# Growth Challenges for Bridges

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The analysis has been performed by leveraging Tide analytics & performance suite
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The Bridge space is harder than other web3 sectors. To avoid competing in a race-to-the-bottom with ever-decreasing fees, bridges need to implement successful marketing strategies. \
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**Most Bridges have been running quests**, distributing POAPs, awarding Discord roles, and constantly deploying new campaigns to attract and retain users.

But **what is the ROI of marketing budgets on protocol growth?**

Let’s find out with a couple of cases:\
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**1)Across Quest on Galxe**

The chart represents the share of transactions coming from users who participated in the *Ape into Arbitrum* Campaign on Galxe. \
It's clear that despite a transaction spike on Across from campaign participants it suddenly drops to the pre-campaign level, **indicating a negligible impact on new users and transactions.**

<figure><img src="https://4055345489-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FkyZTRMYOfEvBTTryhjda%2Fuploads%2FVnXKQUdwLYZYS17dAHEv%2F13.webp?alt=media&#x26;token=41687c42-7f31-4809-9b94-b63cb004a3f3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**2)Polygon Degen (LI.FI) on Galxe**

The chart shows the share of daily active users on LI.FI holding at least a Polygon Degens NFT. During the campaign period, this share spiked but quickly dropped just after it to levels that are lower than the pre-campaign average.

Like in [other cases](https://medium.com/@Tide_web3/data-driven-insights-for-optimizing-web3-marketing-budgets-13a9b4bfe78e) analyzed, **we see a minimal impact of quests on protocol metrics**.

<figure><img src="https://4055345489-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FkyZTRMYOfEvBTTryhjda%2Fuploads%2FiUx21s3IEBTbKM2iVDA5%2F14.webp?alt=media&#x26;token=c46e076d-8752-446a-8b00-0b26d84490ef" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Final Insights <a href="#id-786a" id="id-786a"></a>

* First, it is imperative to start measuring what matters: protocol activity, revenues, active users, etc. It is very hard to find actionable data on *web3 performance marketing.* [**Tide team can help**](https://calendly.com/silvio-fiveelements/silvio).
* Regarding acquisition strategies, quests have severe limitations. Experimenting with new channels like referrals is a great idea.
* Retention is paramount to reach sustainability long term. Well-designed, data-driven, and personalized quests should be tested for loyalty on a recurrent basis.

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**You can read the whole analysis** [**here**](https://medium.com/@Tide_web3/navigating-the-challenges-of-growth-in-the-bridge-space-980a5cff80b1)**.**