you run, not by category.
Video and playable ads gain most, banners gain less. Video and playable ads can see well over ten times the conversion rate. Banners see about two to three times, whether bought from an exchange or another network.
Users who click richer formats have higher intent, so they open the app right away.
Tubergen pitches Single Tap as a way for small studios to compete. He says most ad spend is limited to about 200 or 250 app install buyers, and few big advertisers use Single Tap yet. A smaller studio that knows its consumers can stretch its budget further.
His framing: "this could actually be something that helps a smaller studio or in-home shop actually get access".
4Getting preloaded and measuring preloads, per Tubergen
Any developer can apply, but approval is strict. Small developers do not need to be Facebook, Yelp or eBay. Digital Turbine does not work with just anybody, and content must be valuable and fit its framework.
Approved small apps are preloaded alongside big ones. A new device or service launch is a moment when small developers can get in front of users.
Preloads need a custom attribution setup. Preloads have no ad view, click and open path, so standard attribution does not fit. Adjust offers a custom solution so a buyer can attribute all preloads.
Digital Turbine works with the attribution companies, and the other measurement partners have built their own versions. Single Tap itself is supported by existing attribution tools.
Native App Preloads with Digital Turbine
Digital Turbine's Ignite platform sits in the Android system partition and powers carrier and OEM app preloads, and its Single Tap product starts an app install straight from an ad click without a trip through the app store. Advertisers report click-to-install rates of 10 to 15 percent against 1.5 to 2 percent at best with standard redirects.
Ignite began as a customization tool for carriers and phone makers. Digital Turbine started by letting telcos and OEMs around the globe shape their phones, with widgets and folders that recommend content. It used to be classed as a value added services company.
Single Tap is the newest product, built for app advertisers on top of the same system.
Ignite lives in the operating system image, not in a store app. The firmware is installed before the device reaches stores and distributors, and Ignite wakes when a user or retailer first turns the phone on. It checks for an LTE, 4G or 5G connection, then selects the apps.
Carriers and makers such as Verizon, AT&T and Samsung ship Android firmware with Ignite in the system partition.
Ignite picks four to six preload apps per device. The choice depends on device make and model, carrier and country.
Carriers and OEMs always want fresh content, and that demand for new apps is what opens the door for smaller providers.
Store friction can cut installs by up to 75 percent. Without Single Tap, a click passes through several redirects and lands on a store page full of rival app suggestions. That loss comes on top of the 30% platform cut.
The problem hits all ad spend, including big advertisers on Facebook and Google UAC.
Single Tap starts the download straight from the ad click. It works from a banner, video or playable ad inside a normal ad campaign. The user never sees the store page or the other apps it recommends.
In his words, "single tap literally starts the download directly from the single tap and from from our ignite platform".
Tubergen benchmarks normal click-to-install at 1.5 to 2 percent at best. With Single Tap, he reports 10 to 15 percent open rates on campaigns that use it.
He notes that campaigns differ, so results vary. Click to install here means the user taps the ad and then opens the app.
Ad format drives the gain, not app category. Weather, news, sports and gaming apps perform about alike. Richer ads give a smoother path from click to download to first use.
He advises choosing where to use Single Tap by the ad type you run, not by category.
Video and playable ads gain most, banners gain less. Video and playable ads can see well over ten times the conversion rate. Banners see about two to three times, whether bought from an exchange or another network.
Users who click richer formats have higher intent, so they open the app right away.
Tubergen pitches Single Tap as a way for small studios to compete. He says most ad spend is limited to about 200 or 250 app install buyers, and few big advertisers use Single Tap yet. A smaller studio that knows its consumers can stretch its budget further.
His framing: "this could actually be something that helps a smaller studio or in-home shop actually get access".
Any developer can apply, but approval is strict. Small developers do not need to be Facebook, Yelp or eBay. Digital Turbine does not work with just anybody, and content must be valuable and fit its framework.
Approved small apps are preloaded alongside big ones. A new device or service launch is a moment when small developers can get in front of users.
Preloads need a custom attribution setup. Preloads have no ad view, click and open path, so standard attribution does not fit. Adjust offers a custom solution so a buyer can attribute all preloads.
Digital Turbine works with the attribution companies, and the other measurement partners have built their own versions. Single Tap itself is supported by existing attribution tools.