AppLovin (Axon) Media Buyer - Testing & Scaling | DTC Spirits Brand

We're a fast-growing, direct-to-consumer premium spirits brand (a bourbon/whiskey membership + single-barrel retail business). We run profitable paid social on Meta and TikTok, and we already have AppLovin (Axon Ads Manager) ads live and approved - we've figured out the approval side. Now we want an expert to make this channel really sing. IMPORTANT: To apply, start your proposal with the word AXON. Proposals that don't will be skipped - we read every one that does. THE OPPORTUNITY Our AppLovin ads are running and approved, so this is NOT an approval or setup project. What we need is someone who lives and breathes campaign structure and testing - building a smart testing framework, quickly seeing what's working and what isn't, scaling the winners at a stable ROAS, and giving us clear directionality on creative. We produce the creatives in-house. What we need from you is the judgment: which creatives are working, which aren't, why, and guidance on how to build the different components AppLovin needs so our team produces the right assets. You'll be scaling toward $50K-$150K+/month in managed spend, so this is a real account for someone who has done this before. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Design and run a rigorous testing structure on AppLovin - campaign architecture built to isolate variables (creative, offer, audience, bidding) and read signal fast. - Continuously analyze performance and give us clear creative directionality: which creatives to scale, which to kill, and what to iterate next. - Advise on the components AppLovin needs - the three-screen ad unit (9:16 video, interactive end card, dynamic product ads) - so our creative team produces assets built for the platform, not ported straight from Meta. - Dial in bidding and optimization (CPP vs. ROAS, audience selection, optimization/attribution windows) for our AOV and subscription model. - Scale spend methodically while protecting a stable, profitable ROAS. - Keep measurement honest - the in-platform dashboard under-reports, so you'll cross-check against our analytics stack and know when the platform number and reality diverge. - Test and scale to our core audience: an older, higher-income e-commerce buyer (not the typical young mobile user). MUST-HAVES - Proven, hands-on AppLovin / Axon experience with e-commerce/DTC brands - real accounts you've personally run and scaled (please bring numbers). - A track record scaling e-commerce campaigns profitably, ideally for an older / higher-age demographic rather than a young, low-AOV audience. - Rigorous testing methodology - you think in structured experiments and know how to read AppLovin's signal quickly and act on it. - Creative judgment - you can look at a set of creatives and tell what will and won't work on AppLovin, and brief the components needed. - ROAS-obsessed and comfortable with AppLovin's measurement quirks; you don't blindly trust the dashboard. - Self-directed senior operator who can own a channel end to end. NICE-TO-HAVES - Experience with subscription / membership DTC models. - Familiarity with attribution tools (Triple Whale / Northbeam) and incrementality / geo-holdout testing. - Experience partnering with an in-house creative/UGC team. Note: You do NOT need prior experience getting a regulated category approved - we've handled approval. We care about testing and scaling ability. WHAT WE PROVIDE - A live, approved AppLovin account with ads already running - no approval or setup headaches. - We produce the creatives - you provide the direction on what to make and what's working. - A steady supply of UGC / creator content to work from. - Direct access to the founder/marketing lead and fast decisions - no red tape. COMPENSATION Structure: performance-based monthly retainer + a percentage of managed ad spend. - Monthly retainer: $1,000-$4,000/month, scaled to how well the channel is performing - the better your results, the higher your retainer. - Plus a percentage of managed ad spend, with the percentage based on your experience (tell us your number). - No setup fee. - You'll be managing $50K-$150K+/month in spend, so the percentage is where the real upside is - strong operators do very well here. (Note: the hourly range on this post is nominal - actual compensation is the retainer + percentage of spend described above.) COMMITMENT & LOCATION Ongoing / long-term contract (freelance). Part-time to fractional, ~10-20 hrs/week (flexible; results-driven). Remote - must overlap several hours with US Eastern time. HOW TO APPLY Start your proposal with AXON, then include: 1. Proof you've worked with AppLovin brands and scaled e-commerce campaigns successfully - real accounts, ballpark spend, and the ROAS you held. Screenshots or a short Loom walkthrough are exactly what we want to see. Bonus if it was for an older demographic. 2. How you structure testing on AppLovin to find winners fast. 3. How you read creative performance and give directionality - how you decide what's working, what to kill, and what to make next. 4. Your proposed compensation package (retainer + percentage of spend). 5. Your weekly availability and time zone. We move quickly for the right person. Looking forward to reading your proposal.