Deep|APP: Black Friday Update - E-Commerce Advertising Progress Shows Meaningful Improvement
Self Service, Invitation Code Approval, Creative Review, 30-Second Video, Data Partnership, AppLovin-Shopify
In our AppLovin 3Q25 Preview, we noted that following AppLovin’s October launch of Self-Service and e-commerce campaigns, e-commerce advertising budget growth was initially slower than expected. At the time, we identified several key points:
AppLovin maintained a high rejection rate for Self-Service invitation codes, with many advertisers receiving approval only two weeks before Black Friday.
Even after invitation code approval, creative review rejection rates remained elevated.
Advertisers struggled to adapt to AppLovin’s 30-second video format, lacking established workflows for producing longer-form ad creatives.
Performance varied meaningfully by vertical—snacks and consumer electronics performed well, while apparel, a major category, underperformed expectations.
Black Friday represented a critical inflection point for AppLovin—an opportunity to address these issues and accelerate advertiser onboarding. We conducted interviews with four advertising industry experts and found that the aforementioned challenges have shown marked improvement, with Black Friday spend ramping meaningfully.
Expert Survey Summary
Advertising Agency Expert A
Invitation Codes
Agency received 50 invitation codes
Expert personally manages 8 codes
AppLovin Total Spend
September–October: $2.1–2.5M/month
November: $2.8M/month
December: projected $3.5M/month
E-Commerce Advertiser Spend
During Black Friday, the 8 advertisers under this expert’s management spent approximately 2x increase versus the initial 20-day ramp period
Daily spend expected to sustain through December 15
Expert notes that e-commerce advertisers segment Black Friday into three phases:
Peak Promotion → Encore Period → Clearance Period (ending December 15)
Advertisers maintain elevated spend through all three phases, with a sharp decline following clearance as Christmas holiday seasonality kicks in
Christmas holiday typically impacts e-commerce advertisers for approximately three weeks (December 17 through January 5), during which current daily spend could decline 80%. However, gaming advertisers enter peak season during this period
Given AppLovin continues to onboard new advertisers through the invitation code and creative approval pipeline, Christmas seasonality impact should be less pronounced than META/GOOG. Daily spend could recover or higher by mid-January
Invitation Code Approval
This agency maintains strict advertiser vetting standards, resulting in lower rejection rates
“We screen rigorously and adhere strictly to AppLovin’s advertiser guidelines—rejection rates are minimal”
Creative Review
Pre-Black Friday creative rejection rate: ~25%
Promotional copy emphasizing steep discounts
Creative duration too short or containing excessive repetitive/spliced content
Insufficient creative inventory
AppLovin utilizes primarily AI-based review with limited human oversight. The AI platform does not provide optimization feedback on rejected creatives, forcing advertisers to reverse-engineer approval criteria through trial and error
During Black Friday, advertisers built deeper creative inventories and developed familiarity with AI review guidelines; rejection rates declined to ~15%
30-Second Video Adaptation
GOOG, META, and TikTok creatives typically run 10–15 seconds
Advertiser approaches to extending to 30 seconds:
AI-assisted duration extension
Adding brand narrative content for specific SKUs
Splicing multiple shorter creatives
DTC advertisers generally lack in-house capabilities for 30-second streaming-quality creative production
Gaming advertisers, given their inherently content-rich products, adapt more easily
DTC brands historically focused on price/value messaging with limited brand storytelling assets; building these capabilities will require time
Black Friday Category ROI Performance
Snacks and consumer electronics: strong performance, well-aligned with AppLovin’s user base
Apparel and home goods: underperformance, as these categories require more granular targeting; AppLovin’s EC data remains insufficient
