DTC911: Magic Spoon Ad Breakdown, Strategy Drives Spend, and Ultra Wide IG Posts

Good morning,

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

🍂 Magic Spoon’s Fall Play
Drive urgency with seasonal tie-ins.

⚡ Is Your Strategy Working?
How brands can build sustainable growth.

🪄 Ultra Wide IG Format
This trend promises high engagement.

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Bretara Candles, Palio Trade, and Eclipse. 👋

👀 BFCM Benchmarks: Have Your Voice Heard and Be Entered to Win!

🚨 We’ve extended the DTC BFCM Pulse Check Survey! This is your chance to lock in your answers and help shape the report that top operators will be reading before peak season. 👀

Operators are making moves, and we want your voice in the mix.

Your responses will help shape the DTC BFCM Pulse Check Report. Once it’s live, you’ll get full access to benchmarks like:

👉 Where spend is flowing
👉 How aggressive discounts are getting
👉 What tactics top operators are betting on

5 minutes. 13 questions. Hard data, sharp insights, and a chance to win a $1,000 Amazon gift card. *

Note: Survey results may be used in DTC editorial and advertorial content. Personal info won’t be shared.

* One entrant will be randomly selected to win a $1,000 Amazon Gift Card. No purchase necessary to enter. Survey must be completed by Sunday, October 5th, 2025 to be eligible. Winner will be notified via email by Friday, October 10th, 2025. This giveaway is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 years or older. Void where prohibited.

🍂 Magic Spoon’s Fall Flavor Playbook

Magic Spoon’s Meta ad is a great example of how brands can use seasonal flavors to drive scarcity and relevance.

The high protein cereal brand is currently promoting its Salted Caramel as a limited-edition fall flavor, tapping into both nostalgia and seasonality.

Why it works:

• Playful, candy-like creative: The creative execution here is bold and fun. Caramel swirls and dripping textures make the caramel flavor look appealing and indulgent.
• Seasonal tie-in makes the product drop feel fresh and relevant in fall, when comfort flavors like pumpkin spice and caramel are in high demand. And the product box pops against a rich fall palette.
• Scarcity marketing encourages impulse purchase. Including urgency messaging “before it’s gone” at multiple touchpoints lets customers know they need to act now.
• Balance of indulgence and health claims widens appeal across audiences. For health-conscious customers, mentioning functional benefits (e.g. 14g protein, 0g sugar) lets them know this is an indulgence they can participate in without any guilt.

Don’t just release a flavor, release a feeling. That’s how you turn seasonal demand into brand momentum.

Here’s a quick Halloween tip from the Pilothouse team! 👇

🎃 Use Seasonal Promo Codes: Simple, memorable codes like BOO, TREAT, or TRICK create a festive touch and make offers feel timely and fun.

🎧 Why Strategy Must Drive DTC Ad Spend (Not Just Creative or Media Buying)

In this episode of All Killer No Filler, Abby and Henry from Pilothouse break down what it means to build a real strategy for DTC brand growth.

They explain how many brands today are stuck optimizing what already worked rather than asking who the right audience is, what their pain points are, and how to speak to them.

They share how their strategy team helps DTC brands escape the “tactical spin cycle” and build sustainable growth through audience insights, persona work, and aligning creative with business goals.

In this episode, we dive into:

From Spin Cycle to Strategy: Why many brands get stuck repeating past wins instead of asking bigger questions about who their real customers are and what they need.

“Brands are stuck in this spin cycle… looking backwards and getting hooked on the wrong things.”

Audience Personas & Messaging: How to define customer personas, uncover pain points and values, and create creative that speaks to different funnel stages instead of running the same ad everywhere.

“We were optimized to 65+, because that’s where Meta placed us… but our product didn’t really speak to that audience.”

Lifetime Value over Cheap Conversions: Why optimizing for “easy” wins like low-cost audiences can hurt long-term growth and how Pilothouse prioritizes products and offers that increase AOV, rebuy rates, and sustainable LTV.

Channel and Creative Alignment: The importance of syncing landing pages, email, media, and CRO so every touchpoint reinforces the same strategic direction.

Patience Pays Off: Why strategic shifts don’t pay off instantly and how Pilothouse guides brands through the testing and iteration needed to reach durable growth.

👉 Listen to the full episode with Abby and Henry here.

👀 Looking to get connected with the team that helps established DTC brands scale profitably with data-driven growth and an embedded team approach? Reach out to Pilothouse here.

Brands like Poppi, Chomps, and Away are getting creative with Instagram’s new 5120 x 1080 size format. 

Poppi showed off their entire product line-up in a panoramic shot, while Away jumped on a current conspiracy trend to share what can fit in their travel bag. Chomps cleverly showed off their product packaging using the skinny format. 

This simple trend is a great way to stop users from scrolling away and grab attention. 

Would this format fit your brand’s feed?

🔥 NexGrill, an outdoor cooking and heating brand, joined Walmart Marketplace in 2022. With access to millions of customers, zero monthly fees, and powerful ecommerce tools, they grew from a small startup to a global brand in just two years. Join now. *

📥 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?

• 😨 TWBERP 52: Don’t Let This Tactic Tank Q4
• 🧸 How Lovevery Built a Nine Figure Subscription Engine
• 📈 AKNF 544: Break Through Scaling Ceilings in Google Ads
• 💡 Ad-venturous 20: Creative Workflow Hacks  
• 💸 TWBERP 51: Email Like A Billion Dollar Brand Part 2
• 🍭 Rotten’s Retail Expansion: Seeding Strategy and Brand IP

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 ma