Cutting Install Costs for Train Ticket App Choo Choo

Client: Choo Choo

Regions: United Kingdom

Services: Paid Social, Apple Search Ads, Creative Production

Key Achievements:

37% lower Meta cost per install in our first full month
Click-through rate up 107%, with 41% more installs on less spend
30 video ads delivered across six UGC concepts

Introduction

Choo Choo is a UK train ticket app for iOS, Android and the web. It is National Rail accredited, charges no booking fees and finds split tickets automatically, so travellers pay less for a seat on the same train.

The app also alerts users to platform changes and delays, and tells them when a late train means they can claim compensation through Delay Repay.

Challenges

Choo Choo came to us in April 2026 to grow app installs and ticket sales through paid acquisition. Most travellers have never heard of split ticketing, so the creative had to explain it in seconds, and the account needed a structure that could find efficient installs on both iOS and Android while being judged on bookings as well as downloads.

Strategic Approach

Between April and July 2026, we focused on:

Price-Led Creator UGC:
We built creator UGC around the product’s clearest proof: the same train for less, shown in the app. Price Shock, Commuter Saving and Destination Spend routes came first, followed by summer day trips and World Cup fan park travel as the season changed.
Founder-Led Content:
We cut the founder’s podcast footage into short vertical ads that explain how split ticketing works. In June it became the account’s lead creative, taking 40% of spend and lifting click-through rate by a third.
Test and Graduate:
Every new ad entered a creative testing ad set, and winners graduated to a best performers ad set with its own budget. We excluded users aged 65 and over, who installed cheaply but rarely booked, and refreshed ad copy around the best performers.
Budget by Platform and Goal:
We split Meta campaigns by iOS and Android, moved budget towards Android where purchase intent was higher and launched an Android purchase-optimised campaign in June. Apple Search Ads ran on generic terms such as split train tickets and cheap train tickets, and we designed refreshed iOS app store screens.

Performance Highlights

Lower Cost Per Install

0 %

Uplift in Click-Through Rate

0 %

More App Installs

0 %

Our creative went live in the last week of April 2026. Comparing May, our first full month, with April on Meta:

Lower Install Costs: Meta cost per install fell 37% and app installs rose 41%, on 11% less spend than in April.
Stronger Engagement: Link click-through rate rose 107% and cost per click fell 59%. The Price Shock UGC was the top performer on both iOS and Android.
An iOS Turnaround: Weekly iOS cost per install fell 79% across our first five weeks, from the week of 27 April to the week of 25 May, reaching the benchmark set for the account.
Scaling Into June: In June, with budget moved towards Android and the founder video leading, installs rose a further 16% and cost per install fell 9.5%. Click-through rate rose 34%, and the number of unique buyers from paid activity grew 24%.
A Creative Library: Between April and June we delivered 30 video ads across six UGC concepts, alongside 12 approved static ads in two formats.

Conclusion

With Choo Choo, clear product-led creative and a disciplined testing structure brought install costs down within the first month, and founder-led content then gave the account a lead creative that held up as spend grew. The work left Choo Choo with a tested creative library, clear learnings by platform and an account built to judge spend on bookings as well as installs.

This project drew on our paid social, search marketing, video and motion design and app marketing services. See more of our work.

More work like this: Elvie, Cronometer and MyTip.