Episode 268: Axon Ads - How to Diversify Beyond Meta and Find New Customers

Mar 25, 2026

Pep Hufen, CEO of SmartMarketer and paid advertising strategist, shares how Axon/AppLovin opens new paid-traffic channels beyond Meta. He explains platform scale, gamer psychology, the three-part ad experience, creative requirements, attribution differences, setup and optimization windows, and practical scaling and testing strategies.

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INSIGHT

Gaming Mindset Makes Ads More Receptive

Gaming users are in a more relaxed, receptive mindset than social scrollers, making ads feel like a welcome break and improving ad receptivity.
Pep cites 59% relaxed for gamers vs 27% relaxed for social media users.

INSIGHT

Axon Learns From Behavior Not Profiles

Axon's algorithm learns from engagement signals (like TikTok), not profile data, so ad delivery optimizes around what users interact with.
This behavioral model speeds learning and matches ads to current preferences.

ADVICE

Start With Day-Zero For Lower AOVs

Choose day-zero optimization for AOV under ~$150 to target purchases within 24 hours; use day-seven only if your sales cycle is longer.
Expect 8–14 days for data maturity on day-seven windows before trusting results.

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Episode 268: Axon Ads - How to Diversify Beyond Meta and Find New Customers Episode Description

In this episode of the Smart Marketer Podcast, Molly Pittman is joined by Smart Marketer agency CEO Pep Hufen to break down Axon (also known as AppLovin), a fast-growing ad platform that is giving marketers a new way to diversify beyond Meta.

They walk through how the platform works, what makes it different from traditional social media advertising, and why it is becoming a powerful channel for acquiring net-new customers. From creative requirements and campaign setup to attribution differences and scaling strategies, this episode gives you a practical roadmap to start testing Axon in your own business.

If you are running ads for ecommerce, SaaS, info products, or local businesses, this episode will help you understand how to expand your paid traffic strategy and unlock new growth opportunities.

"The goal is not necessarily for you to replace Meta. The goal is to run advertising on both platforms. You want to have traffic diversification. You want to reach people that otherwise you wouldn't be able to reach." – Pep Hufen

You Will Learn

• Why Axon is emerging as a serious alternative for paid traffic diversification beyond Meta • How the Axon ad experience differs from traditional social media platforms • Why user psychology on gaming apps leads to higher attention and engagement • How Axon attribution works and why it appears more conservative than Meta • When to use ROAS optimization versus cost per purchase • How to choose between day-zero and day-seven optimization windows • What types of creative formats perform best on the platform • How to structure your first campaign and creative sets for testing • What to expect when launching and evaluating early performance • How brands are scaling spend while acquiring a high percentage of new customers

Links & Resources

• Smart Marketer – https://smartmarketer.com• Axon – https://smartmarketer.com/axon • Omnisend – https://smartmarketer.com/omnisend (Use code SMART for 50% off your first three months) • Thumbstop – https://smartmarketer.com/thumbstop (Thumbstop Is Live. Get 50% Off For The First 3 Months. Use Code SMART50 At Checkout After Creating An Account.)

Time Stamps

00:00:15 – Introduction to Axon and expanding beyond Meta 00:01:08 – Ezra Firestone on OmniSend for email and SMS 00:02:13 – Molly introduces Axon and Pep Hufen 00:03:01 – Why Axon is a major opportunity for paid traffic 00:04:26 – What to expect from this training and roadmap 00:05:19 – How quickly you can launch campaigns on Axon 00:08:58 – What AppLovin is and how the platform started 00:10:21 – Why this is about diversification, not replacing Meta 00:11:33 – How Axon blends social media and TV-style ads 00:12:24 – The scale of mobile gaming audiences 00:14:08 – Conversion behavior and fast purchase cycles 00:15:16 – Attribution differences between Axon and Meta 00:17:39 – The three-part Axon ad experience explained 00:19:27 – Creative best practices and video requirements 00:22:17 – Why Axon delivers longer attention spans 00:24:20 – The psychology of users playing games vs scrolling 00:25:46 – What the interactive step is and how it works 00:26:51 – Using Thumbstop to create ad creatives 00:28:46 – Why gaming users are more relaxed and receptive 00:30:38 – How Axon's AI model works differently 00:33:13 – Step-by-step campaign setup overview 00:35:53 – Choosing ROAS vs cost per purchase 00:39:15 – Universal vs prospecting campaigns 00:40:52 – Day-zero vs day-seven optimization 00:42:44 – Budgeting and data maturity expectations 00:46:17 – Structuring creative sets for testing 00:49:55 – Scaling strategies and creative expansion 00:53:33 – Budget timing and UTC considerations 00:54:36 – Axon credit offer and how to get started 00:55:26 – Case studies and real brand results 00:58:18 – Next steps and upcoming masterclass 00:59:28 – Catalog segmentation and targeting questions 01:03:53 – Live walkthrough of campaign setup 01:10:33 – Success rate across tested brands 01:11:35 – Offer types and landing page strategies 01:12:21 – Scaling campaigns effectively 01:14:17 – Final thoughts, resources, and tools 01:15:57 – Outro

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