In the recently concluded Super Bowl event, the AI search engine Perplexity adopted a unique marketing strategy by boosting its mobile app downloads through a tweet (now called X), instead of opting for traditional expensive advertising.
Perplexity's CEO Aravind Srinivas introduced an engaging contest in a tweet released on Friday, encouraging users to download the app and participate in a chance to win $1 million by asking at least five questions during the game.
This campaign not only effectively drove app downloads but also helped users better understand Perplexity's AI search features. Participants were required to ask questions through the app during the Super Bowl, leveraging the audience's need for information while watching the game, thus helping users overcome learning barriers when trying out a new product for the first time.
According to data from app intelligence provider Appfigures, Perplexity's app downloads on Super Bowl day surged from an average of 30,000 daily downloads to about 45,000. While it did not reach the top of the US App Store download charts, the app peaked at sixth place in the productivity category and slightly dropped to 19th place after the event, before rising again to 16th place.
Additionally, Perplexity achieved a significant rise in overall app rankings, jumping from 257th to 66th place, and briefly reaching 49th place. Preliminary estimates suggest that if all goes well, the app's downloads could potentially double again by Monday.
Although Perplexity's campaign did not achieve the widespread impact of ads from Google and OpenAI, which launched their Gemini and ChatGPT advertisements during the Super Bowl, this Twitter campaign effectively showcased how to use Perplexity's AI application. In contrast, Google’s ads highlighted various possibilities of AI in daily life but may not have resonated broadly; OpenAI’s ads, on the other hand, somewhat failed to emphasize the practicality of the ChatGPT application, focusing more on artistic and visual effects.
Key Takeaways:
1. 📈 Perplexity successfully increased app downloads by approximately 50% during the Super Bowl through a tweet campaign.
2. 🏆 User participation in the event required asking questions during the game, helping them familiarize themselves with the app's features.
3. 🚀 The Perplexity app saw a significant rise in its App Store ranking, with downloads potentially doubling again by Monday.
