← Case Studies/GCC Arabic Writing App
Case Study · Performance Marketing
GCC Arabic Writing App
Client name withheld
Arabic writing & grammar assistant · KSA, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt

Cutting cost-per-signup to 2.27 AED while scaling acquisition 39% in 30 days.

By moving budget out of underperforming Meta campaigns and into a TikTok UGC engine and high-intent Google Search, we drove record new-user growth across four GCC markets — at a lower cost than the month before.

4,708
New-user sign-ups
in a single month (+39% MoM)
2.27 AED
Lowest cost per acquisition
on TikTok (↓ 32%)
20.5%
TikTok conversion rate
on click-throughs
+29.9%
New users
vs. the prior month
The challenge

Meta was stalling. CPAs were climbing.

The client was leaning heavily on Meta to drive app sign-ups across the Gulf — but cost per acquisition was climbing and Meta sign-up volume had effectively stalled (single-digit conversions per market). With Ramadan pushing ad rates up, the same budget was buying fewer new users every month. They needed more sign-ups, in more markets, without the cost curve running away.

What we did

Three moves. One growth engine.

01

Followed the efficiency

We pulled sign-up budget off high-cost Meta and concentrated spend on TikTok and Google Search, where cost-per-conversion was a fraction of Meta's. Meta was kept only for low-cost awareness and follows.

02

A UGC content engine

Native, authentic TikTok UGC consistently beat polished ads. A weekly creative refresh cut TikTok cost-per-signup from ~3 AED to under 2 AED and roughly doubled CTR and conversion rate.

03

Own high intent on Search

Google Search captured users actively looking — at the lowest CPA of any channel and a #1 ad placement (60.7% absolute top-of-page). We then opened Kuwait as a new growth market.

The results · April 2026

What changed when budget followed conversion.

4,708
New-user sign-ups
▲ 39% vs. March
2.27 AED
TikTok cost per acquisition
▼ 32% vs. March
3,264
Sign-ups from TikTok alone
20.5% conversion rate
1,442
Sign-ups from Google Search
16.7% CR · 3.45 AED CPA
+24.8%
Total users month-over-month
96,133 users
#1
Google ad placement
60.7% absolute top-of-page
Channel breakdown

Where every dirham actually went.

The growth engine

TikTok

UGC-led campaigns carried the bulk of sign-ups across KSA and Kuwait at the lowest blended cost.

Sign-ups
3,264
CPA
2.27 AED
Conv. rate
20.5%
High-intent capture

Google Search

Caught users actively searching, at the lowest CPA of any channel, with a dominant #1 placement.

Sign-ups
1,442
CPA
3.45 AED
Conv. rate
16.7%
Trimmed & refocused

Meta

Scaled back to a lean awareness & follows role after the data showed high cost-per-signup.

Role
Awareness
Spend
Reduced
Reach
112K+
"We stopped paying for the channel we were used to, and started paying for the results we could measure."
The Kando approach: budget follows conversion, not habit.

Want this kind of month?

We build measurement-first growth engines for GCC brands — then move every dirham to wherever it converts hardest.

Figures from the client's April 2026 performance report (vs. March 2026).