In an embodiment, a data processing method comprises receiving, by a mobile app, incentive data comprising one or more app event types, wherein each app event type is associated with an incentive frequency value and a reward type; detecting an occurrence of an app event of the mobile app, wherein the app event is associated with a particular app event type of the one or more app event types; determining, based on the incentive frequency value for the particular app event type, whether to generate a scaffolding event comprising displaying an advertisement and providing a reward of the reward type associated with the particular app event type; displaying the advertisement and providing the reward; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.