True Classic, a leading menswear brand, has been strategically exploring new advertising opportunities to fuel customer acquisition. With Axon by AppLovin's expansion into ecommerce advertising in late 2024, the platform saw a rapid 66% jump in ad spend. Before incorporating Axon into its marketing mix, the True Classic team wanted a data-driven approach to assess its effectiveness and turned to WorkMagic to run geo-based incrementality testing.
Key Takeaways:
Axon showed strong mid- to upper-funnel impact, with 56% of Axon-driven sales coming from new customers and an actual iROAS 3X what last-click attribution reported.
Beyond direct conversions on Shopify, Axon also drove a 3.14% lift in Amazon orders—a halo effect that traditional attribution models failed to capture.
With the 2nd highest iROAS across all ad channels, Axon became a top pick for performance-driven teams like True Classic.
"At True Classic, we don’t scale on instinct. We scale on proof. What unlocked growth for us wasn’t a new ad or targeting tweak. It was clarity.
WorkMagic gave us the measurement muscle to validate Axon's true impact, including the halo on Amazon, and that’s what gave us the confidence to push beyond $100k in daily spend."
Bryan Cano, Head of Marketing at True Classic
Evaluating Emerging Channels with Clarity and Confidence
For performance marketers today, the biggest challenge isn't testing new channels but testing them conclusively. As the ad landscape becomes more complex and acquisition costs continue to rise, e-commerce leaders need reliable methods to evaluate whether a new channel is truly driving growth.
When True Classic began testing Axon by AppLovin, the team wanted to answer key questions that every modern marketing team asks: "Is this channel actually helping us acquire net-new orders?" and "How does its true performance compare to our existing channels?"
WorkMagic's Automated Incrementality Testing
True Classic turned to the WorkMagic team for help in designing an experiment that could accurately measure the new platform's impact. With WorkMagic's incrementality testing, they launched a geo-lift test to isolate Axon's true impact on both Shopify and Amazon sales.
The experiment ran for three weeks and was followed by an incrementality-calibrated MMM that projected future performance at scaled spending. The setup was quick and seamless, but the results made a great impact.
A Clearer Understanding of What Axon by AppLovin Delivers
Through WorkMagic's incrementality test, True Classic gained a clearer, more complete picture of Axon's performance.
Hidden Halo Impact on Amazon Sales
On Shopify, Axon drove a 4.67% lift in orders, reinforcing its role in generating incremental demand through mobile-first discovery. But the most exciting insight came from what traditional attribution couldn't capture: Axon also delivered a 3.14% lift in Amazon orders. This previously hidden halo effect showed Axon's ability to influence customer behavior beyond direct clicks—particularly across high-consideration, multi-channel journeys.
Higher iROAS and Balanced Customer Mix
Factoring in the halo effect, WorkMagic calculated Axon's true incremental ROAS (iROAS) to be 3X what the last-click attribution reported and 2X the platform's self-reported figure. This finding highlights how traditional attribution methods or platform attribution would undervalue Axon's actual performance, especially when they overlook cross-channel influence and upper-funnel engagement.
In reality, Axon delivered more incremental value than reported and ultimately ranked as the second-highest ROAS channel in True Classic's media mix. The channel also brought a healthy mix of new (56%) vs. returning customers (44%), making it a strong lever for both new customer growth and retention.
Moving Forward: Smarter Spending with Incrementality-Calibrated Metrics
With a clear view of Axon's incremental impact, True Classic moved quickly to act on the findings and expanded investment in the channel. Today, they rely on WorkMagic's incrementality-adjusted attribution dashboard and insights to make smarter decisions:
Campaign optimization: The team measures campaign and ad performance using true incremental ROAS, not just clicks or CPA, so they can focus on what drives sales.
Sales forecasting: With WorkMagic's incrementality-calibrated MMM, the team predicts how changes in daily spend will impact sales, enabling them to allocate budgets more efficiently across channels.
Budget planning: WorkMagic recommends optimal Axon spend levels, helping True Classic scale with confidence and avoid hitting diminishing returns.