Bonjour, advertisers! Today, we will talk about launching an Utilities offer in a GEO that attracts with its fashion, culture, croissants, and the purchasing power of its audience.
The word “utilities” usually brings to mind images of electricity and water bills (think of that infamous Monopoly card that everyone dislikes 😁). However, when it comes to the utilities vertical, it means something entirely different. In this context, it is a broad term encompassing all mobile software tools that provide security, efficiency, file organization, and elimination of digital threats.
So, in this case study, we will examine the size of the mobile utilities market, why it is profitable to run campaigns for them, and what can lead to losing money, what types of offers exist, and where they are being run in large volumes. At the end of the article, you will find campaign setup recommendations from the HilltopAds advertising network team. Let’s go!
Key Points
Offer: Mobile Utilities
GEO: FR (France)
Traffic: Mainstream High and Medium Activity
Ad Format: Popunder mobile
Ad campaign period: 29 May – 4 June
Revenue: $1,600.42
ROI: 150%
Mobile utilities in traffic arbitrage are a vertical that includes a variety of different offers: VPNs, phone cleaners, ad blockers, password managers, and other auxiliary tools for the browser.
Why running mobile utilities is profitable?
● Low entry barrier – payouts for such offers usually range from $0.01 to $10+, depending on the type of conversion and geo. This means that you can test several approaches and geos with a minimal budget. To get initial results from the first tests, $100 will be enough;
● Opportunity to scale worldwide – most mobile applications are available in at least a few geos, and often apps accept traffic from all over the world, making it fairly easy to scale if you have a working setup;
● Ability to achieve stable and predictable ROI week after week without bans and unnecessary account manipulations, no need to upload 100 accounts daily, just run, optimize campaigns, and earn;
● Ability to gain more profit over time by optimizing ad campaigns and reducing the cost per target action;
● A wide variety of offers: dating, VPNs, antiviruses, ad blockers, mobile scanners, phone cleaners, and other software. If you know how to work with mobile traffic, you can easily scale not only in terms of geo but also across different offers;
● Various ad formats (popunders, in-page) convert well, have a very simple launch flow, and are often used by beginners to enter traffic arbitrage.
According to research by the software development company 42matters, the mobile app market in 2024 consisted of about 5,000,000 apps in the stores: Google Play and App Store. A huge market for running ads, isn’t it?
Additionally, when running mobile app campaigns, it’s important to understand that payouts here are not as high as in gambling, sweepstakes, or other verticals. However, you can achieve higher ROI and earn significantly more through volume if you consider the amount of time spent on daily campaign management.
For example, while gambling, nutra, and crypto can be quickly banned, necessitating constant account re-uploads and requiring large expenses for tests, with mobile app campaigns you just spend 30-60 minutes a day optimizing current campaigns and making decisions on tests.
Strategy
France is one of the most attractive markets for media buyers due to its high level of internet penetration and the purchasing power of its population. The country is considered Tier-1.
Everything is at a high level here: education, income, and standard of living. However, the local population also has its share of various problems and dependencies. Below, we will take a closer look at the GEO.
It is important to consider that the French are accustomed to sophistication and elegance, so your ad creatives should be beautiful. Pay attention to the aesthetics of the images, as this factor largely determines whether the offered app will be downloaded or not. Fortunately, Popunder ad format does not require special creatives. The main thing is a quality landing page with a clear description and a download button.
In France, there is practically no division between desktop and mobile internet—there is enough traffic in both cases. However, since we will be running ads for mobile utilities, we will choose Popunder mobile.
Geography
France is at the forefront of the European mobile revolution, boasting a robust app ecosystem: over 76% of its population actively uses smartphones. According to the latest data from app experts Adjust, by 2027, the French app market will exceed $7.3 billion.
When it comes to iOS, on the rapidly developing French market, utilities occupy the top spot for downloads, rather than gaming apps. On Android, six out of the ten most profitable apps fall into the gaming category. Overall, it can be concluded that the French mobile app market is experiencing significant growth!
Settings of the ad campaign and its Optimization at HilltopAds
Before launching an advertising campaign on HilltopAds, you need to register as an advertiser. You can register using this link.
Next, to create an advertising campaign, you need to:
- Go to the Manage Campaigns section
- Click the 添加活动 button
- In the campaign creation section, select the Popunder mobile ad format
- 在 Traffic Channels section, choose Mainstream high and medium activity
Next, it’s essential to set up the Postback to track the results of your ad campaign.
For a detailed description of working with Postback and the available placeholders, check out 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.
