Jeffrey Kamikow | Cross Audience Helps Brands Develop Quality Mobile Apps To Engage And Retain Audiences

Cross Audience delivers marketing results by matching meaningful ads to in-market consumers. By targeting specific audiences and providing quality service the company has helped many globally known brands improve their mobile presence. To find out more about their mobile platform we sat down with Jeff Kamikow, CEO at Cross Audience:

Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to Cross Audience?

A: Cross Audience is mobile marketing company based in the New York metro area. We’re committed to helping global brands expand their mobile presence through the acquisition of new high value users. How do we do that? We use premium data to identify ready-to-convert audiences for our clients. We engage those audiences with high-impact, user-friendly ad formats, and then we work relentlessly to optimize and drive results. As a company, we’re on quality, which is a concern for many brands these days. It’s helpful that have maintain long-standing relationships with respected publishers, so we can offer quality placements. The fact that we already work with some of the most recognizable brands in the world also speaks well of our commitment to quality.

Q: You’ve recently announced the launch of your Mobile App Conquesting solution; could you tell us something more?

A: Mobile app marketing is more competitive than ever. Not only are the app stores already overflowing, but Google recently changed its algorithm so that rankings are based more on app retention and engagement versus number of downloads. That means that app marketers can’t just buy downloads and expect to see their app rank higher in the Play Store. That algorithm change means that marketers have to focus on quality audiences – consumers who will not just download their app, but who will actually use it, as well.

Mobile App Conquesting offers marketers a way to target users of similar apps, so they know that these people are already using shopping apps, or couponing apps, or apps to order ahead at their favorite quick serve restaurant (QSR). Conquesting data empowers marketers to be able to target users based on interest, geo, and the apps they already use. We’ve been building a proprietary database of quality users from verticals including news, retail, auto, insurance, travel, finance and CPG comprised exclusively of non-PII, opt-in data. That data can be leveraged via our conquesting solution for better targeting. Combine that with data-driven, compelling messaging and our high-performing ad formats, and marketers will see measurably better results in their campaigns.

Q: What are main benefits for marketers?

A: The main benefit is definitely more downloads from better quality audiences – audiences that will have a higher propensity to keep your app. But Mobile App Conquesting will also likely drive more efficient campaigns, with fewer wasted ad impressions, which ultimately means a better use of ad dollars.

Q: Who are the primary clients of Cross Audience and what are some of the key challenges you are helping them solve?

A: While we can’t disclose our client names, we do work with some very well-known e-commerce players, retailers, QSRs, and leaders in the entertainment and finance industries, among other clients. We’re helping them to grow their mobile businesses quickly and efficiently using cutting-edge technology, premium data, and highly effective ad formats. It’s a combination that delivers incredible returns. For those focused on app downloads, we’ve been very effective at helping them exceed their goals with a high ROI.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: Our future plans include the expansion of our mobile programmatic advertising capabilities, the continued growth of our first-party database, and the addition of even more premium publishing partners – all in the interest of helping further mobile business both for our clients and for the industry.

Mobile Performance Marketing Company Cross Audience Announces Launch Of Mobile DSP

Cross Audience works with agencies, partnering to handle their mobile advertising needs, but they also work directly with brands in retail, travel, food service, entertainment, and other verticals. Below is our recent interview with the Jeff Kamikow, CEO at Cross Audience:

Q: What is mobile performance marketing and how does it work?

A: Mobile performance marketing is our specialty – it’s what we do best. It refers to any kind of marketing wherein the marketer only pays when a certain action is completed, whether that means an app has been installed, a purchase has been made, a lead has been generated, a prospect has scheduled an appointment, etc. The difference between performance and traditional advertising is that the publisher or affiliate only gets paid by the marketer when that action has been completed, versus paying on something like a CPM or monthly basis. It’s much more accountable.

Q: What about Mobile App Conquesting? Why is it so powerful tactic in digital marketing today?

A: Mobile app conquesting has been a big focus for us. We really believe it’s a powerful and underutilized tool in mobile marketing, in particular. App conquesting allows mobile marketers to reach and win new customers based on the apps they’re using right now. Marketers can reach and engage qualified mobile customers and their devices at scale using our unique technology – which is, of course, permission based an uses only non-PII data. Marketers can actually target users across their competitive set, while also defining behaviors that will allow them to build out unique custom audience profiles. We’ve seen amazing success with conquesting campaigns over the last year. We’re looking forward to more marketers taking advantage of this powerful technology.

