Leading streaming service increases subscriptions by 410% in one year with Kard

Goals

With over 120M subscribers, this streaming service has become a fan favorite. Its exclusive library of animated series, films, documentaries, and original content has kept its momentum since its launch over five years ago. But its marketers know that the streaming industry has never been more competitive.

Consumers are inundated with choices, and subscription fatigue is at an all-time high. To stay ahead, this streaming service needed a cost-effective way to continue acquiring new subscribers — without burning their entire marketing budget.

Cash back rewards seemed like a unique way to do that. And Kard was a particularly appealing solution, with its access to Gen Z and Millennial banks and issuers and pay-for-performance model.

In 2024, the service partnered with Kard to launch cashback offers that:

• Reached new demographics.
• Incentivized moving to a higher-priced package.
• Steal away market share from other popular streaming services.

Solution

The streaming service marketing team saw the potential in cashback offers, but wanted to experience real results. So they worked with Kard to put together a trial campaign, with offers that:

1. Gave new customers and returning customers (who did not have a current subscription) a 15% cash back reward.
2. Displayed in banking apps whose primary users are Gen Zers and Millennials:
3. Notified redeemers right after they earned their reward, reminding them of the money they saved by going with that streaming service.

Results

Kard’s campaigns were a smashing success. In just a few months, the brand drew in over 32,300 subscriptions — most of which were for the medium-priced bundle. 

As Kard’s network grew, so did the service’s subscriptions. Just three months after adding several banks and issuers, the service saw a 160%+ increase in monthly subscriptions. Even better, 19% of campaign purchasers previously subscribed to streaming competitors.

With this early success, the brand continued to work with Kard. Within one year:

• Year-over-year subscriptions increased by a whopping 410%.
• Average order value (AOV) increased by 18%.
• Cost per acquisition was only $4.50 on average.

An incrementality study reiterated the success of these campaigns, revealing that Kard rewards spurred an 11% lift in spend rate, and over 8% lift in conversion.

Now, the brand is now expanding its rewards-based acquisition strategy to further increase market share, customer retention, and lifetime value — while ensuring that every dollar spent directly translates into measurable growth.

Kard’s forthcoming features will help sustain that growth with retention-building offers like milestone rewards and tiered incentives, and we’re excited to help the brand put those into action.