Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands continue to diversify their ad platforms in 2025, and the hottest new opportunity lies with AppLovin.
Even though AppLovin has been around since 2012, the ad platform only recently (in late 2024) expanded to allow DTC brands to run ads, and many brands that have participated in the closed beta are sharing great success.
Brands using AppLovin now have the opportunity to integrate their AppLovin metrics directly into Triple Whale to optimize mobile advertising efforts with unified insights across all advertising platforms.
Triple Whale customers have been using AppLovin since early October 2024, and the adoption of the platform as an advertising channel has produced exponential growth numbers. From November to December of 2024, the number of shops increased by +72.4%, spend was up +66.18%, purchases up by +38.1%, and conversion value increased by +52.79%. For a brand new advertising platform, the amount of growth in the last two months of the year is a strong indicator for what’s to come in 2025.
In this article, we will outline what AppLovin is, the advantages of advertising on the platform, a look at why in-app ads work, some proof-of-concept from Triple Whale brands who have integrated AppLovin into their advertising campaigns, and how to integrate AppLovin with Triple Whale.
AppLovin is a technology company that provides software solutions for mobile app developers and marketers, and is specifically known for its mobile advertising platform and monetization solutions. As the leader in mobile games advertising with highly successful algorithms, AppLovin has grown 10x in the past three years, with advertisers spending up to $1 million a day on the platform.
Ever since Apple shifted towards privacy on iOS 14.1, platforms like Meta lost the ability to offer clear attribution, requiring third party solutions to fill in the gaps. AppLovin has created a unique advertising platform and essentially holds the monopoly on mobile ad space.
In Q3 of 2024, AppLovin’s revenue was $1.2 billion, which represents a 39% increase year-over-year. The market cap and growth surged to over $120 billion. Much of the growth AppLovin has experienced can be traced back to its AI advertising algorithm, AXON, which helps to put more targeted ads on the mobile gaming apps the company works with.
The early results from DTC brands using AppLovin to drive traffic to their websites have been extremely successful. With over 140 million daily active users in the United States playing AppLovin games or interacting with their ads, there is significant potential to scale advertising efforts with an attractive and relevant shopper audience.
Since the platform is still relatively new for DTC brands to utilize, the early success might also be attributed to lower competition and novel ways to advertise to new audiences.
The main advantage to advertising on AppLovin lies in their investment into AI-driven bidding solutions. The AXON 2.0 engine optimizes ad delivery by continuously learning and refining data, which ensures ads will reach the right audience at the right time. AppLovin even stated in a shareholder letter that AXON 2.0 “saw advertisers spend more as a result of improved performance from our AI-enhanced advertising engine”.
The AI-powered optimization sets AppLovin apart from Google and Meta, and the real-time optimization for ad delivery gives AppLovin a competitive edge in targeting and engagement. Additionally, AppLovin’s performance-based pricing model offers a compelling value proposition for measurable results.
Beyond the advanced algorithms that help with targeting, the platform has some unique advantages with respect to ad delivery.
Jonathan Snow of The Snow Agency summarized a couple of the main differences between AppLovin and other platforms in the following tweet:
Ads on Facebook and Google have become such an integrated part of the platform that they can be easy for potential customers to gloss over or ignore as they browse. On Meta, a decent thumb stop rate is 25%.
But, on AppLovin? The thumb stop rate is 100%. A user is unable to skip the ad for at least a few seconds and up to 60 seconds, meaning that the customer must pay attention to the ad in front of them. Since mobile phone users are actively engaging with a game when they’re served an AppLovin ad, they’re a captive audience.
There’s also the novelty factor: while AppLovin users have been exposed to ads for a long time, they may not have been the most relevant. With the new changes to AppLovin and targeting with DTC brands, the ads displayed will be full screen, immersive and engaging ads that show them a product they may actually be interested in.
Beyond the thumb stop rate and novelty factor, there are a few other reasons why in-app ads set the stage for higher conversions than traditional platforms.
