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EBOOK

Adeepdive

intodeeplinks

Theall-in-onehandbookfor

mobileappmarketers,developers,andproductmanagers

ADUST

Contents

Introduction 3

Whatisdeeplinking? 4

Typesofdeeplinks 5

Benefits:Superchargingappperformancewithdeeplinks 6

Keybenefitsofdeeplinking 7

CommonchallengesandhowTrueLinksolvesthem 8

TheTrueLinkadvantageinanutshell 11

Deeplinkingusecasesandrealworldapplications 12

Shopping 12

Gaming 13

Finance 14

Web-to-app:SpotlightonSmartBannersandSmartScripts15

SettingupdeeplinkswithAdjust16

SwitchyourdeeplinkingfromFirebasetoAdjustinthreesimplesteps18

Conclusion19

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

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INTRODUCTION

Thepowerofdeeplinking

Mobileadvertisersfaceasignificantchallengeintoday'sdigitalenvironment:guidingusersefficientlyfromadsandexternalsourcestospecificin-appcontent.Asuserattentionspansdiminishandcompetitionintensifies,theneedforstreamlined,frictionlessexperienceshasbecomecritical.Deeplinkingaddressesthesechallengeshead-on,offeringasolutionthatbenefitsappsandusersalike.Inasingleclick,ausercaninstallanapp—orarriveatrelevantin-appcontent—straightfromanadorexternalenvironment.

Deeplinkingconnectsuserstothecontenttheywant,

whetherit’saproductpage,aspecialoffer,orapersonalized

experience.Thisreducesfriction,acceleratesconversions,

andsupportslong-termretention.Byeliminatingtheneedforuserstonavigatethroughmultiplesteps,youshouldbeable

torelyondeeplinkstoprovideimprovedexperiencesandhighconversionrates.

Reliableandso-good-you-don’t-even-notice-itdeeplinking

isn’tjustaboutkeepingup—it’saboutstayingahead.Traditionalnavigationmethodsandpoorlyimplementeddeeplinks

oftenleadtofrustrationandabandonment,resultinginlost

opportunitiesforengagementandconversion.Asweexploretheworldofdeeplinkinginthisebook,we'lluncoverhow

ittransformsuserjourneys,drivesappengagement,andcontributestoappsuccessacrossverticalsandindustries.

Fromunderstandingthetechnicalaspectstoexploring

usecasesandbestpractices,thisebookservesasyour

comprehensiveguidetoharnessingthepowerofdeeplinkinginyourmobilemarketingstrategy.Whetheryou’reamobile

appmarketer,developer,orproductmanager,weensureyougetitright.

THISEBOOKEQUIPSYOUTOCONFIDENTLY:

?Providefrictionlessdeeplinksand

userexperiencesforallplatformsandenvironments.

?Providepersonalizedandrecognizablelinkingjourneys.

?Increasein-appengagementandconversions.

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

Whatisdeeplinking?

Deeplinkscanbethoughtofasthemobileequivalent

ofURLsforwebsites.JustasaURLcantakeyoutoa

specificwebpage,adeeplinkcantakeyoutoaspecific

screenorstatewithinanapp.Differentlinkingstandardsareleveragedtoachievethis,includingApple’suniversallinks,AndroidAppLinks,andURIschemes.Regardlessofthestandard,thecapabilityiscrucialincreatingcohesiveandconsistentexperiencesacrossbrowsers,devicetypes,andoperatingsystems.

Mobileappdeeplinkingisamethodoflinkingusedto

launchandopenaspecificpageorlocationwithinamobile

app,deployedafterauserclicksalinkorad.Thistechnologybridgesthegapbetweendifferentmobileenvironments

andexperiences,allowingforseamlesstransitionsfrom

web-to-app,email-to-app,betweendifferentapps,andmore.

01

STEP1:OPENINGTHEAPP

Thisisdoneatthemomentoftheclick,

viaalinkingstandardlikeAppleuniversallinks,AndroidAppLinks,orURIschemes.

02

STEP2:ROUTINGTHEUSER

Deeplinking,deferreddeeplinking,contextualdeeplinking.

