Pictarine app icon

Pictarine

Customers print memories.
Pictarine grows conversions.

Pictarine ad on the App Store

Pictarine allows users to print pictures at partnering Walgreens stores within an hour. The photo app leveraged Apple Search Ads to grow its customer base across the U.S. and drive conversion rates higher than any other platform. 

The Results

#1 performing channel for iOS acquisition.
50% conversion rate for Apple Search Ads - higher than any other platform.
4x increase in downloads during seasonal spikes.

The Challenge

To scale user acquisition in the United States, the team at Pictarine wanted to find a cost-efficient, simple way to improve app discovery. Despite their partnership with a larger U.S. retailer, the Pictarine team was small: only 15 people based in France. “We needed to find a platform that could deliver strong return on investment because we couldn't afford to lose money or time,” shares Pictarine cofounder and CEO Guillaume Martin.

We tested many partners, but nothing compared to the Apple Search Ads performance. It is now the only acquisition platform we use for iOS.

The Solution

Focus on relevancy to reach scale.

With Apple Search Ads brand campaigns, the Pictarine team captured strong customer intent from searches related to their company and app name. To drive visibility for broader Utilities category searches by mobile users looking to get pictures printed quickly in a store, the team ran category campaigns with exact match. 

 

“We tested many partners, but nothing compared to the Apple Search Ads performance. It is now the only acquisition platform we use for iOS. We have found that the quality of traffic that Apple Search Ads delivers is better than organic traffic and conversion rates – the percentage of users that go to a store and pay for a print – is 50 percent. That’s higher than any other platform was able to deliver,” says Martin.

Invest strategically to capture seasonal interest.

During holidays like Mother’s Day and Christmas, when demand for photo apps tends to rise and people print pictures as gifts, the team at Pictarine prepared for increased search volume on the App Store. The team incorporated relevant seasonal keywords into generic campaigns and increased daily caps to be more competitive on key days.1 During these seasonal spikes in interest, Pictarine saw the volume of downloads from Apple Search Ads generally increase by as much as 4x.

 

“Apple Search Ads is unique because it’s the only way to be featured at the top of relevant search results on the App Store. It’s the perfect experience to increase visibility during our busiest seasons when people are searching for an app like ours,” believes Martin.

Optimize efficiency with API insights.

To track and attribute app downloads, the Pictarine team integrated the Apple Search Ads Attribution API directly. With the integration, the team was able to better understand the value of different customer groups over time and the keywords that drove their conversions. They also enjoyed no longer having to rely on a third party for this analysis, as well as the related cost savings. 

 

“The Attribution API from Apple Search Ads offers reliable performance insights. Now we know in real time if a download is from a new user or a redownload. We can optimize our bids based on the value over time of downloads driven by specific keywords or by a certain audience type. It’s a huge benefit to be able to understand performance with that level of detail,” says Martin. 

Company Snapshot

  • Pictarine Inc
  • Utilities category
  • Founded in 2012
  • Based in Toulouse, France
Apple Search Ads Advanced

Start your
first
campaign.

Apple Search Ads Advanced gives you easy and flexible
campaign management
options and a variety of ad placements
designed to drive visibility and
downloads of your app. Try it for
free with a 100 USD credit.*