📦 - Less Polished Ads

DTC 600 - Skinny Mixes Packaging Refresh, Lo-Fi Ads, and Graza’s Response Friday, July 12, 2024 Good morning, Today’s the day! 600 editions of DTC have landed in the inboxes of marketers around the world. Whether this is newsletter one or newsletter 600 for you, thank you for being here! ❤️ With that being said… WE NEED YOUR HELP. Only 10% of DTC readers listen to DTC Podcast. Our goal is to get to 20% in the next 30 days… 👉 [Click here]( or search for DTC Podcast wherever you find your podcasts and make sure to like/follow. Thank you in advance and we’ll check back in and keep you updated on our progress. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: 🍹 Skinny Mixes celebrates their 15th brand anniversary by updating their packaging design. But is it a glow up or a glow down? 📸 We explain why Lofi content is all the rage and how some of the biggest brands like Nike and Zara are using this technique. 😂 And…see how Graza turned negative feedback into a hilarious TikTok video. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Empress Athleticus, Brainfuse, and Renue The Label. 👋 EMAIL & SMS ✅ Use This Checklist to Grow Your Email and SMS Like Top-Performing Brands Today’s your lucky day. 🍀 Why? Because you get a real sneak peek into how brands like yours are crushing email and SMS. [Klaviyo analyzed 143K brands]( to uncover the data-backed best practices, a checklist of essential actions, and case studies to guide and inspire your growth. Use the data to revamp your strategy and grow like never before. 💪 In the interactive report, select your own adventure based on marketing focus and business size. You’ll [get access to data on](: - How many cross-channel campaigns top performing brands are sending monthly - Why you should have two sign-up forms on your site for growth - How many unique segments to reach monthly - Tips and tricks to get started with SMS, including sending cadence - Multi-channel campaign building strategies Like we said, today’s your lucky day. Don’t let the luck pass you by… 👇 [Get The Report]( *Sponsored PACKAGING DESIGN 🍹 Skinny Mixes Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Packaging Update Jordan's Skinny Mixes just celebrated its 15th anniversary with a packaging upgrade! The popular brand has grown tremendously in the past few years thanks to fans eagerly sharing their favorite mixes and recipes on TikTok using the hashtag #WaterTok. By refreshing their packaging, they hope to make the product more modern-looking and desirable to the younger TikTok crowd while still retaining some of its signature design elements. Here are the main design tweaks they made: - Hot pink accent: The Skinny Mixes redesign retains its original aesthetic, using pink on its packaging since the product is geared towards a female demographic. However, it also refreshes the bottle cap finishes with a fun pink pattern, so they're more eye-catching. - Clean design labels: One prominent design element, a paint splash or stroke popular 10-15 years ago, has been phased out from most packaging designs. This change results in a cleaner, more contemporary appearance that aligns with current trends. However, traces of the paint stroke can still be found on their website and in select products, albeit in a minimized form, striking a balance between their branding heritage and a current clean aesthetic. - Logo variants: They changed their font style to look more modern and sophisticated. They also created several logo variations to add visual interest, ranging from a hand-drawn woman to a hot pink woman's silhouette. These variations may be tailored to complement specific product lines. Compared to the original logo with a serif font, the logo's evolution reflects a shift towards a more modern and sophisticated look. The end product? The new packaging design looks cleaner and less cluttered than the original label and uses simpler and more streamlined shapes, which appeals well to their target demographic. AD CREATIVES 🤩 Why Lofi Images Are Taking Over For years, [the Pilothouse team]( has been preaching the importance of using Lofi and organic content in ads. Why? It's historically cheaper to run which allows your ad dollars to go further. Organic ads feel native to the platform and, therefore, yield greater turns. However, some brands are reluctant to run Lofi content. Some say less polished-looking ads might cheapen the brand. However, many big brands now use Lofi as a staple in the post-click DTC space. Here are a few Lofi examples: This Nike ad could very well be a piece of UGC content. It shows off their kicks in a casual way while creating visual interest with a stunning Parisian backdrop. [Nike’s email newsletter puts this candid shot front and center] Zara never shies away from experimenting with product photography and now they are also including more Lofi images in their image carousels so customers can picture them wearing the item in real life. [Zara’s Lofi image shows a casual snapshot of a woman wearing their midi skirt in the city] Why does Lofi work so well? Because it's relatable and authentic. Nowadays, people want to purchase from brands they are familiar with, and Lofi does just that. By embracing Lofi aesthetics, brands can create more authentic connections with their audiences and increase engagement. Take some pointers from the most well-known household brand names that have adopted the Lofi content across their brands and update your DTC brand. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE The trendy olive oil brand Graza added potato chips to their product assortment but not without some negative reactions. Customers complained that the bags were difficult to open. Graza’s team was quick to respond by creating [this video on TikTok]( demonstrating ways customers can open their chip bags. Possible solutions? Hitting it with a baseball bat, running it over with a bike, or rolling over it. 😂 Can't view the video? [Click here]( ⚡ QUICK HITS 💰 From leading eight-figure growth at OluKai to now nine-figure growth at Alpha Lion, meet Sarah Carusona. We’re bringing Sarah to DTC’s C-Suite Mastermind this September 18-19 to cover reliably scaling online and offline marketing channels. [Get your ticket here](! 📰 NEWS - Alibaba [shares generative AI tools drive a 30% increase in online orders](. - Running brand On’s latest campaign [features Roger Federer and Zendaya playing an intense game of air tennis](. - Lifestyle accessories brand Casetify [partners with Sonny Angel on their latest collection dropping July 19th](. 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? - 🌽 FFUPS founder Sam Tichnor on [How He Scaled Snacking]( - 💰 [AKNF 419:]( Bidding on Branded Keywords on Google Ads - 🦙 Paka Founder Kris Cody on [His Peruvian Retail Journey]( - 🤖 [AKNF 417:]( Learn How To Build Your Own Brand GPT - 🦁 Sarah Carusona [Tames the Omnichannel Beast for Alpha Lion]( - 💡[AKNF 415:]( The Gucci and Ralph Lauren of Effective Email Design 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](