Saturday, May 1, 2021
Welcome to the first day of May, or as it’s also known by thousands of Facebook advertisers feeling the disorientation of iOS14.5, May Day, May Day!
We’ll be providing ongoing insights into the technical and strategic ramifications of Apple’s bold decision, but ultimately we’re confident that great products and great marketers (who read DTC religiously) will come out on top.
Speaking of great products, you’re in luck because today we’re dropping the first installment of our DTC Diagnostic on SNEAKERS, focused on the Facebook Ads of Vessi, Atoms, and Cariuma.
You’ll also find:
📦 How Bloom & Wild used Attest’s consumer data survey to boost Valentine’s Day sales 4x.
📦 Three helpful tips to boost landing page conversions (plus a special offer from the Landing Page Dude himself).
📦 Why UGC ads account for 60-80% of all our top-performing ads, and how to optimize them for maximum scale.
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Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom, for the cutest reason to share DTC of all time 🐶.
DTC Diagnostic
From recycled and vegan to water-proof and carbon neutral, the DTC shoe category has a LOT of unique selling propositions.
While there are dozens of DTC shoe brands, we picked just three to focus on: Atoms, Cariuma, and Vessi.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll dissect different strategic elements of each brand including:
Today, we’re focusing on Facebook ads with the help of the Pilothouse Facebook media team!
Let’s Jump/Run In:
👟 Atoms - Launched in 2018, the Brooklyn-based brand creates simple and comfortable shoes with one style for $129. Unlike 99% of shoe brands, Atoms offers quarter sizes.
We’re big believers in testing lots of FB ads. Currently, Atoms has over 300 different ads running. 😱
Video/Still Image:
Right off the bat, we noticed numerous ads are in video format, but with no video content. Instead, it’s a still image with text.
"There’s a good chance they’re retargeting people who watch a certain percentage of the video. Or it might just be for the click-throughs."
Atoms has reviews from Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and Esquire, which could be used on a rotating banner in the bottom right-hand corner. The combination of still images and motion is killer.
A second option is replacing the PR reviews with customer reviews. Any brand can try this!
Framed Ad:
Framed ads have been one of the Pilothouse team’s favorites formats over the last six months.
"It’s super effective because it allows you to pack a lot more content into one image." Notice how small the text is. It’s an intentional move as users are naturally drawn to try and read it.
Similar to other ads, this is in video format but with a still image. Add a motion element to complete this ad.
Reviews:
In the first ad, you’ve got an on-brand and highly stylized review from "Alex S."
The second ad is a screenshot from Twitter. While it’s technically not "on-brand," it’s much more believable than the first review.
"It’s built-in credibility and social proof. You’ve got a picture, face, date, and quote. No one is going to doubt that testimonial."
Try both styles for your own brand!
Carousel:
This well-formatted ad makes users eager to swipe right.
Atoms utilizes multiple reviews from well-known publications while testing various headlines on each slide. Further, the formatting of the ad makes users want to swipe all the way through.
We’d suggest adding a discount code on the final slide as a reward to those who swiped. 😎💰
For brands with multiple SKUs or colors, carousels are one of the most useful ad formats.
This is Atom's only carousel. We’d suggest testing a few more.
Fighting Sticker Shock:
With a price tag of $129, potential customers may experience sticker shock.
This ad acknowledges those feelings while providing multiple reasons why it’s worth the price. A genius combination.
Further, Atoms introduces a level of exclusivity. Not everyone can afford them and that’s a good thing. People want what they can’t have.
👟 Vessi - Launched in 2018, the Vancouver-based brand creates waterproof sneakers made for any type of environment. The company has three shoes ranging from $135–155.
Light Pink Ads:
The brand sports light pink across numerous ads which is a little confusing since their main colors are teal, white, and grey.
We always revert to data, so if these ads are crushing, keep’em going, but for long-term brand recognition it could have negative effects.
Focusing on USPs:
Vessi’s main USP (unique selling proposition) is waterproof shoes. If you’re scrolling on Facebook the ad on the left catches your attention and communicates this much faster than the ad on the right.
