Mobile App Case Study Delivering 65,000+ Downloads for King of Carrom
This Pearl Lemon case study breaks down how our team helped King of Carrom, a multiplayer mobile board-game app, achieve explosive user growth on a shoestring budget. Using a combination of Facebook Ads, targeted mobile app install campaigns, in-app automation, and viral mechanics, we generated over 65,000 downloads in just 2.5 months all from a tiny £1,500 budget.
Since that initial launch, the app has surpassed 190,000+ total installs and earned 1,000+ reviews, proving that smart strategy and creative execution can outperform massive ad budgets.
Client Project Background
Client: King of Carrom (Mobile Gaming App)
Industry: Mobile Gaming / App Marketing
Service: Facebook App Install Advertising & Growth Strategy
Objective: Rapid user acquisition, engagement, and viral sharing with minimal ad spend
King of Carrom is a digital multiplayer adaptation of the classic South Asian tabletop game, Carrom. The founders-childhood friends of Deepak-wanted to break into the competitive mobile gaming space and validate their idea quickly without spending thousands on advertising.
They came to Pearl Lemon with:
- A £1,500 total marketing budget
- Early access to the Android (Play Store) version
- A need for fast traction and high-volume installs
- Zero established brand presence
The challenge was to compete with well-funded gaming apps, while spending less than what some competitors spend in a single day.
The Challenge: Entering a Crowded Mobile Gaming Market
The mobile gaming space-especially casual multiplayer games is notoriously competitive. King of Carrom was entering a market already dominated by:
- Large studios
- High-budget ad campaigns
- Existing Carrom game apps with millions of players
- Aggressive bidding wars for installs on Facebook and Google
The founders faced several hurdles
Limited Budget
- With only £1,500, every penny had to be maximised.
- There was no room for guesswork.
Zero Brand Recognition
As a brand-new game, the app had no:
- Audience
- Reviews
- Organic traction
Which meant paid ads had to drive everything.
Competitive CPI (Cost Per Install) Market
- Typical CPI in gaming ranges from:
- £0.30 – £2.00 depending on audience & geography
- To succeed, Pearl Lemon had to bring CPI down to near-viral levels.
Retention Challenges
Acquiring users is only half the battle keeping them playing is what drives long-term success.
Pearl Lemon needed to:
- Generate installs
- Encourage repeated play
- Build virality inside the app
- All without increasing cost
Results
The campaign produced exceptional results far exceeding what is typical for such a small budget.
Key Performance Outcomes
- Most mobile apps struggle to achieve a £0.20 CPI.
- Achieving £0.03 CPI is extremely rare – especially in gaming and a direct result of creative optimisation and cultural targeting.
Pearl Lemon’s Growth Strategy
Our approach combined paid ads, creative optimisation, in-app automation, and viral loop engineering.
Facebook App Install Ads (Android-Focused)
We selected Facebook Ads as the primary acquisition channel because:
- Facebook’s install campaigns allow deep optimisations for CPI India, the UK, and South Asian markets respond well to gaming ads Cultural relevance made targeting easier
- We launched campaigns with: Narrow cultural targeting (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi audiences) Creative styles reflecting the traditional Carrom experience
- Multiple placements (Stories, Feed, Instant Articles, In-Stream Video)
- Automated App Install optimisation
- This ensured the algorithm could find the cheapest possible installs while maintaining quality.
High-Volume Creative A/B Testing
To stretch a small budget, creative testing had to be fast and aggressive.
We tested variations of:
- Game clips vs. static visuals Competitive vs. casual messaging “Play with friends” vs. “Challenge strangers” hooks
- Fast-paced gameplay vs. relaxed play
- English vs. Hindi / Hinglish phrasing This helped us identify:
- The highest-CTR creatives The cheapest audience segments The most engaging visual styles Once winners were found, budget was shifted immediately.
Cultural Targeting for Maximum Relevance
Carrom is especially popular in:
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
- Bangladesh
Middle Eastern expat communities Instead of generic “mobile gaming interest” targeting, which is expensive, we focused heavily on:
- South Asian interests
- Indian entertainment audiencesDiaspora communities in the UK, Canada, and the Gulf
- This significantly reduced CPI.
In-App Automation & Re-Engagement Emails
To solve retention issues and re-activate inactive users, we introduced:
Mobile automation tools, including:
- Behaviour-triggered reminders
- “Come back and play!” notifications
- Win-back messaging after periods of inactivity
These notifications encouraged users to re-open the app, reducing churn.
Viral Share-to-Play System
We helped introduce features that rewarded users for inviting friends, including:
- Share-to-play bonuses
- In-app referral prompts
- Rewards for multiplayer matches with invited users
- This created a viral loop, multiplying app installs without spending more on ads.
- This tactic was critical to pushing the app beyond 65K installs into long-term organic growth (~190K+ today).
Continuous Campaign Optimisation
Throughout the 2.5 months, Pearl Lemon:
- Refined audience segments
- Paused weak ad groups
- Increased spend on best performers
- Updated creatives weekly
Monitored retention and uninstall rates Analysed download-to-play behaviour This level of iteration ensured the budget was used as efficiently as possible.
Why the Campaign Worked
Micro-Budget Precision
Every pound went into highly validated, performance-proven audiences.
Regionally Relevant Audiences
Targeting culturally aligned users significantly lowered CPI.
Viral Mechanics Built Into App
Share-to-play created organic growth beyond paid traffic.
Fast Iteration & A/B Testing
Pearl Lemon rapidly updated creatives and messaging to maintain freshness and performance.
Retention Automation Increased LTV
In-app reminders ensured users didn’t abandon the game after installing.
Strong Collaboration
Weekly syncs ensured: Rapid feedback loops Faster creative improvements Smoother post-launch optimisation Pearl Lemon and the founders operated like a combined growth team.
Conclusion
With a minimal £1,500 budget, Pearl Lemon helped King of Carrom:
- Acquire over 65,000 users in 2.5 months
- Achieve a record-low CPI of under £0.03
- Build a viral, retention-ready user base
- Scale to 190,000+ installs and thousands of players
This case study demonstrates how powerful app marketing can be when:
- Targeting is precise
- Creative testing is aggressive Viral loops are intentional Retention is prioritised alongside acquisition You don’t need a massive budget to grow a mobile app you just need the right strategy.
