Whether you believe in gods, ghosts, or fate, you probably trust cold hard science more than anything when it comes to your business. 

Solid, measurable results are what help us sleep at night. Or keep us up. Depends on the day (and the results).  

Good news for the metrics crowd looking to expand beyond Meta this week. We gathered a bunch of early results from Applovin to give you an indication if it’s worth the hype or not. 

This week:

• AppLovin - What the early results say

• Jaguar - What a rebrand should do

• Messaging matters - How angle testing can impact ad costs

• BONUS - Meta news for health brands

• Quick hits ← Find 9 easy ways to improve your marketing

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AppLovin Results are in…

Enough with the rumors. AppLovin results are in. 

In case you’ve not been reading us over the past few weeks, AppLovin is a mobile gaming ad network that opened its doors to eCommerce brands. It seems they have an S-tier algorithm, but everything has been hype and hearsay.

Until now. 

We’ve gathered reports from 3 trustworthy sources:

• Olivia Kory, Head os Strategy for Haus.io

• Will Holtz, VP Strategy & Operations of Prescient AI 

• Jeremiah Prummer, CEO of KNO Commerce

Here’s what they found, in brief.

The Haus Labs Test:

• 12-day geo-holdout test

• $8.2k spend

• New Customer incremental ROAS: $4.33 for every $1 spent

Key insight: Strong initial performance with statistical significance, despite short duration

The Prescient AI Analysis:

• AppLovin budget allocation for most brands: 5-25% of total spend 

• Top performers: $75k+/day

• ROAS vs Meta: 1.7x more efficient but at 1/5 scale

• Lower halo effects (15%) vs Meta (30%)

• Exception: Brands with Amazon presence see higher halo effects

• Median performance closer to 0.9x Meta

Key insight: AppLovin's ROAS is more efficient (~1.7x Meta's on average) though tests have been at a smaller scale. 

KNO User Data:

• Rapid acceleration in orders since AppLovin adoption among client base

• 120,000+ orders on it since June 17th

• Ran post-purchase surveys: people often bought through AppLovin, but rarely discovered the product there.

Key finding: Excels at converting awareness built in other channels.

Another intriguing finding from Jeremiah:

The vast majority of Applovin buyers are over 40 years old. Kind of like an inverse IkTok. If this is your demo, testing AppLovin should move up your priority list.  

Takeaway: Prescient's data shows varied performance - while average ROAS is 1.7x Meta, the median is 0.9x, suggesting inconsistent results across brands.

KNO's data shows high attribution numbers (120,000+ orders) but low "new discovery" (0.6%), which could mean different things:

• Could be taking credit for conversions from other channels

• Could be effectively targeting people already aware of brands

• Could indicate attribution measurement challenges

Haus Labs' data is too limited (12 days) to support broad conclusions about the channel's role.

We’re still early, but the results are intriguing. This early peek suggests we have a Meta lookalike in AppLovin, and it remains to be seen if its results cannibalize other channels’ or are net pluses.

What a rebrand should do (not this)

You’ve no doubt seen the Jaguar rebrand announcement video. If not, you can watch it here.

It’s gotten… we wish we could say mixed reviews but it’s actually been overwhelmingly negative. 

Cory Dobbin, Founder of the new marketing agency Otherside, explains why this rebrand missed the mark.

According to him, good rebrands should set out to achieve specific goals, like:

• Retaining existing customers

• Communicating new messaging

• Attracting fresh audiences

• Reflecting design evolution

However, Dobbin argues Jaguar's recent rebrand falls short on all counts.

"The new identity alienates their existing customer base while failing to speak clearly to any new demographic," says Dobbin. He points to the logo's rounded aesthetics and inconsistent letter casing as particularly problematic, noting they conflict with Jaguar's established image of powerful, sophisticated vehicles.

Dobbin criticizes the timing, suggesting Jaguar has embraced minimalist sans serif design just as luxury brands are returning to heritage-inspired aesthetics. "Legacy fashion houses are reverting to their design-forward, heritage-style logos. This was the trend Jaguar should have followed," he explains.

The rebrand appears to prioritize contemporary design trends over brand equity, a strategy Dobbin suggests may prove costly for the luxury automaker known for its distinctive character.

Takeaway: Jaguar’s new brand campaign certainly went viral, but likely for all the wrong reasons. They will continue to unveil more of their strategy over time, so it remains to be seen if this major gamble will pay off, or become one of the biggest blunders in recent memory. 

