Episode 183: Ask Olivia Kory Whether AppLovin Ads Work & She Explains Attribution vs Incrementality

Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi welcome Olivia Kory, Chief Marketing Strategy Officer at Haus, to unpack one of advertising's biggest questions: do ads actually work? Olivia explains the critical difference between attribution and incrementality, shares why AppLovin has become a standout performance channel. She discusses the future of media measurement, AI-driven optimization, and agentic media buying. The episode also covers Google's latest earnings, AI search trends, OpenAI's advertising ambitions, and the challenges of measuring podcast advertising. Takeaways: Olivia explains why incrementality measures causation while attribution measures correlation. AppLovin delivers strong short-term performance, particularly for lower-cost, impulse purchases. Incrementality testing is becoming essential for validating ad platform performance. AI is reshaping media measurement, budget allocation, and campaign optimization. The hosts discuss Google's AI investments, OpenAI's potential ad network, and why podcast measurement still needs major improvements. Chapters:00:00 Introduction & Olivia Kory Returns05:47 Attribution vs. Incrementality Explained07:48 Do AppLovin Ads Really Work?10:53 Which Products Perform Best on AppLovin?12:30 Affiliate Marketing & Incrementality Challenges16:04 CAPI vs. Pixels: The Future of Measurement20:13 AppsFlyer, Attribution & Daily Optimization23:30 AI-Powered Budget Allocation & Agentic Media Buying28:48 Google's Earnings & AI Growth32:36 AI Search and Google's Changing SERP34:30 Is OpenAI Building an Ad Network?41:51 Business Insider's FAST Channel Launch43:50 Why Podcast Measurement Is Still Broken49:16 Should Olivia Start Her Own Podcast?50:19 Closing Remarks Guests: Ari Paparo, Eric Franchi, Olivia Kory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices