3x increase in CTR with urgency-driven countdown timer — Cracku

About the company

Cracku is an EdTech platform founded by IIT-IIM alumni that helps students prepare for India's most competitive exams, including CAT, XAT, NMAT. Most of its learners are in their twenties and prefer to study online, directly through Cracku's website, which sees about two million visits every month.

The challenge

Cracku wanted to increase sales of its CAT 2025 courses ahead of the busy season. Regular campaigns were delivering modest results — around 1.8% CTR — and the marketing team was looking for a way to ignite engagement without relying on developers or long production cycles.

The solution

With two major Indian holidays approaching, Cracku decided to experiment with festive-themed campaigns that would tap into seasonal excitement and limited-time urgency.

Widget setup and display rules

The team prepared two seasonal widgets: one for Independence Day (August 14-18, 2025) and another for Ganesh Chaturthi (August 26-28, 2025).

Ganesh Chaturthi sale widget

Key elements:

• Dynamic slider banner promoting up to 80% off CAT 2025 courses.

• Countdown timer emphasising the limited-time nature of the sale.

• Festive visual design. The bright colour palette and iconic Ganesha illustration.

Independence Day sale widget

Key elements:

• Countdown timer to emphasize urgency.

• Authentic human imagery. They featured their own course instructors.

• Persuasive copy. Bold phrases like 'Great Freedom Sale' and 'Up to 80% Off'.

Results: Two short campaigns, big wins

Both campaigns worked because of emotional relevance and frictionless experience.

What's next

The Cracku team is now preparing to experiment with gamified widgets.