Inside the D.A.T.A Roundtable series by Apptrove x Afaqs: Smarter Campaigns, Sharper Insights

On July 24, 2025, something special happened at the Media Quest Summit in Mumbai. It wasn’t just another industry event; it was a focused, honest conversation about how to make mobile advertising truly work.

Apptrove teamed up with afaqs! to host a Closedore roundtable as part of our special series called D.A.T.A. (which stands for Data Attribution & Targeting for Apps). The goal of D.A.T.A. is simple: bring together smart people—marketers, agency leaders, and growth experts—to talk straight about the real struggles and big opportunities in today’s digital world.

This particular session was titled: “Beyond Impressions: Building Measurable, Transparent Mobile Campaigns.”

The Panel: Apptrove’s Experts on the Ground

We had a fantastic group from the Apptrove team ready to share their insights, which are born from working with countless clients every day:

• Udit Verma, Co-Founder & CMO
• Shloka Shetty, Sales Manager
• Anchal Siwag, Associate Director – Customer Success

Together, they didn’t just talk theory. They shared real, practical examples of how mobile marketers can stop focusing on “nice-to-have” numbers like impressions and installs and start focusing on the data that truly helps them make smart, confident business decisions. Many attendees appreciated how the panel kept the discussion grounded in reality—highlighting both challenges and solutions that every marketer could relate to.

Why Measurement is No Longer Optional

It’s easy to get lost in the crowded digital space, where every brand is chasing the next big trend. But the biggest takeaway from our roundtable was this: we need to stop chasing vanity metrics—numbers that look good but don’t tell the whole story. And this isn’t just a problem for beginners; even large, well-established brands struggle with it.

The core of the discussion was why having clear attribution, clean data, and transparency matters more now than ever before.

Udit Verma kicked off the conversation by explaining that setting up a campaign’s postback correctly can be a total game-changer. He stressed that when you have clear attribution—meaning you know exactly where a customer came from—your decisions get immediately smarter. You’re not guessing where to put your budget or which audience to target next. Clear data leads to smarter budget allocation and more effective retargeting strategies.

Next, Anchal Siwag raised the perspective of marketers who are struggling everyday. She talked about the genuine frustrations people face, like having data scattered everywhere or not getting real-time performance reports from their partners. Anchal shared how Apptrove directly tackles these problems by creating simple, unified workflows and giving marketers clear, immediate visibility into all their campaigns. Her examples reminded everyone how critical it is to have tools that don’t just collect data, but actually make sense of it.

Finally, Shloka Shetty offered a fresh viewpoint from the commercial side. She shared stories of how different brands, across multiple industries, are leveraging Apptrove to manage their entire user funnel. This full-funnel management allows them to retarget customers much more effectively, leading to a measurable, reliable boost in their Return on Investment (ROI).

Real Engagement, No Guesswork

What truly made this event a success was the level of genuine interaction. It wasn’t a stiff presentation; it was an open forum. Attendees from major brands, creative agencies, and media teams didn’t hold back. They shared their own experiences, the challenges they face (like delayed postbacks or managing complex campaigns across different geographies), and asked tough questions.

The room found common ground on what the industry desperately needs: more transparency from partners, better tools that simplify data, and less reliance on guesswork. Several participants also pointed out how important it is to have teams that understand both marketing and technology—because today, you can’t succeed with just one of those skill sets.

Looking Ahead

When we finished the roundtable, it was clear that going forward, those brands who will succeed in the mobile marketing sector will be organizations working together towards a common vision through open, clear communication and collaboration. Technology is only part of the solution to mobile marketing challenges; it is when all marketers, platforms, and partners come together to provide insight into what is or isn’t working and what needs to change that progress will be made. Sessions like this one allow all participants to improve their performance.

There was also a great deal of interest in the opportunity to use smarter automation. Numerous roundtable attendees agreed that while technology has improved over the years, there are still many teams that spend too much time manually generating campaign reports, identifying errors, and analysing where their campaigns went off course. This prompted an extremely productive discussion on how the combination of automation and transparent data will enable all marketers to be freed to concentrate their attention on developing creative strategies and building their business for longer-term success rather than constantly fighting the daily fires of campaign management.

The energy in the room reminded us all that the mobile marketing sector is on the brink of an evolution toward a better future, with increased honesty, stronger collaboration and more impactful results. Apptrove is committed to leading the charge in this evolution.

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