In digital advertising\u2014especially when using Demand\u2011Side Platforms (DSPs)\u2014many marketers rely heavily on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) as their primary performance metric. While ROAS offers a straightforward snapshot into spend efficiencies, optimizing solely for installs or early revenue signals can overlook long-term user value, erode profitability, and foster short-sighted campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DSPs often prioritize metrics like cost per install (CPI) or immediate ROAS, which can yield large volumes of users but not necessarily ones that generate meaningful engagement or long-term spending. For example, optimizing solely on Day\u20117 ROAS (D7 ROAS) may not reflect true lifetime value, because cohorts often diverge significantly after week one. The red cohort in Liftoff’s analysis may outperform early on, but fall off sharply by Day 60 compared to a cohort with steadier long-term behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To build sustainable growth, top-tier DSPs now offer event-based bidding and cohort-level optimization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This multi-event strategy builds a more robust user foundation rather than relying on a single KPI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cohorts\u2014groups of users acquired in the same timeframe\u2014can exhibit dramatically different revenue curves. One cohort may display high early spending but fall off quickly; another may grow steadily over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using cohort-based ROAS enables nuanced bid multipliers and more intelligent media spend allocation. However, as Liftoff warns, relying only on simple multipliers across channels can result in wasted budget or missed opportunities. Sophisticated platforms are building machine learning models that digest per-cohort behavior, in-app engagement, and platform signals to bid more intelligently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two DSPs leading this charge are Liftoff<\/strong> and InMobi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other DSPs, such as The Trade Desk or MediaMath, offer similar capabilities, but the depth of event-layered campaign optimization varies. The key differentiator for Liftoff and InMobi is their unified postback handling of diverse in\u2011app user events, enabling cleaner signals into bidding models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focusing solely on ROAS\u2014especially early ROAS\u2014can obscure the user behaviors that drive true profitability. The future of DSP ad buying lies in event-based optimization<\/strong> and cohort modeling<\/strong>, where in\u2011app events and long-term LTV shape bidding decisions. Platforms like Liftoff<\/strong> and InMobi<\/strong> are pioneering this shift, building campaigns around hybrid signals\u2014purchases, ad interactions, and cohorts\u2014to drive sustainable user acquisition that aligns with real business value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When ROAS becomes just one signal in a broader tapestry of KPIs, marketers can build campaigns that not only scale but endure<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In digital advertising\u2014especially when using Demand\u2011Side Platforms (DSPs)\u2014many marketers rely heavily on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) as their.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":1309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-trends"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1310,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308\/revisions\/1310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iconpeak.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n5. Tips for Smarter KPI Strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tip<\/strong><\/td> Description<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Define core events early<\/strong><\/td> Establish which post-install events matter: sign-up, tutorial complete, first spend, subscription, specific milestone, or ad engagement.<\/td><\/tr> Leverage cohort insight<\/strong><\/td> Analyze how early behavior predicts future lifetime value (LTV)\u2014set distinct targets per channel, country, and operating system (OS).<\/td><\/tr> Use event-based bid signals<\/strong><\/td> If your DSP supports it, configure bids on early post-install events, not just install or revenue.<\/td><\/tr> Combine events<\/strong><\/td> Chase a mix: e.g., users likely to both spend and view ads, for multi-revenue coherence.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n In Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n