Good morning,
After releasing ChatGPT-4o to the public, OpenAI’s daily visits doubled and have now reached 100 million. 😲
But despite this milestone, the company has also faced some controversies. Employees have resigned and the company is in hot water after allegedly using Scarlett Johansson’s voice in their latest update without her permission. More ChatGPTea below. 👇
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
⭐ Curious about Amazon’s new Creator Connections feature? We share campaign results and insights.
🌊 Liquid I.V. refreshes their packaging for the first time in 12 years. Here’s why we think this change is a packaging glow up.
🤔 And… did OpenAI cross the line by launching Sky voice mode without Scarlett Johansson’s consent?
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Period Aisle, Little Kinfolk Boutique, and Cirque Colors. 👋
⚡How Amazon’s Creator Connections Works
ICYMI Amazon rolled out a program entitled Creator Connections last year.
It's still in beta, so in typical Amazon fashion, only some U.S. sellers will have access, but they plan on rolling it out globally eventually.
What are Creator Connections?
This is an affiliate and influencer marketing program built directly inside Amazon so brands can quickly partner with social media influencers to promote their products.
Brands set up campaigns in which they offer a set commission rate (minimum of 10%) for creators. Creators can then choose to join that campaign and grab a link to any of the products to earn their commission.
But who are these creators? TikTok stars? YouTube vloggers? Up and coming rappers?
No, they're a mix of Amazon influencers and publications.
What we've discovered:
Most Amazon influencers have too small of an audience to generate much sales, but partnering with publications can generate significant traffic. (Think Forbes, Wirecutter, Buzzfeed, etc.)
These sites (and influencers) typically utilize Amazon's existing associates program, but the typical commission is only 1 - 4%, depending on the category.
What commission should brands offer?
It totally depends on your brand. But Pilothouse’s recommendation is to get aggressive with this, especially for consumables, since this is a great feature to leverage for new customer acquisition.
If your prospecting campaigns typically get a 3.0 ROAS, that'd be equivalent to a 33% commission.
However, prospecting campaigns have a few other advantages in terms of ranking, so we'd undercut that a bit, maybe 25%.
Think of it this way: As a brand, try to make your offer as attractive to the largest publications as possible so they'll push your product to a larger audience, but not so attractive that you lose your shirt if they do so. Find a happy medium that makes sense for your brand.
The Pilothouse Amazon team utilized creator connections for brands at varying commission levels and has seen some promising early results.
Here's a peek at a three different campaign results:
Client A spent under $5K for less than a month. As a seller of high-priced single-purchase products, they offered a lower commission but still saw great results.
These two campaigns for clients B and C ran for 4 to 6 months and offered a higher commission. Since these are repeat purchase products, they were able to invest more in new customer acquisition.
Leveraging new features like Amazon's Creator Connections can help brands see significant returns and accelerate new customer acquisition.
🌟 Liquid I.V. Debuts New Brand Identity In Over a Decade
Have you seen Liquid I.V.’s brand refresh?
The hydration powder brand has modernized its product packaging for the first time in twelve years, and it’s already receiving a warm reception.
Here’s the before and after of their packaging glow-up:
The product design tweaks they made:
The brand promises while this is a new look, nothing about the electrolyte drink mix ingredients has changed.
This launch coincides with their summer campaign called Tear. Pour. Live. More. Partnerships with Neon Carnival, F1 Miami Grand Prix, and Lollapalooza to keep everyone hydrated all summer long.
The takeaway?
We can all agree this brand refresh is loooong overdue!
The new packaging highlights the benefits of the product and the ingredients inside, which are a significant factor in a customer’s purchasing decision.
It also looks more modern and aesthetically pleasing, which works well in an era when unboxing videos are rampant.
By breathing new life into its brand look, Liquid I.V. was able to build some buzz and appeal to its health conscious audience.
A reminder that brands need to continually innovate and modernize their packaging to suit the taste of their target market, especially in a competitive space like this one.
🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE
Uh oh, OpenAI has some explaining to do.
After Scarlett Johansson refused to lend her voice for ChatGPT, it seems like they went ahead and used it anyway. Or at least a very similar sounding one.
The actress fired back, penning a public statement saying she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference.”
In her statement she asked the company to detail the process they used to create the voice chatbot. Since then OpenAI has halted use of the Sky voice.
💗 BRAND LOVE
Discover the freshest and most innovative brands that caught our eye! We spotlight new and exciting companies redefining their industries.
🐶 Pupford: High-quality treats to reinforce positive behavior during dog training.
🍬 Blobs: Feel guilt-free when you snack on these vegan, low-calorie chewy candies.
🍝 Sauz: A flavorful pasta sauce that will satisfy your tastebuds.
📥 Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
Have you heard our latest podcasts?
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
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)
