Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth The Marketing Calendar Is Your Real Revenue Model
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Dec 11, 2025 In this engaging conversation, Luke Austin, VP of e-commerce strategy and forecasting expert, reveals how the marketing calendar, not spreadsheets, is key to driving revenue for DTC brands. He critiques traditional forecasting methods and introduces innovative models for predicting spending power and revenue outcomes. Discover how event tagging can enhance marketing effectiveness, and learn why aligning finance with marketing is crucial for realistic forecasts. Luke's insights offer a blueprint for achieving predictable revenue and smarter budgeting.
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Marketing Calendar Drives Revenue
- Marketing calendar actions are the primary drivers of revenue variability for DTC ecommerce brands.
- Forecasts that ignore the calendar will consistently miss because revenue comes from planned actions, not flat daily run rates.
Allocate Budget By Spending Power
- Use a spending-power model to recommend optimal monthly budgets based on seasonality and historical efficiency.
- Allocate spend variably each month instead of applying a flat ACOS or MER target year-round.
Ad Efficiency Fluctuates Monthly
- The same dollar of ad spend produces dramatically different AMER and contribution margin across months.
- Identical spend can yield 2–3x different contribution depending on month-specific spending power.