CASE STUDY

Tophatter increases product sales by 235% with Liftoff

Liftoff acquires users with a high likelihood of bidding on items listed in Tophatter’s mobile auction app

The ChallengeTophatter partnered with Liftoff to help acquire quality iOS and Android users who not only install the Tophatter app but actively participate in auctions, resulting in making a first purchase.

The SolutionLiftoff began by creating audience profiles of Tophatters’ most active users, matching Tophatter device IDs to Liftoff’s database of mobile profiles. Audience profiles are important to conducting lookalike targeting across the mobile ad networks and RTB exchanges. Tophatter audience profiles included demographics, location, device information, history of engagement and other apps installed on the user’s phone. Liftoff then built out a variety of ad creatives to test early in the campaign cycle.

Upon launching the campaign, performance was strong. The cost per install (CPI) was well below target and we were able to quickly hit aggressive CPA targets at scale. We continued testing a variety of ad creatives including banner ads and interstitials, which led to a reduction in CPA by 55%. Creative tests on iOS and Android were run independently.

I was impressed with the Liftoff team and their approach to building a long-term successful partnership. Unlike many other app marketing services and ad networks, they placed a big emphasis on understanding our conversion funnel and laid out a clear strategy for driving a steady stream of quality users. Ragnar Gudmundsson · Head of Growth, Tophatter

With improved campaign performance, spending was increased on both iOS and Android. In addition, video ads were introduced into the campaign, tracking both CPI and CPA performance.

ResultsTophatter campaigns performed well from the start, delivering on aggressive CPA targets. Creative optimization helped further drive down both the cost per install and cost per first purchase, resulting in a CPA reduction of 55%. As we continued to scale daily spend, the average number of weekly first time purchases grew significantly, increasing 235% on iOS and 172% on Android.

Tophatter is a live marketplace, conducting daily online auctions where buyers and sellers can interact, chat and transact in a wide variety of categories. Tophatter is based in Palo Alto, CA.