The importance of angle testing

An interesting Meta ads experiment by Marin revealed dramatic CPM variations across different messaging approaches for the same audience and image: 

1. Home use messaging: $44.41 CPM

2. Price comparison/savings angle: $18.15 CPM

3. NASA technology angle: $171.34 CPM

That is a massive shift in performance from messaging choice alone. The NASA technology angle resulting in CPMs nearly 10x higher than the savings-focused approach.

Marin shares 5 strategies to Reduce Facebook Ad CPM in the rest of the thread. Let’s break them down:

1. Optimize Messaging and Copy

• Carefully audit your ad copy for potentially problematic words

• Identify and replace high-CPM triggering terms

• Test different ways to phrase your value proposition

• Avoid overly technical or potentially sensitive terminology

2. Strategic Placement Optimization

When to Consider:

• If specific placements show disproportionately high CPMs

• When certain placements underperform consistently

Important Note:

• Don't automatically eliminate feed placements expecting better results

• Test performance across different placement combinations

3. Audience Segment Refinement

Best Used When:

• Operating in highly competitive markets

• Seeing inconsistent performance across segments

Implementation Note:

• Requires more advanced execution strategy

• Focus on finding less competitive audience segments

4. Creative Format Testing

Key Approaches:

• Test transitions between static and video content

• Maintain consistent messaging across format changes

• Monitor which creative types deliver lower CPMs while maintaining performance

• Experiment with different creative formats for the same message

5. Creative Type Optimization

Focus on testing different creative approaches that can effectively communicate your message while keeping CPMs manageable.

Best Practices for Implementation

1. Test one variable at a time to clearly identify what drives CPM changes

2. Monitor both CPM and conversion metrics to ensure optimizations don't harm overall performance

3. Regularly audit high-performing ad sets for insights

4. Document which approaches consistently deliver lower CPMs for your specific audience

Audience Sophistication Impact

• Different audience segments may have varying CPMs based on their knowledge level

• Example: In supplements, targeting users familiar with specific ingredients vs. broader audiences like "mom" can yield different CPMs

• This variance shouldn't necessarily deter from targeting higher-CPM audiences if they convert well

Takeaway: While everyone worries about assets like statics or videos in the ad creative, this experiment shows that messaging strategy can significantly impact ad costs. 

While technical or innovative angles might seem appealing, simpler approaches focused on practical benefits (like savings) often deliver better CPM efficiency.

🚨PSA: Meta breaking up with Health Brands

Meta just dropped a bombshell that's going to shake up DTC health brands in a big way.

Starting January 2025, if you're selling anything health-related, you can kiss those sweet purchase conversions goodbye. No more optimizing for sales. No more add-to-cart tracking. Instead? Only top-of-funnel metrics like View Content.

Here's what's actually happening:

Meta's trying to play nice with privacy regulators (again). Noble cause, sure. But it's about to make life hell for legitimate brands trying to help real people with real problems.

The scary part? It's not just obvious health stuff. Even messaging workarounds like "PCOS girlies" or "Nature's Ozempic" could get you flagged. And if you're making any claims about beating medical treatments? You’re flagged. 

❌ What you can't do anymore:

• Optimize for purchases

• Track add-to-carts

• Target specific health conditions

• Use those crafty condition-related phrases you thought were clever

✅ Here’s what you can do:

1. Check your account

Jump into Events Manager and see if you're already flagged for health restrictions. If you are, you've got 30 days to appeal. Don't sleep on this one.

2. Test new optimization strategies

View Content and Engagement might not be sexy, but they're about to become your new best friends. Start testing them now, before you're forced to.

🧠 The smart play? Get off Meta's wild ride

Look, we're not saying abandon ship entirely. But if you're still putting all your eggs in Meta's basket, this is your wake-up call.

Some alternatives worth checking out:

• TikTok (still the wild west of advertising)

• Pinterest (surprisingly good for health content)

• Good old-fashioned email marketing (because you own your list)

• AppLovin (hey its topical)

Here's what's wild: This isn't just about health brands. Meta's sending a pretty clear message about where they're headed with sensitive categories. Finance folks? Political advertisers? You might want to pay attention.

Takeaway: Meta's changes are coming whether we like it or not. But here's the silver lining - maybe getting kicked off the Meta addiction is exactly what your marketing strategy needed.

In the meantime:

Quick Hits

• 9 scientifically proven and easy ways to improve your marketing

• The winning thumbnail face for video ads

• Clara Shih from Hearsay Brands joins Meta as head of Business AI, aiming to power all businesses with AI operations.

• One creative ad platform to rule them all? Icon.me founder claims he can replace half your tech stack.