DTC883: Baggu Back-To-School Ad Breakdown, Obvi’s Meta Playbook and Too Many USPs

Good morning, 

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

🎒 Inside Baggu’s Backpack Ad
A back-to-school creative breakdown.

😨 Experiencing Pixel Issues?
Obvi shares how to rebuild growth. 

🚨 Daily Tariff Tracker
Tariff expansion on steel and aluminum.

⭐ Ad Creative Tip‍‍
Why fewer USPs drive stronger results.

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Pursue Fitness, Mason Mortgages, and Tiller. 👋

🏆 Price Sensitivity Is Rising—But Brands That Adapt Can Still Win Big. Here’s How

😬 Old strategies not working? Things have changed. 

☀️ Klaviyo’s 2025 BFCM forecast breaks down how consumers are navigating economic pressure and what the most successful brands are doing differently.

👉 This year, high-performers aren’t relying on last-minute sales. Instead, they’re:

• 💲 Earning loyalty through value, offering personalized discounts and real benefits that matter
• 🧑‍💻 Making omnichannel communication non-negotiable, connecting mobile, in-store, and online touchpoints into one seamless experience
• 🤖 Meeting the growing demand for AI, using automation to enhance service, deliver recommendations, and anticipate shopper needs

📊 With insights drawn from 7,000 global consumers, the report offers a data-backed look at how to stay relevant in a season when attention is fleeting and spending is more intentional than ever.

Get ahead of shifting behaviors and build a BFCM strategy that works in 2025. 

🎒 Build A Creative That Feels Real, Not Staged

This Baggu back-to-school ad uses a very simple, authentic setup: an open backpack packed with everyday essentials. 

There’s no text overlay, no dramatic lighting, just a relatable, top-down shot that feels like something out of a user’s camera roll. 📸

The contents inside (colorful notebooks, an Owala water bottle, and Baggu glasses case) speak to organization and versatility without needing to say a word.

The ad text is minimal: “Select Backpacks on sale now.” It’s a price-driven hook that invites click-through, while the visual does all the heavy lifting.

This ad is part of a multi-version campaign, so this version focuses less on lifestyle or branding and more on the functional appeal and visual variety of the product. 

Why this works:

• Casual, UGC-style photography performs well across Meta placements.
  
• Bold color blocking (red bag and colorful prints) grabs attention mid-scroll.
  
• The visual shows real-world usage, a packed bag ready to go, while subtly upselling customers by including other Baggu products.
  

The takeaway? 

Baggu has created a simple yet standout visual that feels like UGC. 

By running multiple ad versions, they can see what type of image resonates with their target audience and show off various colorways.

📦 Your Daily Tariff Check-In

Whether it’s a minor tweak or a major shift, we’ll keep you posted on the latest tariff changes—so you’re always in the know. 

August 19, 2025 update:

• Trump's Steel & Aluminum Tariffs Expanded to Finished Goods
  
  • President Trump's steel and aluminum tariff originally applied to raw materials, but now he's expanding Section 232 to include finished products.
    
  • Items like furniture components, baby gear, and motorcycles make up an estimated $138 billion worth of imports now subject to 50% duties.

🚨 Don’t Disappoint Customers With Missed Connections. This One Key Adjustment Keeps Your Campaigns Working Effortlessly in Sync

More ways to connect with your customers can mean more ways to miss them, too. 😞

When channels don’t work together, it’s easy for messages to get lost in the crowd. 😵‍💫

✨ But in the Klaviyo Omniverse, everything works in sync. 

• 📨 Campaigns across email and SMS
• 🖱️ RCS carousels that drive clicks
• 👀 Push notifications that grab attention 
• 🌎 WhatsApp marketing that reaches billions of customers around the world 

👏 Powered by real-time data and AI, your marketing becomes more personalized, more relevant, and more impactful—automatically.

Everything you need. All in one platform. ✨ 

🎧 How Obvi’s Meta Playbook Rebuilt Growth After Pixel Issues 

‍In this DTC podcast episode, Ash Melwani, the co-founder and CMO of Obvi, shares insights on how they navigated the challenges of Meta’s updates and health restrictions to rebuild growth after their ad account was flagged.

We discuss the importance of pixel health, creative strategies, and diversifying away from Meta towards other platforms like TikTok and retail.

In this episode, we dive into:

•  Rebuilding Pixel Health: Learn how Obvi overcame Meta’s health-related restrictions by optimizing their pixel setup with specialized partners.
  
  “Working with partners who properly set up your pixel data can prevent Meta from flagging your account and deprioritizing your ads.”
  
  
• Updated Ad Strategy: Ash shares how they shifted from testing many ads in separate ad sets to consolidating creatives for more effective budget use.

 “Instead of testing 50 ads, we consolidated to 2-3 ad sets with 10-15 ads, which gave us better results.”

• Expanding into Retail: Why Obvi is eyeing big-box stores like Walmart and Dollar General to become a household name.
  
  “Mass marketing through retailers, TV, and branding is crucial to get our products in front of more people and scale.”

👉 Listen to the full episode with Ash here.

[Screenshot via @Peter_Quadrel / X]

Most ad creatives cram in wayyy too many selling points. 

Rather than listing out all your USPs, focus on the 3 benefits your market cares about most.

Focus drives impact. Impact drives sales.

Can't view the image? Click here

📥 Got a B2B Biz? 

Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.

Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• 🪄 AKNF 534: Google’s 90% “New Customer” Illusion
• ☠️ Ad-venturous 15: 6 Meta Ad Mistakes that Kill Scaling 
• 😎 TWBERP 46: The Only Browse Abandon Email You’ll Ever Need
• 💗 Mira’s Femtech Playbook: Why Community Should Precede Paid 
• 🧠 AKNF 532: What Smart Amazon Brands Do Differently 
• ✏️ Ad-venturous 14: Q4 Prep Edition 

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

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

Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.