UNICORNFOR : Apple Ads
Marketing Platform
In today’s iOS application marketing landscape, Apple Ads—the only platform that allows ad delivery within the App Store—has become essential and indispensable, with both advertiser counts and ad delivery volumes growing year after year.
UNICORNFOR : Apple Adslets you simply set goals (the metrics most important to you) and target CPA (CPT) for every ad product available within the App Store, and ad campaigns are automatically adjusted and optimized. In Search Results, keywords are automatically expanded and managed with ease. Beyond serving as an excellent keyword planning tool, the platform fully automates settings such as keyword bid prices that typically require manually defined rules and human adjustments.
FOR : Apple Ads
For those seeking valuable matches between users and applications on the App Store
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads Examples of well-suited categories and subcategories
Games
Mobile games and similar
Books
Manga and similar
Video on Demand
Movies, TV programs, and similar
Social
Social media, live streaming, and similar
Finance
Credit cards, QR payments, and similar
News
Current affairs, entertainment, sports, and similar
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads Why customers choose us
UNICORN is the only ad delivery platform of comparable scale to the walled gardens that automates Apple Ads operations. In Search Results, keywords are automatically gathered and generated, securing sufficient reach while adjusting bid prices to minimize deviation from your target CPA (CPT). You can also use every Apple Ads ad product—including Search tab, Today Tab, and Product Page—each of which can deliver significant impact for awareness campaigns.
01Apple Ads
01APPLE ADS
Fully automated Apple Ads Advanced delivery to maximize ad value
Apple Ads Success Stories
Maximize synergistic effects across different platforms
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads An iOS application that delivered ads using Mahjong Soul delivery results were featured as an Apple Ads success story.
Installs
14items
Return on Ad Spend
+30%
User Retention Rate
+20%
“Mahjong Soul transforms the classic game of mahjong with captivating visuals and skillful storytelling, drawing in younger players. The team optimized their Apple Ads campaigns and maximized synergistic effects across different platforms, successfully improving installs, return on ad spend, and retention rates.”
Reference: Apple Ads | Success Story | A new vision for mahjong: how Mahjong Soul continues to captivate users.
https://searchads.apple.com/jp/success-stories/mahjong-soul
02Usefulness of Apple Ads
02USEFULNESS OF APPLE ADS
The Value of Apple Ads in iOS App Marketing
TV, newspapers, magazines, and digital advertising. Whatever channel reaches the user, installing an iOS application always requires going through the App Store. Data published by Apple confirms exceptional results in both volume and quality. In today’s iOS application marketing landscape, Apple Ads is an essential and indispensable platform.
600M+
Weekly App Store visitors (worldwide)
70%
Share of visitors searching for apps
65%
Post-search install rate
60%
Search Results conversion rate
03Feature
03FEATURE
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads Key Features
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads covers every ad placement available within the App Store Search Results / Search Tab / Today Tab / Product Page and delivers the optimal ad fully automatically. Apple Ads Advanced has no budget cap and offers extensive configuration options, but setting up, adjusting, and curating ad campaigns, user segments (ad groups), and keywords—as well as updating target CPA (CPT) and per-keyword bid prices—requires substantial expertise, experience, and human resources.
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads dramatically reduces the time, workload, and human resources required for Apple Ads operations. In Search Results, keywords are automatically gathered and generated, providing new insights that can inform other marketing activities, maximize ad performance, and drive business growth.
Search Results
Search Results Ads / Search Results Campaigns
Search Tab
Search Tab
Today Tab
Today Tab
Product Page
Product Page
Search Results Search Results Ads / Search Results Campaigns
Automatic keyword acquisition and generation enable fully automated, effective ad operations
Search Results Search Results Ads / Search Results Campaigns is an ad shown at the top of search results when a user searches for an application in the App Store. The ad creative is automatically generated based on the application’s product page information.
