One of the most profitable verticals in Uzbekistan is mVAS Carrier Billing — a model where users subscribe to digital services like premium entertainment content, with payments deducted directly from their mobile carrier balance.
Uzbekistan is one of the most promising Tier-3 GEOs, with a rapidly growing internet audience and a strong demand for digital services. While its purchasing power is lower than that of Tier-1 and Tier-2 countries, the fast paced development of mobile technologies and the rising number of entertainment service subscriptions make it an attractive market for affiliates looking to drive traffic effectively.
In this case study, we’ll take a closer look at how an mVAS Carrier offer performed in Uzbekistan, focusing on UZTELECOM, the country’s largest telecom provider. We’ll share insights from a campaign launched on the HilltopAds ad network platform, break down the promotional strategy, and analyze key metrics that define a successful ad campaign.
Tune in to the latest episode on the HilltopAds YouTube channel for some great insights into the mVAS (mobile value added service) industry. If you’re interested in trends and traffic tips, this one’s definitely worth a watch:
Key Points
Offer: Carrier UZTELECOM
GEO: UZ (Uzbekistan)
Traffic: Non-Mainstream High and Medium Activity
Ad Format: Popunder mobile
Ad campaign period: 4 January – 10 January
Revenue: $149.8
ROI: 207%
Features of the GEO and Specifics of Non-Mainstream mVAS Carrier Offers
Let’s take a closer look at Uzbekistan GEO.
Uzbekistan is the biggest market in Central Asia, and it’s growing fast — both economically and digitally. Online shopping is booming, especially in major cities like Tashkent, and more people are getting comfortable with digital services every day.
One of the biggest advantages of this market? It’s young audience. The average age here is just 26.5 years — way lower than in most European countries. That’s a goldmine for advertisers promoting digital services, subscriptions, and mobile apps.
Internet access is another strong point. Uzbekistan has a well-developed mobile infrastructure, making it easy for users to stay online:
- 96% of the population actively uses the internet
- Around 19 million people access the web via mobile devices
- Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere, even in the metro
With mobile internet being so widespread, it’s no surprise that mobile traffic is king for affiliates. ASO, contextual advertising, SEO, and landing pages with a variety of offers perform particularly well in this region.
One more thing to keep in mind: Android dominates the market with an 89.89% share, while iOS sits at just 10.01%. This is a crucial factor when selecting ad formats and offers optimized for mobile platforms.
Why Non-Mainstream Advertising Works in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a unique market for non-mainstream advertising, especially when paired with mVAS subscriptions. The combination of a young, male-dominated internet audience, specific cultural habits, and limited access to traditional payment methods makes it an ideal market for this kind of model.
How Users from Uzbekistan Interact with Ads
People in Uzbekistan are quite receptive to ads — especially when they feature affordable, tempting offers. As mentioned earlier, the majority of online users are under 35 years old, with peak engagement times in the evenings after work or studies. This is when they’re most likely to be browsing for entertainment, making it the perfect moment to target them with Non-Mainstream offers.
Why a Male-Dominated Audience Matters
A key factor here is that men make up the majority of the online audience in Uzbekistan. This is largely due to traditional gender roles, where women often have less financial freedom. Because of this, men are the main consumers of digital services, entertainment, and Non-Mainstream content in the country.
Moreover, Uzbek men are particularly drawn to entertainment-driven or suggestive ads, so Non-Mainstream promotions naturally fit well with their interests.
How to Persuade Uzbek Consumers
Unlike more affluent markets, impulse buying isn’t common in Uzbekistan. People here prefer to think things through before spending money. That means non-mainstream offers need to be positioned in a way that encourages careful but quick decision-making:
- Use exclusive discounts – promo codes or special offers are great for sparking action right away.
- Create urgency – messages like “limited-time deals,” countdown timers, and “only a few spots left” work wonders.
- Highlight the value – be clear about what the user will get, include testimonials for trust, and make the branding look official.
Why mVAS Subscriptions Are a Game Changer
One of the biggest challenges in this GEO is limited access to banking services. Many Uzbek consumers — especially women — don’t have credit or debit cards, making traditional online payments tricky. mVAS (mobile value added service) subscriptions solve this by letting users pay directly through their mobile carriers, which is much more convenient and frictionless for them.
How to Optimize Creatives for Uzbekistan
Non-Mainstream advertising can really take off in Uzbekistan, but it’s important to get the creative side right:
- Keep it subtle – flashy or aggressive visuals don’t resonate here. Opt for clean, elegant imagery, like fair-skinned Uzbek women with aristocratic features.
- Respect local customs – ads that go against Islamic values could be off-putting and lead to low engagement or even backlash.
- Test before scaling – what works elsewhere might not have the same effect here. Be sure to A/B test with localized visuals and messaging before expanding your campaigns.
