Overview of this campaign
The primary objective behind NZZ’s mobile growth and monetization strategy was to transform the apps into scalable, high-performing revenue engines. Rather than focusing solely on increasing engagement, the goal was to generate high-value installs that lead directly to measurable subscription growth, stronger lifetime value, and sustainable recurring revenue.
At the acquisition level, we aimed to attract users with clear subscription intent by continuously optimizing Apple Search Ads campaigns. This included refining bidding strategies per keyword, testing keywords and match types, and tailoring App Store messaging through custom product pages. The objective was not just volume, but efficiency and scalability—ensuring that marketing investment translated into meaningful subscriber conversions across both Switzerland and Germany.
A second core objective was to accelerate monetization experimentation without slowing down product development. By implementing Purchasely as a no-code monetization layer, we sought to decouple paywall and offer optimization from engineering release cycles. This enabled the team to launch, adjust, and test native subscription experiences instantly, reducing time-to-market and allowing continuous iteration on pricing, messaging, and design.
Another objective was to simplify paywalls, reducing friction from the purchasing decision and guide users toward higher-value plans. Paywalls were redesigned to communicate the value proposition with radical clarity, helping users choose confidently. Pricing strategy deliberately anchored the monthly plan while promoting annual subscriptions through design cues, annual rebates and social proof, resulting in a dominant annual take rate.
Finally, we aimed to unlock upselling potential through In-App campaigns - upselling to the Pro tier as well as to annual plans - as well as structural subscription changes. By separating NZZ Pro into a standalone add-on, placing it into a seperate sbscription group, existing Digital subscribers from both App and Web could upgrade more seamlessly, campaigns could discount Pro independentlya and overall churn risk was reduced.
In summary, the campaign objective was to build a fast-iterating, data-driven mobile subscription business - one that combines efficient user acquisition, agile testing, optimized pricing, and targeted campaigns to drive significant and repeatable revenue growth.