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads automatically gathers and generates keywords. You can also manually add or pause keywords and configure negative keywords. Keyword bid prices are adjusted automatically 24/7, enabling fully automated, effective ad operations aligned with your target CPA (CPT) and business KPIs—while also serving as a keyword planning tool.
Automatic Keyword Generation Powered by Large-Scale Natural Language Processing
UNICORN uses large-scale natural language processing models to automatically generate keywords. We currently operate three primary models. One of them—the keyword recommendation model—combines delivery results with external data, then trains a large language model on keywords extracted under specific conditions and uses it to predict new ones, enabling the automatic collection and generation of keywords likely to drive conversions.
Search Tab Search Tab
Effectively promote your application to large audiences of users before they search
An ad shown at the top of the personalized app recommendation list. The ad creative is automatically generated based on the application’s product page information.
The App Store sees over 600 million weekly visitors, with more than 70% of them searching for apps via the search function (after navigating to the Search Tab). Search Tab Search Tab ads enable you to effectively promote your application to the many users browsing before they search.
Today Tab Today Tab
Because it is the first page so many users see, it enables effective ad operation that capitalizes on its reach
Today Tab Today Tab ads are displayed in the first view of the App Store’s top page. To use Today Tab Today Tab ads, a custom product page set up in App Store Connect is required. The custom product page must include four portrait screenshots or five landscape screenshots.
The App Store attracts more than 600 million visitors each week. When the App Store application is launched, the first destination users reach is the Today Tab Today Tab . Because it is the first page so many users see, it enables effective ad operation that capitalizes on its reach.
Today Tab Today Tab ads are available only on devices running iOS 16.4 or later.
Today Tab Today Tab ads are currently unavailable on the App Store in mainland China.
Product Page Product Page
Delivery can target all applications or be narrowed to specific categories of applications
Product Page Product Page ads appear at the top of the You Might Also Like list at the bottom of each application’s product page. Ad content is generated automatically from the information on the application’s product page.
These ads reach users who do not install an application immediately from the first view but instead review its information to the end. Delivery can target all applications or be narrowed to specific categories of applications.
Product Page Product Page ads are currently unavailable on the App Store in mainland China.
Custom Product Pages
On custom product pages, screenshots (static images), app previews (videos), promotional text can all be customized
Custom product pages allow you to create up to 35 variations of the product page for each application. For each page, the screenshots (static images), app previews (videos), and promotional text can be customized.
By preparing custom product pages with content appropriate to each purpose — varying the destination page by gender or age, or aligning it with seasonal events — you minimize the gap between the information at the user’s touchpoints, such as ads, and the information on the product page.
Used effectively, custom product pages allow users to discover richer information matched to their interests without any sense of incongruity. As a result, you can expect maximized advertising effectiveness — including improved CVR and the acquisition of high-quality users — as well as stronger engagement.
To use custom product pages, your Apple ID must be connected to App Store Connect.
In Apple Ads, custom product pages can be used with two ad placements: Search Results and Today Tab.
Predicting the value of the four ad placements and delivering ads to the optimal placement
UNICORN FOR : Apple Ads uses attribute data from users who have granted App Tracking Transparency (ATT) permission, the App Store’s four primary ad placements, and the unique elements of each placement (keywords, custom product pages, application categories, and more) in countless combinations to predict impression value and deliver ads to the optimal placement.
As of July 2023, 22% of App Store users have granted tracking permission. Only those users can be segmented for ad delivery.
UNICORN
FOR : Apple Ads
04Misalignment with MMP
04MISALIGNMENT WITH MMP
Differences in Measurement Methods Between Apple Ads and MMPs
Apple Ads identifies users by Apple ID, while MMPs (Mobile Measurement Partners) identify users by IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers, the advertising identifier on iOS devices), IDFV (Identifier for Vendor, the vendor identifier on iOS devices), or tokens issued by the AdServices Framework. Because the measurement methods differ, you need to understand and account for the discrepancies that arise in the data.
