A CPL sweepstakes offer run through a major native ad network into the US market — 1,240 leads over 10 days at a $2.85 average CPL, $3,534 total spend.
The task
By the start, the advertiser had confirmed demand but no controllable volume. The task was to launch a CPL sweepstakes offer through a major native ad network into the US market and generate a flow of leads over ten days.
We worked the "Sweepstakes" vertical in the United States market. Payment model — CPL per lead, main sources — native advertising.
How we did it
We built the buy around four decisions.
- Chose native advertising because sweepstakes creative sits naturally in a feed close in format to editorial content — a "you could win" headline sits next to regular news far more naturally than on social media.
- Tested six headline variants against three preview styles; the winning combination paired a concrete prize amount ("a $500 gift card") with an urgency phrase ("today only").
- Placed widgets mid-article and at the end instead of above the fold.
- Set up day-parting focused on evening and weekend traffic.
What went wrong
Not everything went according to plan. Social media suited sweepstakes creative worse, since audiences there were already wary of prize advertising, and above-the-fold widget placements performed weaker than deeper positions.
Shifted buying to a native network with widgets placed mid- and end-article, where users are already in a higher-attention state, and shifted day-parting to evenings and weekends.
The result
Once stabilized, the campaign held the following numbers. Over the ten days: leads — 1,240, average cpl — $2.85, total spend — $3,534.
Over 10 days, the campaign delivered 1,240 leads at a $2.85 average CPL and $3,534 spend; evening/weekend day-parting improved CPL by roughly 20% compared to even distribution.
What we took away
- Sweepstakes creative works more naturally in an editorial-adjacent native feed than on social media already wary of prize advertising.
- A concrete prize amount paired with an urgency phrase beats a generic sweepstakes message.
- Placing the widget mid- or end-article rather than above the fold reaches an audience with higher attention.
These numbers belong to one specific setup, geo, and buying period. Economics will differ on another offer or in another season — we always recalculate them before launch.