DTC Podcast

DTC Newsletter and Podcast

Weekly discussions between disruptive direct to consumer ecommerce brands and our amazing team about marketing, funnels, and everything scaling related. Subscribe to our newsletter for highlights and step by step tactical insights 👉🏻 📦 directtoconsumer.co

  1. Bonus: How &Collar Uses Intelligems to Drive Growth with Pricing, Persona & Shipping Tests

    قبل ٢٠ ساعة

    Bonus: How &Collar Uses Intelligems to Drive Growth with Pricing, Persona & Shipping Tests

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup In this episode of the DTC Podcast, we talk with Ben Perkins, founder of &Collar — a men’s performance dress shirt brand that’s scaling smart by rigorously testing what works. Ben breaks down how they use Intelligems to uncover pricing and shipping threshold wins, and how they’re segmenting customers to align messaging and creative for maximum return. What you’ll learn in this episode: How a 4-way price test on a single SKU using Intelligems led to an extra $1.99/unit without conversion lossThe impact of testing free shipping thresholds ($75, $125, etc.) on AOV vs. conversionHow to define and target “recurring & required” customer personas for profitable acquisitionWhy your core SKU may deserve more focus (50% of &Collar’s sales are still from their white dress shirt)How to evaluate agency and team performance with contribution margin logic If you’ve ever relied on intuition or competitors when setting prices or shipping offers, this episode will challenge you to test with precision — and scale what works. Timestamps 00:00 – Price testing with Intelligems on &Collar’s best-selling dress shirts 03:00 – Founding story and early years of &Collar’s growth journey 06:00 – Post-pandemic market shifts and targeting “recurring & required” buyers 09:00 – SKU expansion challenges and focusing on the white shirt advantage 12:00 – Persona-based creative strategy and micro-segmentation for growth 15:00 – Discovering the $49.99 price sweet spot through A/B testing 18:00 – Testing free-shipping thresholds and increasing conversion rates 21:00 – Focusing on new customer acquisition and top-of-funnel strategy 24:00 – Always be testing: CRO roadmap and platform optimization 27:00 – Tracking profitability per visitor, product, and employee 30:00 – Long-term vision for &Collar and the road to a potential exit Hashtags: #DTCpodcast #Intelligems #AndCollar #PricingStrategy #ABTesting #EcommerceGrowth #DTCbrands #ConversionRateOptimization #ShopifyBrands #EmailMarketing #CustomerAcquisition #BusinessStrategy #Profitability #Ecommerce Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  2. Ep 557: Why People Buy:  CPG & DTC Brand Growth with Seth Waite

    قبل يومين

    Ep 557: Why People Buy:  CPG & DTC Brand Growth with Seth Waite

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Welcome to the DTC Podcast. Today, we’re joined by Seth Waite, Founder and Buyer Psychologist at Schaefer, where he helps CPG and food and beverage brands unlock growth by digging into the real reasons people buy. In this episode, we cover: Why knowing your customer via demographics isn't enough - the shift to behaviors, motivations, and jobs-to-be-done. How to build a "Why People Buy Pyramid" for your brand and map messaging across basic needs, emotional values, personal growth, and community. How to recognize true product-market fit in a DTC/CPG context (hint: when the only thing stopping you from selling more is budget). Why targeting the small obsessed segment matters (the "kingpin strategy") and how that unlocks long-term scale and profitable growth. Practical tips for talking to customers today - simple interviews, replacement questions, and how to turn qualitative insights into segmentation and messaging. Best moments you'll want to scan for: • "Demographics are interesting ... but they're not always insightful." • "What you should be telling is the customer's story - these are the occasions you'll have with our product." • "If the only reason why you're not selling more is money ... you've got product-market-fit." • The breakdown of the Why People Buy Pyramid and how it applies to food and beverage brands. • How brands like Oreo and Liquid Death illustrate layering of needs, emotional values, and community. Whether you're launching a new DTC food brand, scaling a snack or beverage line, or trying to sharpen your segmentation and messaging, you'll walk away with concrete frameworks and a clearer path to growth. 00:00 - Introduction: Why People Buy 01:20 - From Sam's Club to Walmart: Studying Real Buyer Behavior 05:12 - Motivations vs. Demographics 12:15 - Oreo: How to Own a Category 18:03 - Brand Psychology, Packaging, and Subconscious Triggers 26:06 - What Product-Market Fit Actually Looks Like 32:28 - Tell Their Story, Not Yours 39:13 - How to Actually Get Insight (Without a $150K Research Budget) #ConsumerPsychology #WhyPeopleBuy #CPGMarketing #BrandStrategy #ProductMarketFit #CustomerInsights #BehavioralScience #MarketingPsychology #FoodAndBeverage #DTCMarketing #MotivationBasedMarketing #EmotionalBranding #DataDrivenMarketing #OreoCaseStudy #LiquidDeathMarketing #FishwifeBrand #CustomerResearch #FounderStrategy #MarketingPodcast #DTCPodcast Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  3. Ep 556: Fix These YouTube Targeting Mistakes to Stop Wasting Money Building Top of Funnel Awareness

