Good morning,
Hereās what youāll find in todayās DTC:
š§ Why Brands Fail at Email
How to use data and flows effectively.
ā” Before You Market Your Productā¦
This is the crucial first step brands miss.
š„¤ Poppiās Vending Machine Drama
What went wrong and lessons for brands.
Youāre reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: By Baby, Gunnel Pups, and Little Starts Gift Cards. š
The DTC Landscape Is Shifting. Are You 100% Confident In Your Brandsā Growth Strategy?
Almost every brand is looking to scale profitably, but in today's market, thatās getting more difficult than ever.
Youāre not alone - roughly 75% of all brands that join DTC are saying the same thing. Pilothouse can help. If you:
ā
We should chatā¦
Pilothouse (DTCās sister company) has a few spots open and weāre looking for 3 brands we can sink our teeth into. Weāre hungry problem solvers, ROAS generators, and partners in your growth, right down to your bottom line.
ā
š¤ Sound interesting?
Chat with someone on our team now - no obligation. We make money when you do.
Most brands are doing email marketing wrong. ā
Theyāre sending campaigns with no real strategy, failing to personalize their messages, and ignoring the power of automated flows.
In this episode of the The World's Best Email and Retention Podcast, we sit down with Eli Weiss, VP of Retention & Advocacy at Yotpo.
Eli has led customer experience and retention at brands like Olipop, Jones Road Beauty, and Simulate (NUGGS), scaling revenue and deepening customer relationships along the way.
ā
In this podcast, we cover:
ā
Why you need to start implementing email flows: Campaigns need constant effort. Flows make money while you sleep.
ā
How to leverage customer data even without a CDP: Why you need to mine reviews and post-purchase surveys to personalize.
ā
What Googleās new email rules mean for brands: The inbox will get even stricter, making engagement-based sending essential.
ā
Why brands should focus on frequency of engagement, not just recency: Eli makes a case for why email marketers should also pay close attention to a subscriberās engagement rate.
ā
The future of AI-driven email marketing: Future email service providers will likely automate segmentation and personalization, making manual list-building obsolete.
š You can listen to the full episode with Eli here.
š Instagram Tests Dislike Button
Instagram is testing a way to downvote or dislike a comment. This will appear for in-feed posts and Reels.
The platform wonāt show a dislike count (and no one will know if you dislike a comment), but Instagram head Adam Mosseri is hoping this will give āpeople a private way to signal that they donāt feel good about a particular comment.ā
š„¤ Why Poppiās Vending Machine Stunt Upset Fans
Poppiās Super Bowl ad campaign was overshadowed by its influencer campaign, which received major social media backlash.
ā
What happened?
The prebiotic soda brand sent vending machines to three dozen influencers hosting Super Bowl watch parties, but rather than creating positive buzz, online users criticized the move.
Angry users quickly called out the brandās decision to send extravagant PR packages and custom vending machines to wealthy influencers instead of brand fans as ādistasteful.ā
Why this is an important lesson for brands:
The publicās reaction to Poppiās Super Bowl influencer campaign demonstrates that consumers are tired of high-tier influencers reaping rewards when they arenāt even true fans of the brand.
The underconsumption movement is also growing. Each Poppi vending machine costs an estimated $10K, and users felt the one-day campaign did not justify the exorbitant price tag.
It was also not the most sustainable move. Poppi delivered these machines to influencerās homes only to transport them back at the end of the day.
In response to the intense backlash, Poppiās co-founder Allison Ellsworth took to TikTok and assured the public that they plan to use these vending machines āfor years to comeā and asked the Poppi community where to send the machines next āvia events, giveaways, and nominations.ā
ā
The takeaway?
While followers still love to see content about experiential gifting, community-first brands may be criticized for focusing their influencer budget solely on top-tier influencers instead of true, loyal brand fans.
š IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE
Before you start marketing your brand and product, make sure to do this one thing.
Take your customer POV into account and make them part of the story.
ā
ā
ā
ā” QUICK HITS
š Skyrocket your brand's TikTok engagement. Spotlight Oral Care gained 6M views and $30,365 EMV (earned media value) in their collaboration with 50 micro-influencers from minisocial. Unlock your big viral moment. *
š 150+ CPG founders are ināare you? Join this interactive session on Feb 26 at 12 PM EST for a free Website Sales Workshop with live site breakdowns and conversion-boosting strategies. Canāt join live? Get the recording! Sign up here. *
š„ Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
ā
Have you heard our latest podcasts?
ā
Donāt forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (āļøāļøāļøāļøāļø)
ā
DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.
Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
