Agency attribution and credit for the campaigns you run

What is agency attribution?

Agency attribution is the MMP recording which agency ran the campaign that drove an install, alongside the ad network, so the agency's results can be reported and paid for.

Agency credit: an install or event counted against your agency in the client's MMP. Without it, your work shows up only as the ad network's traffic, and nobody can tell it apart from campaigns the client or another agency ran.

The common thread across vendors: credit follows the link or tracker, and the link has to come from your agency's own access. A campaign the client builds for you is usually the client's.

How each MMP credits agency campaigns

AppsFlyer: af_prt

• The agency ID is the af_prt parameter, set to the agency name in lower case. With af_prt on the attribution link, installs can be attributed to the agency; without it they go straight to the ad network.
• Agencies must use attribution links from their own agency account.
• For non-SRN integrations, the ad network must already list your agency as authorised.
• Meta ads and X Ads: campaign names must start with your agency account name followed by an underscore, or your agency cannot see them. The same naming rule applies to SKAdNetwork and Android Sandbox agency campaigns.
• Transparency: since 14 Aug 2023 the transparency toggle is permanently on for new agencies, and since 12 Mar 2025 all agencies are transparent: the media source shows the real ad network, and data can still be grouped by agency.

Branch: automatic agency ID

• Branch states that all agency-created links and Journeys automatically have an agency ID attached.
• The client's Only show agency-tagged data filter is on by default, so you see the traffic your links drove.
• A separate agency transparency setting is not documented.

Kochava: agency trackers

• Activity on an agency's Controlled trackers is tagged as belonging to the agency.
• Agency postbacks send only traffic attributed to that agency.
• Self-attributing networks: append the tracker ID to the campaign name.

Singular: agency ID on links

• Tracking links built in the Agency Account contain an agency ID, and activity is reported under an Agency dimension.
• Agencies must give mutual advertisers transparency on the media sources they use.
• Self-attributing networks use campaign-name attribution for agencies.

Linkrunner: campaigns from the agency workspace

• Campaigns an agency creates from its own workspace are attributed to the agency, and the client sees the agency on them.
• A link the client creates on the agency's behalf is not credited to the agency.

Adjust, Airbridge and Tenjin

• Adjust: no agency attribution field or transparency setting is documented. Agencies typically get link-level or keyword-scoped access to the campaigns they run.
• Airbridge: agency users see attribution data from tracking links created within their agency, and can create links at any access level.
• Tenjin: agency attribution is not documented.

Why self-attributing networks need extra care

Meta, Google and similar networks report their own installs to the MMP rather than sending clicks through a tracking link. Self-attributing network: an ad network that claims installs itself and shares them with the MMP. With no link to carry an agency tag, vendors fall back on naming rules:

• AppsFlyer: agency account name plus an underscore at the start of the campaign name.
• Kochava: tracker ID appended to the campaign name.
• Singular: campaign-name attribution for agencies.

Agree the naming convention with the client before the first campaign goes live. Renaming later rarely fixes past data. For a fuller explanation of why these networks report differently, see this chapter on self-attributing networks.

A pre-launch credit check

1. Build every link or tracker from your own agency access.
2. Name Meta, X and other self-attributing campaigns using the vendor's rule.
3. Ask the client to confirm your agency is authorised with each ad network where the vendor requires it.
4. Run a test install and confirm it appears under your agency, not just the ad network.
5. Check the client's view shows your agency on the campaign.
6. Write the convention into your client access checklist so new team members follow it.

What happens when the engagement ends

• AppsFlyer: when the client switches off agency permissions, new installs and events stop being attributed to the agency, postbacks to its media sources stop, and its historical data becomes non-transparent.
• Kochava: turning the agency's Active toggle off stops new tracker creation but keeps existing trackers.
• Airbridge: removing an agency revokes access and expires its API token; collected data stays.

Export your results before access ends if you need them for case studies or invoices.

To compare credit rules side by side with sources, use the agency MMP comparison or the AppsFlyer agency profile.

Sources

• AppsFlyer: About agency accounts
• AppsFlyer: Agency data is now transparent
• Branch: Introducing agency access
• Kochava: Kochava for agencies
• Singular: Onboarding guide for agency partners
• Linkrunner: Create an agency campaign link