DTC1139: YouTube View Counts, Return Fraud & Apparel Pricing Creative

Good morning DTC readers!

Remember when “computer class” or “typing class” was an actual subject we took?

Good ROI on that one for folks like us. We’ve gotta be some of the most computery people there are.

Convenient timing, because peak computery-person season is coming up fast.

Let’s get into it.

👋 Hey, Pilothouse here!

One of our best and brightest is giving a webinar with Triple Whale on how to win the 2026 BFCM weekend.

He’s the real deal, he’s gonna be on the panel with some major players in the space.

If you check out the DTC Podcast, you can see a ton of times he’s been on - they’re all gold.

If you want to see him live in action, you can sign up for this webinar that’s happening on August 25th at 1pm ET.

Grab a spot here if you want it.

📺 Your YouTube view count will look higher than usual next week

YouTube is changing how it counts views starting on August 24. A view will be credited the second a video starts playing. No watch time required across long-form, Shorts, and live.

Every creator you sponsor is about to post bigger numbers overnight, and none of it means anyone watched longer. Monetization and Partner Program eligibility still run on Engaged Views and watch hours, that metric just moved one tab over in Analytics.

If your creator deals are priced on view counts, you're about to pay for engagement that didn't happen. Pull Engaged Views before you renew any contracts.

💸 Meta's AI bill is $693 billion bigger than the one they report

Meta's reported AI spend for 2026 is $145 billion.

The Wall Street Journal found another $693 billion in commitments sitting off the balance sheet, $347 billion goes to future lease payments Meta doesn't expect to actually pay.

That's the accounting behind Hyperion, the Louisiana data center where Meta’s lease doesn’t even start until 2029, and comes with 20 years of renewals attached. Meta needs AI to work now more than any of its ad customers do.

Expect Advantage+ and every other AI ad feature to keep getting pushed as the default, because $693 billion doesn't pay for itself.

⭐ Google is testing bigger review stars on mobile search ads

Google's testing a new mobile search ad layout that enlarges the review star display, giving it real estate it's never had before.

It's live in mobile sponsored results right now, but only for some users.

More visual weight on star ratings means the ads with reviews to show off win the click, and the ads without them look emptier next to them.

This is still a test, nothing to configure on your end. Worth checking your review count is actually feeding the ad before Google decides who gets the bigger stars.

💡 When Apparel Brands Lead with the Price

Pricing is showing up more often in apparel ad creative, and this edition of Creative Corner looks at two ways to do it well.

Below are two examples, a breakdown of why each one works, and specific steps for building the same approach into your own creative.

Product-Focused Lifestyle Image in Frame with Pricing Badge

This works well as a standalone static placement, but could also work in a carousel placement on Meta amongst other product variants or colorways.

Clearly labeling the style with copy at the bottom helps shoppers find the right piece once they hit the site. That’s especially valuable for a brand like this, which carries heavy SKU variety.

How to make this work:

• Reduce, reuse, recycle. Keep it simple with product pricing and technical details. If you’re taking this approach, build a layout that you can reuse across multiple styles for carousel placements.
  • With this level of product detail here, this style is going to be great at the MOF and BOF, where carousels are valuable for apparel brands.
• Don’t be afraid of including the evergreen price of your product!
  • This is something clients push back on, out of concern it will decrease clicks at the TOF. In practice, it does a good job of pre-qualifying your traffic, which helps your content reach better suited audiences
  • Including the price up front makes people less likely to bounce once they land on a page outside of their budget. That’s why pre-qualifying tends to help more than it hurts, especially if you aren’t Temu or another incredibly low AOV-forward brand.

Product-Focused Model Imagery with Pricing Headline

This creative is simple and effective! When you have a strong deal like this, showing off the correct amount of product to qualify is a great visual to stick with.

Using different colors immediately lets the end consumer know that they don’t have to buy two of the same pair to qualify. It’s a bonus if one of the colors is trending with your target audience.

How to make this work:

• Highlight within your headline. The largest text on the page is the offer itself. Fabletics is known for low prices and great deals, so it’s a really solid choice to make sure this info is front and center.
• Keep things super simple. This is true for all offer focused ads, but especially if you have as much existing brand equity as Fabletics.
• Show off variety. Include products from the offer that are bright, bold, and attention-grabbing for your audience.

🎧 Life After the $260M Exit: Hiya Health’s Adam Gillman on USANA, Target, and Going Global

Adam Gillman co-founded Hiya Health, the kids' vitamin brand that launched in March 2020, stayed bootstrapped, and sold to USANA at the end of 2024 at a reported $260M valuation.

He and his co-founder Darren still run it, and 2026 is the year Hiya finally hit retail shelves at Target.

He shares why Hiya sold one multivitamin for 2 and a half years before launching anything else, how influencers were the backbone of a channel mix that hit 25% MoM growth between 2023 and 2025, and how they took full advantage of licensing deals with Disney, Barbie, and Marvel.

▶️ Watch here | 🎧 Listen on Spotify

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