4

5

standardsforAndroidandAppledevices.

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

TYPESOFDEEPLINKS

Therearemultipletypesofdeeplinks,eachservingdifferentpurposesanduserflows:

1

Directdeeplinks:Themoststraightforwardtypeofdeeplinks.Theseworkwhenauseralreadyhastheappinstalledontheirdevice.When

clicked,adirectdeeplinkwillopentheappandnavigatetothespecificcontentorpagewithintheapp.

Deferreddeeplinks:Theselinksaredesignedtohandlesituationswheretheuserdoesn'thavetheappinstalled.Whenauserclicksadeferred

deeplink,theyarefirstdirectedtotheappstoretodownloadtheapp.Oncetheappisinstalledandopened,theuseristhentakentothe

specificcontentthatwaslinkedorintotheonboardingflow.

3

Contextualdeeplinks:Thesearemoreadvanceddeeplinksthatnot

onlydirectuserstospecificin-appcontentbutalsopassalongcontextualinformation.Thiscouldincludedetailsaboutthesourceofthelink,user

attributes,orotherrelevantdatathatcanbeusedtopersonalizetheuser'sexperiencewithintheapp.

Othertypesandterms:Anadditionaldeeplinkingconceptisthe

fallback,alinkdesignedfordesktopusers.Insteadofdirectingthemtotheappstore,itsendsthemtoachosendestinationlikeyourwebsite.Aredirectworksdifferently,targetingmobileusersbyoverridingdefaultappstorepathsandfallbacksettingstocreateasmooth,tailored

experience.YoumayhavealsoheardthetermsAndroidAppLinks

andiOSuniversallinks,whichareexamplesofplatformspecificlinking

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

Benefits:Superchargingappperformancewithdeeplinks

Smootherjourneysdrasticallyimproveconversionlikelihood,anddeeplinksareessentialtosmoothjourneys.Using

sophisticateddeeplinkinginyourmobileappcampaigns

unlockskeyadvantagesthatdriveuserengagement,boost

acquisition,andimproveROI.Deeplinkingmakesmoving

throughanykindofdirect-to-appjourneymucheasierfor

users,whetherit’sahighvolumeuseracquisitioncampaign,aretargeting/reattributioninitiative,orsomethingelse.

Let’ssayyou’reashoppingappandyouwanttoruna

campaignpromotingaseasonalsale.Inyourcampaign,youfeaturespecificsaleitemsandpreviewtherelevantstockincreatives(popular-orsegment-relevantitemsfornewusersorexactitemspreviouslyviewedforretargeting).Iftheuseralreadyhastheappinstalledwhentheyclickthelink,they’llbedirectedtotheproductstraightaway.Iftheappisnot

installed,they’llberoutedviaadeferredlink,wheretheycandownloadand,followinginstall,bedirectedtotheircontent.Strategicandwellimplementeddeeplinkingmeansevery

journeyissmooth,withcustomersseamlesslyguidedtospecificlocationssotheycanmakepurchases.

Example:

CleverTapfound

thatcomparedtousersfromstandardlinks,thoseattributedtodeeplinks(fromalargerangeofownedmediatouchpoints)resultedin:

81%

higheractivationrates

2.5x

higherretentionrates

2x

thethenumberofactivedays

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Keybenefitsofdeeplinking

Mobileappdeeplinkingmakesguidingusersthroughanykindofjourneybetweenmobilewebandappsmucheasier,includingomni-channelandmulti-platformexperiences.

?Streamlineduserexperienceandboostedengagement:Deeplinking

removesbarrierslikeexcessivenavigation,signposting,andconfusinguserpaths.Whenneworexistingusersclickalink,they’retakendirectlytotherelevantcontentwithinyourapp,ensuringaninstantandeffortlessjourney.

?Keepsusersinthefunnelandimprovesretention:Reducingfriction

meansusersaremorelikelytocompletekeyactions.Byfunnellingusersto

personalizedandoptimizedin-apppages,youcreateaclearconversionpath.

