Rob Sanderson

Rob Sanderson of Loop Capital Markets LLC asked a series of detailed questions on the advertising business, focusing on the go-to-market for 'Place Ads,' the mechanics of the 'Uplift' attribution product, and how Life360's data is integrated into campaigns on platforms like Meta and Google.

Answer

CEO Lauren Antonoff described the ad business as a 'longer ramp' focused on proof-of-concepts. She explained that for off-platform ads, Life360 works with partners like The Trade Desk, providing them with privacy-safe, obfuscated audiences to target users on platforms like Meta and Google, rather than through direct integration.

Rob Sanderson asked about current points of friction in bringing on new advertisers, other necessary optimizations, and common feature requests for Axon Ads Manager. He also inquired about the international launch, availability, surprising behavior from the cohort, and next steps for expansion.

Answer

Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairperson, AppLovin, identified optimizing the sign-up to go-live conversion as key, noting surprisingly few feature requests from the new cohort. He stated international availability is worldwide (except EU traffic for web shops/advertisers), with current success in English-speaking countries. Localization is not a challenge with LLMs; the focus is on making the system workable for the West, then expanding globally.

Rob Sanderson inquired about the international launch, specifically where AppLovin is available, any surprising behavior from this cohort, and next steps for expanding internationally.

Answer

Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairperson, AppLovin, clarified that web shops/advertisers are available everywhere except EU traffic. Current successful countries are English-speaking Western markets. Future expansion will target localized presence in large markets like Japan and Korea, with language optimization being less of a challenge due to LLMs.

Rob Sanderson questioned Applovin's progress on adding features for web-based advertisers, like excluding existing customers, and asked if improving performance was the key driver behind the decision to expand the platform's access.

Answer

Co-Founder, CEO & Chairperson Adam Foroughi acknowledged that their platform differs from others but stressed their focus on full automation over manual targeting, a philosophy proven in gaming. He pointed to the platform's strong financial results with minimal advertiser penetration as evidence of its effectiveness. He confirmed that rapid product improvements, including the Shopify app and dynamic product ads, have boosted performance and gave them the confidence to proceed with the October 1st referral-based opening.

Rob Sanderson of Loop Capital Markets LLC questioned the progress on improving performance for web-based advertisers, noting a lack of basic targeting features, and asked if improved performance was the key factor in deciding to launch the referral program on October 1.

Answer

CEO Adam Foroughi acknowledged that Applovin's platform differs from Meta's but stressed its effectiveness, citing the billion-dollar run rate from a small number of advertisers. He confirmed that the decision to launch was driven by rapid product improvements, including dynamic product ads and key attribution integrations, which were completed faster than expected and gave the company confidence to move forward.

Rob Sanderson from Loop Capital asked to delineate trends between the app and web products and how the 10% web revenue contribution is measured. He also inquired about long-term solutions for attribution beyond short cookie windows.

Answer

Executive Adam Foroughi explained that the long-term vision is for the app and web products to merge into a single, goal-based platform for advertisers. Executive Matt Stumpf clarified the 10% web contribution target is on a net revenue basis. Regarding attribution, Foroughi acknowledged the current reliance on short windows but noted they are actively working on integrating with third-party web attribution vendors to provide advertisers with more flexible and familiar measurement options, similar to their mobile app ecosystem.

Rob Sanderson asked about the evolution of the go-to-market strategy for e-commerce and other new verticals, and questioned how much category-specific product work is required for the AXON platform to expand.

Answer

CEO Adam Foroughi explained that the current go-to-market strategy is focused on mid-market DTC brands and is driven by inbound interest, a strategy that will hold until self-serve tools are released. He clarified that AXON works for new verticals 'out of the box' without requiring custom models, making the primary challenge go-to-market execution and tool development, not technology adaptation.

Rob Sanderson of Loop Capital Markets asked a multi-part question covering GenAI creative tools, the evolution of the go-to-market strategy and partner channels, and the apples-to-apples margin expansion excluding the Maxim Effort divestiture.

Answer

CEO Mark Douglas discussed GenAI as a complement to their Quick Frame creator network, aimed at solving the creative bottleneck for new customers. COO Chris Innes noted the go-to-market has accelerated post-IPO, driven by AI tools. CFO Patrick Pohlen explained that while he couldn't give a precise figure, gross margin would have improved year-over-year even without the divestiture due to strong revenue growth and operating leverage. Mark Douglas also emphasized the continued strength of the Maxim Effort partnership.