Operating in Eastern Europe, the business thrives as a ride-sharing app, distinguishing itself by providing exceptional local services that directly challenge the dominance of established global entities. It capitalises on regional expertise and customer-centric approaches to deliver unique value propositions, setting it apart in a market saturated by international giants.
The challenge
- At the start of our collaboration, the mayor of the region had announced that all taxi apps would be banned due to local tax issues. As a local taxpayer, this ride-sharing app was exempt but was caught up in the bad press that was generated over such apps.
- To reinvent the way that people in Romania were travelling by taxi through innovative mobile marketing.
- Achieve as many downloads as possible for the allocated budget.
- Ensure that users remained as long term customers by continuing to use the App after initial installation.
- Encourage more taxi drivers to use the App so they could fulfil demand.
- Rebut the bad reputation that taxi drivers had in Romania.
The approach
APPROACH 1
- Research
Into every county and the population statistics. We used Google Ads location setting and compared the numbers with the data from the Romanian National Institute of Statistics. - Branding
We used Google Search Network with the Universal App Campaigns at the beginning of the collaboration to assure people that the brand can be trusted. - Scripts
Utilised Google Scripts to boost promotion during rush hour ( from 07:00 am to 12:00 pm, and from 17:00 pm to 19:00 pm) during the working days, and weekends (from 18:00 pm – 02:00 am). - External Data
We matched free rides/discount codes to external data such as rush hour, weekends and religious holidays to not only promote the app but to make sure that the app is a must when travelling in the city. - Funnels
Created new funnels to encourage even more people to use and install the App through YouTube, Display Network and through the app notification.
APPROACH 2
- Customer Behaviour
We analysed, interpreted and built strategies around customer behaviour to ensure maximum efficiency – e.g. implementing remarketing campaigns, dedicated ads for every location, ads tailored for every age range, etc. - BETAs
Using Google BETAs in relation to Universal App Campaigns to keep ahead of the competition. e.g. (Uber, Taxify, Star Taxi and every app of the taxi companies from our targeted locations). - Innovation
We innovated by pulling the date and hourly range into a shared Google doc. Using APID and Ad Customiser scripts we were able to dynamically insert CPAs hourly and update and modify the CPA’s directly through this Google shared doc for every hour we want. - Scripts
We used a script to pause any ads from showing if the daily budget is depleted before the end of the day. We used another script to insert new text ad ideas for Universal App Campaigns to tailor new ads quickly, to avoid losing app installs.
APPROACH 3: UAC & ADJUST / APPSFLYER
The goal was to increase downloads as well as usage of the app, but we had to decide which actions led to an increase of usage and ROI. We took the following steps to ensure the client’s goals were met:
- Determine the different actions a user takes within the app.
- Set up goals/tracking for these events
- Categorise these actions in low/mid and high priorities.
- Build UAC campaigns to optimise for these tiered priorities.
- Different priorities/actions meant our UAC campaigns included tailored creatives. As an example, those that had downloaded but did not make a payment within the app were targeted with offers such as ‘First Ride Free’.
It was important we set up the UAC campaigns for either ‘Install Volume’ or ‘In-App Activity” to ensure we captured volume as well as the relevant users.
The results
- During the first three months, we grew the app base by over 50%, with more than 80,000 app Installs.
- We ran the campaigns for 2 weeks, until the final mayoral debate and we got over 11.5 million impressions and over 5,000 app installs.
- Due to the business’ success, the customer has just been acquired by a global car manufacturer.