?Boosteduseracquisition:Deferreddeeplinksareapowerfuldriverofnewappusers.Theyguidecustomerswhodon’tyethaveyourappinstalled

directlytotheappstorelandingpage,reducingthestepstoacquisition.

?Enhanceddataforcampaignoptimization:Byappendingcustom

parameterstoyourlinks,youcangaininsightsintoreferralsources,userbehavior,andcampaignperformance.

?Superiorconversionrates:Byeliminatingunnecessarystepsanddeliveringpersonalized,directexperiences,deeplinkssignificantlyimpactyour

app’sROI.

?Improvedtrustandbrandreputation:Personalizetheappjourneywithrecognizabledomainsandshortlinks,buildingloyalty,trust,

andengagement.

DEEPLINKINGIMPROVESPERFORMANCE

ATEVERYFUNNELSTAGE

Re-engagementflowsthat

Ongoingchannelingofhigh-

qualityusersbacktoyour

apptoboostconversions,

retention,andlifetimevalue.

Useracquisitioncampaigns

thatdriveappinstallsbyeasily

guidinguserstoyourapp.

captureexistinguserattentionwithpersonalizedmessaging

andcreatives.

Bottomoffunnel

Middle

offunnel

Topoffunnel

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

8

Commonchallengeshow

TrueLinksolvesthem

Notwouserjourneysarethesame,butthehurdlesapp

marketersanddevelopersfacewithdeeplinksalmostalwaysare.Fromcreatingmultiplelinksacrossplatforms,devices,

andstandards,todealingwithroutingerrorsandsacrificingbrandreputationwithlong,confusinglookinglinksthat

oftenbreak,marketersneedawaytostreamlinetheprocessfromA-Z.

Frictionlessdeeplinksanduserjourneysaren’tjustanice-to-have,they’reessential.Let’sexplorethecommonchallengesfacedwhenimplementingandmeasuringperformancefromdeeplinks,andhowTrueLinksolvesthem,empoweringyoutodeliveradeeplinkingexperiencethatworksandconverts.

1Limitedcoverage:Linkinginfrastructureshave

historicallybeenlimitedinreachandcoverage,whichisparticularlycriticalinanecosystemthatisbecomingmorefragmented.WithTrueLink,youcanwork

acrossallkeyenvironments,criticalchannels,devices,platforms,andlinkingstandards,forfullcoverage.

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

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Fullcoveragedeeplinkingforallkeyenvironments,channels,devices,platforms,andlinkingstandards.

Influencer

Affiliates&Partnerships

OrgSearch&SEO

CTV

Referral&sharing

PaidAdPush

EmailSocial

Channels

Browsers

Universallinks

AndroidAppLinks

Social

Linkingstandards

Linking

Environments

URISchemes

Infrastructure

FacebookAppLinks

Messaging

ChromeIntents

Email

Devices&

OS

AndroidiOSWebMobileDesktopConsoleCTV

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

2

Measurement:Itcanfeellikealotofeffortgoesinto

deeplinking,butthatperformancedataispatchy.

AsAdjustisfirstandforemostanMMP,enabling

measurementandattributionofdeeplinksisacriticalcomponentofoursolution,poweredviastandardandcustomparameters.It’seasytotrackperformance

viaourunifiedreportingandcampaignanalysis,

meaningyoucanmeasure,attribute,andreporton

theperformanceofdeeplinkingcampaigns—includinginteroperabilitywithwebanalytics.

Management:Runningahighnumberofcampaigns

acrossalargenumberofenvironmentsmakes

managinglinksatscalecomplicated.TrueLinkofferstheabilitytocreate,edit,anddeletelinks,inspect,test,anddebug,easilysearchandfilter,andpromoteconsistencyandstandardizationforeasyinsightgathering.

5

Complexcreation:WithTrueLink,yougetall-purposelinksthatworkseamlesslyforanyplatformor

environment,minimizingtheneedtoeditorcreate

variations.And,youcantakethisonestepfurtherby

3

usingAPIstodynamicallygeneratelinksoneatatime,oratscalethroughbulklinkgeneration.

