AirBridge → Mixpanel Instrumentation Mapping

Interactive — §3

Click any link parameter to see where it lands

This is a real example AirBridge link. Every parameter maps to something in Mixpanel — or explicitly doesn't. Click one to see the rule.

§3b — new in v1.2, "read carefully"

Touch semantics: profile vs. super props

The rule that's easy to get backwards: profile fields never change after first touch, but the mx_* super props update on every new tagged open — and organic opens don't clear them. Step through three sessions for the same user to see it happen.

§1

The chain — what happens on a click

The app owns everything inside the device. The server-side join is MMRP's — but it only works if the app sets the join keys, which is why this is a developer spec.

§2 — read this first, most bugs live here

Identity & timing model

Four rules, in this order. Breaking the order causes silent attribution loss — no error, just a missing join.

1. Consent gate is absolute (DPDP). No SDK initializes, no token/cookie/storage is written, and no event fires before affirmative consent. Deny-by-default.

2. Mixpanel initializes before any attribution event. If an attribution event fires before Mixpanel has a distinct_id, the event is lost and never attributed. Order: consent → Mixpanel init → AirBridge init → read link → set props.

3. Read the deferred deep link on first launch. For a new install, the affiliate code arrives via AirBridge's deferred deep-link callback — not the immediate handler. Handling only immediate deep links makes every affiliate install look organic, and no affiliate gets paid. Handle both.

4. acquisition_source is first-touch immutable. Write it with $set_once — never overwrite. Null resolves to unknown. marketing_affiliate_id and airbridge_id are set on first attributed touch and used as deterministic join keys — no fingerprinting.

§4

Step-by-step (app side)

Illustrative pseudo-code — use the real AirBridge/Mixpanel SDK method names per platform. The order and the property names are what matter.

// 1. Consent gate — DPDP deny-by-default. Nothing below runs until true.
if (!userHasConsented()) return;

// 2. Mixpanel FIRST — distinct_id must exist before any attribution event.
mixpanel.init(MIXPANEL_TOKEN);            // token per environment
mixpanel.identify(stableDistinctId());

// 3. AirBridge SDK.
airbridge.init(AIRBRIDGE_APP_TOKEN);      // token per environment — never staging token in prod build

// 4. Deferred deep link (NEW installs) + immediate (existing installs).
airbridge.onDeferredDeeplink(params -> applyAttribution(params));
airbridge.onDeeplink(params -> applyAttribution(params));

function applyAttribution(params) {
    // 5a. PROFILE — first-touch, immutable (never overwrite).
    mixpanel.people.setOnce({ acquisition_source: rollup(params.channel) });  // see §3 Pin #0 — raw channel until rollup ships
    mixpanel.people.set({ airbridge_id: airbridge.getAirbridgeId() });

    // affiliate links only — code carried in `campaign`, matches deep-link path
    if (isAffiliate(params)) {
        mixpanel.people.set({ marketing_affiliate_id: params.campaign });     // first attributed touch
    }

    // 5b. MARKETING CONTEXT — latest-touch super props (§3b). OVERWRITE on every
    // attributed open; ride automatically on all subsequent events.
    mixpanel.register({
        acquisition_source: rollup(params.channel),
        mx_channel:   params.channel,
        mx_phase:     splitCampaign(params.campaign).phase,      // marketing links: phase__episode
        mx_episode:   splitCampaign(params.campaign).episode,
        mx_recipe:    splitCreative(params.ad_creative).recipe,
        mx_asset:     splitCreative(params.ad_creative).asset,
        mx_placement: params.content,
        mx_funding:   params.sub_param_funding,                  // organic | sponsorship_funded
        mx_ad_platform: params.sub_param_ad_platform,            // paid only; omit when absent/none
        mx_persona:   params.sub_param_persona,
        mx_layer:     params.sub_param_layer,
        mx_team:      params.sub_param_team,
        mx_cta:       params.sub_param_cta,
        ...(isAffiliate(params) && { marketing_affiliate_id: params.campaign, mx_aff: params.campaign })
    });  // omit any absent param entirely — no empty strings
}

// 6. Emit funnel events with join props attached (super props ride automatically).
mixpanel.track("signup_complete", { new_otp_unique_account: <bool> });         // NOT account_created
mixpanel.track("live_watch_anchor", { episode_id, episode_number, watch_duration });

§5

Server-side join — why the app props matter

The AirBridge server postback hits MMRP at /api/ingestion/airbridge/*. MMRP joins that postback to the Mixpanel funnel using airbridge_id (and marketing_affiliate_id for affiliate credit). The join is deterministic-only — if the app didn't set these keys, the postback and the funnel can't be joined and the install looks organic.

Affiliate credit follows a no-clawback ledger: money is only released on met conditions, never reversed — so a missing join key means an affiliate is silently underpaid. That's why §2/§3 are strict.

§6 — must not get wrong

Naming & parity

• The signup event is signup_complete, not account_created. account_created exists in no Mixpanel environment; any code emitting it produces silent zeros. MAP payout logic keys off signup_complete.
• iOS === Android: identical event names, identical property names, identical lowercase enum values.
• Production is currently behind — marketing_affiliate_id is on zero events in Prod (present in Staging/Dev). This guide is exactly what closes that gap; verify it lands in all three environments.

§7 — non-negotiable

DPDP hard constraints

• No phone numbers, no raw PII in any Mixpanel property. Linkage is pseudonymous (airbridge_id).
• Nothing fires before affirmative consent (deny-by-default, granular, all unchecked).
• new_otp_unique_account is a boolean only — never the phone number or a hash of it.
• Permitted property content: IDs, enums, booleans, episode_id, acquisition_source. Nothing else.

§8

Verify — one decisive end-to-end test

Do this on a clean device (no prior install), per platform, per environment.

1. Cut a test link (go.mixxi.ai or abr.ge) with a known campaign code, e.g. RISING-E0-TESTONLY, deep link mixxi://mixxi/m/RISING-E0-TESTONLY.
2. Tap it → install → open → complete consent → sign up.
3. In Mixpanel Live View (correct environment), confirm: signup_complete fired; marketing_affiliate_id == RISING-E0-TESTONLY exactly; acquisition_source set (not null/unknown for a known channel); airbridge_id present.
4. Confirm the AirBridge postback for the same install carries the same code, and MMRP resolves the join.

Second decisive test — a marketing link (new in v1.2, do this too)

1. Cut a marketing test link: channel instagram, campaign phase1_tease__ep01_discovery, creative trend__testasset_01, sub_param_funding=organic.
2. Clean device → tap → install → consent → sign up → then trigger one more event (e.g. open an episode).
3. In Mixpanel Live View confirm: signup_complete AND the later event both carry mx_channel=instagram, mx_phase=phase1_tease, mx_episode=ep01_discovery, mx_recipe=trend, mx_asset=testasset_01, mx_funding=organic — and no marketing_affiliate_id (it's not an affiliate link).
4. Latest-touch check: on the same device, tap a second marketing link with a different channel (e.g. whatsapp) → open → trigger an event → confirm the event's mx_channel is now whatsapp while the profile's acquisition_source is unchanged from the first link.

§9 — do NOT hardcode against these until confirmed

Open pins

Chief PM review (v1.1) + marketing attribution (v1.2)

Changelog — what changed

Two revisions today. v1.1 corrected claims that turned out to be wrong against the committed enums file. v1.2 is additive: a whole new attribution contract for non-affiliate marketing links that didn't exist before.

v1.1 — corrections against the committed enums file

v1.2 — marketing attribution added (new, not a correction)