Friday, February 24, 2023
THIS. IS. DTC. ⚔️
300 editions.
600,000 words written.
280 podcasts released.
160,000 subscribers.
We finally made it! 300 editions of DTC. If you’ve been around since DTC #1, or are just joining us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for coming along for the ride. 🎉
We can't tell you how giddy it makes us feel to hear from all you lovely readers (yes, that means you!) and how our tips, tactics, and ideas are helping your brand. It's a thrill to party with you in your inbox three times a week! 🎊📩
Without our amazing subscribers, we'd be lost in a sea of emails, so let's raise a glass to DTC 300 and to all of you for making it happen. Cheers to a tip-top community!
In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇
📦 Should your apparel brand mention size in ad copy?
📦 Handing off the heavy lifting of brand merch
📦 Scarcity and back in stock messaging to encourage sales
📦 High-quality micro influencers who produce fully-licensed content
📦 Upping your hat game, feel-good tea, and a new spin on pool toys
Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎
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Welcome back to DTC’s Brand Breakdown series! We’re sending your favorite brands over to our friends at Pilothouse to pull the big winners from their marketing strategies.
This week we’re featuring SKIMS, the American shapewear company co-founded by none other than Miss. Kim Kardashian herself!
Last we checked, they’re a pretty big deal, but let’s see what the Pilothouse team says about their Meta Ads library. 🤔
📏 It’s all about sizing
Shoutout to brands who mention available sizes in their ad copy! It’s a highly underrated detail that always proves useful.
Common complaints we see in ad comments for clothing brands are about limited sizes. Take it from us: Respect your consumers’ time. In the end, the right details make your ads more valuable for the right person. 👌
This type of ad relies on strong branding and voice. The copy, headline, and visual elements imply that the viewer already knows this brand, but if it were someone’s first time seeing SKIMS, they'd need something more to grab their attention about the offering.
We can see SKIM is are an apparel company, but some technical information about what the brand or product is trying to accomplish could be included here.
The Pilothouse Meta team read a testimonial for SKIMS that said, “Flattering on any body type.” That’s a powerful angle and is worth publishing. It compels us to seek out more information rather than being left with the impression that SKIMS is just another edgy clothing line.
🎨 Keeping it simple
We love the simple yet effective showcase of their products. The color variety is a nice touch too!
Much like the previous ad, we can’t extract any more value than what we can see. If we weren’t familiar with the brand, we wouldn’t know why SKIMS stands out from their competitors. Think about the impact UGC images with different body types would have on prospective consumers!
The product’s USPs (unique selling points) are difficult to pinpoint when they shouldn’t be! SKIMS has a trusted product and should be flaunting its benefits every chance they get.
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🎬 Products in action
This is our favorite ad so far! We see someone wearing the product while the copy highlights scarcity and an upcoming product drop. Now we’re excited to click the “Shop Now” button just to see where it takes us.
The headline could be tested, as it’s pretty vanilla for new customers. There’s an opportunity to reinforce the scarcity angle with something like “Collection Going Fast” or include more product information in the vid.
⬅️ Bringing it back
This creative shows multiple products very well. Let’s highlight the headline once again to encourage further testing with a scarcity angle.
Something like “It’s Back - View our Valentine’s Shop” could imply that this selection is specifically limited to Valentine’s season.
We wonder if this creative has been tested with and without music. 🎵 Pilothouse is currently running a music vs. no music test for one of their clients and is seeing significantly better outbound CTRs (click-through rates) from the ad with music.
We have an opportunity to directly address the consumer in the copy to see how it performs compared to the brand-aware copy we’ve got. A potential headline could read like, “You’ll look great in these.❤️”
The Pilothouse Meta team suggests testing ads with three to five different copy styles and angles when searching for new winners. This removes any potential bias a consumer may have towards a brand and uncovers the most important messaging.