Aesthetics:Messy,longlinksfilledwithunclearstringsofinformationlookspammyanddonotmakeforatrust-buildinguserexperience.TrueLinkallowscustomizationandpersonalizationofthelook,feel,length,and

brandingoflinksforalljourneys,promotingbrandreputationwitheveryclick.

Routing:Userjourneyscangetmessyanddifficult

tocontroldependingontheenvironment.Asocial

media-to-appjourneyoniOS,forexample,canbreakauniversallinktokeepyouwithintheirenvironment’swebbrowser.TrueLinkallowsforconfiguration,control,andcustomizationofthepathwaysandjourneysuserswillgothrough.Intheexamplehere,therearemultipleroutingoptionsthatcanbechosen,suchaslanding

pages,smartbanners,AppClips,andmore.

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Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

TheTrueLinkadvantageinanutshell

Leavebrokenlinksandcomplicatedlink

creationbehind.TrueLinksimplifiesthe

creationofneat,manageable,andflawless

linksbypoweringcross-platform,all-purposelinks.Thiseliminatespainpointsandensuresuserslandontherightpage,everytime.Theabilitytoeasilyandefficientlycreateasinglelinkforallchannelsandenvironmentssavestime,makeserrorsathingofthepast,and

boostsallperformancemetrics.

Nofuss-flexibility:Reachmore

usersinlesstimewithoneeasily

editablelinkthatworksacrossall

platformsandenvironments.Benefitfromarangeofformatsbyusing

brandedshortdeeplinkstopowerweb-to-appscripts,smartbanners,andQRcodes—ensuringperfect

linksforperfectjourneys.

Brandedandbeautiful:Amplify

C

yourbrandandkeepitfront-and-

centerwithrecognizable,dynamic

linksthatimprovetheuserjourney,

increaseCTR,andsecurefull-impactUAandretention.

Increasedin-appengagement:

Betterlinkingexperiencesdrive

strongerengagementandmore

conversions.Personalizeyourlinkswithsegmentationandlocalizationforfrictionlessexperiencesthat

increaseengagement,trust,andcampaignperformance.

GetstartedwithTrueLink

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Deeplinkingusecasesandrealworldapplications

Deeplinkingisn’tjustatechnicaltool,it’sastrategicpowerhousethattransformsuserjourneysanddrivesmeasurableresults.

Inthissection,we’llexploreusecasesfor

threecoremobileverticals—shopping,

gaming,andfinance—thatdemonstratethe

tangible,highlevelbenefitsofdeeplinking.Thesescenarioshighlighthowdeeplinking

simplifiescomplexprocesses,savestime,andensuresyourusersgetexactlywherethey

needtogo,effortlessly.

SHOPPING

Deeplinksaremostcommonlyusedinshop-pingande-commerceflowsbecauseoftheirgame-changingimpactonconversionrates.Someofthekeyusecasesinclude:

?Personalizedproductads:Driveusers

directlytoaproductpagefromanad.

Forexample,ifauserclicksonanadforaspecificpairofshoes,adeeplinkcantakethemstraighttothatiteminyourapp.

?Promotionsanddiscounts:Send

notificationswithdeeplinksthatdirectuserstoin-appflashsalesorlimited-timeoffers.

?Cartrecovery:Usedeeplinksinabandonedcartemails,pushnotifications,oradsto

bringusersbacktotheirexactcart.

?Socialmediacampaigns:Directusersfrominfluencerpostsorbrandprofilestorelevantin-appcategoriesorfeatureditems.

SCENARIO

Afashionandhomedecorbrandneeds

toconvertitsentireproductcatalogintobranded,shortdeeplinks.Duetothe

catalog'svastsize,thiswouldtraditionallybeanincrediblytedioustask.

SOLUTION

WiththeTrueLinkDeepLinkAPI,thelinkgenerationprocessisautomatedforeveryitemintheircatalog.ThisturnsthousandsofSKUsintocustomized,brandeddeep

linksreadyforpromotion.

