With contributions from:
Chapter 1
Introduction
If preload campaigns aren’t already central to your user acquisition (UA) strategy for 2025, you’re likely missing out on a key channel for reaching your next wave of users.
With preload campaigns, you can pre-install your app directly onto users’ devices, making it one of the first apps they see and interact with the moment they unbox their new device.
In this guide, featuring insights and best practices from leading partners, we’ll look at how preload campaigns can elevate brand visibility, fuel growth, and become a crucial element of your overall user acquisition (UA) strategy.
Chapter 2
The power of preload
Recent data underscores a notable shift across industries, with brands increasingly allocating acquisition budgets to preload campaigns. This investment shift reflects a deeper understanding of preload’s potential to accelerate growth and establish early brand presence on users’ devices.
Among the 300+ apps analyzed, preload campaigns represent 30% of user acquisition ad spend, reinforcing their importance as a cornerstone of successful acquisition strategies.
These campaigns drive remarkable growth in engagement and conversions. As shown in the chart below, preload conversions increased by 15.77% from 2023 to 2024, demonstrating how reaching users early in the funnel, at the perfect moment when they are highly engaged, leads to greater long-term engagement and improved user acquisition outcomes.
Chapter 3
The preload advantage: 6 key benefits to accelerate your user acquisition efforts
Integrating apps into the initial mobile device setup experience through preload campaigns provides brands with an unmatched opportunity to capture users’ attention from day one. This strategy delivers several key benefits:
1. Increased trust in your brand
Appearing on a new device positions your app as a trusted choice, enhancing user confidence and brand recognition from the start.
2. Boosted brand visibility
Preloaded apps enjoy prime placement, offering immediate accessibility and fostering a seamless entry point for users.
3. Higher engagement and LTV over time
Preload campaigns harness heightened user curiosity during the initial device experience, laying a strong foundation for loyalty.
4. Cost-efficient user base growth
Preloaded apps reduce user acquisition costs by being installed directly on new devices, eliminating the need for costly ad impressions or app store competition.
5. Improved user experience
Preloaded apps provide a frictionless onboarding experience, reducing churn and ensuring users interact with your app immediately.
6. Protected user privacy
Users control when and how they interact with the app, respecting their privacy from the outset.
Chapter 4
Measuring installs and user engagement from the first touch
Measuring the performance of the full funnel of preload campaigns—such as app launches and conversion rates—is crucial for refining and optimizing strategies to drive higher ROI. AppsFlyer’s preload referrer attribution enables marketers to accurately attribute installs to specific preload campaigns to understand their performance.
With this solution, marketers partnering with OEMs, mobile carriers, and app discovery platforms can ensure their app is pre-installed either at the factory or when the device is first turned on by the user. This approach provides immediate insights into app installs and user engagement, enabling marketers to evaluate campaign effectiveness and continually optimize their return on ad spend (ROAS).
Preload referrer attribution offers marketers a privacy-preserving solution for measuring preload campaign performance. By relying on deterministic referrer matching—independent of device and user identifiers—this method ensures accurate results while safeguarding user privacy.
Chapter 5
E-commerce giant Magalu boosts installs by 100k+ monthly with Dynamic Preloads
Challenge
Magalu, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Brazil, faced the need to enhance user acquisition and improve the return on ad spend (ROAS) while scaling its digital marketing efforts.
Strategy
Magalu partnered with AVOW to craft a strategy leveraging mobile OEM offerings, powered by AppsFlyer’s measurement data and insights:
Expand channel diversity: Move beyond programmatic, search, and social by tapping into OEM sources for sustainable growth.
Adopt a flexible OEM approach: Use Dynamic Preloads as a central driver of UA results.
Tailor business models: Focus on key performance metrics (CPI, CPC, CPM, and CPA), delivered by AppsFlyer’s holistic measurement data to optimize decisions throughout the user journey.
Combat fraud with transparency: Ensure a clean and credible acquisition process.
Results
The Dynamic Preloads campaign boosted user acquisition, engagement, and LTV, with 100K+ monthly installs and 4x ROAS after 30 days.
