Learn how we’ve helped a client become the No. 1 fuel app in the U.S. trucking industry and grow its monthly app registrations by nearly 300 percent in the past three years.
Background
Mudflap is a tech company that has built the country’s largest fuel discount network in trucking for owner-operators and small fleets.
With 2,500+ independent and regional truck stops in its diesel discount network, Mudflap has helped thousands of truckers save more than $300 million on fuel since the launch of its mobile app in 2020.
Challenge
We began working with Mudflap in July 2021 to help the company grow its mobile app user base through paid channels. Available on Android and iOS, the Mudflap app allows truckers to locate fuel stops, lock in instant diesel discounts, track savings, plan routes, and more.
Using mobile apps to access instant diesel discounts was uncommon for truckers before Mudflap introduced a new approach. So we had to develop a paid strategy to educate truckers on Mudflap while also converting them to early adopters and evangelists.
Solution
As a challenger brand, Mudflap built its reputation on being neighborly. In our initial research, we noticed that a majority of user feedback centered around Mudflap’s friendly, 24/7 customer support. That personal connection helped Mudflap build trust with truckers, especially among late adopters to new technology.
To reinforce that sentiment, we built our creative strategy on the following pillars:
- Approachability: We avoid over-producing video content. Instead, we emphasize testimonial-style messages coming directly from truckers to build authenticity and credibility, which helps fuel word-of-mouth.
- Simplicity: Rather than bombard truckers with product features and benefits, we boil down the messages in ads to what matters most: How Mudflap solves truckers’ biggest pain points.
- Creative diversity: From trucker UGC and TikTok-style explainer videos to static ads with product screenshots and more, we never rely on a single ad format or content type.
Below are a few creative concepts that we developed and used in ads for Mudflap across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Results
From when we began managing Mudflap’s ad accounts in Q3 of 2021 to Q1 of 2024, we scaled monthly paid app registrations by 286 percent while reducing Mudflap’s average cost per app registration by 18 percent.
On Meta, we grew the average engagement rate on ads in 2023 by 10 times compared to 2021, helping Mudflap surpass 500,000 commercial truck drivers who use its app to save on fuel.
On Google, Mudflap’s average cost per install on iOS in 2023 was 24 percent lower than its peer group, while the app install rate on Android outpaced its peer group by 276 percent.
Due to Mudflap’s innovation and growth, the company was named to Forbes’ prestigious 2023 Fintech 50 list, which recognizes the top 50 private companies that are transforming the finance industry through technology.
286%
Increase in monthly
paid app registrations
1,000%
Increase in avg. engagement
rate on Meta ads
18%
Reduction in Mudflap’s
avg. cost per app registration
“3rd + Lamar has played an instrumental role in accelerating our growth over the past several years through paid media channels. We value their expertise, creativity, and dedication to making Mudflap the No. 1 fuel app in the trucking industry.”
-Sanjay Desai, Mudflap, Co-Founder & CEO
