AppLovin opens self-serve advertising platform to all advertisers

• AppLovin has opened its self-serve advertising platform to all advertisers.
• Axon has rebranded to AppLovin Ads.
• Axon will continue as the name of AppLovin's AI recommendation system.
• The platform reaches more than one billion daily active users through mobile gaming inventory.

AppLovin has opened its self-serve advertising platform to all advertisers, allowing businesses to sign up and access its advertising network.

The platform was previously available only through referrals, with AppLovin saying feedback from advertisers helped simplify integration and shorten the path from signup to campaign launch. 

Alongside the wider rollout, the company has rebranded the platform from Axon to AppLovin Ads. While the advertising platform now carries the AppLovin name, Axon will continue as the name of the company's AI recommendation system.

Platform expansion 

AppLovin said its advertising platform reaches more than one billion daily active users through mobile game inventory as it positions the platform around performance marketing.

The public launch comes after 14 years of development, with the company using the referral period to refine its product before making it broadly available to businesses.

Advertisers can currently buy campaigns using three models: return on ad spend for revenue-driven businesses, cost per purchaser for companies seeking customer acquisitions, and lead generation for sectors including insurance and home services.

“Over time, we realised that the AppLovin brand was stronger than we gave it credit for," said AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi in a post. “Even after rebranding the platform to Axon, our customers kept calling us AppLovin. New customers discovered us as AppLovin. 

“The name has become synonymous with the technology and results we deliver. And when something works, there's no reason to change it. Going forward, our ad platform is simply called AppLovin Ads, and it lives on the AppLovin domain. One company, one brand. Axon remains the name of our AI recommendation system."