DTC756: Explaining Poppi's Vending Machine Drama

Good morning,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

📧 Why Brands Fail at Email
How to use data and flows effectively.

⚡ Before You Market Your Product…
This is the crucial first step brands miss.

🥤 Poppi’s Vending Machine Drama
What went wrong and lessons for brands.

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: By Baby, Gunnel Pups, and Little Starts Gift Cards. 👋

The DTC Landscape Is Shifting. Are You 100% Confident In Your Brands’ Growth Strategy?

Almost every brand is looking to scale profitably, but in today's market, that’s getting more difficult than ever.

You’re not alone - roughly 75% of all brands that join DTC are saying the same thing. Pilothouse can help. If you:

• Aren’t hitting the numbers you want to hit
• Aren’t hitting the ROAS you need to be profitable
• Aren’t 100% sure which channels you should really be focusing on
• Or are just looking for a second opinion….

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We should chat…

Pilothouse (DTC’s sister company) has a few spots open and we’re looking for 3 brands we can sink our teeth into. We’re hungry problem solvers, ROAS generators, and partners in your growth, right down to your bottom line.

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Most brands are doing email marketing wrong. ❌

They’re 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.

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In this podcast, we cover:

✅ Why you need to start implementing email flows: Campaigns need constant effort. Flows make money while you sleep.
✅ How to leverage customer data even without a CDP: Why you need to mine reviews and post-purchase surveys to personalize.
✅ What Google’s new email rules mean for brands: The inbox will get even stricter, making engagement-based sending essential.
✅ 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 subscriber’s engagement rate.
✅ The future of AI-driven email marketing: Future email service providers will likely automate segmentation and personalization, making manual list-building obsolete.

👉 You can listen to the full episode with Eli here.

🔎 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 won’t show a dislike count (and no one will know if you dislike a comment), but Instagram head Adam Mosseri is hoping this will give “people a private way to signal that they don’t feel good about a particular comment.”

🥤 Why Poppi’s Vending Machine Stunt Upset Fans

Poppi’s Super Bowl ad campaign was overshadowed by its influencer campaign, which received major social media backlash.

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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 brand’s decision to send extravagant PR packages and custom vending machines to wealthy influencers instead of brand fans as ‘distasteful.’

Why this is an important lesson for brands:

The public’s reaction to Poppi’s Super Bowl influencer campaign demonstrates that consumers are tired of high-tier influencers reaping rewards when they aren’t 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 influencer’s homes only to transport them back at the end of the day.

In response to the intense backlash, Poppi’s co-founder Allison Ellsworth took to TikTok and assured the public that they plan to use these vending machines “for years to come” and asked the Poppi community where to send the machines next ‘via events, giveaways, and nominations.’

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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.

🌐 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.

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⚡ QUICK HITS

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🚀 150+ CPG founders are in—are 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. Can’t join live? Get the recording! Sign up here. *

📥 Got a B2B Biz?

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Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 👞 Scaling Portland Leather Goods to a 9 Figure Brand
• 🛍️ AKNF 482: Optimize Amazon Merchandising To Maximize Sales
• 💡TWBERP 20: Segmentation & Subscription Tips with Eleah Portillo
• ⭐ Scale Brand Awareness: BYLT’s Upper Funnel Marketing Tips
• 🌱 AKNF 480: Meta’s Ad Rules Impact Health & Wellness Brands
• 🆘 TWBERP 19: Revive Your Email Program in 10 Steps
• 🩳 How To Build A Brand That Outlast Performance Marketing Tactics

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Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

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