Primary Reasons for Data Discrepancies Between Apple Ads and MMPs
|
Where Data Discrepancies Occur |
Apple Ads |
MMP |
|---|---|---|
|
User Identification Low |
Apple ID |
IDFA, IDFV, or Token |
|
Measurement Timing Low |
Install |
Launch |
|
Attribution Low |
Proprietary |
Proprietary |
|
Reinstall Measurement High |
Conversion on Reinstall |
Reattribution*1 |
|
LAT ON User Measurement*2 High |
Supported |
Not Supported |
*1 When the AdServices framework is implemented, measurement is performed via tokens.
*2 Measurement via the legacy iAd framework.
05App Store Optimization
05APP STORE OPTIMIZATION
ASO (App Store Optimization)
ASO (App Store Optimization) refers to the practice of refining and adjusting an app store presence (essentially the product page; in some cases, custom product pages are also part of optimization)—including icons, images, videos, text, and meta keywords—so that the application appears at the top of search results when users search within the App Store or via search engines. Optimizing your app store presence not only improves Apple Ads performance but also drives growth in organic users (users who arrive through search rather than via ads).
An app store is never optimized once and forgotten; maintaining high search rankings requires continuous, fine-grained updates and adjustments in response to seasonal shifts, market trends, and other changes. UNICORN For Apple Ads lets you test and validate user segments, keywords and keyword combinations, high-performing screenshots (still images), application preview videos, and promotional text—then reflect those findings in your app store settings and individual pages, enabling efficient, continuous optimization.
Contact ADWAYS for Inquiries and Questions
ADWAYS, UNICORN’s parent company, has established a dedicated business unit that provides ASO consulting and support.
EXPENSE
Costs required for placement and recommended settings
No initial registration or setup fees and no monthly usage fees are required. Operations can be tailored to a variety of KPIs (key performance indicators), such as maximizing acquisition while controlling CPA.
As with many walled gardens that leverage machine learning, learning cannot progress until a certain number of conversions (CVs) has accumulated; optimization therefore requires time or an increase in the daily budget. While no minimum spend is required, we recommend setting a daily budget of 100,000 JPY or more* for most ad menus.
Initial registration and setup fees
JPY0
Monthly usage fee
JPY0
Recommended daily advertising budget (daily budget)*
JPY100K+
This is the daily budget we primarily recommend for ad delivery campaigns (products) that emphasize performance. Because ad delivery campaigns (products) span a wide range of menus—including objectives aimed at increasing user engagement (such as awareness and brand lift), OTT ads for connected TV, and DOOH ads delivered to outdoor digital signage—the recommended daily budget is not uniform. UNICORN\'s strategists and consultants will listen carefully to your challenges and develop the optimal advertising strategy, including the appropriate ad formats. Please also consult us if producing creative in-house proves difficult.
For those seeking valuable matches between users and applications on the App Store
Apple Ads Issue
- •Difficulty obtaining personally identifiable information in iOS app marketing
- •Having tried Apple Ads without seeing results
- •Wanting to leverage insights from delivery results for other ad menus and business growth
- •Facing resource shortages as ad menus increase
UNICORN
MARKETING PLATFORM
REDEFINE DIGITAL MARKETING
UNICORN is a fully automated marketing platform built to be a standard for the digital marketing industry.
FOR : Performance
For those seeking effective ad delivery with KPI achievement as the top priority
FOR : Engagement
For those seeking to leverage digital advertising to increase encounters and touchpoints with users
FOR : Apple Ads
For those seeking effective advertising performance while reducing operational workload through automated Apple Ads management, keyword administration, and more
FOR : Listing
For those seeking to maximize advertising effectiveness with performance-based search ads while controlling acquisition costs and internal resources
FOR : Publisher
For media companies and SSPs seeking to connect with UNICORN to increase revenue and acquire quality ads and users
OUR SALES PARTNERS
OUR DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS
INQUIRYApplication
Inquiry (Applications to UNICORN)
Please use this form for UNICORN service applications (advertising placements), publisher registration applications (media and SSP), interview requests, press release inquiries, event and campaign information, recruitment, and other inquiries.
