📦 - Gaming Meets Beauty Mashup

DTC 602 - e.l.f. X Roblox Collab, TOFU Content, and Meta Ads AI Tuesday, July 16, 2024 Good morning, It’s Prime Day Eve, which means customers will be actively shopping for products in just a few hours (if not already) and taking advantage of irresistible deals. 🤑 If you haven’t read our comprehensive Amazon Prime Survival Guide yet, visit our Quick Hits section. Learn how to set yourself up for success and hear the sweet, sweet chimes of order confirmations. 🎶 Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: 🎮 Why brands like e.l.f. Cosmetics are betting on online gaming platforms to recruit younger consumers. 💵 Learn the art of creating top of funnel content that grabs attention and drives conversions. ❗ And…yikes. Make sure to give those Meta Advantage+ campaigns another look because this AI-generated text feature is giving a lot of advertisers a headache. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: [Climate Cleanup](, [NWC Naturals](, and [Elastify](.👋 GAMING ADVERTISING 🎮 e.l.f. Cosmetics Targets Gen Alpha on Roblox Last year e.l.f. Cosmetics became the first beauty brand to partner with video gaming platform Roblox, and they are extending their partnership this summer with an immersive experience. The vegan brand announced it will open a virtual Walmart-powered kiosk called [e.l.f. Up! Experience]( on the platform. Users can visit and shop products like sunscreen, lip balms, and a pet hoodie, which underscores its cruelty-free mission. [A snapshot of e.l.f. Cosmetics virtual pop up in Roblox] Once a user purchases an item, they will also be given a ‘virtual twin’, a digital replica they can use on Roblox. To spread the word, they partnered with gaming influencers to teach users how to ‘unlock’ limited secret items, further gamifying the experience and creating excitement. Why this is a smart move for e.l.f. Cosmetics: Tap into new market: The popular makeup brand is known for its creativity and innovative marketing moves. By experimenting with gaming platforms, it is tapping into a growing market. Roblox has over 70 million active daily users engaged in this immersive environment. Reach younger audiences: This is also a great way to reach younger demos like Gen Alpha and expose them to the brand at an earlier age so they are primed and ready to buy later. 🧒 Low competition and high reward: By being the first beauty brand to enter this space, e.l.f. Cosmetics doesn’t have to compete with other brands and can quickly build a strong presence and earn the trust of younger consumers. Has your brand explored gaming platforms to promote your products or services? Reply to the newsletter and let us know! EMAIL 👟 Yotpo Is Giving Away Custom Air Force 1s [Yotpo Is Giving Away Custom Air Force 1s]( That's right. Welcome to the [Email Walk Away Movement](. 🚶 Wait, what?! So many brands dread switching email providers due to the hassle of migration, but their fear may be keeping them from a better alternative. Yotpo empowers you to [walk away from email struggles]( and step toward: - Higher deliverability ✅ - More flexibility ✅ - Fairer pricing ✅ Here's the kicker: [Request a demo now and you'll be entered to win your own pair of shoes](! *Sponsored PODCAST 🎧 Grow Your Top Of Funnel Content With Humor, Controversy, and Drops In this episode of the pod we have Avery, [Pilothouse’s Social Content Lead]( and creative mastermind, who will also be a speaker at our upcoming [C-suite Mastermind event]( in September. She shares invaluable insights on turning social media into a top of funnel machine, focusing on Meta and how humor and light controversy can be more effective in driving engagement than traditional polished ad content. 🚀 Avery says: "Humor is a great way to bypass people being cranky about ads. And I feel like it's just a really old school marketing trick to be able to be funny and crack a joke to get your product in front of people.” In this podcast, we cover: - Humor in Ads: Using humor to create engaging and less intrusive ads. - Controversy for Engagement: Lighthearted controversy can drive high engagement and reduce ad costs. - Metrics to Monitor: Importance of CTR and cost per engagement for top of funnel content. - Limited Edition Drops: Utilizing drops to attract new audiences and lower customer acquisition costs. 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Aves [here](. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE ❗ If you are an agency or brand owner, please give your Meta Ads another look before publishing them. The platform has released many AI features in the past few months, but this one has been giving some advertisers a headache. 😬 Within Ads Manager, AI-generated text can be automatically ‘selected by default,’ which can be a problem if it doesn’t align with your brand’s tone of voice. Although AI is supposed to help with putting together ads more quickly, these auto features aren’t always aligned with brand guidelines so make sure to double check your ads! Can't view the image? [Click here]( ⚡ QUICK HITS 👀 Wondering which event you should go to this year? Hint hint: DTC C-Suite Mastermind. Join 50 DTC peers for two days of learning and networking in Victoria BC. [Don’t miss your chance—secure your seat](. 📚 Your Amazon Prime Day Survival Guide: ICYMI we shared these tips last month on how to take advantage of this two day sales blitz and crush your sales goal. [Read more here](. 📰 NEWS - Google Search Console [now allows merchants to add shipping and returns information](. - Amazon’s AI power shopping assistant, Rufus, [is available to all customers in the U.S.]( - Van Leeuwen partners with Sanrio to [celebrate Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary with a limited edition flavor only available on National Ice Cream Day](. - Gentle Monster [partners with Mugler on a bug-eye shaped eyewear collection inspired by their iconic ‘Les Insectes’ couture show](. 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](