MAM
Why every brand should use mobile SDKs as a part of its digital campaign strategy
MUMBAI: Bot-generated traffic is the bane of the digital marketing ecosystem. It results in the inaccurate tracking of attribution and sales performance which causes advertisers as well as publishers to incur heavy losses every year. It is estimated that Indian advertisers lose over 40 per cent of their investment to bot-driven ad frauds, fake traffic hits, bogus schemes, etc.
This has emerged as the top challenge for advertisers trying to secure robust ROIs, even as they attempt to keep up with recent data privacy policies such as the EU-GDPR. With leading web browsers also introducing more stringent anti-tracking algorithms, digital marketers find the scope of their challenge intensifying.
Enter Mobile SDK: Countering the challenges
Mobile SDKs have emerged as one of the most effective ways of countering this rising tide of bot-induced activity on publisher platforms. Leading affiliate networks are leveraging the more reliable user authentication facilitated by SDK integrations to separate human users from the bot-generated traffic. This – complemented by proprietary anti-fraud technologies – helps them to reduce the losses incurred by clients due to digital frauds to a large extent.
Mobile SDKs also enable in-app tracking of a user’s digital activities – whether the user is logging into the app, placing an order, or carrying out transactions. SDK integration allows the system to record data pertaining to an app’s installation on the device. An advertiser can then choose any of these user actions as their target data source. Such precise targeting, in turn, enables advertisers to effectively track sales attribution and get a deeper insight into campaign performance.
In this way, a transparent process is established between advertisers and publishers. As SDK integrations reduce bot-related losses, publishers who earlier used to avoid associating with affiliate programs can now rest in ease and confidently participate in mobile performance marketing. Thanks to this technology, advertisers can also acquire access to new, legitimate traffic sources and drive an increase in the number of incoming orders.
Apart from this, other benefits offered by the integration of mobile SDKs include:
1. Improved tracking of user behaviour
SDKs enable advertisers to access and work with massive volumes of data, thus facilitating more reliable user authentication. At the same time, they can also be used to gain deeper insights about user behaviour (both pre- and post-acquisition).
Such data-mined intelligence can then be used to bolster their marketing strategies. The accuracy facilitated by large volumes of data enables affiliates to conduct better customer profiling, allowing them to deliver hyper-personalised ads to users. Advertisers can also complement their strategies with demographic-based and geolocation-based targeting to enhance user engagement for their digital campaigns.
2. Better attribution as well as reliable KPI measurement
The cookie-less tracking facilitated by SDKs not only complies with data privacy regulations but also enables far better tracking of user behaviour. In addition, it empowers advertisers to accurately map their sales activities and the performance of their digital campaigns. As a result, marketers are better placed to define more stringent KPIs.
The razor-sharp targeting of consumer demographics facilitated by the use of SDKs further allows marketers to determine sales attribution through enhanced cost per acquisition (CPA) tracking. Advertisers can, therefore, distinguish between affiliates that facilitate superior user-brand interaction and those that need to be worked upon.
3. Enhanced transparency and visibility into the campaign performance
SDKs leveraged by top affiliate networks can be used to gain superior visibility into the individual performance of each advertisement on a real-time basis. As this allows them to precisely track their ongoing campaigns, marketers can alter their digital strategy to optimise ad performance. With the ability to work with larger datasets and conduct sharper targeting, it is no wonder that the SDK-based approach delivers better outcomes than most other digital advertising methods.
4. Superior user-brand interaction
With affiliate networks and marketers working in compliance with the shift towards stronger user privacy, consumers’ confidence in the advertisements they engage with has received a significant boost. SDKs enable advertisers to have users interact with the ads that they are most likely to engage with. This increases the probability of a user not only engaging with the ad but also following through on the transaction. This benefits both marketers and their partner affiliates, as the cumulative RoI of the association increases.
Digital tools such as SDKs developed by affiliate networks like Admitad India have the potential to help both brands and publishers navigate today’s evolving digital marketing ecosystem. Here is the detailed description of the service. The new-age marketing strategies employed by such platforms are as innovative in nature as they are safer, smarter, and considerably more effective.
(The author is Neha Kulwal, CEO, Admitad India. The views expressed here are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
