How Crumbl Leveraged CTV to Drive Mobile App Downloads

Why It Matters

The campaign proves that connected‑TV can be a high‑impact, measurable channel for app acquisition, expanding marketers’ toolkits beyond traditional social platforms.

Key Takeaways

• 16,000+ app downloads, 213% target exceed
• 32.37% ROAS achieved in first week
• Samsung CTV-to-Mobile leveraged machine‑learning placements
• Campaign outperformed traditional social media awareness
• CTV emerging as viable app‑install channel

Pulse Analysis

Connected‑TV advertising has moved from brand‑awareness experiments to direct‑response driver, and Crumbl’s recent rollout illustrates that shift. By pairing Samsung’s CTV‑to‑Mobile platform with algorithmic placement, the bakery chain reached households watching streaming content and nudged them to download its app. The seven‑week cadence aligned with Crumbl’s seasonal flavor drops, turning screen time into a timely call‑to‑action that resonated with a digitally savvy audience accustomed to visual storytelling.

The campaign’s metrics underscore CTV’s efficiency. Over 16,000 downloads—more than double the target—translated into $20,000 of attributed revenue in week one, delivering a 32.37% return on ad spend. Machine‑learning optimization ensured each impression appeared on high‑intent viewers, while Samsung’s home‑screen UI provided a premium, non‑intrusive environment. Compared with Crumbl’s social spend, the CTV effort achieved comparable, if not superior, conversion rates, highlighting the channel’s capacity to complement, rather than replace, existing digital tactics.

For marketers, Crumbl’s success signals a broader industry trend: CTV is maturing into a performance‑focused medium. New measurement frameworks from Nielsen, Roku and The Trade Desk’s Ventura Ecosystems are addressing past transparency concerns, making attribution more reliable. Brands seeking scalable app‑install strategies should evaluate CTV’s blend of visual impact and data‑driven targeting, especially when launching time‑sensitive promotions. As streaming adoption climbs, the convergence of TV and mobile will likely become a cornerstone of growth‑oriented media plans.