DTC Podcast

Join Amy, President of Wildfang, a DTC apparel brand renowned for its menswear-inspired styles for women and non-binary customers. Amy shares her journey from store manager to company president, detailing how verticalization boosted Wildfang's AOV to $200 and fueled 25% of revenue from extended sizing. She breaks down the successful 90/10 creative strategy for advertising, highlights exciting collaborations with Debbie Harry and Taco Bell, and emphasizes the importance of functional design and community in driving brand loyalty.

In this discussion, Grayson Rudzki, the Head of E-commerce at Pilothouse, shares insights on navigating BFCM 2025, highlighting the triumph of retention over acquisition. He delves into how AI transformed creative testing and workflows, producing significant efficiency. Grayson and Lead Strategist Abby reveal successful strategies, like persona-led advertising and diverse creative approaches that lowered CPMs. With real examples and cultural references, they emphasize the importance of authenticity in UGC to resonate with audiences, while also exploring innovative bundling tactics to enhance customer lifetime value.

Matthew Gohl, the founder of Santevia and a recent star on Dragon's Den, shares his journey of taking over the family business and transforming it from retail-focused to a DTC powerhouse. He reveals how switching to Amazon's Seller Central empowered them to control pricing and marketing. Gohl discusses crafting a compelling creative strategy that enabled them to amplify their Meta ads, turning a $25 product failure into success with their $320 glass water system. He also highlights the massive boost in sales post-Dragon's Den appearance, thanks to effective pitching and marketing strategies.

Discover how one brand achieved a remarkable threefold growth during BFCM through strategic keyword planning and aggressive bid adjustments. Learn why adjusting bids every few hours is crucial for Amazon success and how this helps maintain momentum. The podcast dives into the importance of starting keyword ranking long before key sales events. Plus, explore common pitfalls like inventory issues and the competitive dynamics of the Buy Box. Get actionable insights on discount strategies and the significance of real-time competitor monitoring.

In a fascinating discussion, Josip Begic, CEO and co-founder of Lebesgue, dives into the world of AI-driven ecommerce insights. He reveals how his AI, Henry, identified a 25% revenue drop due to a small discount tweak. Josip also explores the impact of AI visibility on SEO, the pitfalls of over-segmentation in email marketing, and the essential role of basic marketing fundamentals over advanced tactics. He emphasizes the importance of analyzing competitor data to uncover growth opportunities and predicts that AI visibility will become crucial for future revenue.

Priyanka Ganjoo, the founder of Kulfi Beauty, turned her vision of a culturally inclusive beauty brand into reality, addressing the underrepresentation of South Asian skin tones in the market. She discusses the power of community-building over paid ads and how her grassroots approach propelled Kulfi into 720 Sephora stores. Priyanka highlights the importance of retail velocity, shares insights from their first product launch, and details how organic creator partnerships drive their marketing success. Her story is a testament to the impact of authenticity and cultural storytelling in business.

Taylor Cain, a growth and paid media strategist at Pilothouse, dives into how Meta's Andromeda update boosted CTRs by 30% during BFCM. He highlights the power of campaign consolidation and creative-persona alignment to drive cleaner performance. Taylor also discusses the rebirth of partnership ads for enhanced reach and retargeting, and shares insights on using real-time attribution tools like Triple Whale. Finally, he emphasizes the importance of blending planned and real-time creative strategies for maximum impact.

Adam Weber, CMO at Hungryroot, Kevin Simonson from AdMixed, and Jake Bailey from Meta discuss how Hungryroot scaled partnership ads to over 50% of their spend. They dive into Cyber 5 performance trends and the shift from segment-based targeting to real personas. The trio highlights the success of creative diversification and how partnership ads are outperforming traditional UGC. With insights on agile marketing and the importance of adapting to consumer behavior, they share strategies for navigating peak periods and preparing for Q5.

In this episode, Sarah Carusona, founder of BA Commerce and a growth operator, shares insights on scaling ecommerce brands. She discusses the limitations of fractional CMOs and introduces her unique growth operator model. Key metrics like contribution margin and LTV are highlighted as crucial for brand evaluations. Sarah also reveals her tiered influencer program that ties pay to performance, emphasizing the importance of organic content in driving growth. Tune in for fresh strategies to streamline your brand's growth journey!

Jacob and Jocelyn reveal the secrets behind successful Meta ads during Black Friday. They emphasize being scrappy and flexible with offers led to impressive results. Low-fi creative, like stick figures and UGC, unexpectedly outperformed polished ads. They discuss how simple offers like percentage-off and free shipping drove customer engagement, while lighter audience exclusions allowed better optimization. Rapid testing and quick pivots were crucial for maximizing performance during promo periods.