With performance marketers under pressure to prove value beyond installs, Exness, a global multi-asset broker, partnered with Smadex to shift its acquisition strategy from scale to substance, targeting quality traders with measurable lifetime value. The result: a 60% drop in Cost Per First-Time Depositor (CPAFTD), alongside significant lifts in key conversion metrics across eight markets.
Objective: From Volume to Value
Exness sought to evolve beyond traditional acquisition metrics like app installs. The focus: acquire users who deposit, trade actively, and contribute meaningful Net Spread Revenue (NSR) over time. Achieving this required a shift toward lower-funnel KPIs such as CPAFTD, ROI, and incremental lift, while navigating a privacy-first landscape post-ATT.
Solutions: Deep Funnel Meets Data Precision
To meet these goals, Smadex responded with a multi-pronged strategy that combined behavioural targeting, predictive modelling, and incrementality testing, built to acquire high-LTV users efficiently and at scale.
- Deep Funnel Optimisation: Smadex identified high-intent users by analysing device-level behaviour, in-app trading signals, and engagement with financial content. Leveraging iOS-first expertise and proprietary predictive models, Smadex focused bids for audiences with strong ARPU potential, shifting away from vanity metrics toward long-term value.
- Incrementality Testing: To measure the real contribution of advertising, Smadex ran randomised Conversion Lift Studies, segmenting users into exposed and control groups. Combined with server-to-server (S2S) tracking, this enabled a clearer view of post-view conversions and informed smarter bidding strategies, prioritising users who showed true incremental uplift from ad exposure.
Strategic Market Expansion: With a proven model in place, Exness and Smadex doubled their operational markets from three to eight, tailoring campaigns to local behaviours while maintaining strong CPAFTD performance. The strategy was scaled across the entire Exness app portfolio, demonstrating both consistency and adaptability.
Results: Measurable Gains, Real Business Impact
The collaboration delivered strong, data-backed improvements:
- Significant CPAFTD Improvement: Exness achieved an impressive up to 60% cost reduction per first-time depositor in its top-performing markets.
- Tangible Incremental Impact: Beyond cost savings, the initiative delivered a 74.4% lift in app installs, an 11.75% lift in first-time deposits (validated by CLS), and a 15.0% lift in registrations.
“Smadex’s transparency and collaborative approach have been game-changers,” said Sotiris Sotiriadis, paid media team lead at Exness. “Weekly reviews keep us aligned not only on performance, but also on emerging trends and untapped opportunities. More than a vendor, Smadex is a growth partner.”
“We’re proud to support Exness in their shift toward high-quality acquisition,” said Jasslyn Ye, head of commercial growth, INSEA at Smadex. “This partnership reflects our shared focus on performance, innovation, and delivering real business value.”
Marketing Takeaway: From Installs to Real Impact
Exness’s shift toward deep-funnel optimisation reflects a growing reality for performance marketers: success is no longer measured by volume alone. As signal loss, platform changes, and increasing competition reshape acquisition, marketers must prove value at every stage of the user journey.
This collaboration between Exness and Smadex exemplifies how moving beyond vanity metrics to unlock real lifetime value can lead to significant cost efficiencies and sustainable growth.
