📦 - Brrrr It’s Cold In Here!

DTC 623 - GAP Renaissance, Frost Buddy, and Search Surge Jorts   Wednesday, August 14, 2024 Good morning, Turns out Google and Meta allegedly struck a ‘secret deal’ to serve Instagram ads to teenagers on YouTube. This goes against the search giant’s own rule of advertising to children. This news comes just after a judge ruled last week that Google broke an antitrust law by holding a monopoly with Google Search. Read more about this in our News section. And scroll down to check out our new Marketing Events, so you don’t miss out on all the upcoming experiences happening online and in your area. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: ☀️ Are we in a GAP Renaissance? Learn how this legacy brand reinvented itself to attract Gen Z consumers. 💰 Brock Mammoser, co-founder of Frost Buddy, explains how their TikTok strategy helped them reach the $30 million milestone in year four. 👖 And…we break down why the divisive ____ are suddenly everywhere this summer. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: [PetHub](, [Joshing Cocktails](, and [Selfwealth](. 👋   UGC 🏆 Want to Win This Q4? 3 Hacks To Supercharge Performance in Time for BFCM Variety is the spice of life… and advertising. Win this Q4 by running a mix of organic and paid social campaigns to boost [brand awareness and drive conversions](. Hack the system with: 💁‍♀️ Product seeding and affiliate campaigns: Partner with influencers who authentically align with your brand and offer commission-based incentives to generate organic buzz. 🎥 UGC goldmine: Source fully licensed, evergreen content to fuel your marketing channels. 📈 Influencer ads: Boost top-performing organic content through TikTok Spark Ads and Meta Whitelisted Ads to drive conversions. Join top ecom brands like Joy Organics, WaveBlock, and Victoria Beckham Beauty who use[Insense]( as their all-in-one tool for UGC, influencer posts, and influencer ads on Meta and TikTok. Book a free strategy call and [get $200 for your first campaign]( by August 30. [Book Your Call Now]( *Sponsored   BRAND REVIVAL 🤩 How GAP Became a Gen Z Favorite Using These Tactics Are we in a GAP Renaissance? Some would say yes. While the 55-year-old brand floundered for a few years with lackluster sales, public sentiment is beginning to change this year, most evident in their innovative marketing campaigns and buzz-worthy collaborations. Here's how GAP revived their brand: 1️⃣ Formed a strong connection with younger consumers: GAP connected with Gen Z in a few different ways, through their love of music, newness, and quality fabrics. They displayed all three in their commercial, [using the Jungle song that went viral on TikTok](. The company capitalized on the tune and tapped a big star like Tyla to showcase their collection. Pairing it with choreography is a genius move for helping this video gain traction with users on short-form video platforms. 2️⃣ Emphasized quality over everything: The commercial was praised for its styling, but it also used dancers who showed the clothes in motion, demonstrating how their high-quality products move with you. In the apparel space, Gen Z is also looking for quality offerings. They are sick of fast fashion and poor-quality fabrics. This video conveys so much about the product quality with very few words. 3️⃣ Increased traffic and conversions with newness: GAP has been doing a lot of brand collabs lately, and their latest partnerships with DÔEN and Madhappy drew major social buzz and [prompted customers to show off their haul videos](. Rather than positioning itself as a store great for basics, the collaborations showed that GAP was in its experimental phase and didn't shy away from more trendy and colorful offerings. 4️⃣ Inventive styling showed off the product's versatility: The brand’s new creative director, Zac Posen, styled Anne Hathaway on the red carpet in a custom white GAP shirtdress which drew major buzz. GAP then released a version of it [which promptly sold out in under 3 hours](. The shirtdress was an interesting take on a wardrobe staple. The public reaction 'Is that really GAP?' revealed how the brand was winning major points for its creativity and resonating with budget-conscious consumers looking for pieces that can be worn in multiple ways. The takeaway? Legacy brands that want to reinvent themselves and appeal to a younger market need to create campaigns relevant to Gen Z interests. Using music popularized on TikTok is a great avenue to grab people's attention. Strategic collabs and styling inspo that show how staple offerings can be reimagined into stylish outfits are also great tactics.   