AppLovin

A weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem…  

What’s the rationale behind AppLovin’s bid to merge with Unity (kicking ironSource to the curb in the process)? Adam Foroughi, AppLovin’s CEO, got into the details on the company’s Q2 earnings call.

AppLovin wants Unity – but only if Unity calls off its planned acquisition of ironSource. Why doesn’t AppLovin want ironSource? And how is Apple’s ATT driving consolidation in mobile ad tech? Listen in. Plus: The Trade Desk claims to benefit whenever a regulator starts investigating Google.

Are public ad tech companies totally screwed? “Um, do you want the short answer?” said Rocco Strauss, a partner at independent equity research firm Arete Research. “Because the short answer is … yes,” he said.

TFW you think you have a date to the dance … and then it turns out you don’t. On Tuesday, AppLovin offered to buy Unity in an all-stock merger valuing Unity at $20 billion – but the offer doesn’t include ironSource.

Google has tried – and so far mostly failed – to get its customers on board with major new migrations for its online advertising platform. But Google means business this time, with the migration to the new GA4 analytics solution. You’ve got one year. Also: Tech layoffs are on the rise.

Adjust and its parent company AppLovin laid off roughly 12% of their combined staff on Monday. The layoffs come as many tech firms announce hiring freezes, hiring slowdowns and general belt tightening against a backdrop of recession fears, economic uncertainty and public market volatility.

AppLovin is looking at software as its main cash cow. Going forward, the company told investors that plans to prioritize its software platform and focus less on its apps business. Software is now responsible for 40% of AppLovin’s revenue compared with 14% when the company went public in April of last year.

On Wednesday, AppLovin-owned mobile measurement platform Adjust launched a product called CTV AdVision that attributes cross-device app install conversions tied to CTV ads, whether that’s CTV to mobile or CTV to CTV. Connected TV isn’t always the superhero – sometimes, it’s the sidekick.

AppLovin and The Trade Desk announced twin news items today. The mobile gaming and advertising giant launched an integration with Unified ID 2.0, and The Trade Desk buy directly from AppLovin for the first time. The Trade Desk has historically been a major demand partner for MoPub, said Meagan Martino, AppLovin head of demand for EMEA and the Americas, who came to AppLovin with the acquisition. “Getting The Trade Desk to migrate and transition to AppLovin was one of the top priorities for my team.”