While the wavy lines are supposed to demonstrate water, it’s difficult to communicate – especially with someone who’s never heard of the brand.
We’d suggest Vessi continues testing literal approaches like the ad on the left.
Framed Ad:
Similar to the Atoms ad we mentioned earlier, you can pack a ton of content into a small amount of space with this format.
Vessi took it a step further and added motion – nice play.
Our only dig is the pink background. The white font makes it challenging to read their USPs.
UGC Ads:
Testing UGC should be a top priority for any brand, but especially Vessi.
Some people might not believe the shoes are 100% water-proof and will need social proof to push them over the edge.
Vessi only has two UGC ads, but this one is killer.
A woman pretends like her dog is peeing on her shoes, but it’s not a big deal because Vessi shoes can handle any liquid.
It’s funny, features a dog, and reinforces the brand’s main USP.
Notice the headline "Your Dog Will Thank You." A well put-together ad from start to finish. 👊
Test more UGC, Vessi!
Reviews:
We’re big fans of the five star emojis, but the reviews don’t match the tone of the creative.
The image is clearly from a photoshoot, which is great but there’s no authenticity to it. No one believes that the people in this image wrote those reviews.
Try switching the creative with a piece of UGC to better align and add a human element to the brand.
Final Thoughts: When running Facebook ads, your copy should target users at different stages of the funnel.
The Pilothouse team notes "Vessi has a lot of top-of-funnel copy so we’re curious what they’re doing for retargeting. You should have specific copy for top of funnel, middle of funnel, and bottom of funnel ads."
We’d suggest testing TOF and MOF retargeting copy throughout.
👟 Cariuma - Pronounced "Cari-Uma," the Brazilian-based company launched in 2018 creates sustainable and stylish shoes.
The brand has numerous types of shoes ranging from $89–120. Sustainability is a big USP and the brand's flagship green color theme helps drive this proposition in a bold way.
Shop Now CTA:
Every ad features a "Shop Now" CTA. This communicates two things:
Our team recommends testing a lower intent CTA like "Learn More" for those who are interested, but not ready to shop.
Installment Plans:
While Atoms set a tone of exclusivity, Cariuma makes an effort to include everyone by featuring Afterpay, an installment plan program.
If your brand offers Afterpay or a similar service, test it in FB ads.
Brand Recognition:
While Cariuma has been around for 3.5 years, most people still don’t recognize the brand. "Unless you're Nike, it doesn’t make sense to lead with the name."
The information hierarchy should begin with USPs such as "Lighter Than Air" or "Eco-Conscious Comfort," then featuring "Cariuma" at the bottom.
New brands should rely on USPs rather than name recognition since it’s usually extremely low.
Targeted Ads:
Micro-targeting specific audiences such as "Morning Brew Readers" is a fantastic idea.
For targeted ads, it’s important to go beyond the copy and add a logo or recognizable mark.
Adding the Morning Brew logo will increase the chances of engagement and recognition.
"We’d like to see these brands test pricing in TOF copy. Test how ads perform when you show the price upfront and then back it up with USP’s"
If someone clicks on the ad, you know they’re interested in potentially purchasing. It’s a great way of attracting more qualified clicks PLUS it determines which of your audience has serious purchase intent.
That’s all the Facebook analysis. Our next review will cover each brand's email strategy!
Final Thoughts: Cariuma has super clean ads, but there’s no sign of faces or UGC anywhere. It’s a huge miss and something we highly recommend adding to any brand's Facebook ads.
Sponsor
Not selling red roses resulted in 4x Valentine's Day sales growth for DTC flowers brand Bloom & Wild.
But why ditch the flower of love?
Valentine’s Day 2021 was Bloom & Wild’s most successful to date. The DTC flowers brand boosted sales 4x and secured 51% more press coverage.
And it all came down to one crucial piece of consumer insight – red roses are a cliched Valentine’s gift.
On the back of this insight, Bloom & Wild made the radical decision to not sell any red roses for Valentine’s Day.
