The optimal Ad Network mix can serve up user acquisition acceleration. It’s how Temu doubled its month-over-month (MoM) growth rate in its third month from launch. It’s also how Sephora broke through its growth plateau and grew 61% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in Q4 –  its highest QoQ increase in 5 years.

The ad intelligence on Temu and Sephora in Q4 show us easy-to-follow experimentation. While Mixed Media Modeling is an excellent process for automating advertising optimization, when you need clear answers, you don’t want to over-complicate the equation. 

Here’s what Sephora’s simple experiment looked like in Q4:

1. Finding out what ad network top-performing competitor Ulta used.

2. Turning off campaigns and creatives with the one ad network that had run its top-performing ads for years.

3. Reallocating spend to the new ad network to run a simple creative.  https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/12082534/embed

The 61% jump leapfrogged Ulta’s 40% growth during the busy holiday shopping season. What’s more is that Sephora had sequential monthly active user (MAU) growth at its highest QoQ growth rates when it made the switch: +25% QoQ in Q4 and +35% QoQ in Q1 2023.

This indicates stronger funnel stage conversion from the ads.

Despite its infamously high budget, Temu takes a similar approach. Taking a focused approach, Temu placed only a few ad network bets each month with the same basic creative.

Curious about where it tested, and what success looked like? We got you. Check out our latest ebook, How App Download Leaders are Winning.