Mobile App Networks: Vungle, Mintegral, Unity

What do we know about in-app traffic? Well, we know that we have to work with mobile app networks to receive it. 

In turn, mobile app networks allow game developers to monetize their apps and there are really many of them to compete for the game devs’ attention. Thus, as media buyers, we have a lot of options for choosing an ad network.

Let’s talk about three quite different networks — Mintegral, Liftoff (Vungle), and Unity, to understand how to find the best solution for your ads’ placement. From the first sight and platform characteristics, it is not clear what the differences between networks are. We’ve been seeking an expert’s opinion. So in this article, we will share helpful information you won’t have access to without testing the networks.

Mintegral

Mintegral is an in-app ad network, providing a supply-side platform (SSP), a demand-side platform (DSP), an ad exchange, a self-service advertiser platform, a data-management platform (DMP), a creative automation platform and its own creative studio. The network offers cross-regional marketing functionality, allowing the creation of multiple campaigns/ad units to target audiences in different GEOs with different bids or creatives from a single item.

It is one of the largest ad networks in China with 50k direct partnered apps, more than 30 global ad exchanges, and more than 3K mobile developer companies, including Geisha Tokyo, Good Job games, iDreamsky, Kiloo, Lion Studio, Noodlecalke, Outfit7, Ubisoft, Voodoo, and Zplay.

Creating a campaign, a media buyer has a variety of options for ad formats: app walls, static, video, playable, etc. The creatives can be managed in batches, and a buyer can run A/B tests to find the optimal ad creative combination. 

The platform supports online deposits in both RMB and USD currencies. A media buyer can replenish their account using their bank cards or via online payment services, such as Alipay, PayPal, and WebChat. Also, it supports in-app header bidding technology.

Snyk Investigation

The Snyk team has published their report on a suspicious SDK for IOS. The researchers report about the harmfulness of the 5.5.1 version of SDK released on the 17th of July, 2019. 

Mintegral is free for app developers. Its SDK is used for ad in-app placement — just a few lines of code, which saves a lot of time for app development.

However, according to Snyk research, the iOS version of the SDK is always in a waiting mode for a user to click any other ad to snap up that action and make iOS “believe” that the user has clicked not a rival’s ad, but Mintegral’s one.

If this information is correct, it is traffic fraud and the traffic won’t be of high quality. On the other hand, Apple representatives do not see any problem with Mintegral network as developers themselves decide how to monetize their apps.

If you want to test the Mintegral network, you should know the advantages and disadvantages of the network. Co-owner of media-buying team “THE ONE”, Kirill has noted some of them after the work of his team with Mintegral.

Advantages

• Low entry threshold. For example, minimum replenishment is not as high as for Unity.
• Self-search platform. Advertising is set up by a media buyer, no need to use the help of the network’s manager. 
• High traffic volumes. A lot of GEOs can be reached. 
• High probability of creatives’ approval.

The lifehack for increasing the chance of approval (for gambling and betting) from “THE ONE”: add a disclaimer that the final result is not guaranteed, and the amount a user can get is subject to the rules of the app.

Disadvantages

• Lots of kids traffic. It is very possible that your ad will occur in an app mostly used by children, who will definitely not gamble. 
• Standard account with no ability to launch a CPI campaign: only CPC and CPM are available. 

Liftoff Direct (or Vungle)

Liftoff Direct is a joint project of Liftoff and Vungle. It is an advertiser suite being redesigned in accordance with Liftoff’s design as the companies are uniting under the brand of Liftoff.

The project offers CPI and CPM payout models. The ads can have an interactive-video format and a client can upload their own creatives or order them at Vungle Creative Labs. The service uses analytics algorithms which help to conduct A/B tests of products, to define the target audience, segment users and evaluate the profitability of a campaign.

And again we will take heed to Kirill’s experience of working with the network.

Advantages

• Approval of betting and gambling creatives
• iOS campaigns are available for CPI
• Good quality of traffic
• Many formats for creatives

Disadvantages

• High bid
• Difficult to achieve large volumes
• Minimum replenishment is $5.000. This is quite a problem if you have a small team and a small budget, especially if you just want to test the platform. 

Unity

Unity is probably the most recognizable ad network among our three examples. Unity Ads service allows a range of ad formats, such as videos, interstitials, playable ads and end cards. Unity’s Exchange provides DSPs and exchange bidders access to in-app inventory. The numbers of the platform are quite impressive: 2.5 billion Unity users across more than 750.000 apps globally with an average of 165 million daily active users.

The auctions on the platform are all first-price auctions which give the exchange bidders the opportunity to bid and pay the value they decide for an impression.

Advantages

• Big volumes of traffic
• Decent quality of traffic
• Easy to achieve high volumes
• Intuitive interface

Disadvantages

• Intense competition
• Super-difficult to get approval for gambling and betting creatives

Conclusion

Overall, it is quite complicated to find the mobile app network which will suit your needs and which will be the most profitable for you. That is why testing is so important. During them, you can understand if you can afford a network or not, if algorithms work for you or against you, how strict moderation is, and many other useful things.