Integration via Kochava

Overview

Introduction

Criteo serves personalized ads to mobile app users that have a high probability of clicking through and either installing your app or making an in-app purchase. Criteo technology is based on real-time product recommendation optimization and prediction engines.

In order to enable its technology, Criteo needs:

  • App Events - App events and relevant data correctly captured on your mobile app
  • Catalog Feed - A CSV or XML file (called a Catalog Feed) containing product information of a large portion of your mobile app’s offers
  • (For Retargeting) Deeplink and Universal Link capability - Product level deep link capabilities in app to take users to the products they clicked on

About this Guide

This document provides detailed information on the following integration stages:

  • App events and parameters
  • Kochava dashboard configuration, including postbacks
  • Generation of tracking links
  • Catalog feed integration (for product-level ads)
  • Deeplinking & Universal Linking (for Retargeting)
  • Testing process

Integration Steps

The table below describes the steps to follow during this integration.

Steps to Follow Where to Integrate
Integration Questionnaire Client
Integration Kickoff Call Criteo & client technical teams
Dashboard Configuration Client-side or (recommended) on call
(for product-level ads) Catalog Feed Integration Criteo & client technical teams
(only if needed) Criteo Event Integration Client-side
(only if needed) Testing events Criteo & client technical teams
(only if needed) App Submission & Release Client-side
Pre-Launch Checks Criteo
Campaign Launch Criteo (with client’s authorization)

App Events & Data

If you already have Kochava events configured, please skip this section.

To integrate the Kochava SDK and events from scratch, or add additional ones, please expand this section.

Expand

SDK Initialization

Please ensure the ‘language’ parameter in the identity link is the two character language code (lower case) and matches the language in of the app to ensure the events are sent to the correct endpoint.

Use the following code snippet at the app launch:

HashMap<String, Object> datamap = new HashMap<String, Object>();
datamap.put(Feature.INPUTITEMS.KOCHAVA_APP_ID, “YOUR_APP_ID_FROM_KOCHAVA_DASHBOARD”);
datamap.put(Feature.INPUTITEMS.CURRENCY, Feature.CURRENCIES.USD);
Feature kTracker = new Feature(getApplicationContext(), datamap);
HashMap<String, String> kData = new HashMap<String, String>();
kData.put( "language" , "en" );
kTracker.linkIdentity(kData);

Events Implementation in the App

Below are examples of the different event types Criteo recommends that you integrate using the Kochava SDK:

Kochava event Description
SessionBegin App open / app brought to the foreground.
View Listing View of a list of products.
View Product View of a specific product details page.
View Basket View of the shopping basket, or an addition made to it.
Purchase Purchase of one or more products.
Level Achieved User Level (for Gaming apps)
Status User’s Subscription Status (i.e. subscriber, free, premium)
Achievement Unlocked Major milestone reached within a game (for Gaming apps)

SessionBegin

The sessionBegin event should be sent to Kochava with each new session, after Kochava SDK initialization. SessionBegin is a standard event supported by the Kochava SDK.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

kTracker.event("SessionBegin", "");

View Listing

The viewListing event should be triggered on pages displaying product lists like a category page or a search results page. You should include in the array the IDs of the top 3 products (it’s fine to include more). These IDs must match to those passed in the catalog feed. Note that viewListing is not supported out of the box using Kochava’s SDK and must be implemented as a custom event.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONObject viewListing = new JSONObject();

JSONArray products = new JSONArray();
products.put("productId1");
products.put("productId2");
products.put("productId3");
// number of proudcts in serarch results, category page, etc...

viewListing.put("product", products);
kTracker.event("viewListing", viewListing.toString());

View Product

The View event should be triggered on all product details pages. You should include the ID of the product detailed on the page by the Event Item name, and send the Event Item with the event. It must be the same ID as used in the catalog feed, and must be unique. View is a standard event supported by the Kochava SDK.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONObject obj = new JSONObject();

obj.put("product", "productId1");
// obj.put("product", "productId2");
//
// ...can support multiple products

kTracker.event("View", obj.toString());

View Basket

The viewBasket event should be triggered on the basket-details pages. You must include the IDs, prices, and quantities of the basket’s products by the Event Items array. Note that viewBasket is not supported out of the box using Kochava’s SDK and must be implemented as a custom event.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONArray products = new JSONArray();

JSONObject product1 = new JSONObject();
JSONObject product2 = new JSONObject();
// etc... number of product in basket

JSONObject viewBasket = new JSONObject();

product1.put("id", 1);
product1.put("price", 2.95);
product1.put("quantity", 5);

product2.put("id", 2);
product2.put("price", 19.95);
product2.put("quantity", 1);

products.put(product1);
products.put(product2);

viewBasket.put("currency", "USD");
viewBasket.put("product", products);

MainActivity.kTracker.event("viewBasket", viewBasket.toString());
din/dout parameters are only required for Travel apps (Flights/Hotels/Car Booking) clients.