👍 These ads are legit
The SKIMS Meta Page isn’t verified… In the past, celebrities have been unfortunately (and illegally) included in ads by bad actors. Adding information about Kim K as the founder after verification would be incredibly valuable for performance and credibility.
The copy is succinct and creates a lot of interest with the “You won’t believe” statement. Paired with the product’s technical advantages, we’re sensing a winner here… 🤩
It would be interesting to see if “Introducing SKIMS Seamless Sculpt” outperforms “SKIMS Seamless Sculpt” in the headline. Could it encourage more engagement from the reader because it’s more than just the product title?
By adding “Introducing” into the mix, SKIMS implies that this product is new or adds something to their USPs that wasn’t previously available leading the consumer to find out what those new features are by clicking on the ad.
We’re interested in pairing this copy with a UGC video or product images to determine if this copy is a top performer.
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🏆 Take it to the next level
Loving this! The text brings an element of brand awareness and leads our eyes around the product image.
There’s a ton of hype behind “back-in-stock” copy since it implies that the Fits Everybody line is limited or likely to sell out again. This only makes consumers likely to buy what’s available right now.
The product looks great, but what sets it apart from the competition?
If we put ourselves in the shoes of a prospective buyer with no knowledge of this brand, there isn’t much to learn here, so we want to see SKIMS leverage opportunities for education a bit more.
This extends to the headline, the most valuable real estate of all, where SKIMS can leverage top-performing purchase-driven messaging.
🤖 Make it about the tech
We don’t see ad copy, so this is probably a Reels or Stories placement. It drives awareness of the tech specs, but let’s take it one step further 👇
Does this perform better with or without a landing page linked to it? It could work with a collections page too! As a potential buyer, we’d want to watch this video because of the tech and that information should further convince us to purchase.
⚡️ Lightning speed
It’s amazing to see SKIMS leaning into convenience. This inspired us to think of a UGC video where we see the product being delivered and compare it to the performance of this ad.
We’ve all been there: We’re getting ready for an event and – RRRIP – with no time left to shop and nothing else to wear, SKIMS could save the day!
We’re wondering how this ad performs with new customers compared to brand-aware residents of LA who haven’t purchased yet. SKIMS could change this one up with the season for a tailored shopping experience.
✌️ Later Alligator
That concludes our first Breakdown of SKIMS with our friends at Pilothouse.
Stay tuned to DTC’s Brand Breakdown series for game-changing insights and winning strategies from your favorite brands over the coming weeks!
👒 SoonNoon: If you're a colorful character who's not afraid to try new things, why not check out SoonNoon and express your personal style? These handmade hats break free from typical Western or heritage styles to provide unique and high-quality products with sustainability in mind.
☕️ Mizuba Tea Co.: Recognized as a Uji-cha tea dealer, Mizuba Tea Co. isn't your average tea company. Their communi-tea is committed to supporting traditional production and transparency. Get cozy with a cup of authentic, high-quality tea guilt-free!
🩳 Pool Bouy: If you're tired of the same old boring inflatable pools that look like they belong in a discount store, check out Pool Buoy. Not only are their inflatable pools stylish and well-made, but they'll transport you to a time of posh poolside parties where the drinks were stiff and the salmon was smoked.
🚀 BattlBox John Roman - The Subscription with the ~$1000 LTV and the Netflix Rocket Ship.
👟 Kuru Footwear’s Turnaround Playbook: Sean McGinnis On The CRO Tactics That Doubled Revenue (C-Suite Mentor Preview).
🧑🦲 iRestore Hair Growth System: Kevin Chen - The True Impact of Costco.
⚔️ Mini Katana: Karly McFarland on $100M in Email Sales and Why She Sold Her Agency and Turned to the Brand Side (C-Suite Mentor Preview).
🤑 The Oodie - Davie Fogarty: Lessons From a Fast $400M.
💡 Listen to the Biggest Marketing News Stories Today.
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Michael Venditti. Edited by Claire Beveridge and Eric Dyck.
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