TextMe app icon

TextMe

Loved ones stay connected.
TextMe reengages customers.

TextMe ad on the App Store
TextMe’s mobile customers enjoy free domestic calling and texting, as well as low international rates. By investing in API integration, redownloads, and spikes in customer demand, the messaging app improved return on ad spend by 200 percent with Apple Search Ads.

The Results

5x increase in redownload conversions.
56% higher lifetime value from redownloads than new users.
200% increase in ROAS for redownload campaigns.

The Challenge

To drive acquisition in key markets like the U.S. and Canada, the team at TextMe needed to reach a broad audience with diverse needs. Prospective mobile customers might be interested in TextMe’s basic features (free phone number, voicemail, call forwarding) or more complex telecom solutions (disposable mobile numbers, multiple phone number management, contactless eSIM data plans). Guided by analytics, the TextMe team focused their marketing strategy on maximizing return on ad spend (ROAS) to boost revenue and improve efficiency.

Apple Search Ads has helped our team better understand the intent and value of our diverse audiences while maintaining our leadership position in the U.S.

The Solution

Drive performance with API integration.

To save time and streamline optimization, TextMe’s data-driven team invested upfront in the Apple Search Ads Campaign Management API. They created daily performance reports and were able to completely automate their bid management. Keyword and conversion insights from Apple Search Ads were used to evaluate organic performance and optimize TextMe’s App Store product page.
 
“With Apple Search Ads, we created a sophisticated keyword targeting strategy and attracted customers showing strong intent for our services,” says TextMe Data Science and Marketing Manager Eymard Houdeville. “The Apple Search Ads Campaign Management API also allowed our team to pivot quickly and shift bidding easily depending on our evolving priorities as a company.”

Improve efficiency with redownloads.

Knowing that customers’ mobile needs can fluctuate over time, the TextMe team wanted to reintroduce their app to lapsed customers. To accurately evaluate the impact of redownload campaigns with Apple Search Ads, they developed a postinstall data model based on machine learning and statistics. This model helped the team to identify the keywords with the highest potential value for redownloads and increase bidding on these search terms in reengagement campaigns.
 
"We improved return on ad spend by 200 percent and increased redownload conversions by 5x in the U.S.,” says Houdeville. “Apple Search Ads helped our team better understand the intent and value of our diverse audiences while maintaining our leadership position in the U.S.”

Capitalize on demand spikes by optimizing bids.

Telecommunications searches on the App Store tend to spike on certain days of the week, and the TextMe team optimized their bidding strategy accordingly. To capture the increased demand, they consistently adjusted bids during this weekly seasonality. The team also remained flexible with budgeting to maximize impressions when searches for telecommunications grew unexpectedly.
 
“Interest in our app surged during 2020 with more people working remotely and unable to see loved ones. To ensure that we maintained high visibility with this new influx of prospects, we increased our Apple Search Ads budgets. We were able to attract highly engaged customers who on their first day made an average of 20 percent more calls,” shares Houdeville.

Company Snapshot

  • TextMe
  • Social Networking category
  • Launched in 2011
  • Based in San Francisco, CA
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