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Welcome to the DTC family!
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Good morning,
Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Inno Supps, Soundstripe, and P&S Furniture. 👋
🚀 183,000+ Brands Have Spoken. These New Benchmarks Reveal Big Opportunities For 2026
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It’s packed with fresh insights and metrics that put your brand’s performance in context, plus practical ideas to guide your next moves. 💡
Inside, find:
Big brands are already using these moves to win 2026. Now, so can you.
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💰 ChatGPT Ads Are Here. But Is It Worth The Cost?
OpenAI has officially stepped into the advertising game but advertising on ChatGPT won’t come cheap.
Prices start at roughly $60 CPM, nearly 3x the cost of Meta ads.
Some brands are also reportedly being quoted $200K+ minimum spends just to test the channel.
That places ChatGPT advertising firmly in premium territory.
So the big question remains: is it worth the cost?
Here’s what the Pilothouse team is seeing so far.
❌ Premium positioning, not performance-first
ChatGPT ads don’t resemble a traditional ROAS-driven channel. The experience feels closer to early podcast advertising or premium sponsorships.
High visibility and strong brand association, but limited performance signals. It’s still early, and it shows.
❌ Measurement is limited
At launch, reporting appears to include only basic metrics like impressions and clicks.
There’s no conversion tracking. No attribution modeling.
For seasoned marketers, this will feel familiar. Very 2010, just with better UX.
✅ Search intent is the real differentiator
Ads surface inside live conversations.
If someone asks, “What’s the best running shoe for flat feet?”, relevant ads can appear at that moment.
Conceptually, it’s similar to search, but embedded within natural language and discovery rather than keyword bidding.
👉 It’s important to note: paying for ads does not influence the answers ChatGPT provides to users.
Instead, ads are designed to increase brand visibility as more consumers turn to AI-powered search for product discovery.
What This Means for DTC Brands
1️⃣ ChatGPT ads are not a replacement for Meta or Google
Not unless you’re comfortable making decisions with limited data.
Core performance channels will continue to do the heavy lifting for acquisition and scale.
2️⃣ High-intent moments are the opportunity
Users are explicitly stating what they want, when they want it.
That level of intent is rare and potentially powerful as targeting and creative options evolve.
3️⃣ If you test, keep it small and controlled
Any early experiment should be tightly scoped:
4️⃣ Think consideration, not conversion (for now)
At this stage, ChatGPT ads function more like upper or mid-funnel placements.
They’re strong for awareness, education, and brand framing, but not immediate checkouts.
The takeaway?
ChatGPT ads are expensive, experimental, and still lacking best practices.
But they’re also worth watching closely.
As the platform matures, costs may normalize and new features could make the channel more compelling.
Brands that test thoughtfully now will help define the playbook.
🎧 How To Attribute Your Post-Click Ecosystem
In this episode of TWBERP, Jordan breaks down why most DTC teams misunderstand attribution, over-credit ads, and under-invest in the channels that actually unlock scale.
If your ad bill keeps climbing but growth feels capped, this episode explains exactly why.
He walks through a real overlapping attribution model he runs annually across scaling brands to understand how email, SMS, CRO, organic, and paid media actually work together.
What we cover:
▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube.
🎧 Or listen here on Spotify.
What’s one of the most underused levers on Meta right now?
Olly Hudson shares that partnership ads are great for creative diversity and reach.
In a post-Andromeda era, the person who is delivering your ad message is just as important as the message itself.
💡 Instead of recycling the same ads with copy tweaks, introduce new identities to the ad account. Borrow trust from a credible third party to reach new audiences.
📥 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?
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.
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