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

Adeepdive

GAMING

Althoughlesscommoninthegamingspace,deeplinksarealsoincrediblyimpactful

inattractingnewandexistingusersto

mobilegamesbycreatingtailored,hyper-personalizedpathways.

?Level-specificcampaigns:Sendplayersdirectlytoaspecificgameleveloreventbasedontheirprogress.Forexample,re-engagelapsedusersbylinkingthemtoaleveltheyleftunfinished.

?Rewardsandincentives:Driveusers

toclaimrewards,bonuses,orin-gamecurrencyviadeeplinksinemails,ads,orpushnotifications.

?Multiplayerinvites:Enableplayerstosendfriendsaninvitelinkthatopenstheappandtakesthemdirectlytoamultiplayerlobby

orgamesession.

?In-apppurchases:Streamlinepurchasesbylinkingusersdirectlytopremiumitemsorbundles,reducingclicksandimprovingconversionrates.

into

deep

links

SCENARIO

Amobilegamingcompanywantstoboostplayerengagementbypromotingin-gameevents,specificlevels,andexclusiveitembundles.Withagrowingplayerbaseand

hundredsofpromotionalopportunities,

manuallycreatingpersonalizeddeeplinksfordifferentsegmentsandplatformsis

time-consumingandpronetoerror.

SOLUTION

WithTrueLink,thestudiocanautomate

thegenerationofbranded,customized

deeplinksforeveryevent,level,andin-

gameitemandmatchthesetotherelevantcampaignsandtargetaudiences.For

example,adeeplinkcouldtakeplayers

directlytoanexclusiveholidayeventora

limited-timeofferonpower-ups,increasingengagementandrevenuewhilesaving

countlesshoursofmanualeffort.

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Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

FINANCE

Deeplinkingprovidesfinanceappswith

secureandefficientwaystoenhanceuserexperienceandstreamlineprocesses.

?Accountmanagement:Directusersto

specificsectionsoftheapp,suchastheir

accountbalance,recenttransactions,orbillpaymentpages.

?Investmentcampaigns:Linkusers

directlytospecificinvestmentproductsoreducationalcontentwithintheapp.

?Loanapplications:Deeplinkusersto

theapplicationprocessforspecificloanproducts,savingthemfromnavigating.

?Personalizedoffers:Deliverpush

notificationsoremailswithdeeplinksthatleadtotailoredoffers.

?Referralprograms:Letuserssharedeeplinkswithfriends,takingthemdirectlytoasignuppageorrewardsection.

SCENARIO

Afteruserspurchaseapolicyondesktop

web,aninsurancebrandwantsusersto

transitionseamlesslytotheirmobileapp

foronboardingandpolicymanagement.

Traditionally,transitioningbetweendevicesmightrequireuserstomanuallyre-enter

information,leadingtofrustrationordrop-offs.

SOLUTION

WithTrueLink,theinsurancecompany

sendsanSMSwithadeeplinktotheuser’smobiledevice.Whentheusertapsthe

link,theyareautomaticallydirectedtothemobileapp,wheretheirpolicyisretrieved,andtheycancontinuetheonboarding

processwithpreviouslyentereddetailsattheready.

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Whilemobileappsdrivethemajority

ofmobilesales,usersoftenrelyonweb

browsersduringtheresearchphaseoftheir

journey.Infact,webisbecomingakeypartoftheappuserjourneyandmarketingfunnel,

withmarketersusingmobileweblanding

pagestodirecttraffictoapps,leveragingthebroadreachandcost-effectivenessofweb

campaigns.Webaudiencesareoftenhigh-intent,engaged,andhighperformingwhentransitionedtomobile.

Tomaximizeconversions,appmarketers

needtoconvenientlyconnecttheweb

experiencetothemobileapp,measure

theflowsaccurately,andreliablyattributesources.Thisiswheresmartbannersand

Web-to-app:SpotlightonSmartBannersandSmartScripts

SMARTBANNERS

Smartbannersaredynamiccall-to-action(CTA)bannersthatappearasusers

browseyourmobilewebsite,prompting

themtodownloadyourappforabetter

experience.Thistoolenablesbranded,

customizable,andvisualweb-to-app

journeysthatincreasethelikelihoodof

in-appconversion.WithAdjustyoucan

customizethetitle,description,button

text,colors,icon,fonts,fontsizes,andevenaddacustomimage.

web-to-appscriptsmakeallthedifference.