In general, you can add absolutely any parameter from the available options that is necessary for further campaign analysis. However, remember that it is essential to include the click_id parameter in the final link to pass conversions.
Next, we set the necessary targeting settings:
- GEO – FR (France)
- OS – iOS
- OS version – 15, 16, 17
- Device – mobile/tablet
You can also configure campaign filters and allow/disallow Proxy and WebView traffic from the campaign. However, in our case, for the Utilities offer, we have included webview 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.
We’ve made the decision to implement a daily budget limit for our advertising campaign on the HilltopAds platform. This strategic move is aimed at ensuring better financial control and maximizing the efficiency of our advertising spend.
During the first 3 days of testing, we decided to set a daily campaign limit of $80:
If needed, you can also set campaign limits or display schedules. The final step before launching the ad is to specify the cost per thousand impressions (CPM). Here, we pay attention to the Traffic Volumes graph in the top left corner, which calculates premium, minimum, and recommended CPM rates.
We initiated the ad campaign with a bid of $0.8, based on the provided recommended CPM price.
Our advice: to test a new offer, start with the recommended CPM. This will show whether the offer is effective and whether the campaign needs optimization.
So, the key settings of the advertising campaign are as follows:
Ad format – Popunder mobile
Traffic Channels – Mainstream High and Medium Activity
Geo – FR
OS – iOS
OS version – 15, 16, 17
Device – mobile/tablet
CPM rate – $0.8
Optimization and intermediate results
We tested the campaign for 3 days with a budget limit of $80. On the fourth day, seeing positive results, we decided to increase the budget to $100. As a result, conversions increased:
As for Auto Optimization, we applied it from the first day of the campaign, selecting a 48-hour period and an eCPA of $1.8.
To learn more about the capabilities of automatic optimization with HilltopAds, you can check out the article on the website.
Auto Optimization is a tool for automatically adding non-performing traffic sources. Thanks to this feature, the HilltopAds system removes non-profit sources from your advertising campaign and adds them to the BlackList.
Results
After carefully tuning the advertising campaign for 7 days, we achieved the following results:
- Total Costs (Revenue) – $640
- Total Earnings (Profit) – $1,600.42
- ROI (Return on Investment) – 150%
ROI is one of the key indicators in digital marketing that allows you to assess the profitability of an advertising campaign. In simple terms, ROI shows you the percentage of advertising investments that you have managed to recover through earnings from the ads.
The formula for calculating ROI is:
ROI = (total earnings – total cost) / total cost * 100%
In this case, the return on investment is 150%.
Net Profit
The net profit derived from the VPN offer launched on the HilltopAds platform illustrates compelling return on investment. With a total revenue of $1,600.42 and advertising expenses amounting to $640, the campaign yielded a net profit of $960. This underscores the effectiveness of the HilltopAds advertising network as a valuable platform for promoting offers such as Utilities.
This emphasizes the effectiveness of the HilltopAds advertising network as a valuable platform for promoting offers such as Utilities in Tier-1 countries.
Wrap-up
Here are some tips and a conclusion for launching Utilities offer advertising in France:
- Budget Management. Start with a manageable daily budget, such as $80, to test the waters. Monitor the performance closely and be prepared to increase the budget if the results are positive, as was done from $80 to $100 in the case study.
- Utilize Auto Optimization. Implement auto-optimization from the first day of the campaign. Set a reasonable period (e.g., 48 hours) and an effective cost per action (eCPA) target (e.g., $1.8) to help streamline the process and improve results over time.
- Focus on Aesthetics. French consumers appreciate sophistication and elegance. Ensure your ad creatives are visually appealing to increase the likelihood of app downloads.
- Diversify Offers. Leverage a variety of mobile utility offers, such as VPNs, dating apps, phone cleaners, ad blockers, and QR-code scanners. This variety allows you to test different approaches and find what works best in the French market.
- Scale Worldwide. Once you have a successful setup, consider scaling to other geographies. Many mobile applications are available globally, allowing for easy expansion if the initial campaign performs well.
- Understand the Competitive Landscape. Recognize that while payouts for mobile utilities might be lower than those in gambling or nutra, the potential for high ROI through volume and lower daily maintenance makes it a viable and profitable option.
By following these recommendations, you can effectively set up and optimize your advertising campaign for mobile utilities, particularly in attractive GEOs like France.
As always, we’re delighted to offer you a promo code: CASEUTILITIES. Just enter it when you make your first deposit of $100 or more at HilltopAds and you’ll get an additional +10% bonus.
We hope this case study was helpful to you. If so, why not register with HilltopAds and start earning profits today?
