How Hallow Drove Over 2 Million App Installs and Became #1 on the App Store

About Hallow

Hallow is the leading Christian prayer and meditation app designed to help users deepen their spiritual lives through guided meditations, scripture readings, and prayer sessions. Launched in 2018, Hallow offers daily reflections, thematic prayer challenges, and original music to help people find peace. The app aims to make traditional Catholic practices accessible in a modern, user-friendly format, appealing to devout practitioners, those who have fallen away, and those new to the faith.

Enhancing user engagement and virality: Hallow’s transition to Branch

In 2021, Hallow transitioned from AppsFlyer to Branch, a strategic move to leverage Branch’s developer-friendly features for user acquisition and engagement. Before partnering with Branch, Hallow struggled with implementing trackable and reliable deep links across its organic channels. 

The company also faced difficulties establishing effective peer-to-peer sharing mechanisms on platforms like SMS and social media: The previous setup often redirected users to the app’s generic homepage rather than the intended in-app content, hindering user engagement and sharing efforts. 

By implementing Branch sharing links, Hallow improved the virality of its app, leading to improved user experiences and app growth. Furthermore, granular performance data from each deep link enabled Hallow to accurately measure the impact of peer-to-peer sharing.

Recognizing the importance of providing seamless conversion pathways across platforms, Hallow adopted Branch’s web-to-app solution, Journeys. Key functionalities like banner A/B testing and meticulous link management added substantial value and reinforced the company’s decision to choose Branch.

Reaching new heights during Lent

For Hallow, Ash Wednesday is a crucial event, akin to the Super Bowl, as millions commit to daily prayer leading up to Easter. In preparation, Hallow partnered with Branch to optimize its marketing efforts to drive increased app downloads and engagement during this significant period. 

Leading up to the first day of Lent, Hallow increased its paid media spend by 15x across major platforms like Meta, Google, and Apple Search Ads. Given the scale of its advertising investment, Hallow needed precise insights into which channels and campaigns were driving the most impactful results. Branch Universal Ads became essential in helping Hallow discern true campaign ROI and make informed decisions about future budget allocations.

With compelling campaigns and precise attribution insights, Hallow achieved a significant milestone during this period: The Hallow app reached #1 on the App Store for a day, surpassing major social media apps like TikTok and Instagram. In February alone, Hallow drove over 2 million installs, with over 50% of installs and 43% of subscriptions attributed through Branch.

Unlocking organic growth with Branch

Beyond paid media, Hallow partners with Branch to optimize its organic marketing channels. By implementing deep links across organic touchpoints and equipping users with robust sharing capabilities — like share sheets and unique referral links — Hallow ensures seamless user journeys from offline to app, web to app, and peer referrals. Equipped with reliable, trackable links, Hallow can enhance the user experience and boost engagement. But that’s just the beginning: Hallow also uses Branch’s advanced analytics and A/B testing features to further refine its content, campaigns, and organic growth strategies.

Let’s break down how Hallow partnered with Branch to drive app growth from organic channels during Lent.

Peer-to-peer sharing

One of the primary motivations for Hallow’s transition to Branch was its seamless ability to create, manage, and attribute links at scale. Hallow partnered with Branch to create an effective sharing mechanism between users. Users could share a piece of content using a Branch link, and upon clicking the link, the recipient was directed to the intended content inside the downloaded app. If the recipient didn’t have the app downloaded yet, the link directed them first to the app store and then to the desired content after install. This seamless experience avoided broken link experiences and reduced dropoff.

Journeys web-to-app smart banners

Branch Journeys smart banners are a powerful tool for guiding users from web platforms to the app. Hallow utilized Branch Journeys to drive web-to-app acquisition and has taken its strategy to the next level by conducting extensive A/B testing to optimize conversions. The Hallow team experiments with various elements — copy, color, font, banner placement — to identify the most effective variations.

This data-driven approach proved particularly successful during Lent, where strategically placed banners drove significant app engagement. Hallow continually refines its strategies, tracking real-time data analytics on approximately 60 banner variations.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing campaigns are a vital component of Hallow’s organic growth strategy. Branch is crucial to the program’s effectiveness by facilitating hassle-free link creation and management. Each influencer receives a unique link to distribute among their followers. Within the Branch Dashboard, the Hallow team easily tracks and manages all its promotional links, ensuring consistency and accuracy across diverse influencer partnerships spanning different markets and languages. This performance data provides valuable insights into which influencers generate the most subscriptions and highest engagement for Hallow.

Offline QR codes

During Lent, Hallow partnered with over 2,500 parishes to feature Branch QR codes on banners and flyers, which contributed approximately 9% to its overall growth. These QR codes are integral to Hallow’s efforts to bridge offline and online engagement, offering parishioners a convenient way to discover and engage with the mobile app.

Impact

Branch’s seamless integration into Hallow’s marketing ecosystem empowers data-driven decision-making, optimizes campaigns across various channels, and supports the company’s growth and engagement goals. The strategic partnership between Hallow and Branch highlights the impact of leveraging data insights to enhance marketing effectiveness, achieving substantial growth in user acquisition and engagement during critical campaigns.

From January to February 2024, Hallow experienced a significant 42% reduction in customer acquisition cost (CAC), indicating more efficient use of marketing resources and a stronger return on investment during this period. Additionally, Hallow saw a 2.2x MoM trial conversion rate and a 26% increase in retention YoY.

This collaboration showcases the power of a robust and well-integrated partnership in delivering significant bottom-line results.