Q: You’ve recently announced launch of mobile DSP; could you tell us something more?

A: There are so many DSPs out there, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. Our is differentiated in a few ways. For starters, while it’s currently mobile-only, our near-term goal is to make it effective across screens. It’s also fully customizable and trader-friendly. We’re able to deliver broad access to exchanges and suppliers, while simultaneously offering broad access to both first and third party data. That makes things so much easier for today’s trade desks and individual traders – not to mention agencies and in-house marketing teams.

We also know it’s much easier to use than almost any other DSP on the market because we use it ourselves. The interface is very user-friendly. It’s also really fast and flexible, so clients can launch their campaigns incredibly quickly, and optimize easily and to their unique KPIs. We’re excited about that speed and easy customization.

Our full-service clients know that working with Cross Audience will give them the benefit of working the DSP, but also the high-touch service they expect. They have access to our smart, friendly team, along with the confidence that their ads are only shown to hand-raisers with an interest in their (or their client’s) product or service, and on trusted publisher content.

Q: What else can we expect from Cross Audience in 2018?

A: We have a few things up our sleeve for the year ahead, but right now we’re laser-focused on making the DSP the best it can be. We’ve onboarded several clients already and we’re pleased with what we’re seeing. It’s very exciting to see successful campaigns leveraging our best-in-breed technology, powered by our massive collection of first-party data, and optimized in real-time by our experienced and passionate team. So far, the results have been fantastic, and our clients are raving about how easy the platform is to use and how fast it is compared to others on the market today.

That said, we know there’s always more we can do. We want our clients to get the highest possible ROI from their campaigns with us, so we’ll keep finding ways to improve the technology, optimize the results, and keep everything we do as free of fraud as humanly possible. It’s a competitive industry, and we want marketers to know that we’re here with the best technology and the best quality data – and that we’re willing to work harder to drive results than anyone else.

Jeffrey Kamikow | 4 Mobile Marketing Mistakes That Could Kill Your Business

 Building a mobile strategy is uncharted territory for most business. The maps we have so far are incomplete, with many zones that say “Here there be dragons.” Yet you know you must set sail if you want to remain competitive. How can you avoid wrecking your ship as you start off on your mobile strategy journey?

1. A mobile website may not be not enough

In the early days of mobile, all the focus was on creating responsive websites that looked good on mobile device. This is still necessary, but it is not enough. Ninety percent of all smartphone use is done in an app, not on a browser. While a responsive website does make you look more professional, chances are that you’re not going to attract much business through a website alone.

2. Not having a roadmap for your mobile strategy

Mobile strategy isn’t just client-facing. The most important parts of a mobile strategy happen inside the business. But converting your internal processes and dashboards to mobile versions must be done smartly. Every change you make should affect business positively and be measurable. Otherwise, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it!

3. Building too many internal apps

One of the ways that companies go off the rails is to try to convert every internal piece of software into a mobile version. Desktops and laptops are still quite useful! Because a mobile strategy can affect a business from top to bottom, you must talk with each business unit to see how mobile can help them. The answer could be that they don’t want a mobile app at all, and it could be the right answer!

4. Building a customer app the customer doesn’t want

On the customer side, any app you make must give them information or services they want. Depending on your industry, your customers may not even want an app on their phone from you. Think carefully about what you want any customer-facing app to do and do better than your current processes. Don’t build an app just to check off a box that says we have an app.

5. Staying in the box

We’re in a rare moment where the business landscape is truly new. Like the early dot-com boom, a lot of different strategies are going to pop up. Many will fail, but those that succeed will do extremely well. Try to think outside of the box as much as you can for your mobile strategies. We truly don’t know what might succeed like crazy.

Embarking on a bold mobile strategy may seem risky, but without risk there is no reward. The biggest takeaway is to think carefully about what you want to do with mobile first before development.  That way you can move forward with confidence, know what to track, and have clear definitions for success and failure in your mobile strategy.