App Annie recently predicted in its mobile trends for 2021 that mobile ad spend would reach $290 billion in 2021. Mobile advertising is more popular than ever — and competition for key placements is fierce and often expensive. But marketers who think outside of the traditional search and social boxes can drive scale and find new audiences efficiently and with confidence. 

At FeedMob, we have found original equipment manufacturer (OEM) placements to be a reliable tool for user acquisition (UA) marketers to drive growth scale — but you don’t have to take our word for it.

“Over the years their market share has gradually risen and in Q1 2021 globally renowned OEM app stores accumulated a global market share of 42%,” reports AdGully. “This is because OEM inventories are associated with a quality audience pool and decreased fraud risk making them a cost-efficient deal for every advertiser.” With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to use OEM to drive conversions. 

What is an OEM placement?

OEM stands for “original equipment manufacturer” and was a common acronym long before mobile advertising. But in the context of mobile ads, OEM (or pre-loads) refers to a network that has direct partnership with device manufacturers and/or cellular carriers (e.g, Samsung, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T) that monetize their inventory via new device activations, push notifications, widgets, etc. Generally only available on Android devices, advertisers can use these placements to reach users with specific phone models and on select cellular  networks. 

The benefits of OEM advertising

OEM and carrier placements offer a number of benefits to advertisers, beginning with the ability to reach potential customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the life of the device. Starting with app suggestions or preloads at device activation, OEM placement is unlike most other kinds of UA. The relationship often begins at onboarding as users enter valuable information that can be used for targeting — giving advertisers the ability to suggest their app or provide messaging based on user demographics. UA marketers can also place ads strategically at different touchpoints to find previously untapped customer segments, all along their journey. This UX often feels native and value-driven, resulting in a long-lasting relationship with the user.

Additionally, UA teams can target devices based on a number of criteria, including:

These groups may seem broad, but we have found that with the right expertise OEM can drive results for UA teams. Let’s dive into an example! 

Driving results with OEM and carrier placements

Many FinTech companies target consumers who are unable to qualify for traditional bank accounts, often due to a history of inadequate credit. To find lower-income users with spotty credit histories, FeedMob integrated one of our FinTech clients into new sources of inventory, focusing specifically on scaling carriers and partners.

By leveraging our KPI dashboard to provide insight, we were able to identify top performing device and audience segments; this allowed us to reallocate spend to the sources that reached the client’s goals. And one of the key sources of inventory that worked for this client, was OEM placements.

Ultimately, OEM placements drove higher sign-ups and conversions. From January to July, our client’s pre-load conversion rate went from 4.45% to 9.05%. Although we observed a 0.25% average CTI across other supply types, carrier traffic had an outstanding 6.5% CVR which boosted our overall conversion rate. [Learn more in our case study.]

Going hyperlocal with OEM ads

In 2022 mobile advertising is predicted to hit a very special milestone. According to BIA researchers, mobile advertising is predicted to surpass direct mail spending in local media. More specifically, marketers will put $34 billion into local mobile advertising in 2022. 

On-device ads may be a good fit for UA marketers looking to target users in very specific locations. Carriers can help you hyper-target the areas you’re looking to reach using area codes. Whether you’re expanding into new markets — especially emerging markets where these placements are prevalent — or looking to double down on cities that have been proven winners, OEM and carrier placements can help you reach your goal. 

OEM in the ATT era

OEM’s biggest benefit in 2022 and beyond may be how effective it is in the face of privacy regulations like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT). Because OEM placements are typically available only on Android, they aren’t impacted by ATT — but that’s not the only reason these continue to perform in the privacy era. Because they are on the devices, OEM placements can help your brand be discovered in a non-traditional ad placement that potential users won’t ignore. 

To learn more about how OEM placements might fit into your UA strategy, reach out to our team.