Bonus gift in a top banner vs a bullet: +34% transactions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsShowing the Media Composer bonus gift in a purple banner at the top of the page brought 34% more transactions than listing it as a bold bullet under each plan.
Avid ran this A/B test on its own subscription pages, and it was published as a VWO case study.
Traffic was split evenly between the two versions.
- Transactions: +34% for the banner version compared with the bullet version.
- Avid turned the winning banner into a permanent personalization, and the case study says it was still live at the time of writing.
- Sample size, test length and confidence level were not shared.
The change
The bonus gift moves from a bullet under each plan to a banner at the top.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The bonus gift appeared as a bold bullet point beneath each Media Composer subscription option.
Variant
The same bonus gift was promoted in a purple banner across the top of the page.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A banner at the top is seen by nearly every visitor before they compare plans. A bullet inside a plan list is easy to skim past.
- Leading with the gift frames the whole page as a deal, which may push hesitant buyers to commit.
- A distinct colour separates the offer from the rest of the plan details, so it reads as news rather than a feature.
Caveats: Both versions showed the offer; the test compared placement, not offer versus no offer. No sample size, duration or significance was shared.
Who ran it
Avid ran this test and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Avid →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we move a subscription bonus from a bullet in the plan list to a banner at the top of the page, then more visitors will buy because they see the offer before they start comparing plans.
- Primary metric
- Completed subscription purchases
- Guardrails
- Plan mix (share of annual vs monthly)
- Refund or early cancellation rate
- Clicks on the plan comparison
- Who should test it
- SaaS companies running a time-limited bonus or promo on a pricing page. It won't help much if there is no real offer to highlight, or if the banner pushes the plans below the fold on mobile.
Questions
Where should I show a promotion on a pricing page?
Put it where visitors see it before they compare plans, usually at the top.
In Avid's test, a top banner beat a bullet inside the plan list by 34% in transactions.
Do bonus gifts increase SaaS subscriptions?
They can, but this test only compared two placements of the same gift.
To know the value of the gift itself, test against a version with no offer.
Should a promo banner stay up after the test?
Avid kept its winning banner live as a personalization.
If the offer is temporary, plan when to remove it so the page doesn't show an expired deal.