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Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: The Good Stuff Botanicals, TradeMutt, and Gift Ideas Galore. 👋
Today’s newsletter is brought to you…
In 2023, Songfinch was named the 11th fastest-growing company in the US by Inc. 5000. This is a snippet of the journey. 📖
After six years of growth, Songfinch knew efficient scale would be their next-level unlock. Step one? Partnering with Pilothouse.
The team focused in on three platforms — Meta, TikTok, and Google.
On TikTok, showcasing the product's emotional appeal was an instant hit. 30 days after launching, their revenue on-platform grew from $0 to $250,000.
To increase top-of-funnel revenue and maintain efficiency, the team optimized ad copy, targeted high-intent keywords, and segmented search campaigns, expanding Songfinch’s reach globally.
Additionally, Pilothouse innovated audience targeting and YouTube retargeting, resulting in a 333% YoY revenue increase, with $6.9 million generated at a 4.82 ROAS.
Are you finally ready to start writing your growth story? 👀
I Want To Unlock Efficient Scale
2024 will be an exciting but disruptive year for advertisers as Google works to phase out third-party cookies.
What is Google replacing cookies with?
Google is pushing Privacy Sandbox as a replacement for third-party cookies which it argues is better for user privacy since it only retains user browser data for 30 days for ad targeting.
Users can also easily opt out of retargeting here: chrome://settings/adPrivacy
And the phase out has already begun...
Citing privacy concerns, Google started getting rid of cookies for 1% of Chrome users this month and hopes to phase them out completely by Q3.
Although 1% doesn’t seem like much, that amounts to 30 million Chrome users who were affected by the change.
A glimpse into the impact of a cookieless future…
If we use the 1% as a case study, we can already see the effect cookie depreciation will have on advertisers who rely on third-party cookies for targeting and measuring their online ad performance.
According to ad tech firm Raptive, Google’s new cookieless users are bringing in 30% less revenue. While that’s less of a hit than predicted, that’s still a hefty sum for ad monetization. 💸
As Google continues to make more changes, it is more than likely that there will be major disruptions in the ad landscape. The search engine has given some select sites the option to delay third party cookie removals but only for a few more months.
Alternative solutions emerging include emphasis on first-party data collection and AI. Which leads us to wonder… 🤔
Can AI replace third-party cookies?
As an alternative, generative AI is emerging as a possible cookieless advertising solution.
We’ve seen how AI can generate images through text prompts, provide answers to queries, and write elegant lines of codes, but will AI also be able to measure customer intent when it comes to ad targeting?
Experts argue in order for generative AI to work for advertisers they will need 3 things:
As advertisers face significant disruptions from the third-party cookies phase-out, Google Privacy Sandbox will be an alternative but so will generative AI.
A cookieless future is coming whether you are ready or not which means advertisers will need to prepare and seek alternative advertising solutions.
Does your team have what it takes to hold steady through the trends that will define our industry for decades to come?
Let Northbeam’s free 2024 Marketing Preview be your guiding light to trek on with confidence. You'll be equipped with data, predictions, and strategies for marketing in strange times.
HexClad, Jones Road Beauty, and MUD/WTR are already relying on Northbeam as their premier ad attribution system. Jump on a call and discover how Northbeam can future proof your marketing team.
For many DTC brands, Valentine’s Day campaigns are well underway.
Whether your brand just dropped limited edition variants or you’re running a sale, don’t miss out on post-click optimizations for your Meta ads this season.
The Pilothouse Meta team knows that post-click can be a huge lever to pull with performance on paid social ads — and Valentine’s Day is no exception.
The team recommends testing seasonal images and messaging to match your sale or product drop.
Here’s how four brands can improve their post-click performance:
Brand #1: Luggage brand Monos does a good job of calling out Valentine’s Day on its homepage without overdoing it.
An iteration to test on this page: Add a countdown timer on the homepage closer to the end of their promo period to add additional urgency.
Brand #2: Gluten-free snack brand Deux has revamped its homepage to add Valentine’s themed packaging to take advantage of the seasonal moment.
An iteration to test on this page: Add a shipping cutoff date in the hero space to prompt users to get their orders on time for February 14th.
Brand #3: Evry Jewels has curated a Valentine’s collection in Shopify - it looks like they have compiled existing products with product tags to serve as a collection. They do a great job of calling out sale pricing using badges that show a percentage off and strikethrough pricing.
An iteration to test on this page: Adding star ratings to each product or adding a stock count to increase urgency.
Brand #4: Stanley has taken a similar approach as Evry Jewels, tagging existing products to show on a Valentine’s Collections page.
We like that they call out Valentine’s Day Gifts in their top banner to bring users to the curated collection.
An iteration to test on this page: Split testing the current hero space image against a UGC image that features real customers enjoying their products.
No matter what methods your brand is pushing Valentine’s this year, post-click optimization can help lift sales for your brand.
Pilothouse can help you split-test different pages and optimize down once you find a winner. 🏆
🚨 DEADLINE EXTENDED for a chance to win $150,000 in no-cost inventory funding! Kickfurther’s CPGrow Pitch Competition is open until Feb. 1st, exclusively for DTC readers. Send your application today. *
⬇️ Keep your spam rate down: Here are 5 ways to reduce your spam rate or risk spam classification by Gmail and Yahoo.
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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
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