📦 - Testing Intro Cards in Meta Catalog Ads 👀

DTC 536 - Pinterest Wedding Trends, Meta Ads Catalog, and Telling Brand Stories   Monday, April 15, 2024 This is universal right? We all have at least one word that no matter how many times we try to learn, it just doesn’t stick. Mine’s receipt (shoutout autocorrect). What’s yours? Good morning, A new proposal in Congress called The American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) could limit the amount of customer data companies can collect. The proposed legislation will also allow customers to opt out of targeted advertising. Don’t panic, though, this is still early stages. We will keep you updated as this story develops. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - How Pinterest’s top wedding trends report can help brands ideate their wedding season or bridal focused campaigns. - Learn how to test intro cards in your ad catalog on Meta. - And… how to tell a good brand story. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Yellow Gorse, Yalla Protein, and The Celtic Sourdough Company. 👋   [Advertisement] YOU’RE INVITED 💸 Trying To Grow Revenue This Quarter? Let’s Talk Real Strategy As cliche as it sounds, 2024 is shaping up to be an… interesting year… The election could impact acquisition costs. We’re losing third-party cookies and having to build first-party databases. Yet, through it all, everyone’s still trying to do one thing: [grow revenue](. [Join Klaviyo’s panel-style discussion]( to hear how two brands, Saysh and Doen, are addressing the issues head on to grow their audiences and revenue with email and SMS. 💬 On April 24th at 12 p.m. ET, they’ll cover: - Growing your list - Maximizing results across email and SMS - Building a campaign calendar - Preparing for BFCM - Collecting, organizing, and using customer data As we roll into the summer months and BFCM prep, do yourself this favor: take the time out of your day to gain inspiration from people who, just like you, are in the weeds of brand building. [Lock In My Spot]( *Sponsored   WHAT’S TRENDING 👰 Pinterest Shares Their 2024 Wedding Trends Report It’s time to capitalize on wedding season! 👰🏻‍♀️ Pinterest has compiled a 2024 wedding report based on search trends to help inform your marketing strategy. We’ve analyzed the report, and here are some ideas on how to take advantage of these four big trends. 👇 📈 Wedding dress jumpsuit searches are up 1000%: Rather than opting for a traditional white dress, many brides are searching for more casual alternatives like jumpsuits to wear on their wedding day, which is excellent news for apparel brands that have those existing offerings. - Next steps: Put together a landing page and make the messaging geared towards brides looking for comfort and simplicity on their Big Day. Brands can even position casual items like sweat sets to be worn while getting ready or when the party wraps. 💄 Searches for soft makeup looks are up 410%. Rather than going full glam, many brides-to-be are searching for a natural glam look. - Next steps: Cosmetic brands can create collection pages using the keyword ‘soft makeup looks’ featuring products to help brides and make up artists achieve a natural and ethereal makeup look to match search intent. Include photos they can reference for inspo. 💃 The color red is in: Gen Z brides are forgoing the typical white and pastel color palette and incorporating bold colors into their wedding decor, apparel choices, and cake designs. - Next steps: Fashion, beauty, and decor brands can emphasize this fiery color in their product photoshoots and social content to connect with a younger demographic. ✨ Gold bridal earrings are trending: The jewelry item with the highest jump in searches from last year is gold bridal earrings. With searches up 2000% YoY, this is great news for jewelry brands. - Next steps: Display this offering prominently on your website’s homepage and in your paid ads to increase clicks and conversion rates! The takeaway? Honing in on what’s trending during the wedding season can give your brand a leg up from the competition. Use these learnings to inform the creative direction for your product photoshoots and lean into these trending aesthetics for social. This is the perfect time for DTC brands in the jewelry, makeup, or apparel space to capitalize on high-intent shoppers looking for items to complement their special day. Read the full Pinterest wedding trends report [here](.   META ADS 🔧 How To Add Intro Cards To Your Catalog Ad If catalog ads are a part of your Meta ad account, you’ll want to get in on this. 👀 What are catalog ads? Catalog ads, otherwise known as dynamic ads, allow businesses to showcase a collection of products rather than just one product. Historically, catalog ads have effectively retargeted when Meta knows what product IDs a user has been looking at on your website and can match them with products in the catalog. You can create catalog ads using a product feed, and Meta delivers relevant products to users based on their interests, intent, and actions. The Pilothouse Meta team has found success using catalog ads in prospecting, but it’s all dependent on the product, brand, and audience, so it's worth testing the full funnel. And… They've discovered adding intro cards to the catalog using promo and evergreen statics and videos can improve performance. 🚀 Here’s how to test adding intro cards to your catalog ads: - Follow the usual setup for a catalog ad (more on [creating catalogs]( and [catalog ads]( here) - Under the carousel setup, click on “+ Add Card.” - Select Intro card - Choose an image or video from the menu, and select the asset you’d like to test. Then fill in the headline, description, website URL boxes, and voila - you’re all set. 💡 Pilothouse Tip: Start with testing top static or video assets in intro cards to give them the best chance of performing well! Give these dynamic product ads a try in your account. Contact the [Pilothouse Meta team]( if you need help setting up and optimizing your ads.   🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE Consider how you want to impact the reader when crafting a brand story. The more personal and specific the anecdote, the easier it is to capture a customer’s attention. Can't view the image? [Click here](   📰 NEWS - TikTok [released two new ad placement features called Category Exclusion and Vertical Sensitivity](. - BeReal [rolls out a new feature, RealEvents, at Coachella](. Users who follow the RealEvent can view and share posts. - Rare Beauty [celebrates their Leaping Bunny certification by launching limited edition dog toys on National Pet Day](.   SPONSOR DTC 📥 Got a B2B Biz? Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. [Talk to our team to learn more](.   Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 🌱 Epic Gardening’s [Strategic Leap from Content to Commerce]( - 🔍 Neil Patel on [AI’s Impact on Marketing and Future Trends]( - 🎵 [AKNF 391](: Strategies for Brands and Creators to Maximize TikTok Engagement - 🧔🏻 Anthony Mink on [Live Bearded’s EOS and Disrupting Legacy Capitalism]( - 🔑 [AKNF 389:]( Unlocking SEO Success in 2024 - 💰 Rick Cadotte on [Four Sigmatic’s TOFU strategy after Meta challenges]( Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight]( and [Frances Du](. Edited by [Eric Dyck](. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content. [Direct To Consumer]( Pilothouse, 1011 Government St., Victoria, BC V8W 1X6, Canada [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( [Unsubscribe](