Case studies / Pala De 7
Pala de 7 · Sports app · Saudi Arabia · Oct 2024 – Feb 2025
How Pala de 7 passed 10,000 installs and reached #4 among free sports apps in Saudi Arabia
A padel booking app with a good product, a small team and no scalable acquisition. In four months we built a five-channel install engine, changed how the brand made content, and used post-install events to decide where the next riyal went.
Engagement closed Feb 2025 · figures as reported at the time
10K+App installsFive paid channels, four months
20K+In-app conversionsLogins, game joins, payments
#4Free sports apps, Saudi App StorePeak ranking during the campaign
The case in 30 seconds
The challenge
Installs were expensive and uneven across platforms, the creative had no hooks or localisation, and nobody knew what happened after the install.
What we changed
Give each channel a single job, replace generic video with influencer-led vertical content in Saudi Arabic, and wire in-app events into weekly media decisions.
The result
10K+ installs, 20K+ in-app conversions and a #4 ranking among Saudi free sports apps.
Our diagnosis
The lowest CPI was not the best source.
We looked at the whole path from impression to first paid match.
- Real demand for padelCategory downloads +42% YoY
- Uneven install economicsiOS on Meta expensive early, Android on Google cheap
- Generic creativeNo hooks, no Saudi voice
- Install volume hid activationGuestLogin and JoinGameTapped told a different story
- Onboarding frictionUsers lost between install and first match
The opportunity
Channel-role architectureInfluencer creative in Saudi ArabicPost-install event optimisationWeekly product feedback
→Installs that become playersBefore → After
What actually changed
BeforeAfter
BeforeBudget spread evenly
AfterEach channel funded for one job, rebalanced weekly on CPI and activation
BeforeGeneric app footage
AfterInfluencer-led vertical video in Saudi Arabic, new creative weekly
BeforeInstalls as the metric
AfterInstalls, logins, game joins and payments reported together
BeforeMedia and product apart
AfterWeekly in-app funnel report shared with the product team
BeforeAgency-dependent content
AfterIn-house team producing the format after the engagement
Growth strategy
One growth system. Four connected levers.
01 — Media
Google for Android volume, Apple Search Ads for high-intent iOS at the cheapest install of the five channels, Meta for creative-led scale, TikTok for discovery, Snapchat for Saudi reach.
Install→Login→Join a game→Payment
Bids moved weekly on CPI and on the share of installs that reached a login or a game join.
02 — Creative
Saudi padel players and creators fronted vertical video with Arabic voice-over.
Weekly drops; winners reused across platforms.
03 — Funnel
Install → GuestLogin → JoinGameTapped → payment.
Activation rate by channel, not just CPI by channel.
04 — Measurement
Three core events tracked from week one and reported weekly to the product team.
Onboarding fixes shipped during the campaign, not after.
Creative strategy
The creative system
The pieces that did the work, not the whole gallery.
- Format
- Influencer vertical video · TOF
Why it workedA recognisable Saudi player booking a court and joining a match explained the product faster than any feature list.
- Format
- UGC hook test · MOF
Why it workedHooks that named a real player problem (finding a match) lifted CTR and brought CPI down without changing bids.
- Format
- App Store search creative · BOF
Why it workedScreenshots and copy built around booking a court delivered the lowest CPI in the account.
What we learned
01
The cheapest install is not the best user.
Once activation was measured by channel, budget moved to where logins and game joins came from.
02
Creative changed the economics more than bidding did.
Influencer-led video in Saudi Arabic lifted CTR enough to bring CPI down without touching bids.
03
Post-install behaviour belongs in media decisions.
Sharing the in-app funnel with the product team weekly fixed onboarding while the campaign was live.
Proof
Documented in the tools
Business impact
The business impact
As reported at the close of the engagement.
10K+App installsfive channels
20K+In-app conversionslogins, game joins, payments
#4Free sports apps, KSAApp Store peak
Below benchmarkiOS cost per installApple Search Ads, against the 5.5–9 SAR category benchmark
Client spend and revenue are confidential; figures are as reported in the campaign's own reporting for the period stated, with sensitive values in the screenshots redacted.
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