D2C Diaries

Black Friday isn’t just another sales weekend,  for some DTC brands, it makes up 90% of yearly revenue.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Olly and Loukas break down the exact playbook that drove £45M in sales from £11.5M in Meta ad spend during Black Friday 2024 and reveal how they’ve evolved the strategy for 2025.You’ll learn:- The proven goal-setting framework to anchor your BFCM strategy- Offer strategies that actually convert without overcomplicating- Why creative iteration beats “net new” assets every time- Lead generation tactics to fill your funnel before Q4- How gifting angles and TikTok Shop are reshaping 2025 BFCM🔥 Exclusive Giveaways:Comment “peak” to get Week 1 of our Ultimate BFCM Series, including the Black Friday Master Sheet to set your goals and targets.Comment “offer designs” to unlock 30 Canva templates for static ad creatives you can plug straight into your campaigns.This is your 2025 Black Friday playbook. Don’t leave 90% of your revenue to chance.0:00 Sharing our learnings from £45M in BFCM revenue03:30 Unit economics with our master sheet9:30 Crafting a great Black Friday offer14:20 Forecasting, pacing, and daily revenue tracking16:00 Lead generation in Q4 success19:30 How to execute top-of-funnel lead gen campaigns21:30 Lead gen case studies22:30 Urgency, exclusivity & scarcity as lead gen drivers25:00 Gamification & referral mechanics that work27:30 Looking at past data30:30 Funnel splits for creative and reusing top performers34:00 Static vs video performance in BFCM36:30 Obscure hooks 37:50 Q4 consumer psychology42:00 Middle and bottom of funnel48:10 Hook frameworks54:25 How to scale creative volume without burning out57:20 TikTok Shop predictions for Q4 202559:30 Reactive CRM plays 1:00:30 Wrap-up + future deep divesFollow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

CRO is the growth lever 99% of DTC brands are ignoring.In this episode, Olly is joined by Dylan Ander, ex-agency owner, 2x eCom founder, and now the creator of Heatmap.com, the CRO tool quietly powering some of the highest-performing brands online.They break down the post-click strategies the top 1% are using to scale profitably and why your landing page might matter more than your creative.You’ll learn:- Why CRO is the real 80/20 of DTC growth- What metrics actually matter (hint: not conversion rate)- Why you should stop sending traffic to over-engineered PDPs- How Dylan helped brands unlock 7 figures from simple CRO tweaks- Tactical wins around landing pages, AOV, revenue per session & moreThis is a must-listen for founders, creative strategists, and media buyers looking to scale beyond the click.0:00 - Why we’re talking CRO, not ads3:00 - Top 1% brands are doing these 3 things13:25 - Listicles, bundles, ugly pages that scale15:10 - Review mining + customer data19:18 - Quickest wins in CRO28:10 - Why conversion rate is a vanity metric31:45 - Offer testing = huge CRO lever37:29 - Dylan’s journey into SaaS41:20 - Why Dylan built Heatmap43:00 - Operating principles of SaaS 46:55 - How top users get value from Heatmap49:20 - Where AI + CRO are heading53:10 - Pricing

Most brands creatives live at the bottom of the funnel, battling over the same small pool of ready-to-buy customers.But 80% of our best-performing ads? They start much higher up.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas shares the exact internal training we run with our creative strategists on the hardest skill in paid social: storytelling.You’ll see how we script for unaware and problem aware audiences (the stages most brands ignore) and why they’re the biggest unlock for scaling cold traffic.From building 15–40 second setups to weaving human desires into scripts, this is the framework we use to turn good ads into top performers.This session was too valuable to keep behind closed doors, so Loukas re-filmed the whole thing for our channel.Watch the training now and learn how to tell stories that sell.00:00 Storytelling as the hardest paid social skill02:53 Evolution of the funnel04:40 Funnel stages & messaging09:58 Hooking cold audiences without the product12:50 Pitfalls that kill storytelling18:55 Cutting fluff in scripts24:00 Ditching jargon28:12 Using human desires39:10 Messaging by market sophistication51:00 Curiosity loop techniques56: 45 Best-in-class examples1:01:30 Recap & key takeaways

In this engaging discussion, Alex Cooper, who runs the performance creative agency Ad Crate, dives deep into the fusion of AI and creative strategy. He reveals how AI is reshaping advertising, making performance-first storytelling crucial. Topics include the evolving role of creative strategists by 2025, the need for agencies to develop internal IP, and the potential of video ads. Alex emphasizes that 'briefing' will be key in the near future and discusses how agencies must adapt to stay competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.