Purchase

The Purchase event should be triggered on order confirmation pages. You should include a unique transaction ID and place the IDs, prices, and quantities of the products bought in the transaction into the Event Items array. Purchase is a standard event supported by the Kochava SDK.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONArray products = new JSONArray();

JSONObject product1 = new JSONObject();
JSONObject product2 = new JSONObject();
// etc... number of products purchased

JSONObject trackTransaction = new JSONObject();

product1.put("id", 1);
product1.put("price", 2.95);
product1.put("quantity", 5);

product2.put("id", 2);
product2.put("price", 19.95);
product2.put("quantity", 1);

products.put(product1);
products.put(product2);

trackTransaction.put("nc", 1); // to indicate a new customer 1, else 0
trackTransaction.put("id", "&lt;<INSERT TRANSACTION ID>>");
trackTransaction.put("currency", "USD"); // currency of transaction
trackTransaction.put("product", products);

kTracker.event("Purchase", trackTransaction.toString());

Level Achieved

The userLevel event allows Kochava to identify the highest level achieved by a user. This event is specific to Gaming vertical. It should be triggered every time the user levels up. userLevel is a standard event supported by the Kochava SDK.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONObject uiLevel = new JSONObject();
uiLevel.put("ui_level", 5);
kTracker.event("userLevel", uiLevel.toString());

Status

The userStatus event allows Kochava to identify a user’s subscription status (i.e. free, subscriber, premium). This event should be triggered to initialize user’s status and every time when his status changes. Note that userStatus is not supported out of the box using Kochava’s SDK and must be implemented as a custom event.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONObject uiStatus = new JSONObject();
uiStatus.put("ui_status", "subscriber");
kTracker.event("userStatus", uiStatus.toString());

Achievement Unlocked

The achievementUnlocked event allows Kochava to identify wheter a user has reached a specific milestone within the game. achievementUnlocked is a standard event supported by the Kochava SDK.

Use the following code snippet to implement:

JSONObject uiAchievement = new JSONObject();
uiAchievement.put("ui_status", "subscriber");
kTracker.event("achievementUnlocked", uiStatus.toString());

Clients have the option of sending Criteo the email address of app users when available. This will enable the cross-device Criteo targeting feature.

Expand

To generate an MD5 hash of an email address:

  1. Convert all characters to lower case
  2. Remove any blank spaces
  3. Convert to UTF-8
  4. Hash using MD5 algorithm


The email can be sent to Criteo by associating with the identity link during SDK initialization.


Use the following code snippet below as an example on sending MD5 hashed email.

kTracker = new Feature(getApplicationContext(), datamap);
HashMap<String, String> kData = new HashMap<String, String>();
kData.put( "language" , "en" );
kData.put( "email_md5" ,  "6589e68c2a242271e56710100222ff83" );
kTracker.linkIdentity(kData);

Kochava’s SDK also allows client apps an option to send email in clear text. Kochava servers generate MD5 hash of this email address before forwarding it to Criteo.


Use the following code snippet as an example of how to send raw email addresses:

kTracker = new Feature(getApplicationContext(), datamap);
HashMap<String, String> kData = new HashMap<String, String>();
kData.put( "language" , "en" );
kData.put( "email_raw" , "kochava_android@criteo.com" );
kTracker.linkIdentity(kData);

Kochava Dashboard Configuration

Adding the ‘Criteo New’ Publisher Network

To add ‘Criteo New’ as a partner on Kochava’s dashboard:

  1. Login to Kochava Dashboard.
  2. Select the App
  3. Under the left menu bar, click the Partner Configuration tab, and then click Add Configuration button.

 

Finally, input 'Criteo New' into the Media Partner text field and select the 'Criteo New' publisher network option when it appears below the text field. To save Criteo as a partner, click on the Go button.

 

Configuring Criteo Postbacks

Once the partner is configured, postbacks can be setup for each event type.

  1. Open the ‘Criteo New’ module’s menu and click Postbacks

  2. Install is automatically listed and its status is Configured postback, however it still needs additional setup (please see step 4 below for details). SessionBegin and the other post install events will be listed once received by Kochava. All the events (except install) are initially in status Active Event, meaning the postback is available but is not sending to Criteo yet. Once a postback is configured its Status becomes Configured postback.

  3. On the menu on the next to the event select Create.

    The postbacks need to configured for: Install, SessionBegin, and all other relevant events available for the campaign such as post-install KPI events.
    For Retargeting, it’s highly recommended to also postback the key stages of the purchase funnel (for a retail app this would be events similar to SessionBegin, Search/Category Results, Item Details, Basket Add/View, Purchase Confirmation).

  4. All the following settings are required for postbacks to function well:

    • CRITEO BUNDLE ID: Unique bundle ID of the app (this uniquely identifies the app to Criteo)

    • SEND ALL EVENT DATA: Check the box to send all data to Criteo. Essential for harnessing Criteo’s machine learning at its full potential (both user bidding and product recommendation), and useful for other use casees such as audience segmentation and custom reporting.

