FIELD NOTE 01 INTERACTIVE ADS
The Café Test.
What if a language app let you order a coffee before asking you to install it?
A video ad can show someone ordering coffee in Turkish. A playable ad can ask you to order it yourself. I wanted to see how much of a language lesson could fit into one interaction, so the demo gives you three phrases and responds to the one you pick.
The interesting question is what happens after the install. If the ad gives people a taste of the real first lesson, will more of them stick around long enough to finish it?
EXPERIMENT PLAN USER ACQUISITION
How I’d test it.
I’d start with a language app that already runs short lesson videos. Turn one video into a playable by adding a phrase choice, then see which version brings in more people who finish a first lesson.
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Choose a video worth adapting
I’d look through public ad libraries for a clip that shows one useful task. A coffee-ordering video is a good candidate because viewers can try the same thing by picking a phrase, and the app can teach it in the first lesson.
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Compare the video with a playable version
Keep the same lesson, install prompt, and store page. Run both versions at the same time with equal budgets and a comparable audience, using placements that support both formats. Before launch, make sure first-lesson completions can be attributed to each ad.
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Count the people who finish a lesson
Divide each ad’s spend by the number of users it brought in who completed their first lesson within 24 hours of installing. I’d also check cost per install and the share of new users who finish the lesson to understand what drove the result.
| Metric | Video | Playable |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | $200 | $200 |
| Installs | 100 | 80 |
| First lessons completed | 20 | 25 |
| Cost per first lesson | $10 | $8 |
Here, the playable brings in fewer installs and more first-lesson completions. If the lower cost holds after enough traffic, I’d repeat the test with a second lesson to see whether the result carries over.