Chapter 6
Tips and best practices: Insights from our partners
Preloads, aka Dynamic Preloads or Google PAI (Play Auto Install), can be a game-changer for brands looking to significantly augment their user acquisition efforts, as apps are installed dynamically based on user preferences or behaviors during the device’s setup process.
To ensure you capitalize on the full potential of preload campaigns while ensuring accurate, optimized results, follow these best practices from industry-leading preload experts.
Appnext is the largest independent app discovery platform, offering the only recommendation engine on the market, encompassing both in-app and on-device discovery. Through its direct partnerships with top OEMs, operators, and app developers, Appnext creates a discovery experience in over 10,000 mobile touchpoints. As of June 2020, Appnext is part of the Affle group. Learn more
Tip 1: Incorporate advanced user segmentation
Segment users based on demographic and behavioral criteria to create personalized preload campaigns. Adjust content using contextual factors like time, location, and device settings to improve engagement and drive conversions. Continuously refine these segments using performance data to optimize campaigns. Integrating the app into the user’s device setup or reboot process ensures early installs, builds trust, and enhances visibility. This combination of timely installation and personalized content enhances user engagement from the start and sets the stage for long-term retention.
Tip 2: Automate recommendations for precise targeting
Utilize automated recommendation tools to reduce friction in app discovery by targeting users based on behaviors, preferences, and device usage patterns. This targeted approach not only improves conversion rates and minimizes wasted ad spend but also attracts high-intent users, enhancing retention, and aligning with the industry’s shift towards hyper-personalization.
Tip 3: Use predictive analytics for performance optimization
Incorporate predictive analytics to forecast campaign outcomes and optimize preload targeting. By analyzing historical data and user trends, predictive models can identify the most promising audience segments and adjust campaigns in real time to maximize performance. This data-driven approach allows you to adapt to shifting user behaviors and market conditions.
Aura from Unity is a world leading on-device platform, integrated into the operating systems of over 1.9B devices. With Aura, apps and games reach users from the moment they unbox their new phones and throughout the device lifecycle, delivering high-quality users and long-term engagement and ROI. Learn more
Tip 1: Extend attribution windows
When it comes to preload campaigns, where ads are seamlessly woven into the device experience, users often download several apps at once and might not open them right away. Unlike social and display channels that spotlight a single app, preload campaigns need a 30-day attribution window or longer to catch those installs that happen later as users get familiar with their new device. This extended window helps you measure conversions more accurately and gather valuable insights about how well your campaign is performing.
Tip 2: Use timely and relevant notifications
Sending notifications at just the right time can really help engage users and increase the chances they’ll open your app. Use contextual data—like location or device model—to trigger these notifications at key moments in their device usage. To drive more app installs, try integrating promotions during the device setup process. Improve your campaign’s success by experimenting with different placements and creatives that share the same message but look different. Don’t forget to A/B test elements like color and format for each touchpoint; these tweaks can lead to quicker optimizations and better results.
Tip 3: Take advantage of incrementality testing
Incrementality testing is key to understanding the real value of your preload campaigns. It helps you figure out how many new users your campaigns actually bring in, compared to those who would have installed the app on their own. This way, you can focus on driving true growth rather than chasing users who were already likely to install your app. Using incrementality testing makes it easier to allocate your budget wisely, boost performance, and make more informed decisions.
AVOW is a global app growth company specializing in mobile OEM advertising. Partnering with OEMs, leveraging its proprietary tech AVOW Intelligence, and KYLN, a multi-channel distribution platform for app developers, AVOW provides access to over 1.5 billion daily users and delivers over 10 million monthly downloads. Learn more.
Tip 1: Plan ahead
Is there a holiday coming up? A sale season on the horizon? Or, perhaps an OEM is set to release a highly anticipated new device? Capitalize on these pivotal moments by planning ahead and securing your preload deals early. This ensures your app takes center stage during the most impactful times of the year.
Tip 2: Keep your app up-to-date
First impressions matter. Since Dynamic Preloads pull the app directly from the Google Play Store, make sure your app is updated to the latest version before you launch your campaign. This ensures your app is optimized and ready to leave a strong impression on users.