    • DELIVERY DELAY: Select Realtime Delivery

    • DELIVERY METHOD: Select All to send attributed, unattributed and organic events to Criteo. Essential for the same machine learning purposes mentioned above, and also to better suppress installed users from your App Install campaigns.

    Then, click Save.

    For Install, there is no Send All Event Data box to check.

Attribution Settings - Partner Level

  1. Select Apps & Assets
  2. Select Partner Configuration
  3. To the right of ‘Criteo New - Android’, select the three-dots menu
  4. Select Reconciliation

  5. Configure the windows below according to your attribution model, or these suggested defaults:

Install Tracking

Click to Expand

  1. Go to Campaign Manager

    • Log in to Kochava.
    • Select the desired Account and App.
    • Select Links > Campaign Manager.

  2. Add tracking to the campaign

    • Click Add a Tracker or Select Segment > Add a Tracker.

  3. Set the tracking
    Required:

    • Select Campaign
    • Select Segment
    • Set Tracker Name
    • Select Tracker type Acquisition
    • Select Criteo Criteo New - Android
      • Important: all new integrations (and re-launches) must use the ‘Criteo New’ integration
    • Check the box for Share with publisher
    • Set destination URL: Custom / Landing page / Google Referrer

    Optional: Agency
    * utm parameters
    * Custom parameters
    * Pricing

  4. Copy Click URL and Impression URL

Retargeting Tracking

Click to Expand

  1. Go to Campaign Manager

    • Log in to Kochava.
    • Select the desired Account and App.
    • Select Links > Campaign Manager.

  2. Add tracking to the campaign

    • Click Add a Tracker or Select Segment > Add a Tracker.

  3. Set the tracking
    Required:

    • Select Campaign
    • Select Segment
    • Set Tracker name
    • Select Tracker type : Reengagement
    • Select Criteo New - Android.
      • Important: all new integrations (and re-launches) must use the ‘Criteo New’ integration
    • Check the box for Share with publisher
    • Set destination URL: Custom / Landing page / Google Referrer

    • Select Event(s) for Reengagement: ‘All’ (if All is not selected and an event is not in the list, Criteo will not be able to effectively optimize toward the KPI event/s).

    Optional: Agency
    * utm parameters
    * Custom parameters
    * Pricing

  4. Set a custom lookback window

    • Tracker-level lookback windows can be set within Power Editor –> Tracker Overrides, however this is a paid feature of Kochava.

  5. Copy Click URL and Impression URL and send to your Criteo contact

Catalog Feed

A catalog feed is an XML or a CSV file containing product information (name, price, deep link, image link…) that allows Criteo to dynamically generate product-level banners tailored to each user. Therefore, it is important to keep this file up to date in order for Criteo to show the right data in your banners.

The following points need to be kept in mind:

  • Each product must have a unique ID that must be identical to the one passed in the events.
  • The catalog feed must contain all or at least most of your apps’ products for Retail apps, and hotels/airline routes for Travel apps.
  • Recommended image resolution is 300x300 pixels to 400x400 pixels.

Note: In some instances (i.e live campaigns on mobile web or desktop), Criteo will already have the catalog feed.

For more information, please request the dedicated guide from your contact.

App Links & Deeplinks

Deep linking consists of a hyperlink that links to a specific, generally searchable, or indexed piece of content on an app.

Criteo requires custom native deeplinks to run a App campaign utilizing dynamic creative. These deeplinks use a custom protocol (e.g. sampleadvertiser:// ) and, in most cases, optional parameters. The optional parameters may consist of a path and/or query parameters. (e.g. sampleadvertiser://product/sku123 or sampleadvertiser://product?sku=123).

Be aware of that we don’t accept any custom schema deeplink with http/https unless it’s valid App Links.

For Android, we also strongly recommend Advertisers use Android App Links. Android App Links are HTTP URLs that bring users directly to specific content in your Android App. Android App Links can drive more traffic to your app, help you discover which app content is used most, and make it easier for users to share and find content in an installed app. For more information on App Links, please see Android Studio’s Add Android App Links article.

Criteo requires two kinds of App Links & custom native deeplinks:

  1. Opens to the homepage of the App.
  2. Opens to each product-details page.

Pass deep link events to Kochava using deepLinkEvent() method. After retrieving the URI you receive from Android, just pass it as a parameter to the deepLinkEvent() and Kochava will register that event specifically as a deeplink event. You can learn more about deep linking for the Android platform here.

The following is the sample code snippet to capture and pass the deeplink string to Kochava.

Uri data = intent.getData();
kTracker.deepLinkEvent(data.toString());

Testing process

Once all events and postbacks have been implemented, you should contact your Criteo representative to begin the testing phase.

If you are adding/updating Kochava app events, this will require a release to the app store. In this case, please allow sufficient time (at least a week) for testing prior to the app submission in order to ensure that the data you are sending is complete.

Criteo requires the following elements:

  • App build to test the collection of events on Criteo side.
  • If testing remotely, the IDFA of the test device.
  • (For Retargeting) Deeplink and Universal Link examples - homepage & product details page.
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