A mobile phone is a much different ad environment than a laptop computer, where a user could potentially have 30 tabs open to bounce in between them. No single item might have that user’s full attention, especially in today’s dopamine-driven world. What’s unique to this medium, however, is that the user is engaged in a single task. When consumers are using an app designed for language learning or gaming, they tend to give their full attention. Similar to a TV commercial, ads in the AppLovin environment are shown somewhat conservatively and during natural breaks in the action within the app itself.
In some cases, ads are served as reward placements, meaning the user will choose to watch or engage with the creative in exchange for an in-app award, like an extra life (in a game) or additional features. A survey of mobile gamers in the United States found that 76% of gamers prefer opt-in rewarded ads.
Using video and playable formats are engaging and interactive, and make the ad far more interesting (and therefore, memorable) to in-app users. Brands can use the full screen to convey their message with both video and audio, and playable ads are now able to be employed across all verticals.
Because of the information AppLovin is able to collect on its own platform about users, advertisers can be more granular with targeting efforts than they could be on other channels. Users can be targeted by behavior, location, propensity to make in-app purchases, demographics, and more. AppLovin offered a closed beta for DTC ecommerce brands in late 2024, and is restricted to brands devoted to spending more than $20,000 per day. Arguably, a brand that has enough revenue to spend such a high amount on advertising would be well-established and able to adapt well to a brand new platform. And the brands who have shared their AppLovin results publicly appear to be performing quite well. The case for AppLovin and DTC brandsAccording to The Information, AppLovin has returned attributable conversion rates as good as or better than Meta. This sentiment was echoed by Sean Frank, CEO of Ridge Wallets, when he stated they were having “Meta level results”.
Adaptogenic beverage company Brez shared revenue statistics for December 2024, with over $383,000 in ad spend dedicated to AppLovin, which is nearly 90% of the total ad spend on Meta ($434,859). For only the second month on the platform, Brez is highly confident in conversions if the spend levels have reached the level of Google Ads, and almost reaching Meta spend.
Health & Beauty brand Ogee, known for its award-winning organic makeup and skincare products, noted their ads on AppLovin have driven new customers, and also enhanced performance across other channels. Many of the brands in the closed beta are highly successful with advertising and driving revenue on other platforms, so it is not surprising to see them flourish on a brand new platform with new audiences.
Established brands doing 8 or 9-figures in revenue or more can easily adjust their advertising spend on existing channels to invest in a new channel like AppLovin to test its fit for their brand. Smaller or less established brands might not be able to adapt to a new channel quite as easily, or be able to afford the minimum $20,000 per day ad spend AppLovin requires at this time.
However, as AppLovin expands from the closed beta and allows more DTC brands to participate, we will be able to see the impact of this new channel more easily. As advertising channels continue to adapt in the face of privacy laws or other algorithm changes, it is important for brands to diversify their ad channels, and not invest too heavily in any one channel. So, when a new and promising opportunity to diversify advertising like AppLovin becomes an option, there’s absolutely a benefit to testing if it will work for your brand.
When integrating AppLovin with Triple Whale, brands will be empowered to measure their performance on the platform alongside metrics they know and trust. Brands can gain real-time insights into AppLovin’s impact, along with comprehensive attribution models to analyze their mobile ad performance. Key AppLovin metrics integrate directly on Triple Whale’s Summary page to provide a holistic view of performance in context with other channels, for better strategic insights to base their business decisions on.
To integrate AppLovin with Triple Whale, visit Settings then Integrations. Find AppLovin from the list and select “Connect”. After a redirection to AppLovin, follow the authorization flow to connect your AppLovin account.
For more information about this integration, take a look at our knowledge base article here.
With mobile commerce expected to continue to experience exponential growth, it is important for brands to utilize new and exciting channels to advertise to potential customers. AppLovin’s entry into advertising for DTC brands represents a cutting-edge solution for driving engagement through AI-driven ad targeting, immersive ad formats, and a massive, engaged user base. By integrating this platform’s metrics with Triple Whale, brands can gain access to unified analytics to enhance their strategic decision-making to maximize their returns on investment. As the advertising landscape evolves, early adoption of platforms like AppLovin positions brands to stay ahead of the game, reach new audiences, and achieve scalable success in the mobile-first era.
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