CASE STUDY: VPN Advertising Campaign: How Japan Became the Breakthrough Market for a Pop-Under Strategy

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CASE STUDY: VPN Advertising Campaign: How Japan Became the Breakthrough Market for a Pop-Under Strategy​

VPN advertising has become one of the most effective verticals in digital marketing due to the rising demand for online privacy, content unlocking, and secure browsing. With growing censorship, geo-restricted platforms, and privacy concerns worldwide, VPN products sell themselves—when targeted correctly.


This case study explores how a performance-focused team launched a VPN campaign in Japan using a Pop-Under ad format, tested performance metrics across multiple angles, and turned an overlooked region into a high-volume profit driver.


Let’s dive into how the campaign unfolded, what made Japan the unexpected winner, and what marketers can learn from it.

Why VPN Ads Are Uniquely Powerful​

Before we get into the campaign itself, it’s worth briefly revisiting why VPN offers are so well-suited to performance marketing:

• Instant need: Users searching for a VPN are often doing so because of an immediate need—accessing restricted content, bypassing a firewall, or protecting themselves while browsing.
• Recurring billing models: Many VPN offers come with subscription-based pricing, which often means recurring revenue for affiliates or advertisers.
• Wide user demographics: VPN products appeal to students, remote workers, travelers, gamers, journalists, and general privacy-conscious users.
• Global scalability: VPN usage spans nearly every country, from Tier 1 to Tier 3 markets.

Because the pain points are so urgent, VPN ads can convert quickly with the right targeting and creative strategy.

Campaign Objectives​

The campaign had a few core goals:

1. Identify underutilized GEOs with strong demand for VPN services.
2. Test the viability of Pop-Under traffic to reach desktop and mobile users unobtrusively.
3. Optimize creatives and landing pages for Asian traffic, starting with Japan.
4. Achieve strong ROI without requiring a six-figure budget.

Why Japan?​

Japan isn’t the first market that comes to mind when marketers think “high-converting VPN traffic.” It’s a mature tech market, but typically less aggressive than regions like the U.S. or Brazil when it comes to VPN adoption. However, this campaign challenged that assumption.


What made Japan work:

• Growing concerns about privacy: With increased cybercrime and surveillance reports, Japanese users are becoming more aware of data security.
• Streaming restrictions: Many Japanese users seek access to international content libraries, especially U.S. Netflix, which makes VPNs a practical solution.
• Language-friendly creatives: Slight modifications to creatives in Japanese had a major impact on CTR and engagement.
• Lower CPMs vs Tier 1 markets: While conversion rates weren’t the highest globally, the low cost of traffic in Japan made it a strong ROI opportunity.

Traffic Source & Format: Pop-Under​

Pop-Under ads are often overlooked in favor of native or push formats, but for VPN products, they perform exceptionally well when executed properly. Here’s why:

• Direct intent capture: Users who see a Pop-Under ad are often idly browsing, making them open to solutions like VPNs.
• Bypasses banner fatigue: Instead of fighting for space on busy websites, the ad opens a clean landing page under the user’s current session.
• Great for desktop targeting: VPN offers often perform better on desktop, where setup and installation are faster and easier.

In this campaign, Pop-Under ads helped reach both mobile and desktop users, with desktop traffic converting at a slightly higher rate.

Budget Breakdown​

The total test spend was modest compared to most VPN advertisers—less than $2,500 during the initial run. The strategy revolved around testing creatives in batches and optimizing per GEO. Here's how spend was distributed:

• 50% of spend on Japan
• 25% on South Korea
• 25% on Southeast Asian markets (Thailand, Malaysia)

After 14 days, Japan emerged as the top performer in terms of ROI, CTR, and overall engagement.

Key Results​

Here are the campaign highlights after 2 weeks of optimization:

• Click-through rate (CTR): 2.6% average across creatives (best performing ad: 3.1%)
• Conversion rate (CR): 8.4% in Japan after landing page localization
• Cost-per-acquisition (CPA): $1.80 (compared to $3.20 in South Korea)
• Return on ad spend (ROAS): 148%
• Top converting device: Desktop (Windows and MacOS)

Lessons Learned​

1. Don’t ignore Tier 1+ Asian markets: Japan is often passed over in VPN campaigns, but it has strong potential with the right creative localization.
2. Pop-Under still works in 2025: Especially for utility-based offers like VPNs, this ad format bypasses creative fatigue and offers direct attention.
3. Language localization is critical: Minor tweaks in ad copy, using native characters, and simple CTAs like “Access Secure Internet Now” led to big jumps in CTR.
4. Desktop bias matters: Despite mobile-first traffic trends, many users still prefer downloading and setting up VPNs on their laptops or PCs.
5. Start small, scale smart: Instead of blowing through a large budget blindly, this campaign tested and scaled based on real-time feedback and GEO signals.

Final Takeaway​

This case study proves that with a strategic approach, even “non-obvious” markets like Japan can become profitable strongholds for VPN advertising. Using affordable Pop-Under traffic, localized creatives, and sharp tracking, advertisers can unlock overlooked regions with solid engagement and profitability.


For those running VPN offers in 2025, this is your reminder: don’t just follow the crowd. Sometimes, the best conversions are where nobody's looking.