Tip 3: Understand the differences between OEMs
All OEMs are unique. From the regions where they are popular to the individual user demographics they attract, each OEM has its own strengths. Understanding these strengths is essential for leveraging the right OEM for the right region and audience. For example, some OEMs dominate specific markets or regions, offering unique opportunities to connect with their primary user base.
Digital Turbine (NASDAQ: APPS) powers superior mobile consumer experiences and results for the world’s leading telcos, advertisers, and publishers. Its end-to-end platform simplifies partners’ ability to enhance awareness, acquisition, and monetization — connecting them with more consumers across more devices. Digital Turbine is headquartered in North America, with offices worldwide. Learn more
Tip 1: Boost performance with an all-in-one solution
Advertisers who integrate preload campaigns with traditional ad channels or brand awareness efforts often see significant improvements in performance. Leveraging an all-in-one, multi-channel solution allows them to efficiently manage user acquisition campaigns across various channels—such as preloads, offer walls, DSPs, and notifications—while seamlessly analyzing and measuring results through an MMP. This streamlined approach simplifies operations, enhances campaign effectiveness, and maximizes ROI.
Tip 2: Leverage preload campaigns for geo expansion
Preloads are a powerful tool for achieving geo-specific growth throughout an app’s lifecycle. During soft launches, they can accelerate market penetration and facilitate A/B testing for onboarding. In priority markets, preloads drive rapid scaling to establish market leadership. As markets mature, preloads enable efficient global expansion into secondary regions, helping developers assess market potential before scaling investments. This strategic use of preloads allows advertisers to optimize growth across different stages of their app journey.
Tip 3: Design a seamless onboarding flow
To maximize the impact of preload campaigns, focus on delivering a seamless onboarding flow that highlights your app’s value right from the first interaction. Unlike traditional ads, preload installs often involve users engaging with your app without prior context. The key to success with scale-building campaigns is ensuring a thoughtful First-Time User Experience (FTUE) where users immediately understand your app’s core benefits without external prompts like ads or notifications. Simplify navigation, spotlight key features, and use in-app cues to guide users through essential actions. A polished onboarding flow tailored to preload installs reinforces the app’s relevance, builds early engagement, and drives long-term retention.
InMobi Group leverages AI to transform advertising, publishing, and consumer engagement. Its offerings include end-to-end App Performance Solution, InMobi Exchange, and Glance Lockscreen, a content discovery platform for direct consumer engagement. Headquartered in Singapore with hubs in Bangalore and San Francisco, InMobi is backed by SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins, and Sherpalo Ventures. Learn more
Tip 1: Drive higher engagement rates with precise preload attribution data
Preload campaigns offer a direct path to engage high-value audiences on their devices. By leveraging preload attribution data, advertisers can identify user cohorts with significantly higher engagement rates and fine-tune targeting strategies. Craft lockscreen ad content to align with user preferences and behaviors, ensuring it resonates with their needs. This data-driven approach has demonstrated up to a 20% increase in engagement. For sustained success, regularly analyze cohort performance and refine messaging to stay relevant and impactful.
Tip 2: Optimize conversion paths with cohort-specific insights
Preload campaigns present a unique opportunity to boost conversion rates by crafting user experiences tailored to audience-specific behaviors. Analyze download and conversion patterns from users interacting with preload ads to identify key drivers of success, such as device type, geographic location, or prior engagement history. Leverage these insights to refine and simplify your one-click install (OCI) flow, creating a seamless and personalized experience for every user. This targeted optimization strategy can deliver a 15-30% improvement in conversion rates, amplifying the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Tip 3: Boost CTA performance with tailored messaging
Preload campaigns excel at driving user engagement when supported by personalized and contextually relevant CTAs (Call-to-Action). Crafting CTAs that directly address user needs and motivations enables advertisers to inspire meaningful actions and boost engagement. This focused approach can drive a 25-30% increase in user interactions with the CTA, ensuring campaigns effectively prompt user action.
Conclusion
Preload campaigns offer a unique opportunity to connect with users at the critical first touchpoint of their device experience. By leveraging insights, best practices, and advanced attribution strategies, brands can maximize engagement, improve retention, and drive sustainable growth. As preload campaigns continue to shape user acquisition strategies, adopting a holistic and data-driven approach can help you ensure long-term success in adding preload to your strategy for 2025 and beyond.
