Wednesday, May 12, 2021
We’ve all been there… CPMs rise and for a second, you get Joe Rogan face. 😳
Facebook has felt like a high-stakes UFC match the last couple months, but no matter how many times you get kicked in the face, we’ll help you get back up!
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In this edition of the DTC Newsletter, you’ll find:
📦 How Dropps’ unboxing experience contributes to influencer performance.
📦 An SMS checklist from Yotpo.
📦 An Amazon quick tip for acing your branded sponsor display ads.
📦 Creative ideas for activating the bottom third of your ad creative.
📦 Tips for dialing in your presell page headlines.
Podcast
In this episode we chat with Dropps’ CMO, Elena Lécué.
Since 2006, Dropps has been creating green household products like laundry and dishwasher detergent.
The brand started as a retail-focused CPG, but pivoted aggressively to DTC in the last few years.
Let’s dive in:
🎁The Unboxing Experience
The company recently re-branded and Elena prioritized perfecting Dropp’s unboxing experience.
Using fun visuals, a unique box style, and creative copy, the brand prominently features it’s "Why" on the packaging.
This strategy immediately improved performance on influencer campaigns, which translated to conversions.
🚨TIP: Dropps includes a QR code on their packaging, making it easy for customers to reorder! Try this with your brand!
🌱 Eco-product education
During their rebranding, Dropps aimed to frame their product as both a powerful cleaning tool and eco-friendly option.
This dual positioning led to their new slogan: "Powerful cleaning from nature. Zero BS." (b.s. = bad stuff)
The statement brings to life the functional benefit of powerful cleaning, with the reassurance of zero bad elements and environmental friendliness.
"The first key to success is the simplicity of messaging in making the environmental impact extremely tangible."
"Anything that’s quantifiable is going to be so much more effective than vague statements about mission and vision"
Dropps has kept two million plastic containers out of the natural environment. How’s that for quantifiable?
While eco-friendliness is core to their brand, focusing on the power of Dropps improved performance more than anything.
📦 A DTC Exclusive
In 2016, Dropps made the rare move of exiting the retail space. 😳
Dropps founder, Jonathan Propper, had become frustrated battling against big CPG brands in the retail space.
Seeing the success of DTC brands like Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s and others, Jonathan made the decision to take all products off retail shelves and switch exclusively to DTC.
Since the move, Dropps has seen huge success with a 1553.48% growth rate.
In 2020, Inc. Magazine ranked the brand #289 of 5,000 in America's fastest growing companies.
🕺Viral content
Dropps struck viral gold… TWICE.
First was "The Naked Truth About Laundry," a viral video of their founder bathing in his own product, talking about the safety and efficacy of Dropps.
With over 3.9M views, it’s a top-notch piece of TOF content that consistently converts.
And it was all produced in house!
The second viral moment:
In May 2020, actress Jennifer Garner shared a video of her dancing in her laundry room with Dropps in the background.
Within 48 hours, Dropps had a video of Jonathan replicating the dance on TikTok, coupled with a dance challenge to engage their audience.
Eventually it was used as paid ad content as well.
📦 Amazon yes or no?
Not every brand is on Amazon, and that's ok.
However, as Elena points out "Amazon is about having an opportunity to bring new customers into the fold. I really see it as a trial channel."
"It’s a really unique opportunity to convert away from mainstream brands you’re looking to convert from, and get to that more mainstream customer."
"The customer that buys, let’s say Tide, isn’t going to be as likely to give their credit card for a DTC subscription.
But they still shop on Amazon, so it might be your only chance to speak to them or expose them to your product."
🔊 Listen to the entire podcast here!
Sponsor
It's Time to Check SMS Marketing Off Your To-Do List ✅
Over 48% of consumers are already signed up to receive texts from trusted brands – those texts should be coming from your brand!
SMS marketing can help with:
We know adding another marketing channel can be overwhelming. That’s why Yotpo put together an easy-to-follow SMS marketing checklist so you can figure out if it’s finally time for your brand to get SMS marketing and start engaging your customers more effectively.
Yotpo is the leading eCommerce marketing platform for brands with the most advanced SMS marketing solution to help you craft personalized, higher-converting SMS experiences for every shopper, so you can effectively grow your business.
Yotpo’s checklist will guide you through some major eCommerce pain points, and how SMS enables your brand to solve them and start engaging your customers more effectively.
Click here to check it out.
If you answer "yes" to any of the statements on the checklist, give Yotpo SMS a try.
Amazon
Over the last couple weeks, the Pilothouse Amazon team has been running sponsored display ads on a client’s own ASINs.
Most Amazon advertisers run competitor and branded sponsored products ads but we see very few branded sponsored display ads.
These ads can display in up to three placements and typically a competitor's product will show
For example: 👇👇
If a shopper landed on your product page by clicking an ad with a competitive placement, you paid for them to get there (and likely it wasn’t cheap 😒).
The shopper could bounce off the page to a competitor, for a fraction of the cost.
To counter this, the team runs aggressive bidding on the client’s own ASINs with Sponsored display ads to ensure all of the clients products are filling the three spots.
Test this out for your own brand!
Creative
Are you utilizing the bottom third of your creative to the fullest potential?
Why this works 👆
It’s eye-catching, but the diamond shower effect obscures the product.
The viewer might not immediately realize what they’re looking at, reducing the graphic’s viability as a TOF ad.
However, incorporating the product image at the bottom right of the screen provides a clear visual on the product, removing the issue.
Placing the product in the bottom right corner also draws the eye closer to the CTA.💰
Here’s another example of bottom third creative
Test this creative strategy in your own ads!
Copywriting
The copy on your presell pages must create a seamless customer experience from headline to CTA and ultimately lead to a sale.
You only have three seconds to capture the reader and compel them to keep reading.
Headlines are worth 80% of the copy. Don’t spend all your time writing body copy and slap a headline on at the last second.
✅ Quick tips for writing headlines that perform:
A great headline promises that you’ll solve a problem.
All headlines should include your value props. Try using the "4 Us" to create a compelling headline:
Determine the most important "U" for your brand and make that the headline. Fit the rest of the "Us" in your subheader or body copy.
🚀 The five types of headlines:
Test these tips for your own presell pages!
Quick Hits
🔊 Clubhouse finally launches its Android app.
😔 Only 4% of iOS users in the U.S. let apps track them.
💰 Twitter launches tip jar.
😳 Amazon blocked 10 billion listings last year amid rising concerns over counterfeits.
🎧 How TikTok chooses which songs go viral.
📱 Digital media companies pump the brakes on their rush to go public as SPAC market cools.
🚖 How GoPuff is leaning on partnerships in a bid for last-mile delivery dominance.
📺 YouTube shares new insights into the most commonly used opening lines for clips.
🛁 Bed Bath & Beyond introduces Simply Essential private label.
🧶 Retailers are betting on the crafting boom to continue into 2021.
🎶 Spotify adds timestamped podcast sharing and other social features.
NEED MORE DTC?
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