📦 - Mistake = Opportunity?

DTC 527 - Gem’s Costly Mistake, Engaging TikTok Content, and Personal Branding   Tuesday, April 2, 2024 Product, price, place, promotion. Product, price, place, promotion. Product, price… It never leaves you. Good morning, Looks like Meta is rolling out a new feature in their Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns. Now advertisers can define their engaged customers using Engaged Audiences. Meta defines this group as "people who are aware of your business or have interacted with your business but have not made a purchase." This update is a great opportunity for brands to target cold leads and turn them into first-time customers. Check out Barry Hott’s tweet in our Quick Hits section for more info! Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - How oral care brand Gem turned a publicized $2 million dollar email blunder as an opportunity to acquire new customers. - Learn how to maximize your TikTok engagement with these strategies. - And… What people say about you when you aren’t in the room is your personal brand. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Canada Goose, Freddie’s Flowers, and Startled Squid. 👋   SCALE 🚀 This Brand Doubled Their Sales… And Your Brand Can Join Them A service based brand joined Pilothouse’s brand accelerator, Pilot Program, with one goal in mind: [scale](. 🚀 The team took over their campaigns, revamped their creative approach, and saw results better than anyone could have expected… 💥 Their sales doubled and their AOV increased by over $30 This isn’t a one-off success story. The team has [opened up limited spaces for Pilot Program]( to help your brand achieve results like these. If you want to scale to new heights, get in touch with the partnerships team today. 🚨 [Kickstart your growth and unlock your brand’s full potential](. *Sponsored   EMAIL BLUNDER 🎽 How Gem’s Costly Mistake Became A Golden Opportunity Uh oh, have you ever sent out an email that wasn’t supposed to go out to your entire customer database? 😬 The oral care brand [Gem]( found themselves in this position after accidentally sending a $25 birthday code to their 82K subscribers. By documenting this $2 million dollar mistake on TikTok, [the video quickly went viral]( and racked up over a million views in just a few days. [Gem’s viral TikTok video] Although it became clear later on that this was carefully orchestrated for TikTok content it had a lot of viewers fooled because of their great storytelling skills. Here’s why this type of content works so well on TikTok: - Irresistible hook: The video begins with admitting they “accidentally sent an email to their entire database with a $25 birthday voucher regardless of their birthday month” and viewers feel compelled to watch till the end to see how it all gets resolved. - It feels authentic: The brand utilizes screenshots of text messages, and behind-the-scenes conversations with an irate boss that makes it feel like this was an actual error rather than just another marketing ploy. - Creates FOMO: By mentioning in the video that customers are already spending and using their codes, the brand piques the curiosity of viewers who want in on the deal as well. This presents a great opportunity to capture new customers at a low cost. The brand quickly posted [a follow-up video]( offering the code to their TikTok community as well. The takeaway? This type of ‘shock and tell’ content is a great way to increase engagement on TikTok and a smart way to get a lift in sales. However, it’s probably best to only use this tactic once so you don’t erode customer trust over time.   PODCAST 🎧 How Creators and Media Buyers Can Maximize TikTok Engagement In this episode of the pod, we chat with the [Pilothouse TikTok team]( about the app and the importance of clear content requests when media buyers work with creators. Spencer and Marina also discuss the future of TikTok and the impact of a potential ban. Marina’s content tip: “B-roll can be a content creator’s gold mine. I film all day long even if it’s not branded content so these clips are ready to go and it makes the editing process easier.” In this podcast, we cover: - The importance of building strong relationships between media buyers and creators for effective collaboration. - Testing different approaches and analyzing performance data can lead to more successful ads. - Engaging with the TikTok audience is essential for success on the platform. 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Spencer and Marina [here.](   🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE The way you tell your story matters. People like to purchase from people they trust so make sure that you communicate your values well. Can't view the image? [Click here](   ⚡ QUICK HITS ❓ What are you gonna do when all the cookies are gone? Get first-party ad performance data before they disappear and future-proof your creative testing. [Book a FREE strategy session with Northbeam](. * 👀 Have you spotted this new feature in your Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns? Here’s how to set your engaged customers' audience segment in your ad account. [Here’s more info on the update](.   📰 NEWS - Advertisers [file a $7 billion class action lawsuit against Meta]( for inflating ad viewership by up to 400%. - Reddit [makes ad creation easier with generative AI copy suggestions](. - Claude 3 [outperforms ChatGPT-4 for the first time]( on the Chatbot Arena leaderboard which measures AI chatbot performance. - Instagram is [developing a new feature, Blend to promote private Reel content sharing](.   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? - 🧔🏻 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]( - 🍪 [AKNF 387](: How to extend the life of your cookies - 🪑 Dayne Rusch on [Vyper Industrial’s Eight Figure Shop Chair Journey]( - 📹 [AKNF 385:]( Why 3-5 second ads are crushing it on Meta - 💪 Dan Crosby on [BioSteel and Revitalizing a Hydration Empire]( 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](