Practitioner pattern · Thomas Petit (Thomas Petit client that requires 2x immediate return on paid, Thomas Petit marketplace client with lopsided categories, VC-backed startup where Thomas first ran the whole budget)
Start with each ad channel's free tracking; add an MMP once you'll run several
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What they did
Measurement depends on the channel: influencers need little (a link system); Apple Search Ads uses its free attribution API (built into MMPs and tools like RevenueCat); Google Ads works best with Firebase; Meta via its SDK or an MMP. Get an MMP from the start if the app will clearly run multiple channels at scale, so data is unified and new networks (some, like TikTok and formerly Pinterest, require one) plug in without custom work. Always double-check platform-reported results against App Store Connect / Play Console analytics and in-house product analytics (Amplitude, Mixpanel, Firebase).
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · What it Takes to Succeed with Paid User Acquisition — Thomas Petit, App Growth Consultant“In this case, I'd say it's probably not a bad idea to have an MMP, a mobile measurement partner, because if you have it from the start, then your data is unified rather than try a bunch of things and at some point six months later say, "Oh, now we need it," and then really hard to reconcile the data.”
“If you're going to only operate on Google, Apple, influencer, you can do without. Even Facebook, you can do without.”
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