FUN framework: from attention to app value

Author Siarhei Krasakovich · Original article: 7 June 2026 · Updated: 7 October 2026

The value is there. Why does the ad not engage?

A familiar situation: someone scrolls, relaxes, looks for something interesting and sees what is happening. Then your ad appears: “Automation. Time savings. Easy management.”

All of that may be true. But the person has not decided to listen. Your app competes for attention with videos, news, memes and friends' stories. They may never reach a feature comparison.

So I start with a different question: what makes someone want to try the product right now, quickly, with an emotional spark and without a long explanation? This is often where an underdeveloped entry into the product lies.

To apply this approach to your business, you can Diagnostic Review: find the break in the user journey or try a practical workshop: Workshop: reshape the offer.

What is the FUN framework?

This is my working approach to connecting app advertising with the first user experience. By “fun”, I mean curiosity, a smile, recognition, an unexpected contrast or a small moment of delight. The product may still solve a serious problem.

Find an interesting use of a real feature, show it in the ad, make it quick to try and connect it with an everyday task. Installation is an intermediate step. The approach is assessed by what happens afterwards.

How System 1 and System 2 inform this approach

Daniel Kahneman makes a useful distinction between fast, automatic judgements and slower, effortful reasoning. It explains why first impressions and detailed explanations may need different presentations. See Maps of Bounded Rationality, 2003.

This is not a literal switch where “System 1 watches ads and System 2 turns on after installation”. Intuitive and deliberate processes interact throughout. Rational benefits can also be grasped quickly, for example through a clear demonstration of a familiar problem being solved.

My practical takeaway: first make the entry clear and appealing, then provide enough reasons to use the product. This is a hypothesis for a specific audience and product, not a universal conversion law.

Step 1. Find an engaging use for a real feature

List the core features. For each, find a scenario someone would try for fun, out of curiosity or because they recognise themselves in it.

• The scenario is clear without ten screens of instructions.
• The result can be shown in a short demo.
• The person gets an experience, not a promise of future value.
• The scenario leads to the product's core task.

For a language app, it might be unpacking an absurd phrase; for a visualisation tool, an unexpected transformation of a familiar space; for document software, recognisable bureaucratic absurdity. These are hypotheses that still need testing.

If the engaging scenario has no connection to what people will pay for, you are attracting an audience for a separate entertainment product. Before building, ask: “Which core value does this experience make tangible?”

Step 2. Turn the scenario into an advertising entry

A working formula: familiar situation + unexpected presentation + simple action + visible result. Show people themselves in the situation, then what they can try.

“An AI app for documents” describes a category. A story about a letter someone has read five times without understanding it shows context. Irony makes the problem recognisable and creates a desire to understand it.

Research gives reasons to test humour as an attention tool: Martin Eisend's meta-analysis finds positive associations with attention and attitudes towards ads. This does not prove increased installs or sales for every app.

Do not make a person or their vulnerability the target of ridicule, especially around money, health, migration or documents. You can be ironic about the situation and the system's complexity while respecting the person facing it.

Step 3. Deliver an honest landing experience

IMPORTANT: if someone came for a specific experience, they should get it quickly. Check the whole journey: ad, app listing, installation, first launch and access to the scenario.

• The advertised feature actually works.
• Limitations, paid access and required permissions are clear beforehand.
• Registration appears where the task requires it.
• The first result matches what the ad showed.

If real results require personal documents, offer a clearly labelled, safe demo example. Users understand the mechanics first, then decide whether to trust the product with their data.

Step 4. Bridge engagement and utility

Fun opens the door. Next, the person needs to understand: why do I need this in everyday life, why will I return and what will I pay for?

I suggest testing three dimensions of value: time, money and opportunity. How much routine disappears? Which losses can be reduced? What becomes accessible or understandable?

Do not assign these motives by income level. Several may matter to one person, and priorities change with circumstances. Choose the main argument based on interviews and the segment's behaviour.

After the first result, offer one useful next step. Has the product analysed a document? Show the action it requires and how to save an important deadline. This makes the link to value observable.

Step 5. Give a reason to return

Onboarding should quickly deliver the promised experience and show the next relevant scenario. A tour of every feature easily becomes another presentation nobody asked for.

Choose the action that marks the first receipt of core value. Then identify a natural reason to repeat it. Retention intervals differ between a daily tool and a service needed monthly.

How I apply this logic to PaperSpell

For PaperSpell, I proposed starting with recognisable bureaucratic absurdity. For people facing documents in an unfamiliar language, an emotional entry may be stronger than a generic automation claim.

The sequence is: chaos → recognition → smile → desire to try → relief → order → value. Irony attracts attention; document analysis and a clear next action explain why the product matters.

My original article describes this as the most successful approach for PaperSpell. Here I present the strategic reasoning: comparative campaign, activation and retention data have not been published, so I attribute no numerical impact to it.

How to test whether the approach works

Compare a conventional benefit-led creative with an engaging entry variant. Keep the audience, placements, budget, period and offer comparable where possible. If onboarding changes too, test creative effects separately from the in-product journey.

This connection between advertising and product metrics is supported by AppsFlyer creative analytics. The tool itself does not validate the FUN framework; conclusions come from your data.

Before launch, choose the primary metric and acceptable retention and cost limits. Cheap installs with weak activation suggest checking audience–promise fit. Strong activation with poor return suggests researching repeat value. There is no universal sample size or test duration.

When to test FUN, and when to choose another entry

The approach is especially interesting when a product is hard to explain but its result is easy to demonstrate. Someone already seeking an urgent solution may respond better to direct benefits, evidence and clear terms.

If playfulness reduces trust, use curiosity or a visible contrast. If it requires an expensive standalone feature disconnected from core value, test the idea with a prototype first.

Five questions before launch

1. Which engaging scenario actually exists in the product?
2. Will the person get exactly that experience after clicking?
3. How does the scenario connect to the user's core task?
4. Which action demonstrates that the user received value?
5. How will we assess retention and economics for the acquired cohort?

Do not sell the feature from the first frame; sell an entry into an experience that leads to it. Then test the entire chain. Connecting advertising, the first result and recurring value turns attractive creative into a growth tool.

Review the entry into your product

If advertising explains the benefits but creates no desire to try, start with a map: advertising promise → first experience → core value → reason to return. For a collaborative review, see product strategy; if the reason for weak conversion is still unclear, see Rentgen.