A retargeting campaign is designed to target users, who were active in an app and have ceased using it, with an offer to incentivize a desired in-app action.
This guide outlines the steps for marketers to successfully create and integrate their Retargeting campaigns within Kochava using Smadex. It is fundamental to follow these steps in order to correctly set retargeting users and correct attribution settings.
A great part of this guide is inspired by Kochava’s documentation as most of the settings must be done on their site.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
An active Kochava account.
An active Smadex account with access to campaign management.
Enable non-attributed data sharing.
An integration done between Smadex and Kochava, with a given Tracking Group ID.
In case an integration has already been done for Mobile UA campaigns,
Tracking Group ID will be the same as in that integration.
Step 1: Set partner reconciliations
Before setting any link, you must set the configuration with a partner. These settings, however, may be overridden at the tracker level. For more information on Kochava’s Attribution Engine, refer to their Attribution Overview support documentation.
Thus, you must:
Log in to Kochava.
Select the desired Account and App.
Select Apps & Assets > Partner Configuration.
Locate Smadex.
Click Network Tools (⋮) > Reconciliation.
Once there, you must select first the impression reconciliation settings:
Select the Device Lookback to 24 hours
Select the Modeled Lookback. To 24 hours
Select the IP Lookback to 24 hours.
Select the Partial IP Lookback to 24 hours if desired.
Select the Device Attribution Behavior to standard
After, configure the click reconciliation settings:
Select the Device Lookback to 30d
Select the Modeled Lookback to 30d
Select the IP and Partial IP Lookback to 23h
Select the Device Attribution Behavior to standard.
Step 2 (optional): Prepare your deeplink
When you create a tracking link for your app in Kochava, you can configure it as a deep link. With a deep link, if a user clicks the ad and they already have your app installed, not only will the app open—but it will show the specific app content of your choice, bypassing the app's default home screen.
Before creating links, you must establish your branding for Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android).
Log into Kochava and go to Apps & Assets > App Tools.
Select Configured Domains to set up your custom subdomain (e.g., brand.go.link).
This is where your developers will provide the AASA (iOS) or Asset Links (Android) files to ensure the app opens seamlessly without a browser pop-up.
As the developers implement the Kochava SDK, they add code to "read" the incoming deep link. Once finished, they must provide you with:
The Deep Link URI Scheme: The protocol used to trigger your app (e.g., app://1800flowers.deeplink.app/mothers-day-flowers).
A List of Deep Link Destinations: The specific internal paths for your campaign (e.g., myapp://checkout or myapp://level5).
Depending on your app's platform and the deep linking technology used (Standard Deep Links, Universal Links, or App Links), you will need to enter this information in the Campaign Manager when creating a new tracker or within Apps & Assets > App Tools.
In order to create your deeplinks, please visit
Step 3 - Set your retargeting links
Once your subdomain is configured and your developers have provided the deep link destinations, you are ready to create the tracking link. For retargeting campaigns, Kochava uses a specific Reengagement Tracker to ensure that clicks are correctly matched with existing users.
1. Access the Campaign Manager
Log into your Kochava account.
Select the desired Account and App.
Navigate to Engagement > Campaign Manager.
Click + Add a Tracker (or select a specific Segment and click Add a Tracker).
2. Define the Tracker Basics
Tracker Name: Give your tracker a clear name (e.g., Smadex_Retargeting_SummerSale_2024).
Tracker Type: You must select Reengagement. This tells Kochava to look for existing users rather than new installs.
Media Partner: Search for and select Smadex. This ensures the link is pre-configured with the macros Smadex needs to track performance.
3. Configure the Destinations
This is the most critical part of the retargeting setup. Since the user already has the app, you want to send them directly to a specific page:
Destination URL: Enter a fallback URL (e.g., your website or the App Store).
Enter an Install URL
Deep Link: Paste the specific URI destination provided by your developers (e.g., myapp://cart/checkout).
Set the custom parameters to be shared on links.
4. Select Reengagement Events
For a retargeting campaign to be successful, Kochava needs to know which "conversion" it should track.
Event Selection: Choose the specific post-install events you want Smadex to optimize for (e.g., Purchase, Add to Cart, or Level Complete).
Note: Attribution will be awarded to the Smadex click that led to this specific event.
The selected event(s will be the point of conversion for the reengagement campaign. Attribution will be awarded to the click that led to the reengagement event based on attribution configuration. Any LTV (Lifetime Value) will also be awarded to the source that drove the reengagement.
Note: The lookback window for each post re-engagement event may be individually set. For more information on setting an event lookback window, Minimum Time to Reengagement (MTR) settings within Kochava provide the ability to establish specific lookback windows for any post-install event. MTR settings provide the ability to set a window for how long after attribution occurs that a device can then be eligible to be re-attributed for a reengagement campaign. For more information on setting an event lookback window, refer to Kochava’s Post-Install Event Creation and Configuration support documentation.
For device attribution behaviour the advertiser should set attribution behaviour to standard. The Standard setting will not attempt modeled attribution if a Device ID is present on click.
6. Save and Handover
Click Save to generate your URL.
Copy the Click URL and provide it to your Smadex account manager.
For more information, visit Kochava - Create a Reengagement Campaign
Step 4: Testing, Validation & Troubleshooting
Share your links with Smadex, who will perform a test install to confirm everything is in place.
In case the test install is not successful, either the initial integration is not correct, or any step of this guide was not applied correctly. Review all the steps and make sure it’s all in place. Check Links Overview and related links as well.
If issues further persist, contact Smadex and Kochava teams for further assistance.