Case study: How to earn $1 million on antiviruses through Pushub DSP

The antivirus market is a real battleground. Many brands compete for every bit of user attention. To succeed in this area, you need a well-thought-out approach, a wide audience, precise targeting, and competent monetization. We would like to share with you a case study on how to use the Pushub DSP platform to promote an anti-virus offer and not only recoup the costs but also earn a million dollars! We will tell you about everything further below.

Revenue and ROI that you see in the Goals Value column are only part of the real picture. The system takes into account conversions within 45 days, but anti-virus offers often give “late” sales. So, in fact, the ROI can be 15-25% higher than the current figures. All profits can be found in the “commission” section.

If you want to make money on push notifications, it is better to contact professionals who specialize in this right away. Before we started working with push notifications, we were skeptical. But when an antivirus provider recommended Pushub, we decided to take a chance. And we didn’t regret it: For products such as antiviruses, the ability to quickly and directly address the user through their device is a definite plus.

Step 1 – Preparing campaigns for a successful launch

When we connected to Pushub DSP, we received a personal account manager (AM) who became a real partner and support throughout the work on campaigns. Based on his advice, we launched three campaigns, each of which corresponded to the chosen strategy:

1. Blacklist (BL) campaign: General targeting for all traffic
   This campaign covered all available traffic to collect data and identify the sources that produce the best results. Ongoing data analysis quickly showed trends and helped to identify traffic segments that actually bring conversions.
2. Whitelist (WL) campaign: Focus on quality sources
   AM immediately offered a list of proven traffic sources and sub-sources that have already demonstrated success in past cases. We improved this list by adding new effective sources. This campaign allowed us to maximize ROI by focusing on proven, engaged traffic.
3. Campaign by user age: Fresh and active users
   One of the main insights from AM was understanding the importance of focusing on the “age of users” (the time during which a user stays in the push notification database). We launched a campaign that targeted users added in the last week with higher bids to reach the most engaged audience.

Creative approach

Each campaign was launched with five unique creatives to increase engagement:

• Three of them were created by our AM, using proven designs and copy that have previously shown great results.
• We developed two more creatives on our own, focusing on current trends.

The variety of creatives helped us test several approaches and quickly understand which texts, visuals, and calls to action (CTAs) work best.

After two weeks, the white-listed campaigns outperformed the black-listed campaigns, showing a 40% better conversion rate. And the campaign targeting “young” users increased engagement by 35% compared to standard strategies.

Step 2 – Data collection and continuous improvement

Data collection and optimization were some of the key steps in this work. While many aspects of optimization can be called standard, I will focus on two of the most important: optimizing for user age and improving creatives.

Optimization by user age: how it works

Understanding what “user age” is has become crucial to the success of campaigns. This indicator shows how much time has passed since the user signed up for a push notification. This determines user engagement. Based on the efficiency, we divided all users into four categories:

1. Very new users (0-1 day):
   These are the ones who have just signed up for the push. They are the most active. For them, we set the maximum bids and adapted creatives to maximize their interest.
2. New users (1-8 days):
   They remain quite active, but a little less than brand new users. Rates were slightly lower here, but yields remained stable.
3. Middle-aged users (9-30 days):
   Their activity is gradually decreasing, but they still respond to interesting offers. We experimented with new approaches to keep their attention.
4. Experienced users (30+ days):
   They have already received a lot of pushes, so they are becoming more demanding. The rates for this group were reduced, and in creatives, we focused on unique bonuses to make them interested again.

This approach allowed us to increase conversions by customizing messages and bids according to the activity level of each group.

Creative optimization: always one step ahead

Constantly updating creatives is a necessary part of progress. Here are the principles by which we do it:

1. Setting standards
   A minimum performance threshold was set for each creative. If a creative didn’t bring results, we turned it off, leaving only what worked.
2. Improving successful creatives
   If a creative worked well, we create new variations of it:
   • We change the icons to attract attention.
   • Update images so that the content does not look monotonous.
   • Experiment with texts, changing the tone and message.

This helps to avoid “oversaturation” of the audience, quickly respond to a decline in effectiveness and keep the campaign at a high level. The main advantages are recorded in the data below:

• An impressive breakthrough.Splitting users by age increased conversion by 50%, and campaigns targeting “brand new users” achieved 70% higher conversion rates compared to overall traffic.
• Improve ROI.Tweaking bids based on user age improved overall ROI by 35%.
• Successful creatives.The best creatives yielded 60% higher conversion compared to the “initial batch”, and constant testing consistently increased CTR by 20% across all campaigns.

Step 3 – How to scale success to different regions

When we finally found the optimal combination of traffic sources, creatives, and settings for the target audience, we immediately contacted the advertiser to discuss entering new geos. We had to work from scratch, but thanks to the experience gained, this process became much easier.

Expansion to other regions was not without its challenges, but we recommend the following steps:

1. Use the accumulated data
   Apply the best practices from the first stage: the right bids, adapted creatives, and precise targeting. This will significantly reduce the time to set up new campaigns.
2. Cultural adaptation of creatives
   Creatives need to be changed so that they are as relevant as possible for each region, meet the cultural characteristics and preferences of the local audience.

Yes, each new geo requires time for training and testing. But thanks to constant A/B tests, you will be able to maintain stable profitability and flexibility of campaigns in different markets.

If you want to maximize your ROI, make sure you test different antivirus (AV) providers based on device type (desktop or mobile) and region. Why it’s important:

1. Performance on different devices
   Some antiviruses work better on desktops, while others work better on mobile devices. Testing allows you to find the most effective option for each platform and increase conversions.
2. Difference between regions
   In different countries, people react differently to the same offers. Testing in each geo will help you understand which provider is best for your audience.

Thanks to this strategy, you can significantly improve your overall conversion rates and ROI by using the most effective combinations in your campaigns.

Summary

Earning $1 million on an antivirus offer through Pushub DSP is a true testament to the power of data, careful customization, and the ability to be flexible. Thanks to Pushub DSP’s targeting tools, user segmentation by age group, and continuous creative improvement, you will be able to maintain a high level of engagement and conversions in different regions.

This experience is not only about choosing the right traffic sources or creating effective creatives. It’s also about deeply understanding audience needs, constantly testing hypotheses, and adapting strategies to achieve sustainable profits in the long run.

As for ROI

Please note: current ROI metrics are incomplete. Due to the specifics of the antivirus product, some sales occur after the 45-day window used for tracking. This means that these “late sales” are not included in the reporting. From our experience, such sales usually add another 15-25% to ROI, which means that the actual profitability is much higher than shown in the current data.