Scaling a subscription games app to a $1M/month UA program
Client
Year
THE CHALLENGE
Unlocking scale for a high-potential games app
A world leading digital newspaper had a games app gaining significant organic traction. Despite this popularity, they hadn’t cracked the code for scaled paid user acquisition (UA). Strict internal LTV targets limited their ability to scale, and they needed to prove the long-term value of a mid-funnel strategy. Crucially, this app was also vital to supporting their broader subscription bundle.
THE TASK
Propelling an app to strategic bundle support
Our mission was clear: develop and execute a paid UA strategy that would convert the app’s organic popularity into long-term profitability and sustained app engagement, all while bolstering their overarching subscription bundle. This involved a close collaboration with their internal creative team to unlock new ad concepts, spurring new iterations and continuously improving performance.
THE STRATEGY
Expanding the funnel & proving incremental growth
Our approach was built on three strategic pillars, designed to drive both scale and efficiency:
- Expanding the Marketing Funnel for Broader Reach: Counter-intuitive for a performance team focused on strict goals, we strategically shifted the focus up-funnel. By optimizing for Cost Per Install (CPI) rather than just post-install events, we significantly expanded the audience pool and diversified channels. We set CPA guardrails and engagement targets, allowing us to build a robust program around CPI while measuring its direct impact on subscriptions over 2-3 months. This bold move catapulted their app visibility, climbing over 66% in Games rankings.
- Collaborative, Creative-Led Performance: We conducted a creative audit of existing assets, providing strategic recommendations that empowered their internal team’s concept development process. By identifying key topics and themes, we helped them connect with a wider audience. Our team diversified the channel mix, pinpointing the strongest avenues for growth and supporting their creative team with rapid edits and iterations to maximize channel performance.
- Incrementality-Driven Measurement for True ROI: Closing the loop on our strategy, we implemented an incrementality-based measurement approach. Leveraging insights from recurring Geo experiments, we refined probabilistic attribution models to capture the true impact of our campaigns.
THE RESULT
A $1M/month juggernaut with proven impact
What began as a nascent program has been transformed into a $1M+/month UA program supporting their bundle growth strategy. We’ve driven a remarkable 96% Year-over-Year (YoY) install volume increase. This growth has been sustained through a tight, collaborative workstream between our team and their internal growth team, allowing us to maintain profitable CPAs and creating a well-oiled machine for continuous insights generation that directly supports creative ideation and production.