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We’re delighted to share our latest user acquisition case study, chronicling our successful partnership with Social Discovery Group (SDG). We’ve decided to publish this story because of the extremely effective strategy developed by SDG’s user acquisition team. Their insightful collaboration and prompt suggestion to shift to a CPA campaign, benefiting the ROAS, make this a story that’s worth telling.
Once is a popular dating app from Social Discovery Group (SDG) that helps users find their best match based on shared interests. Users can chat, flirt, and explore meaningful dates and genuine relationships. The app also offers features such as gifts and sparks that users can send to each other, along with premium subscriptions and other benefits.
Challenge: Growing the User Base with High-Quality, Paying Subscribers
Social Discovery Group partnered with Mapendo to enhance Once’s presence in the highly competitive US market. As a well-known brand in the dating vertical, SDG aimed not just to increase app downloads but to attract high-quality users who would become premium subscribers, driving Once’s growth as a top app in the category.
Solution: Multi-Page Dynamic Ads and transition from CPI to CPA
Mapendo initially launched CPI (Cost Per Install) campaigns to gather extensive data and optimize user acquisition toward high-revenue users. Multiple app placements and creatives were tested, using the install-to-subscription rate as a key performance indicator (KPI) for optimization.
Creatives played a significant role in the success of the campaigns. Multi-page ads, which combined video and dynamic end cards, attracted a large number of new users who quickly converted into subscribers. Once’s engaging video ads showcased the app's main features, significantly increasing the conversion rate. Mapendo’s automatic optimization further enhanced this by selecting the most effective combinations of video and end cards to attract high-LTV (Lifetime Value) users.
A frequent and constructive dialogue between Mapendo and the SDG account manager, along with full transparency on data, led to a constant flow of new ideas for improving the partnership. A major development was the decision to switch the campaign model from CPI to CPA (Cost Per Action), leveraging the high install-to-purchase rate achieved in the initial optimization phase. This new pricing strategy allowed SDG to minimize their risk by paying only for new subscribers rather than non-paying users and to increase their ROAS.
Results
The install-to-purchase rate was high from the beginning, and optimization of multi-page ads and ad placements boosted it by 35% within a few weeks. The switch from CPI to CPA proved to be a timely and effective decision, increasing the number of subscriptions by 4x.
While the CPA model significantly improved Once’s ROAS, it did not come at the expense of new users, as the number of installs also increased substantially. A few weeks after switching to CPA, installs nearly tripled compared to the CPI campaign.
The next step in the partnership involves expanding to new countries and replicating this performance. The ultimate goal remains to grow Once’s popular brand with new loyal users eager to explore mindful dating and find the right partners.