    قبل ٦ أيام

    Ep 556: Fix These YouTube Targeting Mistakes to Stop Wasting Money Building Top of Funnel Awareness

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup In this episode of the DTC Podcast, host Eric Dyck sits down with Dougie, Head of the Google team at Pilothouse, to unpack how DTC brands can and should use YouTube advertising more strategically — especially when trying to build awareness and capture new demand before peak periods such as BFCM. Key moments & actionable insights Why YouTube upper‑funnel campaigns often fail: mis‑targeted audiences, automated overrides, and device‑versus‑user mismatch.How to set up placement, topic and keyword exclusions to avoid low‑quality traffic (e.g., gaming, ASMR, children’s content).The importance of checking the actual served demographics in your audience reporting and comparing to your true converter demographics.How optimising for new customer conversions (instead of all conversions) can yield significant gains (e.g., +50% new customers, +15% share of new customers via Google).Why narrow geo‑targeting for awareness campaigns can improve measurability of incremental lift.Why brand‑lift studies may not be the most reliable metric and what alternatives to use (brand search lift, remarketing behaviour, time‑on‑site post‑click).Distinguishing between YouTube for pure awareness vs YouTube driving demand capture, and how budgets and measurement should differ accordingly. Whether you’re a performance marketer at a growing DTC brand, or scaling marketing budgets and looking to break through awareness ceilings, this episode gives you tactical controls, audit steps and measurement frameworks to make your YouTube spend work harder. Timestamps 00:00 – Why most advertisers are targeting the wrong audiences 02:10 – How misaligned content (like kids’ or gaming videos) wastes budget 05:00 – The sneaky Demand Gen setting sabotaging your audience 08:00 – How to force Google to find new customers only 11:40 – Using Audience Insights to audit your actual converters 14:00 – The evolution of YouTube as a top-of-funnel growth channel 17:00 – Why Brand Lift studies can’t be trusted and what to measure instead 18:40 – Narrower geo-targeting for better awareness results 20:00 – Step-by-step audit to fix your top-of-funnel YouTube campaigns Hashtags #YouTubeAds #GoogleAds #YouTubeMarketing #PerformanceMarketing #DTC #Pilothouse #MarketingPodcast #AdStrategy #DemandGen #DigitalAdvertising Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF556 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  4. Bonus: How to Prove What’s Actually Working in Your Ad Spend — The Incrementality Mentality with Stella's Brenden Delarua

    ٢٩ أكتوبر

    Bonus: How to Prove What’s Actually Working in Your Ad Spend — The Incrementality Mentality with Stella's Brenden Delarua

