DTC943: Gen Z Values, Roast My Email Program, and Pink Friday Search Surge

Good morning,

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

• 🤔 What Does Gen Z Really Value?
• 🔥 Uncover Hidden Email Issues
• 📈 Searches Climb For This Growing Nov Holiday

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: The GelBottle, Seaside Naturals, and Tigers Eye. 👋

‍💯 You’ve Started Planning for BFCM. But How Ready Is Your Brand To Deliver Results When Peak Season Hits?

Find out in minutes. 👀

👉 Take Klaviyo’s 2-minute readiness quiz to almost instantly elevate your strategy.

It’s fast, actionable, and tailored to your current setup, highlighting what you’re doing well and where a few smart tweaks could make a major impact. 💥

Whether you’re weeks into planning or just getting started, this is your chance to gain a strategic advantage before your campaigns launch. 🚀

Start the quiz now to sharpen your edge, close the gaps, and turn readiness into results. 💵

‍🤔 Why Brands Are Reimagining Products As Experiences

When Vacation first launched its Whipped Sunscreen, it didn’t just launch a product, it launched a social campaign that capitalized on Gen Z's love for nostalgia.

The strategy? To get the word out about the product, the brand promoted a digital "honorary" business card that users could claim.

Users could shuffle through a set of hilarious job titles before claiming the one they wanted.

The result? The business cards were shared on X and quickly went viral as everyone rushed to claim their own unique title.

Suddenly, fans weren’t just buying sunscreen. They were joining in on a brand experience.

And that’s exactly what Gen Z wants.

Gen Z consumers say they’d rather invest in experiences than material things.

But here’s the twist: they’re not abandoning products. They’re just demanding that products feel like experiences.

How to Tap Into the “Experience Economy”

You don’t need to have SKIMS’ sky-high budget or Rhode’s influencer power to compete. Pilothouse shares that you can start small and be strategic.

Think: What small, clever thing could your brand offer that fans would want to share?

The takeaway?

Gen Z doesn’t just want to purchase a product, they care about shared moments. That’s why we’re seeing everything from pop-ups and photo booths to branded car washes, ice cream collabs, and cafés.

Create opportunities that invite them to participate!

‍🛠️ Meta Adds Device Platform to Value Rules

Meta's update gives advertisers more control over their reach.

When you click into Advertising Settings -> Value Rules, there is now a new option called Device Platform.

This allows you to adjust your bid for mobile or desktop devices to enhance your quality of leads.

Learn more here.

‍🎰 Top-Performing Brands Don’t Leave Q4 Results To Chance. They Test, Fine-Tune, And Act Early

Want some real clarity on whether you’re actually ready for BFCM? 💡

✅ Klaviyo’s 8-question BFCM readiness quiz helps you evaluate the systems you already have in place (like flows, segmentation, and list growth) and gives you personalized recommendations to sharpen them fast.

Whether you're ahead of the curve or just getting started, the quiz gives you:

• 💯 A custom BFCM score
• 👣 Clear, tactical next steps
• 📈 Smarter ways to drive results across channels

👉 Pressure-test your prep and see how ready your strategy really is.

‍🎧 Under the Hood: What’s Really Happening In Your Account

Jordan Gordon, host of The World’s Best Email & Retention Podcast, reveals how even the biggest DTC brands are fooling themselves about their email performance.

In this special episode, he breaks down how false attribution, bot clicks, and privacy opens can make you think your email program is thriving when it’s actually buried in spam.

His deep-dive audit on a large DTC brand teaches you how to spot hidden deliverability issues killing your retention revenue.

In this episode, we dive into:

• The signs that your emails are entering spam
• What bot clicks look like and how they inflate your metrics
• Why fixing this is the fastest way to unlock growth

▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube here.

🎧 Or click here to listen on Spotify.

‍Why is this trending? Searches for 'Pink Friday' are climbing and quickly gaining momentum year over year.

The shopping holiday was founded in 2020 by The Boutique Hub and typically occurs a week before Black Friday.

This year it falls on Nov 21 and encourages customers to support and shop local first before the BFCM frenzy takes place.

‍🤔 Think your BFCM strategy is solid? Find out with Klaviyo's quick readiness quiz and get personalized tips to optimize what matters most. Take the quiz. *

‍📥 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.

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.