Turning passive sharing into active referrals
Users shared events, but their friends stayed on the website. A two-iteration contest experiment connected a desirable real-world reward to one clear acquisition action: bring a friend into the app.
- Product
- Active Events
- Role
- Research & end-to-end design
- Platform
- Mobile app & web
- Focus
- Organic acquisition
A social behaviour with a broken growth loop
Active Events helps people discover concerts, meetups, festivals, workshops and local experiences. Attendance is naturally social, yet users were engaging with events individually inside the product.
People shared event links, but recipients often continued on the website instead of installing the app. The social intent existed; the acquisition loop did not.
My role: Led research and end-to-end design for this viral growth experiment to drive organic app acquisition.
Sharing created awareness, not installs
Business problem: drive organic acquisition by motivating existing users to bring their real-world friend groups into the app.
User problem: people wanted to attend memorable events with friends, but the product gave those friends no compelling reason to join.
The distinction that shaped the work
Growth comes from shared moments, not incentives
We explored multiple acquisition models for social-driven acquisition — referral bonuses, invite-based rewards, and group discounts. While each had potential, they felt transactional and didn't match how people emotionally experience events. Events are social, memorable, shared with friends — not coupons.
Then came the insight:
People don’t share events for discounts. They share experiences worth talking about.
Coldplay. Samay Raina. Major festivals.
The kind of events people dream of attending.
One key idea:
Win tickets to iconic events by inviting friends.
The emotional pull was strong enough to drive sharing naturally, regardless of where the event was hosted.
Execution Plan
Ideation took just two days — a rapid sprint across product, design, and engineering.
The biggest technical challenge was enabling multiple contests to launch dynamically without requiring app updates. To solve this, we built a lightweight contest management system powered by backend APIs, allowing campaigns to go live in real time.
Within two weeks, we moved from:
Concept → Design → Live MVP
The experiment proved how quickly lean execution could validate a viral growth hypothesis.
The Decision: Referral User Flow
External Touch Point
New App UsersWebsite Users
- SEO & Direct Traffic
- Referred Users Traffic
External Channel
- AllEvents Emailers
- Meta Ads
Web Contest page
Get app to ParticipateGoal 01 : Done
Got the App DownloadENTER CONTEST
New App UsersSteps to Enter
- Contest Rules Page
- Enter User Details
- Share with at-least 1 Friend
- Entered Contest
- Earned 5 points for participation
App Contest Page
App Touch Point
New & Existing UsersTriggers for All Users
- Home Page Banner
- Tab in Event Categories
- Event Category Section
GOAL 02 : Friend Joined
Earned +5 points for referralWon the Contest
Earned +5 points for participationWinners Announced
Two Winners got 2 Tickets EachAnnouncements
- App Contest Page
- App Homepage
- App Notifications
ENTER CONTEST
New App UsersSteps to Enter
- Contest Rules Page
- Enter User Details
- Share with at-least 1 Friend
- Entered Contest
- Earned 5 points for participation
App Contest Page
App Touch Point
New & Existing UsersTriggers for All Users
- Home Page Banner
- Tab in Event Categories
- Event Category Section
GOAL 02 : Friend Joined
Earned +5 points for referralWon the Contest
Earned +5 points for participationWinners Announced
Two Winners got 2 Tickets EachAnnouncements
- App Contest Page
- App Homepage
- App Notifications
Iteration 01 — MVP Design
To drive traffic into the contest flow, we activated a set of high-impact touchpoints: Emailers, Website Contest Page, Social Media, and Meta Ads.
8-Step Giveaway Contest Screen Flow
Event Contest Screen
Shows event details and entry point for the contest.
Contest Rules Screen
Explains contest steps and allows users to enter the giveaway.
▼
User Details Screen
Collects participant information to enter the contest, with fields prefilled when available.
Invite Friends Screen
Users have to invite at-least one friend to complete entry.
▼
Participation Entry Screen
Participation Dashboard
After sharing, users enter the contest and earn 5 points. Users can view top participants & their scores on the leaderboard below.
