Dive Brief:
- Crumbl saw over 16,000 app downloads, 213% more than its original target, as a result of the cookie bakery chain’s first connected TV campaign, according to information shared with Marketing Dive.
- The campaign, which ran for seven weeks, was conducted in partnership with Samsung Ads using its CTV-to-Mobile advertising solution. The effort leveraged machine learning to maximize ad placements, which included Samsung TV Plus, immersive masthead units and other screen-first environments.
- In the first week, the campaign generated over $20,000 in attributed revenue from households with a Samsung SmartTV that were exposed to the ads and a 32.37% return on ad spending. The effort, which launched in early October 2025, was part of a larger push to increase app downloads in Q4 of that year.
Dive Insight:
Crumbl, which has approximately 1,200 stores nationwide and is one of the fastest-growing dessert brands nationwide, has heavily relied on its mobile app to drive business. However, amid a growth plateau, the brand had to look beyond its social-first strategy to drive downloads. CTV provided Crumbl with a way of appearing on TV screens while maintaining cost efficiency and many of the visual aspects that help the brand on social media, according to press materials.
“The results were surprisingly competitive with our core social platforms,” said Giana Flores, paid media specialist at Crumbl, in a statement. “Running on the Samsung Home Screen UI gave our brand a premium feel and captured attention in a way that’s hard to replicate on mobile. The campaign started as an awareness test quickly proved it could drive real conversion and revenue.”
The limited-edition nature of Crumbl’s products, which include new flavors each week, has been a key part of the brand’s success, with its bright-pink box easy to spot while scrolling on TikTok as influencers review the brand’s revolving list of flavors. Over 128,000 posts on TikTok are tagged #crumblreview and the brand itself has 10.8 million followers on the app. Crumbl’s mobile app helps maintain its business model, alerting consumers to the cookie drops.
While CTV has become an area of increased interest for marketers, many still have significant concerns about the channel, largely in the areas of increased fragmentation and technical issues. However, this hasn’t stopped industry professionals from pursuing the technology. The Trade Desk this month unveiled Ventura Ecosystems, a collaborative platform intended to make CTV advertising more transparent. Similarly, Nielsen and Roku in December extended their partnership to improve streaming measurements.