What happens when you give Loukas two weeks, a cleared calendar, and unrestricted access to Google’s new Veo 3?You get a repeatable system for generating scroll-stopping ad hooks, without touching a camera.In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas breaks down the exact prompt structure we now use within the agency group to turn ChatGPT JSON prompts into Veo 3-generated ads. Whether you’re scaling a best-performing hook or building a fresh creative system from scratch, this workflow will save your team hours and unlock new angles faster.We cover: – How Loukas used JSON formatting to get better results from Veo 3 – The key components of creating a high-performing AI hook – Real examples of hooks we’ve built and scaled across Meta – Why realism often kills performance (and absurdity wins). – How to use Veo 3 + ChatGPT to 10X creative volume in your ad accountWe’re also giving away the exact JSON prompt template we now use in the agency.👉 Drop robot in the YouTube comments and we’ll send it to you.Watch the videos featured!Motion's baby podcast: https://x.com/rezakhadjavi/status/1935690909984665644Too short for Modeling Liquid Death Ad https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLkPcDmPchO/This episode is for founders, CMOs, and creative strategists ready to build faster and scale smarter.00:00 What is Veo 3 and why it matters for DTC creative06:40 Examples of scroll-stopping AI ads15:15 Examples of hook variations with VEO 318:30 How we use ChatGPT + Veo 3 together with JSON25:30 Constraints to VEO 329:10 How to use Flow within VEO 3 35:20 Product rendering + brand integration in AI videos39:10 Use cases of VEO 341:30 Legal, IP and content authenticity concerns49:40 Final thoughts + how to get the full prompt templateFollow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

Matt Kelly is back on the podcast, 9 months after his first episode, and a lot has changed.In this brutally honest conversation, Matt opens up about what it really feels like to scale a wellness brand beyond 8 figures.We talk:– Space Goods has gone from £3.5M to a projected £18M.– Growing from 1 to 15 employees in 9 months– Losing his sense of purpose as the business outgrows him– Why the rebrand feels terrifying (even after 5 months of work)– The reality of copycats launching before he does– Getting quote tweeted by Andrew Tate– And how ChatGPT is basically his creative directorIf you’re a founder, operator, or builder navigating scale, you’ll feel this one.🎧 Full episode available now.🔔 Subscribe for more behind-the-scenes convos with the operators shaping the future of DTC.00:00 Matt Kelly is back02:40 Spacegoods 2.0: start up to scale up04:05 Losing founder identity10:55 Are you happy?14:50 Setting a long term vision20:00 Spacegoods rebrand21:50 TikTok shop zombie brands24:40 Product + SKU journey25:40 What's next in health + wellness?30:32 Product development35:40 ChatGPT as Matt’s co-founder39:40 VEO 342:30 Product roadmap44:20 Retail VS DTC49:30 Getting called out by Andrew Tate53:00 Being transparent 57:30 What's next for SpacegoodsFollow Matt: https://x.com/matthuciushttps://spacegoods.com/Follow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

Back by popular demand, this solo episode is loaded with behind-the-scenes insights on what’s working right now in the DTC performance space.Olly and Loukas get brutally honest about what it actually takes to scale creative, fix performance plateaus, and build a winning system inside a high-growth agency. From a UGC format that’s driving £1M+ in spend, to the playbooks reshaping TikTok Shop and Meta, this one’s a deep dive into what’s moving the needle.They also unpack what’s really going on with platform policy changes, the biggest brand power moves in CPG, and how Soar is levelling up systems, team, and strategy to hit new scale.If you're a founder, operator, or growth marketer looking for clarity on what works now, this is your edge.🚨 Download our Whitelisting guide here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0lNw9l00:00 We're so back1:10 Congratulations are in order...3:20 UGC deep dive: what's working10:10 Which static ads are converting14:00 High-performing high-prod ads17:40 Onomatopoeia in ads18:42 Whitelisting quick wins22:45 David Protein lawsuit30:28 Creatine scandal 2.038:55 High AOV brands on TikTok Shop46:05 Agency group operations51:25 Our creative framework database54:00 Hiring for drive57:47 What's coming nextFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas is joined by Ash Melwani, CMO and co-founder of Obvi, one of the most transparent and battle-tested operators in DTC. Ash breaks down the exact Meta strategy that took Obvi to $1M/month in revenue, and the moment it all fell apart.You’ll learn:- The Meta playbook Obvi used to scale with static ads- Why Meta performance collapsed overnight (and what they missed)- How Andromeda and health category crackdowns hit hard- Their pivot to creative volume, video-first strategies, and cross-channel diversification- What’s working right now and why you can’t rely on Meta alone anymoreFrom $50M in spend to platform restrictions and a creative overhaul, Ash shares the raw lessons and tactical pivots every brand needs to hear in 2025.00:00 Obvi’s origin story and early creative focus02:50 Why Ash shares everything publicly05:30 The 2024 strategy that drove $1M/month in spend08:00 Business manager restrictions10:15 Diversifying content and channels12:00 Meta over-reliance 14:15 Building an organic foundation before running paid15:16 TikTok for awareness + testing23:55 Learnings from retail 32:00 IRL events = retention + golden cohort36:25 Full creative mix40:00 AI content should look intentionally AI42:45 Strategic volume on Meta45:11 Why engagement matters more than ever49:50 Ash’s tech stack & tools he uses weekly54:12 His thoughts on exit55:10 What Ash would build next if he started overFollow  @AshvinMelwani :https://x.com/ashvinmelwanihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ashvinmelwani/Follow  @myobvi  https://myobvi.com/https://www.facebook.com/myObvi/https://www.instagram.com/obvihttps://www.tiktok.com/@obviFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

