Introduction to post-install events
Audience Pinpointer campaigns require you to pass post-install events to Unity in order to power retention or ROAS campaign goals. Collecting these event types allows Unity to dynamically find the right users for your app.
Post-install events include:
- Session events for retention campaigns
- IAP (in-app purchase) events for return on ad spend (IAP ROAS) campaigns
- Ad revenue events for return on ad spend (Ad Revenue ROAS) campaigns
Send post-install events through your attribution partner (otherwise known as an MMP, or mobile-measurement partner) for Unity-attributed users, or by integrating a Unity SDK.
Important: If you run Audience Pinpointer campaigns in China, review the PIPL compliance guidelines for passing post-install event data.
Post-install events using an MMP
Most attribution partners (MMPs) support post-install event forwarding for attributed users and provide detailed instructions on how to set up the forwarding to ad networks within their dashboards. For more information, refer to the documentation on passing post-install events using an MMP.
Post-install events sent through an MMP integration for Unity-attributed users are also used by Unity for reporting on post-install campaign performance. Currently, Unity reporting on campaign post-install outcomes includes only user-level and post-install events.
Note: If an MMP does not support forwarding a particular event type (such as ad revenue), it is possible to pass the events with a custom server-to-server post-install events integration. However, since this involves a custom integration, Unity may not be able to advise or troubleshoot potential issues encountered with this approach.
Post-install events using a Unity SDK
If you use Unity Ads to advertise or monetize for iOS applications, you can pass post-install events through the latest Unity Ads SDK.
Important: The Unity Ads SDK does not currently support passing post-install ad revenue events.
Unity recommends this method instead of using an attribution partner for iOS retention or IAP ROAS campaigns. This is because consumer privacy changes released in iOS 14 make it complex to scale User Acquisition (UA) campaigns on iOS with a third-party attribution partner. Integrating a Unity SDK can help you continue to optimize your campaigns, despite the privacy changes in iOS 14 onwards.
Note: When using this method, Unity still encourages passing post-install events for Unity-attributed users through your MMP to enable campaign-outcomes reporting, and to enable Audience Pinpointer campaigns for Android.
Mediated customers
If you use a third-party mediation service, Unity supports post-install events passed from your mediation partner’s Unity Ads adaptor.
Important: The data events passed by a Unity SDK will also include the user’s device type and may include device-specific identifiers (such as an Identifier for Advertisers, known as an IDFA) if the appropriate consent is obtained from the user. Otherwise, an anonymous identifier stored on the device may be used to link events from the same user.
For more information on data collection, refer to Unity’s Advertiser Terms of Service. In addition, our SDKs pass metadata about in-app purchase events, such as the App Store receipt for the purpose of transaction validation.
Post-install events using a server-to-server integration
If an MMP does not support forwarding a particular event type (such as ad revenue), it is possible to pass those events with a custom server-to-server post-install events integration. However, since this involves a custom integration, Unity may not be able to advise or troubleshoot potential issues encountered with this approach.