Project Overview
PepTalk dishes out bite‑sized audiobooks and motivational hits to help users conquer their mornings. Great concept, sluggish growth. We built a cross‑channel acquisition engine—paid social, search, and influencer lift—that persuaded scrollers to swap doom‑scrolling for daily inspiration and made PepTalk the go‑to pocket coach for thousands.
Project Goals
Hit scale fast: Sustain 2 500+ new installs per week without breaking a $1.75 CPI ceiling.
Climb the rankings: Crack the top‑25 “Health & Fitness” slot on both iOS and Google Play.
Stickiness & spend: Push Day‑7 retention above 25 % and prove ad‑view revenue could fund further growth.
Challenges & Solutions
Motivation is a crowded niche.
Solution: Ogilvy‑inspired creative—“90‑second pep talks that out‑perform caffeine”—paired with looping subtitles for silent autoplay stopped thumbs mid‑scroll.Install costs spiked on weekends.
Solution: Automated bid rules throttled spend in high‑CPI windows, then flood‑lit Monday‑through‑Thursday when rates dipped 23 %.Retention lagged after first listen.
Solution: Post‑install emails teased a “Next‑Level Mindset” playlist and in‑app push nudges at 24‑hour intervals to cement the habit.
Outcome & Impact
Growth engine: Averaged 2 640 installs per week for 16 straight weeks, CPI $1.58.
App‑Store ascent: Jumped from #112 to #22 in “Health & Fitness” on iOS in six weeks.
Retention win: Day‑7 retention climbed from 17 % to 29 %—a 70 % improvement.
Monetization: Ad impressions up 210 %, lifting ARPU 1.6× and green‑lighting a Series A raise.