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Hello and welcome to the DTC Podcast. Today’s guest is Brenden  Delarua, co‑founder of Stella, the measurement SaaS helping DTC brands convert media spend into real business growth through incrementality testing and media‑mix modelling (at a much lower price than a lot of other platforms). https://stellaheystella.com Follow Brenden on TikTok Why this matters for DTC marketers & media buyers: You’re under pressure to justify ad spend with profit, but your on‑platform ROAS doesn’t tell the full story.Brenden walks us through how to build and run incremental testing (hold‑out studies) + media‑mix models so you allocate budget to channels that drive real growth.We also dig into his view on channel incrementality: why CTV/YouTube often win, why branded search and retargeting may be traps, and how creative diversity and scaling methodology matter. Key moments in this episode: Why Brenden built Stella (the anxiety of hitting ROAS goals but not seeing P&L growth.)How to set up hold‑out incrementality studies: picking regions, measuring revenue lift, ignoring on‑platform vanity metrics.The “Always On Incrementality” concept: daily causal analysis across campaigns.Creative diversity review: three‑word heuristic to test if your ads are too similar.Campaign structure advice for Meta: testing vs scaling in two campaigns.Hot take on measurement: many brands over‑complicate it (and overpay) without actionable clarity.Future of media buying & AI: creative + measurement convergence. If you’re a DTC brand owner, media buyer or marketing leader trying to squeeze more profit from your ad dollars, this conversation will give you a grounded, tactical framework to start measuring and scaling smarter. Timestamps 00:00 – Why ROAS doesn’t mean ROI and the rise of incrementality 02:00 – How Stella helps DTC brands test true ad impact 06:00 – The myth of high ROAS campaigns and what’s really incremental 10:00 – Always-on incrementality and Stella’s AI dashboard 14:00 – Media mix modeling and improving accuracy for marketers 18:00 – Pricing transparency and making incrementality affordable 22:00 – Which ad platforms are actually incremental 26:00 – Why most marketers overcomplicate incrementality 27:00 – Brenden’s TikTok growth and its impact on Stella 30:00 – Meta’s Andromeda update and how creative drives results 36:00 – The future of AI and media buying Hashtags #dtcpodcast #incrementality #mediabuying #marketingstrategy #adspend #stella #digitalmarketing #ecommercegrowth #brandstrategy #advertisinganalytics #d2cbrands #metaads #googleads #tiktokmarketing #marketingmeasurement #roas #growthmarketing Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  5. Ep 555: How Outway Got Back to Profitable 8-Figure Growth: Channels, Margins, & the Brand Moat Ahead

    ٢٧ أكتوبر

    Ep 555: How Outway Got Back to Profitable 8-Figure Growth: Channels, Margins, & the Brand Moat Ahead

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Rob Fraser, founder of performance sock brand Outway, returns to the DTC Podcast to share how his business rebounded from flat growth to profitable eight-figure scale. Rob reveals exactly how Outway added Amazon, wholesale, and U.S. distribution, and why 2026 is all about community and brand. This is a must-listen for brand owners scaling past $5M and trying to professionalize ops, expand markets, and stay profitable while doing it. 🔑 In this episode: • How Outway treated the U.S. like a separate business unit — and why you should too • Their 3-prong expansion strategy: Amazon, wholesale, and 3PL logistics • The margin unlock that let them outspend competitors and return to profitability • How Rob plans to build brand and community in the running space • What changes when you hit 8-figures: cash flow, inventory planning, and team complexity • Rob’s hot take on brand as the last defensible moat in DTC If you're building a real business, not just chasing growth hacks, this episode is for you. Timestamps 00:00 The future of brand and community building 02:40 Outway’s U.S. expansion and logistics challenges 05:30 Overcoming slow growth and finding new sales channels 09:10 Amazon vs DTC strategy and merchandising lessons 12:20 Profit focus, tariffs, and efficiency improvements 15:00 Scaling pains: hiring, inventory, and cash flow 18:00 Founder evolution and professionalizing the business 20:00 Building a Canadian brand and competing with U.S. giants 23:00 The return of brand and the power of community in 2026 29:00 Outway’s 2025–26 brand and running club strategy 33:00 Expanding in the U.S. and adapting creative for new markets 34:30 Balancing entrepreneurship and personal health 37:00 Living brand values through team culture 38:00 Rebranding from Endur to Outway and lessons learned 41:00 Founders, equity mistakes, and long-term thinking 43:00 Q4 readiness, demand signals, and Prime Day insights 46:00 Using AI tools like Sora for creative production 47:30 Future of streaming ads and creative reinvention 49:00 Closing thoughts on creativity and growth mindset Hashtags #dtcpodcast #outway #robfraser #ecommerce #brandstrategy #d2c #marketing #entrepreneurship #communitybuilding #scalingbrands #runningcommunity #founderstory #directtoconsumer Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  6. Ep 554: Q4 Meta Strategy in the Andromeda Era: What’s Changed and How Smart Brands Are Adapting

