Singular launches SKAN 4 conversion models (but don’t panic!)

Singular has launched SKAN 4 conversion models so mobile marketers can begin collecting SKAN 4 data from ad campaigns: fine and coarse conversion values, postbacks 1, 2, and 3, and the extra source identifier data that Apple’s newest version of SKAdNetwork can now deliver.

But don’t panic: you don’t have to set up SKAN 4 campaigns immediately.

“This is here for people when they’re ready,” says Singular product marketing manager Kelsey Lee. “Just because it’s ready doesn’t mean people need to panic … this is just trying to get people in a state of mind of, oh: we should start testing. We should start having those important conversations with our network partners and thinking about how we want to think about postback 2, postback 3, and those coarse conversion values.”

That’s an important caveat.

SKAN 4 postbacks are definitely live in the wild right now, but they’re also a tiny fraction of all SKAdNetwork postbacks right now. Essentially, ad networks are testing their capability, building their SKAN 4 technology, and preparing to optimize campaigns with extra data. SKAN 4 is not currently fully operational and the default standard for any ad network just yet.

So what is currently available?

SKAN 4 conversion models

“What we have live is SKAN 4 conversion models,” says Singular VP of product Evyatar Ram. “You can go to your Singular dashboard, and you can create conversion models that are SKAN 4 specific, meaning they have P1, P2, P3. You’re setting up three different postbacks, meaning that you are setting up the coarse conversion values as well as the fine conversion values.”

SKAN 4 conversion models for revenue and events and live right now; other conversion model types are coming “very soon,” Ram says.

Here’s a quick overview of how it works:

Instant upgrades for SKAN 3 models

Existing SKAN 3 models can be instantly upgraded.

There’s a simple user interface for selecting the values you want for each of the 3 postbacks in SKAN 4, and you can set up your fine and coarse conversion models for postback 1. The coarse values that you’ll receive for postback 1 if you don’t achieve enough crowd anonymity for a specific campaign are aligned with the fine values, so your campaign optimization and future investment decisions won’t be impaired by incompatible data.

And while coarse values won’t be as informative as fine conversion values, they do beat getting null data on so many postbacks, Lee says. So while most marketers will try to optimize for getting the greatest number of fine postbacks, coarse values are not the end of the world.

An important point for marketers who aren’t even thinking too much about SKAN 4 right now: all SKAdNetwork 4 models are backwards compatible with SKAdNetwork 3. 

So it just makes sense to create a SKAN 4 model in case some of your ad partners start using SKAN 4: you’ll capture data that would otherwise just simply be lost. And you won’t compromise any ongoing campaigns.

Plus, it’ll get you thinking about SKAN 4 and what’s possible in the new world of iOS attribution.

Is this a big easy button in the cloud for SKAN 4?

How easy is it to start using SKAN 4 with Singular?

“I think it’s as easy as it gets for having such a complicated framework to deal with,” Lee says. “I think Singular has done a really good job with making the UI as intuitive as possible.”

But there’s more coming soon.

Singular’s SKAN Advanced Analytics already models for missing SKAN 3 data to provide much more accurate revenue and cohort data. Singular is updating SKAN Advanced Analytics for SKAN 4, which will add more accurate, longer cohorts, and better modeling.

“So even if you don’t pass crowd anonymity, we’re filling in those gaps for you,” Lee says. “I don’t think it’s a big fat easy button … but I think we’ve done the best we can with all the limitations and restrictions.”

All the SKAN 4 conversion models details in the Growth Masterminds podcast

As usual, get the full story in the complete Growth Masterminds podcast.

Watch the video above, and subscribe to the podcast on your on favorite podcasting platform: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or pretty much any other major podcasting platform.

And get the complete SKAN 4 transition guide here.