[Case study] In-Page Push: Light Theme & Social vs. The Classic Skin
Recently, we’ve announced that we now have two new In-page push ads (IPP) skins in our platform: Social and Light Theme.
Why? Because that’s good for your CTR!
However, statements like this require a first-hand check. To prove it, we ran a quick experiment and compared the first results of the new skins to the Classic one.
So, let’s check this out!
The new IPP Skins: what is it?
In PropellerAds, advertisers have access to two push format variations: classic push notifications and In-Page push banners. The biggest advantage of In-page push is that it works on all platforms including iOS. Also, IPP has two new skins!
The IPP skins are essentially templates, or themes, which you can apply to your ads. There are two: Social and Light Theme.
Social skin was designed to remind users of text messengers and chat windows. It works great with the verticals, where one-on-one communication with the user is the main strategy. Traditionally, these are Dating, Games, News, Finance, and several others.
The other one, Light Theme, has a clear, neutral look that allows you to try it on virtually any vertical. However, it performs especially well for Utilities, Browser Extensions, Antiviruses, and other PC and Mac Software.
The original template, Classic, is now used by default in all new campaigns. It looks clean and neutral and would be a great fit in any interface.
However, every affiliate will tell you that each vertical is special and requires a specific approach to designing creatives. The new skins have higher CTR thus are simply a shortcut to the optimal solution.
So, let’s see how each of the new themes performs compared to the classic theme.
Social vs. Classic IPP skin
To test the Social skin, we chose a mainstream anime game from a popular developer. Such offers traditionally perform well on push notifications, so our hypothesis was that the new skin will serve as a good performance boost.
Spoiler: it did exactly that.
#1.1 Details of the offer
Conversion type: Pay Per Lead. The user needs to fill in the registration form and start playing in order to be considered converted.
More about affiliate conversion types ℹ️
The landing page:
Testing period: 11th-13th September 2020. The testing period was relatively short, yet enough to see a clear tendency.
CPA rate (the payout from the CPA network): $1.00.
#1.2 Campaign settings
The pricing model: CPC
We launched an In-page push campaign with two banners: Classic and Social.
Total budget: $20.
Creatives
Classic skin VS. Social skin
Targeting
| Geo: US OS Type: Desktop OS: Windows Device Type: Desktop Zone Type (Push notification type): In-Page Push |
#1.3 Statistics
The test showed that the banner with the Social skin got as many impressions as the Classic: 38,000.
However, from this traffic it got twice more clicks (520 vs. 230), and, what’s even more important, three times more conversions (9 against 3) with a significantly better Conversion rate.
The costs were distributed like this:
- Classic skin spent $7 for 3 conversions, that’s $2.34 per conversion
- Social skin spent $16 for 9 conversions, which means $1.75 per conversion
#1.4 Results
| Stats | Social | Classic |
| Impressions | 38,000 | 38,000 |
| Clicks | 520 | 230 |
| Conversions | 9 | 3 |
| Conversion price | $1.75 | $2.34 |
| Spend | $16 | $7 |
So, what does this all mean?
Even with a ridiculously small budget, the Social skin allowed a campaign to get more clicks and conversions with the same CPC bid. This proves that the new skin allows you to spend your budget more effectively, which will make more of a difference and have a more drastic effect when scaled on a real budget.
Additionally, Social skin showed higher CTR. Since ad CTR affects rotation — campaigns with high-CTR creatives automatically get more traffic — even if you decrease the bid, you will still be getting enough traffic.
Light Theme vs. Classic IPP skin
For the Light Theme skin, we chose one of the famous ram cleaners, an Android utility tool. It’s a typical offer for this vertical, and creatives that have a resemblance with a standard system message are widely preferred here. The Light Theme skin fits it just fine, so we assumed that it might show great results.
#2.1 Details of the offer
Conversion type: Pay per Install
The landing page: Don’t be alarmed by the use of the sound!
Testing period: 11th-13th September 2020
CPA rate (the payout from the CPA network): $0.021
#2.2 Campaign settings
The pricing model: CPC
The campaign was launched with two banners: Classic and Light Theme.
Total budget: $20
Creatives
Classic skin VS. light theme
Targeting
| Geo: IN OS Type: Mobile OS: Android OS Version: Exclude Android 2, Android 3 Zone Type (Push notification type): In-Page Push Carrier: 3G Proxy: Not Proxy |
#2.3 Statistics
The situation is similar to the test with the Social skin. Fast RAM got an equal amount of impressions on both skins — 219,000.
Yet, the Light Theme defeated Classic by clicks (2700 vs. 1600) and by conversions (30 vs. 18).
In terms of CR, the results were similar and the conversion price in both cases was equal to $0.27.
#2.4 Results
| Stats | Light Theme | Classic |
| Impressions | 219,000 | 219,000 |
| Clicks | 2700 | 1600 |
| Conversions | 30 | 18 |
| Conversion price | $0.27 | $0.27 |
| Spend | $8 | $4.6 |
Let’s interpret the results. After all, the Light Theme showed a similar ROI as the Classic theme. However, the number of conversions was 1.5 times higher.
That means that the Light Theme doesn’t make you spend less, but allows you to get more clicks and conversions from the same traffic, which means spending your budget more effectively and attracting more relevant leads.
Summary
Our test showed that both Social and the Light Theme skins make a difference in terms of how effectively the budget is spent.
Our testing budget was relatively small, however, it revealed a clear tendency. The Social skin allows you to have more clicks and conversion with the same amount of impressions and even allows you to get the same amount of traffic with a smaller bid. The Light Theme skin also helps you spend your budget more effectively and manages to attract more relevant users.
So, now it’s up to you to try it out and scale the success!
Meanwhile, you can join our Telegram chat and discuss your experience with fellow affiliates 🙂
