For the last ten years, I’ve seen the Indian and Southeast Asian. The app ecosystem is blossoming and expanding aggressively, but these two regions are no longer considered developing markets. They are now recognised as emerging markets, with India alone crossing over 25.5 billion downloads last year, while Southeast Asia continues to gain millions of new mobile-first users every year. Although both regions continue to grow significantly, app marketers within them face more challenges than ever.
The primary challenge is not simply reaching the most pages; it is achieving the most balanced results possible.
As reaching and acquiring new users has become simple and easy, accountability is rapidly becoming an increasingly challenging issue for app marketers. This has led to a shift in the demand-side platform (DSP) market. As app marketers use DSPs for execution and media planning, DSPs will continue their ongoing evolution into the best practice core infrastructure for app businesses.
By the end of 2025, approximately 78 percent of total digital ad spending will be through Mobile Platforms in India, with programmatic advertising producing approximately 85.2 percent of all digital advertising revenue. According to Statista, approximately 65-68 percent of total digital banner/social ad-spend will come from a Mobile Device in Southeast Asia by the year 2030, and approximately 81.3 percent of all digital advertisement revenue will be produced from programmatic advertising.
These numbers make one thing clear. Mobile is the primary battleground for consumer attention, and DSPs are now the default way growth teams access that attention at scale. But scale alone does not equal growth. In markets like India and Southeast Asia, it often magnifies inefficiencies when DSP capabilities are not aligned with how app businesses actually create value.
The App Growth Reality No Dashboard Prepares You For
Versus web marketing, app marketing grows differently. An install on your app does not mean that the user has turned into a paying user; you will not know if that happens until after your users have had a chance to use your product and then tell you (typically 1-3 weeks after install). Not knowing when your users will use your product creates greater uncertainty around how you set up and evaluate your Demand Side Platform (DSP).
Research from McKinsey shows that mobile-first emerging market users usually interact with twice as many digital channels before converting compared to mature market users. In contrast, in India and Southeast Asia, discovery occurs simultaneously on social feeds, video sites,
in-app placements, and performance marketing channels.
If your DSP is optimised only to generate installs or to measure conversions based on the data submitted by the app (as opposed to actual results), it creates a false sense of growth for your company. Your company may experience rapid growth without being able to support that growth through downstream metrics.
Where DSPs Truly Fit in the App Growth Stack
At their core, DSPs answer one question extremely well: where and how ads should be delivered at scale. They provide programmatic access to inventory, real-time bidding, and automated optimisation across channels, formats, and geographies. For fragmented, high-velocity markets like India and SEA, this automation is essential.
What DSPs do not independently verify is what happens after the install. They do not confirm whether users retain, transact, or churn. That responsibility belongs to mobile measurement.
In every successful app growth strategy I’ve seen, DSPs and Mobile Measurement Partners operate as a single decision system. DSPs optimise exposure and bids. Measurement confirms whether that exposure translates into real business value. Without this connection, ROI remains directional rather than defensible.
Optimising for What Happens After the Install
One of the most critical DSP capabilities for app growth in India and Southeast Asia is the ability to optimise toward post-install outcomes rather than installs.
For app businesses, success might mean onboarding completion, a first purchase, subscription activation, or repeat usage. DSPs that can ingest these signals, validated through mobile measurement, allow optimisation toward users who demonstrate real intent.
This capability shifts growth away from volume-based acquisition and toward value-based scaling. Over time, it reduces wasted spend on low-quality installs and improves efficiency across volatile markets.
Why Speed Without Validation Can Destroy ROI
Speed matters in app marketing. User behaviour changes quickly, and inefficient campaigns can burn through budgets before issues surface.
DSPs offer real-time optimisation, but speed without verification is risky. Google’s performance benchmarks consistently show that dynamic campaigns, where bids are adjusted during execution, outperform fixed campaigns on conversion efficiency.
Measurement data becomes the feedback loop here. It confirms who converts, who churns, and who creates value. This allows DSPs to redirect spend mid-campaign and protect ROI while campaigns are still live.
The Myth of the Single-Touch Conversion
App users rarely convert in a single interaction. They may see a video ad, engage with a display placement days later, and install through an entirely different channel.
DSPs enable cross-channel delivery, but attribution clarity comes from mobile measurement. While 91 percent of marketers say attribution is critical, only 31 percent express high confidence in their current models.
For DSP-led app growth, understanding how channels assist one another is essential. Attribution that connects these touchpoints into a unified journey helps teams invest in channels that drive long-term value, not just last-click installs.
Why India and SEA Demand Market-Specific DSP Strategies
India and Southeast Asia are far from homogeneous markets. App usage varies widely by city tier, region, language, and device capability.
DSPs enable granular targeting across these dimensions, but targeting alone does not ensure growth. Measurement reveals which segments actually retain and monetise after acquisition.
Statista data shows clear engagement differences between metro and non-metro mobile users in India. DSP strategies that account for these nuances consistently outperform generic targeting approaches.
The Overlooked Power of Incrementality
One of the most overlooked DSP capabilities in app growth is incrementality.
Attributing a conversion to an advertisement because a user clicked on the ad is misleading. Most users will convert on their own through discovery or intent, many times before seeing any type of paid advertisement for that product or service. Most studies performed using a controlled lift methodology on major ad networks have shown that a significant portion of attributed conversions would have taken place without the aid of the ad.
Incrementality testing will allow DSP-driven growth teams to narrow down the true impact that ads are having on consumers and help prevent the overspend of ad dollars on campaigns that
are capturing already existing demand as opposed to creating new user growth. The overall most effective DSP strategy in India and Southeast Asia is to optimise for long-term rather than short-term conversions.
Building for Long-Term Value, Not Short-Term Wins
Long-term optimisation through the measurement of lifetime value, retention and repeat usage is the most successful optimisation avenue according to research performed by McKinsey.
Companies prioritising long-term value will outperform companies who only focus on short-term conversion metrics. The ability for app businesses to confidently scale through the identification of lifetime indicators rather than immediate indicators allows them to invest their ad budget today with the knowledge that it will create revenue tomorrow.
The Future of App Growth Starts With Better DSP Thinking
In India and Southeast Asia, Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) have evolved from media buying tools to a decision-making system that influences how companies grow their apps. However, for DSPs to realize their full potential, the way that apps generate value over time, at the different user touchpoints, and in multiple countries needs to be consistent with the capability of the DSP.
If there is no way to measure growth or market performance, then it creates an endless amount of noise around growth. Automating processes without aligning those processes with desired outcomes creates an enormous amount of waste. Teams that consider their DSPs as a strategic resource (with a focus on accountability, continual learning, and creating long-term value) will lead the way towards app growth in both regions.
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