Smart, Seamless, and Personalized: How to Win with Dynamic Creative Optimization Across Mobile and CTV

In today’s competitive app and digital advertising landscape, personalization isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a performance driver. And when it comes to retargeting ads, one strategy rises above the rest: Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO).

Whether you're trying to win back a dormant user or convert a cart abandoner, DCO allows brands to deliver personalized ad experiences that speak directly to user intent, behavior, and context—in real time.

Let’s break down what DCO is, why it works, and how to start optimizing your mobile and CTV campaigns today.

What is Dynamic Creative Optimization—and Why Is It So Effective?

Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) is a display advertising technology that automatically personalizes ad creatives based on real-time data about the user viewing the ad. Unlike static ads, which show the same content to everyone, DCO adjusts creative elements—like images, copy, calls to action, and offers—on the fly.

For example, a food delivery app might dynamically show a pizza ad to a user who searched for pizza last week, while another user sees sushi. Both creatives are generated from a central template, but tailored to individual behavior.

Why does DCO matter?

  • It drives results: A Meta study found that ad personalization can boost short-term sales by up to 7.4x, and long-term sales by up to 2.7x.
  • It matches audience preferences: According to Appsflyer, 81% of Gen Z and 57% of millennials actually prefer ads that are personalized to their interests.
  • It’s operationally efficient: DCO automates creative testing and optimization, saving marketers time while improving campaign performance.
  • It enables real-time responsiveness: DCO responds to changes in location, weather, browsing history, CRM signals, and more—delivering the right message at the right moment.

At its core, DCO helps advertisers speak directly to users—across multiple screens and in real-time—without manual creative versioning.

3 Tips to Leverage DCO for Mobile and CTV Retargeting

Whether you're retargeting app users on their phones or via connected TV, here are three proven ways to unlock the full power of DCO:

1. Segment First, Then Personalize Creatively

Not all users are the same—and your creative shouldn't be either.

Before launching any DCO campaign, start by segmenting your audience based on intent signals and behavior:

  • Cart abandoners vs. product viewers 
  • New installers vs. repeat purchasers 
  • Recent users vs. dormant app users 

From there, use DCO templates that dynamically insert product images, pricing, or reward incentives specific to each segment. On mobile, this might look like a banner ad promoting a user’s previously viewed product with a discount. On CTV, it might take the form of a short video ad showing curated offers based on browsing or purchase history.

Pro tip: Tie messaging to your app’s funnel. A user who’s visited product pages but never checked out needs a different message than a user who’s made 3 purchases but hasn’t returned in 30 days.

2. Sync DCO Creatives Across Mobile and CTV for a Unified Journey

With the rise of second-screen behavior, synchronizing mobile and CTV messaging is crucial. Users often watch TV while browsing their phones—and when your message appears consistently across both, it builds trust and drives action.

DCO makes it possible to:

  • Deliver mobile ads that echo messaging from a CTV campaign (e.g., same promotion, but personalized by device or browsing history)
  • Use QR codes on CTV ads that drive to dynamically personalized mobile landing pages
  • Serve “complete the journey” messages: e.g., CTV reminds the user what they left in their cart, mobile gives them the discount to check out

This kind of cross-screen retargeting reinforces brand recall and encourages conversion through consistent, personalized creative.

3. Let Real-Time Data Drive Continuous Optimization

DCO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it tactic. The magic happens when creative is continuously tested, optimized, and refreshed based on real-world performance.

That means:

  • A/B testing headlines, visuals, and CTAs across different segments
  • Optimizing for context: device, time of day, weather, or geolocation
  • Using predictive analytics to identify high-performing creatives before scaling them

For mobile, this could mean switching CTAs from “Order Now” to “Continue Where You Left Off” for users who paused mid-purchase. On CTV, it could mean swapping in new product categories if user engagement drops on previously shown items.

The more responsive your DCO engine, the more relevant your message—and the higher your ROI.

Real-World Results: How YouAppi Used DCO to Boost ROI for a global eCommerce app

Want proof that DCO works? Just look at what YouAppi accomplished for a global eCommerce app with millions of products and buyers.

The Challenge:

The app needed to drive more purchases from existing customers and reactivate high-value users who had browsed or carted but not converted. Their goals were ambitious:

  • Increase purchases from engaged segments
  • Retarget dormant users at scale
  • Hit an aggressive 4000% ROI within 30 days

The Strategy:

YouAppi used 100% feed-based dynamic creatives, matching product imagery, pricing, and CTAs directly to each user’s previous activity. Segments included:

  • Cart abandoners
  • Product searchers who didn’t buy
  • Recent buyers who hadn’t returned
  • Dormant high-LTV users

Creative templates were dynamically populated in real time, showing relevant products based on user behavior, available inventory, and pricing updates. These were delivered across both mobile and video ad formats, using dynamic video and static product feeds.

The Results:

  • 4000% ROI within 3 weeks
  • Increased purchases from both new and returning customers
  • Seamless campaign delivery across mobile and CTV with full creative automation

By leveraging DCO, YouAppi helped scale its campaign without scaling its workload—maximizing relevance and results through automation.

Read the full case study here

Ready to Drive Performance with DCO?

If you’re looking to make your mobile and CTV retargeting smarter, faster, and more effective, Dynamic Creative Optimization is your secret weapon. And YouAppi is here to help you make the most of it.

With years of experience running high-performing, personalized campaigns for leading brands, we combine DCO technology with strategic segmentation and full creative support.

Let’s talk about how to put DCO to work for your brand.