It is no secret that getting ranked highly in the App Store is critical for the success of your app.  Since most iPhone and iPod touch users discover apps by browsing the Top Rankings, getting ranked and staying there is critical for new user discovery.  Apps that break the Top 50 are generally downloaded over 10,000 times daily, with the number of downloads increasing quickly along with your rank.   Mobile Analytics firm Flurry suggests the an app ranked in the Top 5 is downloaded more than 50,000 times a day.

In order to increase your ranking, an app needs to generate a lot of downloads in a short period of time.  Toward this end, we have worked with App Developers to run “burst campaigns” – a focused ad campaign spent over a couple days designed to drive the app in the rankings.  Ads that link directly to the App Store landing page are run broadly throughout our network of 3,000 iPhone apps and distributed to as many people as possible over two or three days.  Given the reach and scale of our iPhone network – last month alone we served ads to over 20 million iPhones and iPod touches worldwide – we are able to drive the thousands of downloads required to really make an impact and give an app the opportunity it needs to stand out and get discovered.

Movies by Flixster is a movie app for the iPhone or iPod touch with over 6 million downloads since release last year.   Despite its success, Flixster wanted to acquire new users and reinvigorate their App Store ranking with the goal of returning to the Top 50.  The campaign utilized AdMob’s Download Tracking product to measure downloads generated as a result of each ad. This allowed them to optimize their campaign investment in flight, based on actual app downloads, not just impressions or clicks.

The campaign was a complete success, with over 18,000 downloads driven as a result of advertising during the 48 hours of the campaign.  Movies quickly moved into the Top 50 Free and soon rose to number 31.  The overall cost per download of the campaign exceeded Flixster’s targets and they were able to set a new daily traffic record in their new position.

Flixster continued to see the positive effects of the ad campaign well after it ended.  The higher App Store ranking led to Flixster receiving an average of 25% more downloads daily compared to before the campaign started.

We have run hundreds of campaigns for iPhone apps over the last year, including this example of another successful burst campaign for ColorSnap from Sherwin-Williams.  Questions?  Fill out our contact form to receive more information on how we can help you get your app.

Mike F
Product Marketing