Pure.appKing of the hill
A monetization feature that increased subscription renewals by 27%.
My role
Product Designer
Scope
Research and user interviews, UX/UI redesign, illustration concepts, animations
2021
Context
Pure uses a unique monetization model: women use the app for free, while men purchase a subscription.
This model helps create a safer experience for women, but also creates strong competition among paid male users.
Business Problem
Men represented 67% of the user base, while women accounted for only 30%. As a result, paid male users competed for the attention of a much smaller audience. Many profiles quickly disappeared from the feed, reducing the perceived value of the subscription and negatively affecting renewal rates.
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis was simple: men enjoy competition. We believed that turning profile visibility into a competitive experience would motivate more users to purchase the feature.
What isKing of the Hill?
We explored different ways to increase the visibility of paid users. Instead of creating an entirely new feature, we decided to transform the existing Boost mechanic into a competitive experience that matched Pure's playful brand and our product hypothesis.
Solution
We transformed the existing Boost mechanic into a competitive experience called King of the Hill. The active King’s profile stayed pinned at the top of the feed and was visually highlighted with a crown, making it instantly recognizable while users scrolled. The position remained active until another user purchased the feature and replaced the current King, turning profile visibility into a live competition.
Users could challenge each other for visibility, react to replacements with notes and voice messages, and compete publicly inside the product.
Product Trade-offs
The mechanic required a few product trade-offs. In large cities, competition was intense, so the King position could change frequently. We accepted this because constant competition was part of the intended experience. In smaller regions, where fewer users purchased the feature, there was often no active King. To keep the mechanic visible, we displayed the nearest active King from a neighboring city.
Iterations after Launch
After the MVP launch, King of the Hill continued to evolve with new entry points, monetization flows, reminders, and profile interactions based on user behavior and product learnings.
Entry points
Desktop version
Results
King of the Hill increased subscription renewal rates by 27%, validating our hypothesis that gamification could increase the perceived value of profile visibility. The feature continued to evolve after launch and became a foundation for future monetization improvements.