SMARTSCRIPTS

AtAdjust,wecallourweb-to-appscriptssmartscripts.Thesescriptsactivatewhenauserclicksa“Downloadnow”button

orsimilaronyourmobilewebsite.Theycapturekeyuserparameters,enablingpreciseattributionandeffectivedeep

linkingasuserstransitionfromwebto

app—aprocessknownasthemWeb-to-mAppflow.

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

SettingupdeeplinkswithAdjust

FOLLOWTHESESTEPSTOLAUNCHYOURCAMPAIGN:

ASTEP-BY-STEPGUIDEFORSUCCESS

1

Defineyourobjectives:Clearlyoutlinethegoalsofyour

AccessCampaignLabandopennavigatetoCustomLinks.

Createanewlinkbyclickingon+Newlink.

Selectyourapp(s).

Addanametoyourtop-levelchannel,campaign,adgroup,andcreativeparameters.

Copyandpastethegeneratedlinkintoyourcampaign.

TracktheresultsintheAdjustdashboard.

campaign—whetherit’sdrivingappinstalls,boostingin-apppurchases,orre-engaginglapsedusers.

2

3

Understandyouraudience:Segmentyouraudience(youcanuseAdjust

Audiences

forthis!)basedonbehavior,

preferences,anddemographics.

4

Maptheuserjourney:Identifywhereyourusersarecomingfrom(web,socialmedia,email,etc.)andwhereyouwant

5

totaketheminyourapp.Thiswillhelpensurethejourneyfeelsseamless.

6

Testthelinks:Beforelaunch,testthedeeplinksacross

platformsanddevicestoensuresmoothfunctionalityandaccuraterouting.

WithAdjust’sEngageandTrueLink,settingupcustomizableandfrictionlessdeeplinksissimpleandeffective.TrueLink

supportsallplatforms,environments,andformats,forsmoothweb-to-apptransitionsandpreciseattribution.

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

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Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

CreatingadeeplinkwithAdjust

17

Switchyourdeeplinkingfrom

FirebasetoAdjustinthreesimplesteps

GooglehasdeprecatedFirebaseDynamicLinks(FBDL)andplanstoshuttheservicedowncompletelyonAugust25,2025.

Astheclockticksdown,thepriorityfor

marketersisclear:ensureuninterrupted

functionality,maintainstrategiccontinuity,andsupportusergrowthwithoutdisruption.MigratingfromFirebaseDynamicLinksto

Adjust’sTrueLinkdoesexactlythat.

“Adjusthasbeenamazing-helpingus

ADJUST’STHREE-STEPCLIENTMIGRATIONPROCESS

throughQA,educatingourengineers

whoaren’tnecessarilymarketingexperts,teachingthemwhatthedifferent

1.Accountsetup

We’llprovideone-on-

oneonboardingandsetupyouraccount.

2.Datamigration

We’llmigrateyourhistoricaldataviaatemplatedCSV.

nuancesare...withoutAdjust’ssupport,itwouldhavebeennearlyimpossibletogetthingsofftheground.”

Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

ArthurJun

HeadofPerformanceMarketing&Media

duolingo

We’vedesignedourmigrationprocesstobeasfrictionlessasourdeeplinkingsolution

3.Campaignconfiguration

We’llhelpyouretainyourcampaignandpartner

configurations.

soyoucantransitionwithconfidenceandwithoutdisruption.

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Adeepdiveintodeeplinks

CONCLUSION

Asmoothpathtohighqualityuserengagement

Deeplinkingismorethanatechnicalfeature—it’sa

transformativetoolthatenhancesuserexperiences,drivesengagement,andpowersappgrowth.Byremovingfriction,deeplinksguideuserseffortlesslythroughtheirjourney,

whetherthey’rediscoveringyourappforthefirsttime,

re-engagingwithpersonal