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Good morning. Eric here, and as a chronically online DTC reader, you've probably already seen the meme.
Eleven World Cup sponsors with one spokesperson, and he's not even on the pitch.
While Beckham was signing (shilling?) those deals, the supplement brand he co-founded, IM8, secured $1 billion in non-dilutive growth financing from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund.
No equity changes hands. Instead, the fund covers up to 70% of IM8's marketing spend and takes a capped share of revenue from the cohorts that spend brings in.
IM8's incredible growth backs it up. Per Prenetics, the supp brand passed a $200 million annualized run rate in 19 months and now guides to $210 to $220 million for 2026.
DTC is so back. If your unit economics are clean, there could once again be a billion dollars waiting to fund your ad spend. Thinking I should frost my tips and get a faux hawk to celebrate.
Of course, the money only shows up when the fundamentals hold: a product people re-buy and margins that survive paid acquisition. Get there, and the next question is where each ad dollar works hardest. That's exactly what Meta's opportunity score claims to answer, and today's deep dive digs into whether you can trust it.
đ¸ The government issued $81 billion in tariff refunds. Some deadlines to claim yours are closing this month
We mentioned this a few weeks ago, but bringing it back up top of mind if you still havenât gotten around to filing a refund (the Pilothouse team nudged us yesterday and said a client got $100K back, so itâs definitely worth your time).
The US government has already refunded $81 billion in tariffs this fiscal year, up from $5 billion in the same period last year, after the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs in February.
If you imported goods and paid IEEPA duties between February 2025 and February 2026, you may qualify for a refund. Entries that haven't liquidated yet or liquidated within the last 80 days can file through U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) CAPE system in the ACE portal.
If your entries liquidated more than 80 days ago, CAPE is closed and your only remaining path is a formal protest, filed on CBP Form 19, within 180 days of the liquidation date. No extensions. For entries liquidated in December or January, that window is closing this month.
Check your import history and file at CBP's IEEPA refund page before the deadline hits.
đ¤ ChatGPT ads just got more features like location and audience exclusions.
Lots of GPT ads updates coming out over the last few weeks. The most recent is that you can now block a campaign from showing in specific regions or to specific audience lists in ChatGPT Ads Manager.
Meta and Google have had this for years, and it looks like ChatGPT Ads is trying to close that gap fast. If you wrote it off a few weeks ago, the targeting controls are catching up fast.
Reports suggest OpenAI's ad revenue is tracking well below its own internal targets, so treat early wins as early, not proven.
We checked in with the Pilothouse team and theyâre starting to test on their side. Weâll keep checking in and keep you in the loop with what we learn.
đŻ The AI prompt that scores your account out of 100
Now that Omnisend works with Claude and ChatGPT, knowing how your email marketing setup is working is as simple as just asking.
Ask it to score your account out of 100 based on campaign cadence, automation coverage, and catalog completeness, then list the top three areas to improve. It reviews your campaigns and automations before generating recommendations, giving you practical next steps tailored to your account.
Thinking about trying Omnisend? More than 150,000 brands already use it to generate an average of $79 for every $1 spent. Pricing is up to 35% lower than leading competitors, while migration is free and takes up to five days.
Just a heads up, they've got more prompts listed based on your comfort level with AI (beginner, intermediate, advanced) to help you better understand and optimize your email account. Check them out here.
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đ° Stripe just offered $53 billion for PayPal
Stripe and private equity firm Advent International offered $60.50 a share for PayPal, valuing it above $53 billion in what would be the largest fintech acquisition on record.
PayPal's board hasn't responded yet, so this could go nowhere (like the GameStop acquisition in May). But if it lands, consolidation at this scale usually means new fees, new priorities, and slower support. Worth keeping an eye on if PayPal is one of your checkout options.
đˇ Google Images got a redesign worth knowing about (yes, you should care)
Google rolled out a new Images homepage this week (it looks a lot like Pinterest if thatâs your jam). Itâs a real-time personalized gallery where users can save content into Collections.
If your product images are strong enough to save, this is a new organic traffic surface worth keeping an eye on. Check how your images are performing in Google Images once the rollout hits your market (it's US desktop English only to start right now).
âď¸ Google updated its ad Terms of Service for the first time since 2018
The July 1st update gives Google permission by default to use AI to generate targeting, ad assets, and landing page destinations in your account. Not opt-in. Default (yes, seriously).
You still have to review, approve, or remove everything the AI creates - so Google generates, you're liable.
If you've connected a URL, let Google crawl your site, or used a conversational campaign setup, that's now fuel for the system. Go check what's been auto-generated in your account and audit it before it runs somewhere you didn't intend. @jordanfry shared more about it here.
đ§ Cleanse your email now like your Black Friday deliverability depends on it (because it does)
@EmailEngineers runs a Klaviyo cleanse twice a year to get higher opens.
For a minimum of two weeks, send only to subscribers who clicked or opened in the last 30 days. He reports opens improve 10 to 15% after running this for at least 14 days.
The reasoning is that inbox providers track how selective you are about who you email, and reward senders who show restraint with better placement in the primary or notifications tab instead of getting buried or filtered.
Worth running before Black Friday specifically, because a warmed-up list going into peak season means you can absorb segmentation mistakes that would tank deliverability on a cold one.
Want to get your email and retention in the best shape possible? Start crushing these episodes of The Worldâs Best Email and Retention Podcast on the DTC Podcast Network.
đ¤ Are you reviewing Metaâs opportunity score? Itâs worth a regular check
Meta's Opportunity Score in Ads Manager surfaces personalized recommendations for your ad account to help boost performance.
The Pilothouse Meta team reviews and applies these recommendations regularly across agency accounts and treats it as an important part of account maintenance.
Here's how to find the feature in your account:
1ď¸âŁ In Ads Manager, to the right of your ad account name, you'll see "Opportunity score" listed.
2ď¸âŁ Hovering over Opportunity score surfaces the top recommendation for your account. Click "View all in Account Overview" to see the full list.
3ď¸âŁ From the Account Overview, you can scroll through all recommendations. Depending on your brand and comfort level with automation, you can set up automatic adjustments from here.
Why Pilothouse checks this regularly:
Opportunity Score turns structure and setting optimizations into a short, recurring checklist rather than a manual audit. Â
Review this part of your ad account today and see how the recommendations impact performance for your brand.
đ§ Creating Desire Through Design: Filsonâs Approach To Email Aesthetics
This week, we revisited a favorite from the catalog of TWBERP. Jordan dives into the art of creating email experiences that do more than just sell.
He explores how heritage brand Filson turns each email into an inspiring visual journey, using lifestyle photography, strategic design, and storytelling to craft an aspirational experience for their subscribers.
Learn how Filson strikes the perfect balance between content-driven and conversion-focused emails, how they maximize engagement through VIP sign-ups and theme features, and why their approach to seasonal drops keeps customers coming back.
âśď¸ Watch here | đ§ Listen on Spotify
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