Case Study: Pin-Submit Ad Campaigns

Today we’re going to be taking a look at a highlight Pin-Submit campaign case study, and learn how to gain from its success!

But before we dive in, we know that there are many of you likely asking what ‘Pin-Submit’ may actually mean in the first place. It’s a fair question, as even within online advertising it can be a niche area.

But with niches come opportunities, and Pin-Submit offers have opportunities galore.

What Is Pin-Submit?

Imagine a user browsing their favorite website or app, and suddenly, they come across a piece of content they really want to engage with or view — a stream or video for example:

When they click or tap on the ad, it takes them to a page where they can check out or download the content, but with a catch. To actually access what they want, they’re required to fill out some form of information first. It could be their email, phone number, completing a survey, or subscribing to a service.

So, it’s like a trade-off. The user gets to see something cool or exciting, but you as the advertiser, get some of their information or a subscription commitment in return.

Basically, pin-submit advertising is like dangling a tempting carrot in front of users, hoping they’ll bite and receive what they want while providing you with your own reward at the same time.

It’s a win-win situation, as they get their content, and you get your lead or conversion.

 

You can see quite a wide range of products that utilize carrier billing.

For example:

🖥️ Antivirus
🏞️ Wallpapers
🎵 Ringtones
▶️ Videos
🎮 Games
🔮 Astrology Readings
💰 Lotteries
💜 Adult Content

NOTE PIN submit offers are also called ‘Carrier Billing’ or ‘Mobile Content’ offers. ‘Carrier Billing’ is the most accurate name, as the core principle often revolves around users getting billed for something (content) by their mobile carrier.

 

Campaign Breakdown

Now that we’re primed and ready for the world of Pin-Submit advertising, let’s move onto the main attraction — the case study itself!

First off, we’ll look at the hard metrics for a quick overview.

Campaign Setup

Ad Format	Pop-Under
Bid Type	CPA Target & CPM
Device	Mobile
Operating Systems	Android & iOS
Geos (Main)	France Bulgaria Poland Czech Republic Indonesia
Geos (Testing)	Latin America
Website Verticals (Primary)	Sports
Website Verticals (Testing)	All (excl. Adult)

In the month of January, our advertiser ran campaigns primarily in 5 major geos with a CPM bid type. Latin America was broadly tested via CPA Target for budget preservation. 

These campaigns were run entirely on mobile devices, with most conversions obtained from Android users. Despite this, iOS was still included in the event that a test geo had a larger iPhone user base.

At this stage, the only ad format being run was Pop-Under. Previously, Banner and In-Page Push were tested but yielded poor results.

Campaign Results

January Spend	January Conversions
€12,891	24,276

This campaign setup led to a cost per conversion (CPC) of 0.53 EUR in the month of January. These results are highly impressive, but it’s important to remember that they were made possible through dedicated testing and adaptation.

The Takeaways

Before we give you our checklist of key factors to include in your Pin-Submit campaigns, it’s important to take a closer look at why this campaign did as well as it did.

After all, while numbers speak for themselves, the methodology can’t — so let’s learn!

 

Initial Testing

One factor critical in this campaign’s success was the advertiser’s willingness to work on a granular level. In this case, that entailed a lot of testing across a wide range of geos for around two weeks using a CPA target model.

Once this initial testing period, via a series of smaller, geo-specific campaigns, was complete, our advertiser was able to hone in much more effectively on the best-performing geos:

🇫🇷 France
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
🇵🇱 Poland
🇨🇿 C. Republic
🇮🇩 Indonesia

A CPA Target bid type was used for exploring geos without burning through budget. Once high-quality conversion zones were identified, the bid type was switched from CPA Target to CPM. 

The advertiser is also currently testing in Latin America with limited success. Due to its size, it may have better results later. In truth, this is what testing geos is really all about!

While a testing period may seem like a stressful period of imperfect results, it’s critically important. Results will be lower to begin with, but this means higher ROI and/or conversion rates in the long run.

 

Trend Tracking

The second major takeaway that can be applied far beyond Pin-Submit offers alone is the degree of communication our advertiser had with their manager here at Adcash, Katerina.

This allowed the advertiser to keep ahead of trends, know when to best run campaigns, increase budget, and geo-target effectively based on the provided information.

Switching from CPA Target to CPM during traffic peaks also prevented overspend, so this is another area where this bid type switch should be considered.

If you have access to an Advertiser Manager, remember that their expertise is your profit, so work together and succeed together!

Pre-Lander Variation

Last up, let’s cover the pin-submit landers themselves. As you’ve seen throughout this case study, this advertiser was unafraid of trying out a wide variety of pre-landers.

Creative variation is critical to your success in any campaign type, and this one was no exception.

From languages, the volume of text, looking heavily vertical-specific, or even maintaining a minimal aesthetic, the library of pre-landers at this advertiser’s disposal ensured that every audience type was accounted for.  

Beyond just the look and feel, keep the incentive being offered in each pre-lander in mind, too!

Campaign Checklist

This case study wasn’t just to showcase some nice-looking metrics — we want you to be able to emulate its success. With that in mind, here’s a checklist to keep on top of when diving into Pin-Submit campaigns:

🟣 Test granular campaigns for 1 week 🟣 Test new geos & pre-landers via small campaigns 🟣 Stay mobile-focused & divide campaigns by OS 🟣 Focus attention on Android for better results 🟣  Switch to CPM for high-traffic verticals 🟣 Use landers with short information flows 🟣 Contact your manager or support for guidance

Now that you’ve seen how these campaigns work, it’s time to create your own.

If you’d like to start your advertising journey or learn more about Pin-Submit advertising, get in touch or leave a comment below!