News from the ecommerce front
Bottom line: you should be advertising on Applovin. Read here to understand why.
On August 6th, Applovin held their second quarter 2025 earnings call. In that meeting, they revealed several huge revelations you need to know:
Self-service access is coming
The self-service Applovin ad platform, known as “Axon Ads Manager,” will be open on a referral basis starting October 1.
This means you’ll be able to manage your own ad campaigns without managed services support. It also means that advertisers can join Applovin if they are referred by an existing customer. I assume there will be a soft cap, or at least a queue… which is why you need to move now.
Why this matters:
We’ve been bullish on Applovin performance for a while. Unfortunately, not everybody could get access.
Northbeam can refer you. While we can’t guarantee you’ll get in, we can at least pass you to the Applovin team.
We are expecting a queue of onboarding that will be hundreds of advertisers deep, even on day one. So the earlier you get a referral, the better. If you know someone who can refer you, ask them. Today.
The Shopify integration is live
This is a no-brainer. Go turn it on today. You can find it on the Shopify app store.
Wider access to Applovin starts in 2026
While international expansion starts on October 1, Applovin says they’ll open access to the ad platform even wider starting in early 2026.
This will be a “full global public launch,” meaning the platform will get swarmed with advertisers trying to ride the wave.
You need to be a first mover. If you can get your business into this invite-only timeline, you’ll have months and months of learnings putting you ahead of the competition.
Competition on Applovin is going to only be more fierce. You need to be first.
Axon will be open to more than just ecommerce
The ad platform will not stop at ecommerce. They’ll open it to leadgen, B2B and more. There’s more than 1 billion users on the platform - this is a huge opportunity. The reach is immense.
There is no manual targeting - but don’t worry
Lots of advertisers have complained that Applovin lacks specific targeting functionality – the kind of functionality people have come to expect from ad platforms because of Meta.
Applovin is not Meta. You need to think differently. The ads, the user experience, the data - it's all different from how Meta operates. Don't bring the same playbook to a different game.
Applovin’s approach is AI-driven. Their ad algorithm uses machine learning, goals and budgets to optimize your ad campaigns.
This isn’t revolutionary, but it blissfully skips forward to the end state of digital marketing: creative IS targeting.
Ever since TikTok and iOS14.5, we’ve argued that creative is the new targeting. In an algorithmic world, creative expression and formats are how you reach through the algo and find your audience.
Applovin operates the same way. Create ads that speak to the audience you want.
Quick hits from the roadmap:
No word on when these all are coming, but here’s what you need to know:
Dynamic Product Ads – these are already launched; combines video with product catalog to drive quick transactions.
Generative AI creative tools – to automatically produce video/end card assets for long engagement formats.
Campaign AI agents – will eventually manage targeting, optimization, and reporting without manual intervention.
Expanded attribution integrations – ensures data matches what brands see in their own analytics.
So, why aren’t you on Applovin yet?
Book a demo with us and we’ll help you out.
Cheers,
-bryan
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