"Our ambition was to be the most talked-about flower brand on Valentine’s Day in the press and on social," said Charlotte Langley, Brand & Communications Director at Bloom & Wild.
"The survey that we ran on Attest really helped give us confidence in the decision to stop selling red roses. But also, with strong stats like that, we were confident that we’d have a compelling story to take to the press that would help us on that goal to being the most talked about brand."
They achieved impressive media coverage, with thirty articles that specifically mentioned the campaign (not just their bouquets, which generally enjoy attention at the time of year). Overall, coverage was up by 51% year-on-year.
The success of the No Red Roses campaign has reinforced Bloom & Wild’s commitment to putting consumer insight behind their business decisions. Staying in regular contact with their audience allows them to both validate their own ideas and find fresh inspiration.
Find out more about how you can use Attest to improve campaign performance here.
iOS 14.5
iOS 14.5 & Facebook State of the Union
It's happening! iOS 14.5 has officially launched. We're all in the same boat, but here's what we know now and what we're testing to learn more:
Here’s what we know:
Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt hasn’t been pushed to Facebook for most people yet.
It doesn’t show up immediately when you update to iOS 14.5, and will likely be rolled out over the next three to four weeks in batches as iOS applications start to comply and enable the prompt with updates.
Here’s what you’re going to see:
Our team has seen that Android is outperforming iOS (almost) across the board. This is only the case in U.S. campaigns – worldwide, iOS still performs better. This is noteworthy, but considering the massive 60% market share that iOS enjoys in the U.S., shifting focus away from Apple towards Android is not a viable solution. Our experience has shown and continues to show at scale that targeting all will still outperform at scale but we will be monitoring closely.
Check Google Analytics to see what ratio of your audience has updated to 14.5 so far – this will help in projecting the iOS 14.5 adoption rate of your particular audience.
At Pilothouse we’re in full testing mode. Here are a couple of things we’re doing to monitor iOS 14.5 impacts:
Trio split testing by device
Monitoring within iOS
Different attribution targeting
iOS 14.5 checklist
Other strategies & suggestions:
Resources
We’re all in the same boat. Right now we’re testing like crazy and will get back to you when we have more data to share!
Tool Spotlight
Say Hello to Higher Conversions
Landing Page Dude has had the privilege of working with some of Shopify’s largest merchants over the last few years.
They’re offering DTC Newsletter readers a FREE 3D product with every landing page ordered – schedule a call and claim yours today.
Here are three valuable tips to help your DTC brand sell more products!
#1 Offer a Buy Now & Pay Later Solution
The buy now pay later industry is growing rapidly. According to Shopify, using apps like Affirm, Sezzle, and AfterPay can increase average order value (AOV) by 58% and lift checkout conversion rates by a beefy 30%.
BNPL isn’t just for big ticket products like refrigerators and mattresses. Buy now pay later is being used more and more for everyday purchases like clothing, kitchenware, and electronics.
#2 Use Interactive Product Experiences
Using AR and 3D products can help you increase online sales significantly. According to Shopify’s data, the conversion rate on product pages with AR/3D content have been shown to increase conversion rates by up to 250%.
Khalifa Knives found that visitors who interacted with their 3D model were 32% more likely to add a product to their cart and 18% more likely to place an order.
Pandemic mania has turned customers into savvy shoppers who want to be able to interact with a brand's product; from textures and structure to design and feel.
#3 Use a One-Click Checkout
Fill carts, not forms!
A seamless checkout experience is essential for fast conversions and an optimal shopping experience. Using solutions like Shop Pay can increase your checkout speed by 4x!
According to a Shopify study of 10,000 merchants with Shop Pay enabled; checkout-to-order rate was 1.72x times higher than those going through regular checkouts.
Why? Because a seamless and fast shopping experience is what customers want. Not filling out forms and having to run downstairs to grab a credit card.
Looking for Higher Conversions?
DTC Newsletter readers get a FREE 3D product with every landing page ordered – just mention this ad. Get started by scheduling a free intro/strategy call.
Podcast
Stop, drop, and listen to our UGC-focused episode of
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