A Guide to Testing Acquisition Campaign Creatives for Better Results

When it comes to user acquisition (UA) campaigns, creative assets play a crucial role in driving new users to your app. A well-crafted campaign can lead to better reach and improved performance, but getting the right formula isn’t always easy. Most successful campaigns are born from careful, incremental testing of creative assets to identify winning elements. In this blog, we’ll walk through a simple framework for testing new campaign creatives so you can gain insights faster, optimize more effectively, and set up your UA campaigns for success.

Why Creative Testing Matters

Launching a UA campaign with new creative assets requires a clear strategy and benchmarks to guide the process. Since performance marketing involves budget allocation and spending, each test needs to be efficient. Without a structured approach, it can be challenging to know when and where to adjust bids or make creative changes. Our framework offers a starting point for managing these creative tests to help you make data-driven decisions that enhance campaign effectiveness.

Steps to a Successful Creative Testing Process

1. Set a Clear Structure from the Start

Begin your campaign with a limited number of creatives—aim for no more than five ads in a single ad set. This ensures that your budget per asset is optimized and each creative receives enough attention. Start with a budget that’s sufficient to generate at least 50 installs or 5,000–10,000 impressions per ad. This allows for a meaningful assessment of early performance.

2. Monitor Key Milestones in Your Campaign

Early performance indicators are crucial. Once you have around 50 installs or $300 in spend, start evaluating how each creative performs. Track metrics such as:

• Click-through Rate (CTR): Are users engaging with your ad?
• Install Rate (IR): Are clicks converting into installs?
• Cost per Install (CPI): Is the campaign within budget expectations?

These metrics will help you identify early successes or signs that adjustments may be necessary.

3. Understand When to Adjust Bids and Creatives

During your testing period, stay alert to how each creative is performing. If one shows promise, consider increasing its budget by around 20% to capitalize on its success. However, timing matters—avoid big bid changes near weekends when performance can vary, especially if your audience is less active during that time.

Remember, successful creative hits from your test campaigns can be transferred to your main campaign (often called the "Evergreen" campaign) for continued optimization and greater reach.

4. Avoid Overloading with Creative Assets

Testing too many creatives at once can dilute the effectiveness of your budget, as each ad will receive less exposure. Focusing on fewer assets at a time allows each one to reach a level of significance faster, providing you with more actionable data.

Tips for Optimizing Your Creative Testing Strategy

• Limit Testing on Weekends: Performance metrics can fluctuate based on user activity, so consider running tests during the week when engagement is more consistent.
• Prioritize Creative Hits: Once you’ve identified a creative hit, allocate a significant portion of the total budget to it to maximize its impact.
• Move Successful Creatives to Evergreen: Transfer winning creatives to your primary, ongoing campaign, where they can drive longer-term results.

Final Thoughts

Effective creative testing is about balancing risk and reward. By following a structured framework, you can make smarter budget decisions, learn faster, and refine your creative assets with confidence. Ultimately, optimizing your campaign creatives will increase your reach, improve performance, and drive more installs—all key outcomes for a successful UA strategy.

Start small, test wisely, and watch your UA campaigns thrive!

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