In this episode, we sit down with Sam Matanle, co-founder of Batch LDN, the made-to-order menswear brand disrupting fashion’s broken model. Sam breaks down how Batch scaled 2.2x YoY, with 75% of revenue from one physical store and zero reliance on paid media or held stock.We cover:1. Why fast fashion is financially broken and what works instead2. The decision to bet big on retail instead of performance marketing3. What happened when their Covent Garden store got robbed at 5am4. Why 70% of fittings convert and 25% of customers repurchase within a year5. How Batch London is rewiring the buying journey and turning a suit into a lifestyleThis one’s packed with founder truths, sustainable growth insights, and proof that product + experience OVER flashy funnels.00:00 Background + early years07:00 Starting Batch LDN with co-founder13:55 Early product development18:00 Why fast fashion is broken23:19 Managing customer expectations27:01 Post-purchase journey, behind-the-scenes content28:40 Maintaining focus on made-to-order model31:00 Acquisition drivers + retail strategy34:10 Events strategy + brand community42:50 Website traffic down but revenue up45:22 Content strategy (organic storytelling)48:50 Store break-in + how they turned it into a viral campaign55:20 Hardest part of running a business + burnout59:50 Using journaling and tracking burnout signalsFollow Sam:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-matanle/https://www.instagram.com/samuelmatanle/Follow By Batch LDNhttps://www.instagram.com/batch.ldn/https://www.tiktok.com/@batch.ldnFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

How do you handle it when your kitchen-table beauty brand suddenly pulls in £60K before lunch — and you’re still counting stock by hand?In this episode of D2C Diaries, we sit down with Ellie Carlile, the unstoppable founder behind By Ellie, the brand born from a personal skin struggle, a £2,000 investment, and a makeshift label operation in her mum’s garage. Ellie shares the raw, real journey of building a beauty brand that now sells every 10 minutes, is stocked in Sephora, and runs multi-market TikTok Shop operations across the UK and EU.We unpack:- How she turned product reviews into a content engine- The 30M-view TikTok that changed everything- Why staying founder-led was the secret to community-led growth- The chaos (and learnings) behind overselling thousands of units in one hour- The frameworks she uses to scale with focus, from TED values to product simplicityThis is one for any founder navigating content overwhelm, platform changes, and the pressure to scale while staying true to their brand.00:00 Starting the business03:57 First launch mistakes06:18 Growth strategy08:40 Why raw content wins11:20 Bottlenecks in the business12:30 Handling virality14:45 Entering paid media17:37 Building a brand beyond the founder22:20 The reality of scaling a team24:50 Core values in the team27:05 Staying focused while scaling28:10 Landing Sephora32:50 TikTok Shop strategy37:40 The US Tariff crisis40:40 Being transparent with customers42:45 Working with TikTok affiliates47:40 Growing as a founderFollow Ellie:https://www.instagram.com/elliecarlile_/https://www.tiktok.com/@ellie.n.cFollow By Ellie Beautyhttps://www.instagram.com/byelliebeauty/https://www.tiktok.com/@byelliebeautyFollow Olly on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqOTwitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudsonFollow Loukas on socials:LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8BTwitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambiFollow D2C Diaries on socialsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diariesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/