🎧 Yo! Today on the DTC pod, we’re chatting with Ben Feys and Kevin Niehoff, co-founders of early-stage buzz brand PrettyBoy, a skincare company that provides simple skincare solutions for active males.
They discuss branding and product development, including how a clever branding strategy led to their success. They also share their philosophy of "balling on a budget", as well as their tips for self-funded brands looking to cut costs while maintaining a strong image.
Ben and Kevin also emphasize the importance of authenticity and social proof in creating effective content and encourage other brands to experiment with user-generated content to drive growth.
The takeaways 👇
🚶 Walking the walk
Ben and Kevin built their brand around focusing on a specific need in the skincare industry: a simple skincare routine tailored to men. A lot went into their strategic branding efforts, starting with a clear vision of what their customers want and building the company and brand accordingly. They also place a strong emphasis on performance and delivering on their brand promise, recognizing that a strong brand alone is not enough if the product does not meet customer needs and expectations.
“The branding, I always put it as a metaphor, is like a car. You look at a car, it's very cool, [and] you can see yourself driving it. [The branding] is what attracts you to that car. But at the end of the day, if that car has horrible performance and can't drive then you're never going to buy it.”
✂️ Cutting costs
When it comes to “balling on a budget”, Ben and Kevin have adopted a growth hacking mentality in their efforts to cut costs and drive growth for PrettyBoy. They’ve focused on leveraging free or low-cost resources, such as taking courses on advertising on Facebook and seeking out mentors and advisors in their network to learn new skills and improve their marketing efforts. They also emphasize the importance of testing and experimentation and have used platforms like TikTok to gather insights and identify opportunities for growth.
To Ben and Kevin, being proactive and continuously learning and improving is key to success in the competitive digital space.
💰 What Ben & Kevin would do with an extra $50K:
They would focus on scaling their current marketing channels that are performing well as well as creating a clinical before and after study to showcase the effectiveness of their product.
They also mention using a portion of the grant to set up a cohort of influencers or creators who will be using their product and sharing their experiences with it.
“[We would want them] talking about not only the results, [but also] the brand appeal, the lifestyle correlation, and then that emotional tie that it had to them, really focusing on people who have overcome adversity. Really focusing on people who are considering taking a big leap.”
Hope you enjoy it, on with the show.
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