The almighty brand breakdown is back and here for good!
Every Saturday will be dedicated to breaking down various parts of a brand—from their Facebook ads to their social media strategy and a lot more.
For the first brand breakdown of the year, we’re comin’ at you with the cheeky Aussie brand Who Gives a Crap.
Who Gives a Crap creates products that are good for your bum AND good for the earth (they donate 50% of their profits to improve access to clean water and toilets) 🌏
Get ready for a four-part breakdown of this brand’s marketing elements:
Part 1: Facebook Ads
Part 2: Email
Part 4: Website
Part 3: Blog & Social
Let’s roll. 🧻
👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe, so you never miss out. And be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Any toilet paper brand would be remiss not to capitalize on the TP debacles of 2020, and Who Gives a Crap nails it in this ad.
✨Where It Shines:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: “I find myself wondering, do 48 rolls really last a year?” 🤔
Other viewers may be thinking the same, which could result in many questions in the comments.
This isn’t necessarily an issue, as long as Who Gives a Crap has a good comment mod team. In fact, it can create an opportunity to interact with fans and have good discussions, which ultimately makes for a scalable ad!
Now, here’s an ad with the same copy, just different creative. 👇
Not as effective, right? There’s a bit of a disconnect between the image and the ad copy.
What does a big box come with? Only three rolls?
🚨Just an example of how much your ad creative matters!
This ad combines humorous copy with the angle of environmental sustainability.
We like the mix of the two, but whether it’s effective or not will come down to appropriate targeting.
✨Where It Shines:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: The sustainability of a product may not always be the de facto decider for a broader audience that tends to think economically first. Focused audience targeting here is vital.
#2: This ad has potential but lacks context regarding how the product benefits the user. Try the same headline and angle with more copy to see how it compares.
This ad uses a real customer’s IG story image and is an excellent example of utilizing UGC to show social proof and provide credibility for your product.
✨ Where It Shines:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: This image is clearly optimized for IG Stories. Typically, square images perform best in ads, so we’d be interested in trying another creative format—perhaps something that shows the scale of the box a little clearer.
#2: The headline could use a bit of work. Tough for the eye to read at first glance. Emojis could help it stand out a bit more.
Let’s face it, puppies in ads are hard to beat. 🐶
Who Gives a Crap capitalizes on puppy power with a killer image and witty copy in this ad. (OK, but for real how’d they get that dog to stay in that box? What a good boy! 👏)
✨ Where It Shines:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: Consider testing one version with an emoji or two in the headline copy to break up the text.
#2: We’d consider testing this as a retargeting ad to make shoppers aware of the different types of fun TP wrapping available.
#3: The “oh hi!” callout speaks to the viewer. It could be interesting to test more callouts like this in retargeting, such as “Oops! You forgot to checkout!”
One-and-done buyers plague nearly every retailer… But maybe it isn’t such a problem after all.
Maybe it's an opportunity in disguise. 🦸
With the right eCommerce retention strategy, you could be sitting on retail gold! (After all, these buyers make up a whopping 74% of most customer bases).
A retention strategy that focuses on converting one-time shoppers into loyal customers is sure to bring in a hefty bounty. 💰But where should you start?
We recommend Bluecore's eCommerce Retention Opportunity eBook. You'll learn how to elevate the shopper experience and convert your one-time buyers through:
👉 Uncover retention gold with Bluecore's eCommerce Retention Opportunity eBook.
This ad uses the sustainability angle, which is a large part of their brand ethos and allows them to target audiences interested in environmental causes.
✨ Where It Shines:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: This is a powerful ad, but it could be even more effective if the sustainability angle were backed up with something about how the customer benefits, too (cost, convenience, quality, size, etc.)
#2: The first sentence will catch the eye of people with a passion for a clean environment, the immediate ‘bait n switch’ is a great way to build quick empathy.
To a keen marketer’s eye, it’s clear this is probably UGC from an influencer—but the mashup of the videos into a GIF makes it look fairly authentic.
✨ Where It Shines:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: We’d suggest backing up the “99.9% sure” claim with some social proof to add more cred. Add copy about ratings and reviews, such as “X% of customers gave our TP 5-stars.”
This ad focuses on a very relatable pain point: running out of toilet paper. 😨
The fact that you can get a full years’ worth of TP shipped to your house in a single box is definitely a strong USP for many consumers these days.
✨ Where It Shine:
💡 Pro Tips from Pilothouse:
#1: This is a great benefit ad! They might want to test an emoji in the headline copy or break up the chunks of text.
#2: The ad copy could use a call to action at the end (i.e., “Click to see why more Americans are making the switch!”)
Further Observations:
Overall, Who Gives a Crap has done a great job of covering a lot of their USPs and testing a variety of different angles, creative, and copy in their ads. 👏
Suggestions from the Pilothouse team for testing future ads:
👋 Stay tuned for Part 2 of our brand breakdown on Who Gives a Crap — emails!
🍷 Nomadica: If your New Year's resolution is to cut back on sugar or reduce your carbon footprint, this zero-sugar and eco-friendly canned wine is for you!
💤 Lagoon: Soft pillow, hard pillow, thick pillow, thin pillow? Check out Lagoon’s pillow fit quiz to discover (and buy) your perfect pillow.
🚿 Sproos: Are you renting but want to up your shower game? Sproos has you covered with their no drilling and no mess showerhead set.
🍫 Muddy Bites CEO Jarod Steffes on Growing 1000% YOY By Delivering Delight and Mastering Memes.
🍽 The New Non-Profit Growth Model: Wellfare CEO Cole Riley on Food Security and $12 Million Economic Impact.
🤰 Paul Singh from Bump Health on Becoming a Distribution Company and the Road to $200B.
🐶 Chippin Pet CEO Haley Russell on Crickets, Carp, and Global Warming.
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
DTC Newsletter is written by Thomas Schreiber, Kelsey Hess, and Rebecca Knight.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.
NEED MORE DTC?
🚀 Advertise in DTC Newsletter.
💰Check out our course on Facebook and Instagram ads!
📥 Work for The DTC Newsletter: Send an email to Thomas, thomas@directtoconsumer.co, if you’re interested in writing for us!
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