YOU’RE INVITED 🔮 Psst… Want to See The Future of Creative Strategy? Toss out the tarot cards and tea leaves. You don’t need a crystal ball. You need Motion’s 3rd annual [Creative Strategy Summit](. This September 19th and 20th, [Motion]( is hosting top experts in DTC advertising from brands like True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, HexClad, and Ridge. Immerse in 10 incredible sessions sharing mind-bending perspectives and teaching DTC brands and agencies the latest trends in applying creative strategy to make winning ads. 🏆 It’s their biggest event yet, and even better, it’s free. Don’t miss your future. [Get Your Free Ticket Now]( *Sponsored   PODCAST 🧊 Frost Buddy’s Brock Mammoser on $30M in Year Four and The TikTok to Meta Creative Pipeline That Fueled It This week on the podcast, we have Brock Mammoser, co-founder of [Frost Buddy](, the innovative drinkware brand that's taken the market by storm. Frost Buddy's rapid rise to success, fueled by the Universal Can Cooler, showcases its knack for identifying and solving real consumer problems. In this episode, Brock shares the pivotal strategies that helped Frost Buddy scale from a startup to a projected $30 million sales. (Catch Brock at [C-Suite Mastermind]( in September - only a few seats left!) In this podcast, we cover: - TikTok Strategy: Learn how Frost Buddy uses TikTok for both organic and paid media to drive sales and brand awareness, sometimes surpassing Meta in effectiveness. - Product Innovation: Discover the story behind the Universal Can Cooler and how it addressed a gap in the market. - Scaling Challenges: Understand the hurdles of maintaining profitability during rapid growth and the solutions Brock implemented. 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Brock [here](.   📈 SEARCH SURGE Trending This Week: [Jorts]( Why is this happening? These knee-length cut-off denim shorts have been making a resurgence this summer thanks to Y2K fashion making a comeback. 👖 Who should hop on this trend: Popular brands like Carhartt are coming out with their own jorts but brands in other categories are also getting in on the throwback fun. Owala [released this Jorts-inspired water bottle]( a few months ago.   📅 MARKETING EVENTS - Aug 19 to 21: The Modern Retail Marketing Summit is a three-day event that brings together retail marketing professionals for interactive workshops and discussions. [Learn more here](. - Aug 29 to 30: DigiMarCon UK is a two-day conference that covers topics on social media, SEO, and content strategy. [Learn more here](. - Sept 18 to 19: C-Suite Mastermind is an exclusive event for DTC founders, executives, and team leads in Victoria, BC. [Snag your seat here](.   ⚡ QUICK HITS 🧠👀 Take a peek at what consumers are thinking. This August 29th, get the latest insights straight from the consumer about personalization, preferred channels, online vs in-store shopping, and more! [Register for free here](. * 🏃 💨 Get ahead of the competition with real-time data. Particl offers insights into your top competitor’s online and in-store sales, pricing, and sentiment data. [Get your two weeks FREE here](. *   📰 NEWS - Google and Meta [struck a private deal to show teenagers Instagram ads on YouTube](. - Snapchat [simplifies the ad campaign setup process in Ad Manager](. - Brands [are shying away from promoting voting initiatives ahead of the U.S. election](. - Liquid Death [partners with Van Leeuwen ice cream to offer hot fudge sundae water](.   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? - 🤔 [AKNF 429:]( Are Your Amazon Ads Cannibalizing Organic Results? - 🔪 Brandon Horoho on [Scaling Montana Knife Company with VIPs]( - ⭐ [AKNF 427:]( How to Structure Your Google Ads Campaigns - 🥟 Jen Liao on [How MìLà Became a Nationwide Frozen Food Brand]( - ✉️ [AKNF 425:]( How To Fix Email Automation and Improve Retention - 🍺 Duncan Frew on [the Whisky Business and Return of The Rascal]( 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](