How Stacks helped a global live-streaming app scale US user acquisition through performance-driven creators.
At a glance
- 40 – Consecutive months of partnership, and counting
- 9x – Growth in monthly campaign volume, launch to peak
- 15–25% – Day-1 retention from top creators during the initial launch
Advertiser: Global live-streaming social app
Market: United States
Model: Performance (cost per install)
Partnership: June 2023 – present
Creator channels: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook
The challenge
A global live-streaming app wanted to scale US user acquisition while maintaining the quality and engagement of the users it acquired. Rather than optimizing solely for install volume, the advertiser needed a scalable creator program that could be measured at the individual creator level and optimized against downstream performance.
The approach: a performance engine, not a creator list
Stacks didn't simply provide creators. We built and managed the performance engine behind the creator program.
- Creator recruitment – Sourcing creators whose audiences match the app's community.
- Individual tracking – Every creator measured on their own installs and results.
- Performance optimization – Scaling the creators who drive engaged users, and coaching or rotating the rest.
- Retention monitoring – Judging creators on day-1 retention, not just installs.
- Fraud & quality review – Flagging suspicious accounts and traffic before it reaches the advertiser.
- Creator payouts – Every creator payment handled, with no invoices for the advertiser to manage.
- Supply expansion – A monthly recruitment incentive keeps fresh creators coming in as others peak.
The outcome: Predictable, measurable growth without managing hundreds of creator relationships.
Growth over the partnership
Monthly campaign volume, indexed to launch month.
The results
- 40 consecutive months of partnership, and counting
- 9x growth in monthly campaign volume, from launch month to peak
- 15–25% day-1 retention from top-performing creators during the initial campaign launch
- Average monthly volume grew year over year through 2025, and the program continues to scale as an important part of the app's US user acquisition strategy
Why it lasted
Performance advertisers don't renew for 40 months out of loyalty. They renew because the numbers keep working.
Creators promote apps they actually use, so their audiences arrive with context and intent. Stacks handles recruiting, tracking, fraud review and payouts, so the advertiser gets predictable, measurable growth without managing hundreds of creator relationships.
The advertiser's name is withheld. Growth is indexed to the launch month (June 2023 = 1x). Partnership data runs June 2023 – September 2026.
