# How a New, Seasonal Apple Search Ads Strategy Helped Planta Harvest a 335% Increase in Installs

- Link: https://phiture.com/success-stories/planta-asa-seasonality/
- Published: 2023-09-19T14:13:33+01:00
- Author: Tim Bremer

# How a New, Seasonal Apple Search Ads Strategy Helped Planta Harvest a 335% Increase in Installs

![](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Planta-01.png)

335%

year-on-year increase in installs (January to July)

380%

increase in year-on-year ASA spend for same period

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Table of Contents

 * [The Challenge](https://phiture.com/success-stories/planta-asa-seasonality/#the_challenge)
 * [The Solution](https://phiture.com/success-stories/planta-asa-seasonality/#the_solution)
 * [The Results](https://phiture.com/success-stories/planta-asa-seasonality/#the_results)

## The Challenge

Planta is a (fantastic) example of an app solving a need and quickly ushering users
towards the aha! moment, with slick CRM and eye-catching design. Quite simply, the
Planta app identifies your house plants, then notifies you when it’s time to water,
fertilize, mist, and clean. There’s also nifty features that diagnose plant diseases
and recommend optimal light.

The plantcare category has proven fertile ground for new entrants to the market,
with increased competition for Apple Search Ads (ASA) during high season. In light
of this, Planta wanted to continue to acquire users and make sure that seasonal 
spikes in search volume were efficiently converted into growth. To do so, Planta
approached Phiture to refresh user acquisition in the US market, while keeping the
Return on Investment (ROI) up – and Cost Per Install down.

![](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Planta-02.png)

## The Solution

We prepared our ground in the fallow months of November and December, ready for 
the growth season that begins in January when many users seek to change their plantcare
habits. We prepared by exploring the plantcare category, closely observing Planta’s
competitors, and identifying potential areas for improvement. We also started with
low-hanging fruit, such as tweaking the campaign structure and expanding the keyword
list and optimizing keyword performance.

Just like with plantcare, we knew that acquiring more users in an increasingly busy
marketplace depended on finding the right ratio of multiple factors, and continuously
tweaking them for success in light of the changing environment.

Phiture’s multi-faceted approach rested on expanding new campaign types, in particular
Discovery and Probing campaigns. The aim of this was to expand our generic keyword
list, which would reap a huge harvest in search volumes later.

At the same time, new Custom Product Pages (CPPs) highlighted different features
of the app to appeal to new users, and we experimented with different ASA placements,
such as the “Search Tab” and “Product Pages.” We knew from experience that CPPs 
were likely to lead to an extremely cost-efficient scaling of the campaigns.

Once we were convinced we had the right mix to seed growth, we scaled up. To ensure
Cost Per Sale stayed within budget, we had open communication with our friends at
Planta, with updates of blended targets and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) of new users,
informing our bidding strategy to keep our campaigns profitable. We also developed
an automated report internally to check the lower funnel performance to make sure
it was growing nicely.

Our 380% increase in year-on-year ASA spend for January to July was rewarded with
a **335% year-on-year increase in installs** for the same period.

## The Results

The results of these US campaigns were tremendous. Our 380% increase in year-on-
year ASA spend for January to July was rewarded with a 335% year-on-year increase
in installs for the same period. The strategy of new campaign types and new ASA 
placements helped volumes, making the most of the seasonal growth. In particular
it was the Generic campaigns that really contributed to the rapid growth, though
the fertile mix of campaign types, placements, CPPs, automation rules, and continuous
optimizations all played their part.

Even more impressive was keeping the Cost Per Install below target for the entire
engagement, which was the result of continuous maintenance and careful bid optimization
from our Performance Marketing Team.

To ensure long-lasting growth, at the end of the engagement we passed on all our
learnings to Planta so future growth could be managed during their low season.

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Planta’s mobile app offers individual care schedules and reminders for your plants,
recommendations, step by step guides, identification, light meter and more.

**Client:** Planta
 **Website:** [https://getplanta.com](https://getplanta.com) **
Services:** Performance Marketing, Apple Search Ads

![](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/logo_planta.png)