Performance Marketing Case Study

App Install + Affiliate Growth

As Head of App & Affiliate Marketing at The Action Network, I led two distinct paid programs: app install acquisition for The Action Network and sportsbook affiliate marketing.

  • Role: Head of App & Affiliate Marketing
  • App: Paid User Acquisition
  • Affiliate: FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings + PointsBet
$637.7K Q4 app install spend
89.8K Q4 app installs
$7.05 Average app CPI
340% Affiliate ROAS, up from 140%

Challenge

App acquisition required growth against install and CPI goals while attribution gaps obscured subscriber quality. Affiliate campaigns required shifting budget toward the states producing the most revenue while maintaining strong CTR and low CPC after each weekend sports lineup.

App Install Strategy

  • On Facebook, tested app install and complete-registration objectives across cost cap, lowest-cost and automated campaigns. State groups were separated by betting availability.
  • On Twitter, shifted to cost-per-app-click bidding after finding greater efficiency and used affiliate audience learnings without cannibalizing sportsbook campaigns.
  • Broad-match Apple Search Ads doubled installs month over month. I consolidated overlapping Google Ads campaigns, then reduced spend until AppsFlyer purchase-event tracking was reliable.

Product-Led Creative

Selected App-Acquisition Creative

The Action Network Bet Like the Pros campaign creative showing winning tracked bets.
Bet Like the Pros
The Action Network System Pick campaign creative showing a Green Bay betting recommendation and performance data.
System Pick product creative

Affiliate Marketing

  • Ran affiliate campaigns for FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings and PointsBet across NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball and NHL seasons.
  • After each weekend lineup, analyzed spend, impressions, link clicks, CPC, CTR, registrations, first-time bettors, revenue and ROAS by state before reallocating budget.

Affiliate Marketing

State-Level Campaign Analysis

After each weekend sports lineup, I compared state-level click efficiency with registrations, first-time bettors, revenue and ROAS before reallocating spend.

State-level affiliate campaign analysis showing spend, impressions, clicks, CPC, CTR, registrations, first-time bettors, revenue and ROAS.
Post-weekend affiliate campaign analysis by state

Affiliate Campaign Creative

Selected Affiliate Creative

The Action Network affiliate advertisement featuring a Conor McGregor promotional offer.
Event-led promotional creative
The Action Network affiliate advertisement featuring Luka Garza and an Iowa sportsbook offer.
State-specific sportsbook offer

Results

Q4 app install campaigns generated 89,848 installs from $637,695 in spend at a reported average CPI of $7.05. Android delivered 50,271 installs at a $4.41 CPI, while iOS delivered 39,577 installs at a $10.51 CPI.

Google Ads was the strongest historical Android channel, producing 40,195 installs at a $1.82 average CPI.

Separately, I lifted affiliate ROAS from a 140% average to 340% week over week. During the first eight NFL games, $170.2K in affiliate ad spend generated $700.7K in attributed revenue, a 4.12x ROAS.

*App install figures come from the Q4 paid media summary. Affiliate results reflect a separate reporting period. Figures are rounded for presentation.