With the right mix of smart creatives, urgency-based offers, and smooth mobile vas payments, Uzbekistan can turn into a highly profitable market for non-mainstream advertising.
General settings for an advertising campaign on the HilltopAds platform
Before you can start your advertising campaign on HilltopAds, you’ll need to sign up as an advertiser. You can register through this link.
Once you’re all set up, here’s how to create your campaign:
- Head over to the Manage Campaigns section.
- Hit the Add Campaign button.
- In the campaign creation area, choose the Popunder mobile ad format.
- In the Traffic Channels section, pick Non-Mainstream High and Medium Activity.
After that, it’s important to configure the Postback to keep track of your campaign results.
You can find detailed instructions on working with Postback and placeholders in our guide!
In simple terms, for the final URL of the offer, we need to insert parameters to pass conversions and source IDs. The parameter for passing conversions is click_id, and the source ID is zone_id.
As a result, our Final Destination URL should look like this:
https://my_offer.net/?&click_id={{ctoken}}&s1={{zoneid}}
- {{ctoken}} – HilltopAds parameter for passing conversions.
- {{zoneid}} – HilltopAds parameter for passing source ID.
You can include any parameter you need for your campaign analysis from the available options. Just make sure to include the click_id parameter in the final link to track conversions properly.
Next, we set the necessary targeting settings:
- GEO – UZ (Uzbekistan)
- Device – mobile
- Mobile Carrier – UZ-uztelecom
- Connection type – 3G/LTE
You can also configure campaign filters and allow/disallow Proxy and WebView traffic from the campaign. In this case, we enabled the WebView filter while disabling Proxy traffic:
- Proxy – disallow
- WebView – allow
WebView is software that opens a landing page with an offer within a mobile application. In other words, upon opening the application, users are directed to a single-page website with the offer.
To get the best results, we set time-based restrictions so our ads would only run during the most effective hours. Specifically, the campaign was scheduled to go live at 00, 01, 02, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 UTC each day. This strategy helps boost conversions by focusing on peak engagement times, optimizes the budget by prioritizing high ROI periods, and matches user behavior for better overall performance.
We set our CPM bid at $1.3 to strike a balance between cost and traffic volume. This allows us to keep impressions coming without overpaying, staying well below the premium CPM of $3.35. It also aligns closely with the recommended $2.02 CPM, so we’re getting the most value from our budget.
Our tip: to test a new offer, start with the recommended CPM. This will show whether the offer is effective and whether the campaign needs optimization.
Optimization and intermediate results
Right from the beginning of our campaign, we set up automatic optimization to keep traffic running smoothly and boost performance. We set the system to automatically blacklist any zone that got over 1,500 impressions but fewer than 1 conversion in a 48-hour window. This approach allowed us to immediately cut off underperforming traffic sources and focus on higher-quality zones.
We also set up a postback in Voluum to track and transmit conversion data. This ensures accurate performance measurement, optimizes campaign scaling, and enhances bid adjustments based on real time results.
Results
After carefully tuning the advertising campaign for 7 days, we achieved the following results:
- Total Costs (Spent) – $48.8
- Total Earnings (Profit) – $149.8
- ROI (Return on Investment) – 207%
ROI is a key figure in digital marketing that tells you how much profit your ad campaign is actually bringing in. In simple terms, it shows you what percentage of your ad spend you’ve earned back through the results.
To calculate ROI, you just need this formula: ROI = (total earnings – total cost) / total cost * 100%
Conclusion
Uzbekistan is a goldmine for arbitrage marketers, especially when it comes to Non-Mainstream advertising and mVAS Carrier offers. With 96% internet penetration and a young, mobile-first audience (average age: ≈26.5 years), this GEO creates the perfect conditions for high-performing mobile ad campaigns.
Why Uzbekistan is a Hotspot for Non-Mainstream Advertising
One of the biggest advantages? A male-dominated online audience. Since traditional gender roles often limit women’s financial independence, men are the primary consumers of digital services, entertainment, and Non-Mainstream content.
Another major factor is limited access to banking services. Many users — especially women — don’t have credit or debit cards, making mVAS monetization through mobile carrier billing a seamless and convenient alternative.
Real Results from Our Test Campaign
To put this market to the test, we ran a 7-day campaign on HilltopAds, and the results spoke for themselves: 207% ROI. Here’s what made it work:
- Precise targeting (mobile devices, 3G/LTE, UZ-Uztelecom operators)
- Optimized ad scheduling (running ads during peak activity hours)
- Automated filtering (blacklisting low-converting zones to improve efficiency)
- Real-time tracking with Voluum postback, allowing quick bid adjustments and scaling
If you’re looking for new GEOs to scale, Uzbekistan is a hidden gem for Non-Mainstream advertising. Low competition, high mobile penetration, and an engaged audience — sounds like a dream, right?