    ٢٤ أكتوبر

    Ep 554: Q4 Meta Strategy in the Andromeda Era: What’s Changed and How Smart Brands Are Adapting

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Hello and welcome to the DTC Podcast. Today we’re joined by Taylor and Jacob from Pilothouse to break down how Meta’s Andromeda engine is reshaping DTC paid advertising. In this episode you’ll learn: Why creative now is targeting — and how high‑performing DTC brands are shifting their media buying accordingly. The 3‑3‑3 framework for testing ads in an Andromeda‑driven environment (three funnel stages × three distinct angle concepts × three formats). How to restructure your ad account: fewer campaigns/ad sets, more ad‑level variation, and faster creative refreshes — plus what this means for your Q4 plan. What this means specifically for subscription or newsletter models with short consideration cycles — how to leverage persona messaging and feed the machine. Why old targeting hacks and incremental tweaks won’t cut it anymore — and what you should stop doing. Whether you’re running e‑commerce, subscription, or service‑based DTC marketing, this episode gives you actionable frameworks and change‑management steps to align your creative and account structure with the latest Meta delivery technology. Timestamps 00:00 – What is Andromeda and how Meta’s new retrieval engine works 04:00 – The role of Gem, Lattice, and sequence learning in Meta’s ad delivery 06:00 – How Andromeda is changing creative strategy for Q4 campaigns 08:00 – Why ad variety now matters more than small creative tweaks 10:00 – How to test and structure creatives effectively under Andromeda 12:00 – Simplifying campaign structure and letting AI optimize at the ad level 15:00 – Old vs. new media buying tactics and how performance patterns have shifted 17:00 – Why broader creative diversity leads to more winners in Andromeda 19:00 – Early Q4 insights and what brands should expect 20:00 – Framework for distinct angles and creative refresh cadence 23:00 – The evolution toward true marketing strategy over media-buying hacks Hashtags #MetaAds #AndromedaUpdate #PerformanceMarketing #DigitalAdvertising #MediaBuying #FacebookAds #CreativeStrategy #Q4Marketing #AdOptimization #MarketingPodcast Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://www.pilothouse.co/?utm_source=AKNF554 Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  7. Bonus: CTV for DTC: How Cantrip Drives Measurable Growth with Vibe.co’s Audience‑First Strategy

    ٢٢ أكتوبر

    Bonus: CTV for DTC: How Cantrip Drives Measurable Growth with Vibe.co’s Audience‑First Strategy

