Installs are the wrong goal
Cheap installs are easy to buy. Point a campaign at the install event, make an ad that promises something free and fun, and the cost per install looks great. Then day-7 retention is 5%, nobody hits the paywall, and the campaign lost money.
We plan app campaigns backward from the event that pays you: a trial start, a first subscription, a first purchase. The creative pre-qualifies (it shows the real app and says what it costs to keep using it), the campaign optimizes for the deepest event with enough volume, and we judge it on cost per paying user. We hold our own work to the same number: our own app was one of the products we sold in our case study.
iOS measurement after ATT: what each signal tells you
Since Apple's App Tracking Transparency, most iOS users can't be tracked at the device level. App campaigns now run on a mix of signals, and the setup has to be right before launch.
| Signal | What it gives you | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| ATT opt-ins via your MMP | User-level attribution for people who allow tracking | Many users decline tracking, so never treat it as the full picture |
| SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit | Apple's privacy-safe install and conversion postbacks, now including re-engagement in AdAttributionKit | Delayed, aggregated data; your conversion value schema decides what you learn |
| Meta and TikTok modeled reporting | Faster, modeled results inside each platform for optimization | Each platform grades its own homework; compare to blended numbers |
| Google Play install referrer | Far more detail on Android installs | Android behavior often differs from iOS, so don't copy results across |
| Web-to-app funnels | Full web analytics on the landing page and checkout before the app download | Needs deep links and account linking so web buyers land in the right place |
| Blended revenue (MER) | New subscription revenue against total spend, by week | Needs a steady baseline to read lift |
We set up the MMP (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular or Branch) and map SKAN conversion values to trial and paywall events before any spend goes live.
App creative that brings in the right users
Screen plus face
A creator on one half, the real app on the other, solving one problem in under 20 seconds. The most reliable format in app UGC.
The old way vs the app
The spreadsheet, the notes app, the paper planner, then your app doing it in two taps. Instantly shows the value.
POV hooks
"POV: you finally stuck to a budget for 30 days." Puts the viewer in the outcome and leads straight into the product.
Feature drop
A single new feature, shown fast. Good for re-engaging lapsed users and for keeping creative fresh between big launches.
Honest week-one review
A creator uses the app for a week and reports what they liked and what they didn't. Sets real expectations, which lifts trial-to-paid.
Founder demo for SaaS
For B2B SaaS, the founder showing a 45-second workflow on screen. Works on LinkedIn ads and as YouTube pre-roll.
What an app marketing agency should set up before ads run
- MMP installed and SDK events firing for install, signup, trial start, paywall view and subscription.
- SKAN or AdAttributionKit conversion values mapped to trial and early revenue, not just opens.
- App Store custom product pages matched to each ad angle. Apple now allows up to 70 per app, each with its own screenshots, deep link and keywords.
- Deep links from ads and landing pages that open the right screen, not the home screen.
- Paywall copy and trial length tested, because a creative win can be wiped out by a weak paywall.
- Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads) live on your brand terms and your best category keywords.
- Subscription terms, renewal price and cancel steps clear on the paywall and any web checkout.
Web-to-app funnels and where they fit
A web-to-app funnel sends ad traffic to a web page or onboarding quiz, takes payment on the web, then sends the user to download the app and log in. You get full analytics on the web steps and, in the US, you can now link out to web checkout from inside iOS apps following the 2025 Epic v. Apple ruling, although what Apple may charge on those purchases is still being argued in court as of late 2026.
Web-to-app works best for subscription apps with a strong quiz or personalization hook (fitness, diet, language learning, astrology, finance). We build the landing pages and funnels for it alongside the ad creative.
A campaign we'd run: a budgeting app's annual plan push
An example plan, not past client work. Say a budgeting app with a 7-day trial wants more annual subscribers in January.
Measure first
Map SKAN conversion values to trial start and paid conversion, build three custom product pages (debt payoff, saving for a goal, couples budgeting).
Produce 30 videos
Creators show their real budgets in the app, each video matched to one of the three angles and one product page.
Test a web path
A budgeting quiz on the web with an annual plan offer, run against the app store path to see which earns more per dollar.
Weekly cuts
Angles judged on cost per paid subscriber at day 7 and day 30, not cost per install. Winners get new hooks every week.
What Lumiflo costs
Campaign launch
from $5,000
- Strategy, big idea and hooks
- Short-form video, UGC and static ads made for each platform
- Ads set up and a campaign landing page built
- Launch, first round of fixes and a results report
Always-on campaigns
from $3,500 a month
- Fresh creative every month
- Paid social managed and tested every week
- Organic posting on your main platforms
- Weekly numbers, in plain English
Revenue share
% of salesplus a lower fee
- Organic growth, funnel and sales built as one system
- A lower upfront fee
- A share of the revenue we help create, tracked at checkout
- For creators and brands we believe in
Ad spend is paid by you, straight to the platforms. Creator and influencer fees are billed at cost.