One Friend Joined
Displays friend's entry, rewards +5 points, and updates leaderboard instantly.
▼
Winners Announcement
Displays contest results and allows users to check the winners directly from the event page.
Winners Screen
Reveals top contest winners with their rewards and highlights leaderboard standings.
2nd Iteration
Problem Statement
In Iteration 01, sharing a link was enough to enter. Most users stopped there—so only 28% brought a friend, limiting virality. The contest needed a mechanism that required at least one friend to join.
The Insight
We gave them everything—the tickets, the easy sharing, the hype—but only 28% brought a friend. That was our 'Aha!' moment: users were broadcasting to their feed, but they weren't actually recruiting their friends.
Where could we intervene?
Bring 1 friend to enter
Simplify invite flow
Referral rewards
Full referral program
Better sharing CTA
More social promotion
Leaderboards
Complex gamification
The Decision
We needed to move users from passive sharing to active recruitment. Making a friend part of the entry requirement directly addressed the behavioral gap without requiring a large new referral system.
Referral Acquisition User Flow
External Touch Point
New App Users- SEO & Direct Traffic
- Referred Users Traffic
- AllEvents Emailers
- Meta Ads
▼
Web Contest page
Get app to Participate▼
Goal 01 : Done
Got the App DownloadEnter Contest
New App Users- Contest Rules Page
- Enter User Details
- Share with at-least 1 Friend
- Wait for at least one friend to join to unlock entry
┆
App Contest Page
┆
App Touch Point
New & Existing Users- Home Page Banner
- Tab in Event Categories
- Event Category Section
Waiting Screen
Get the entry once the friend joins▼
Goal 02 : Friend Joined
Earned +5 points for referral▼
Won The Contest
Earned +5 points for participation▼
Winners Announced
Two Winners got 2 Tickets Each- App Contest Page
- App Homepage
- App Notifications
Iteration 02 — The Solution
We decided to flip the script. We stopped asking for invites and started requiring them—making entry conditional on at least one friend joining. This turned passive broadcasters into active stakeholders and converted social shares into real growth. We also improved the flow, UI clarity, and leaderboard to make participation more exciting and gamified.
KEY PROBLEMS IN THE OLD DESIGN
- Entry was unlocked instantly after sharing
- No enforcement of "bring a friend" rule
- Many users entered without fulfilling the requirement
- Entry appears "completed" immediately after sharing
Iteration 02 — 7-Step Solution Journey
KEY PROBLEMS IN THE OLD DESIGN
- Entry was unlocked instantly after sharing
- No enforcement of "bring a friend" rule
- Many users entered without fulfilling the requirement
- Entry appears "completed" immediately after sharing
Contest Rules Screen
Explains contest steps and allows users to enter the giveaway.
User Details Screen
Collects participant information to enter the contest, with fields prefilled when available.
▼
Entry Requirement Screen
Communicates that entry unlocks only after inviting a friend.
*This chip appears only for users who were referred.
Share & Invite Pop-up
Provides quick-share options to complete the invite requirement.
▼
Waiting for Friend to Join
Shows radar progress animation until a friend accepts the invite.
Entry Unlocked & Leaderboard
Entry unlocks; users can keep inviting to earn points and climb the leaderboard.
*Users only see the two participants above them to avoid big gaps and keep competition motivating.▼
Enhanced Dashboard
Appears when users rank in top 6, encouraging them to stay competitive and maintain their position.
SOLUTION FROM NEW DESIGN
- "Bring 1 friend to unlock entry" is now a compulsory step
- The UI guides user through a locked → progress → unlocked flow
- Entry unlocks only when a friend actually joins the contest
- Sharing follows a progressive flow that builds clarity and momentum
The biggest lesson
Virality isn't a feature. It's a constraint.
We learned that behaviour doesn't change because we add an action — it changes when the product creates the right motivation and trigger for that action.
Users were already sharing the contest. The missing piece was motivation to recruit.
By making “bring one friend” a requirement, we created a clear: