Recapp: Launching app promotion from zero

How we launched paid acquisition for a brand-new sports app from zero — building tracking, creatives, and multi-channel campaigns that grew installs and subscriptions while lowering costs.

PERFORMANCE MARKETING APP GROWTH

METRICS & OUTCOMES

90K+ installs in just over a year, starting from zero

1,250+ subscriptions in the first 6 months after subscriptions launched

22% lower CPI in the second half of the collaboration, while scaling monthly budget ~50%

59% lower cost per subscription overall (avg. 16% MoM improvement since launch)

CHALLENGE

Launch a brand-new app with no existing audience, data, or brand awareness — and grow installs without buying cheap, low-quality users. The goal was engaged users who come back, ready for monetization later.

The category has extreme seasonality: demand shifts with league calendars, playoffs, and big events. We also needed to reach a younger audience while keeping cost per result under control.

SOLUTION

We ran the work in four stages: pre-launch testing, launch, engagement, then monetization.

Pre-launch. A few months before release we ran a website lead-gen campaign for early access. The real purpose was testing messaging, creatives, audiences, and campaign setups so the app launched with a proven setup instead of starting cold.

Launch. Primary KPI was installs — to collect a user base and confirm the app was stable, tracking was clean, and there were no major bugs. From day one we also tracked in-app events, retention, and cost per retained user (D1/D3/D7).

Engagement. The primary KPI shifted to cost per first video view. We accepted a higher CPI in exchange for users who actually watch content.

Monetization. Once subscriptions were available, we gradually shifted focus toward CPS and ROAS.

We built website tracking (GTM + GA4) for last-click measurement in pre-launch, full AppsFlyer setup across iOS and Android including SKAN, and an automated daily dashboard combining ad platform data with AppsFlyer last-click data for every optimization decision.

Across Meta, Apple Ads, and TikTok we continuously tested structures, optimization events, creatives, and bids — including TikTok One for free UGC that became top-performing creatives — while reallocating budget daily to whatever delivered the lowest CPA on the KPI for that stage.

WHAT WE DID

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT CREATIVE STRATEGY & TESTING META ADS TIKTOK ADS APPLE ADS GOOGLE ADS APPSFLYER & SKAN SETUP GTM & GA4 TRACKING AUTOMATED PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD BUDGET PACING & REALLOCATION

RESULTS

Blended results since launch:

90K+ installs in just over a year, starting from zero.
1,250+ subscriptions in the first 6 months after subscriptions launched.
22% lower CPI in the second half of the collaboration, while scaling the monthly budget by around 50%.
Cost per subscription down an average of 16% month over month since launch and 59% lower overall.