A Las Vegas Sportsbook
March Madness 2025 App Downloads
High-Energy Creative, Smarter Strategy, Real Results
For the 2025 March Madness season, a large sportsbook client partnered with BTV to scale app downloads through Meta. The strategy focused on conversion-first optimization, creative testing, and targeting experienced sports bettors. The results speak for themselves: a 253% increase in downloads from paid social and a 65% drop in acquisition cost year over year.
Key Performance Highlights
- 253% year-over-year increase in downloads from paid social
- 45% of all app downloads came from one TikTok-style video ad
- Cost per download on Meta dropped from $181 to $63
- Downloads grew significantly with only a 23% increase in spend
- Creative performance directly influenced how budget was allocated
Smarter Strategy: From Traffic to Conversion
In 2024, the client’s campaigns were optimized for landing page views. While that drove traffic, it didn’t drive results. In 2025, BTV shifted the strategy to conversion-based optimization, resulting in higher-intent traffic, significantly more downloads, and lower acquisition costs. This A/B test confirmed that conversion campaigns outperform traffic-focused objectives in both scale and efficiency.
Creative That Moved the Needle
A TikTok-style video ad designed for sportsbook-savvy users was the standout performer of the campaign. It accounted for 45% of all downloads from paid social and drove 47 conversions on its own. Meta’s algorithm responded quickly, allocating more budget toward this creative and reducing spend on lower-performing static and carousel ads. The takeaway: you don’t choose the winner, the algorithm does, based on data.
Focused Targeting
Rather than casting a wide net, we focused targeting experienced bettors, our client’s ideal customer. This led to stronger engagement, less wasted spend, and a higher likelihood of long-term retention.
What’s Next
Continue prioritizing conversion-optimized campaigns across Meta
Expand high-performing video content into future seasonal campaigns
Test additional creative styles to stay ahead of fatigue
CPC: $3.65
Impact: More qualified leads