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup In this episode, Arthur Querou, founder of Vibe.co, and Adam Terry, CEO and co-founder of Cantrip Seltzer, unpack how Cantrip (a hemp/THC beverage brand) uses Vibe.co to turn streaming TV into a performance acquisition channel — not just branding. They dig into targeting, creative strategy, measurement, and scaling in a regulated vertical. What you’ll hear: Why CTV is more than just prestige — how hyper‑targeted performance TV delivers ROASHow Vibe.co’s identity-first model differs from inventory-first CTV platformsCreative strategies that work (and decay) in this new channelLessons in scaling — starting with retargeting, measuring incrementality, managing creative fatigueThe future: AI + hyper-personalization in TV ads Key moments to listen for: Adam’s early success in 3–4× ROAS within weeks of testing CTVArthur’s view that “Vibe buys identity first” as a core differentiatorTheir predictions on AI-generated individualized adsIf you're a performance marketer or DTC founder curious about how streaming TV can actually move the needle — especially in restricted verticals — this is a must-listen. Learn more about Vibe.co here: http://vibe.co/ Timestamps 00:00 - How Vibe Differs from Other CTV Platforms 02:00 - Why Cannabis Brands Thrive on Vibe 04:00 - Measuring ROAS and Performance on Vibe 07:00 - Hyper Targeting and Buyer Profiles Explained 10:00 - How Cantrip Uses Data for Smart Targeting 12:00 - Scaling CTV Campaigns vs. Meta Ads 15:00 - Why TV Ads Build Trust and Prestige 17:00 - Buying Identity vs. Inventory in CTV 20:00 - Cantrip’s Path to Profitable CTV Ads 23:00 - Using AI Tools to Create Effective CTV Ads 25:00 - What Type of Creatives Work Best on CTV 27:00 - The Future of AI-Generated Ads on TV 29:00 - How Vibe Uses Household-Level Data for Targeting 32:00 - Hyper-Personalized Ads and The Future of Targeting 33:00 - Vibe’s Growth Story and CTV Momentum 35:00 - Incrementality, MMM, and Measuring CTV Success 36:00 - Cantrip’s Q4 Plans and the Rise of AI Creators 37:00 - How to Get Started with Vibe.co Hashtags #CTV #StreamingAds #PerformanceMarketing #DTC #AdTech #VibeCo #Cantrip #ConnectedTV #AIAds #MediaBuying #Programmatic #DigitalAdvertising #MarketingStrategy #BrandGrowth #AdPerformance Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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  8. Ep 553: How Dad Gang Scaled from 100k to 700k Hats Without Changing Their Simple Playbook

    ٢٠ أكتوبر

    Ep 553: How Dad Gang Scaled from 100k to 700k Hats Without Changing Their Simple Playbook

    Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup In this episode of the DTC Podcast, Bart Szaniewski, co-founder of Dad Gang, returns to the DTC Podcast to explain how his brand scaled from 100k to over 700k hats sold — without changing a thing. No team. No fancy stack. Just staying consistent with community engagement, emotional storytelling, and founder hands on lean tools. What you’ll learn: The power of customer co-creation and community feedback loops Why keeping the same tools and playbook can scale further than you think How story-driven products and organic endorsements drive sticky growth Tactics behind spontaneous but effective 48-hour product launches Best moments: How a boosted post helped launch the brand to 100k The world tour tee and the deeper meaning in product Turning organic athlete engagement into brand lift The creative stack: iPhone, Canva, CapCut, and a story If you're tempted to overhaul your marketing every 6 months, this episode will have you rethinking that urge. Timestamps 00:00 Building Dad Gang from Garage to 700K Hats Sold 02:00 Keeping Growth Simple and Stress-Free 04:00 The Power of Community and Customer Feedback 06:00 Storytelling and Emotional Ads that Drive Connection 08:00 Turning Organic Wins into Paid Success 10:00 Product Launch Strategy and Creative Process 12:00 Easy-Mode Tools: Canva, CapCut, and AI for Creators 14:00 Authenticity, Athletes, and Future Growth Hashtags #DTCpodcast #DadGang #BartSzaniewski #EcommerceGrowth #ShopifyBrand #CommunityBuilding #FounderStory #DirectToConsumer #BrandMarketing #Entrepreneurship Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signup Advertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertise Work with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouse Follow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletter Watch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video

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Weekly discussions between disruptive direct to consumer ecommerce brands and our amazing team about marketing, funnels, and everything scaling related. Subscribe to our newsletter for highlights and step by step tactical insights 👉🏻 📦 directtoconsumer.co

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