📦 - Clickety Clackety On My Typewriter

DTC 543 - POPFLEX’s Virality, Material Innovation, and Sticky Elements Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Frantically Googles: What’s another word for ______??? Good morning, We said we’d keep you updated, so here’s what we know: 👇 Last night, after being passed this past weekend by the House of Representatives, the Senate passed legislation to ban or force a sale of TikTok. If signed by the President, ByteDance will have roughly nine months to find a suitable buyer or be banned in the United States. If you want to read more, check out the News section of today's newsletter. We’ll continue providing updates as they become available. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - How activewear brand POPFLEX capitalized on virality after their product was mentioned in Taylor Swift’s record breaking album The Tortured Poets Department 🔥 - We chat with the founder of Pela Case about greenwashing and the challenges of advertising on Meta. - And… why you need more than just sticky elements to drive website conversions. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Daisy Jo’s Boutique, ICONIC Beverages, and Nandog Pet Gear. 👋 ECOM ADS 🎟️ Legend-Status Marketers Are Taking The Stage. Will You Be Tuning In? Four legends of ecommerce, Mirella Crespi, Savannah Sanchez, Dara Denney, and Jess Bachman are taking the virtual stage together to give you [the ultimate masterclass on creating ads that convert](. Starting May 23rd, your hosts, in collaboration with Motion, will guide you through a five-week— live, virtual, and FREE— series designed to help you [create (and make more money) with Meta and TikTok ads that actually convert](. You’ll get the nitty-gritty on: 👇 1️⃣ Setting the foundation 2️⃣ Ramping up ad production 3️⃣ Mastering creative hooks 4️⃣ Tracking performance 5️⃣ Spitting Creative Fire PLUS: You’ll receive the Make Ads That Convert Workbook to put your learnings into action. [Get Your Ticket Now]( *Can’t make all the sessions? [Register anyways](. The assets will be ready for you in your inbox. 🤝 *Sponsored MARKETING CAMPAIGN 💜 How POPFLEX Capitalized on Taylor Swift’s Lilac Skirt Mention After Taylor Swift released her much-anticipated album, The Tortured Poets Department, last week Swifties worked hard to dissect all of her songs' references. Including… The mention of a lilac skirt in her song "i'mgonnagetyouback". 👀 It didn't take long for the internet to figure out the skirt mentioned was referring to POPFLEX's lilac pirouette skort. The video compilation the singer shared on Instagram Stories confirmed it. Here's how the activewear brand [POPFLEX]( capitalized on this newfound fame by promoting via social media and making strategic changes to its website. 👇 - Brand founder Cassey Ho quickly released [this TikTok video]( connecting the dots for her followers and shared how it has been "her ultimate dream for the singer to wear one of her designs." Her emotional and relatable reaction video quickly went viral and generated lots of engagement in the comment section. [POPFLEX’s updated homepage] - POPFLEX quickly updated its website to raise awareness and make it easier for first-time shoppers to find the item. - They updated their homepage slideshow with the headline Tortured 'Pirouette' Department, calling out the specific item in the album name, and made room on their main navigation to highlight their Pirouette Skort collection in a different color so it's immediately visible. [Updated PDP with key messaging for Swifties] - On the PDP, they updated [their listing]( so the product name says (Cassey's Version) after the founder and included the specific song lyrics that directly shout out this product and its perfect fit. (Lilac short skirt. The one that will fit you like skin. Do your research, know the features going in… 🎵) - Social Media Blitz: The brand wasn't shy about having its product immortalized in a song and shared lots of UGC over Instagram of previous customers wearing the product and now happily 'twinning' with the popular singer. [POPFLEX reposted tons of UGC of customers wearing their lilac skort] The result? POPFLEX got a major boost in online visibility and sales. 📈 Last week [‘popflex skirt’]( was the top trending skirt and [‘purple skirt’]( doubled in search interest according to Google Trends. POPFLEX's strong marketing push resulted in their lilac skort quickly selling out in just a few hours. 💰 The activewear brand began directing attention to its other color variations as alternatives for customers who still wanted to recreate the look. Soon after, the brand made its product available for pre-order to capitalize on the online demand, setting expectations with a CTA button that clearly states how many weeks the product will take to arrive. We love how POPFLEX acted so swiftly 😉 and turned pop culture relevance into a successful marketing campaign! 🏆 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. [Grab one of the limited spaces]( for Pilot Program to help your brand achieve results like these. [🚨 Book A Call 🚨]( *Sponsored PODCAST 🎧 Meta Ads Challenges and Addressing Greenwashing Accusations In this episode of the pod, we chat with Matt Bertulli, the founder of [Pela Case](, [Lomi](, and the [Operator’s Podcast](. He shares his entrepreneurial journey and insights on how to build a successful DTC brand and why businesses should not lean too heavily on Meta Ads to grow a business. Matt explains: “If you’re starting out, be a good marketer. Forget about being a good Meta Ads person. Suppose your business goal is longevity and sustainability and building something of value. In that case, you need to focus on making a great product and telling a great story regardless of the tool or tactic being used.” In this podcast, we cover: - The challenges of advertising on Meta and the importance of good storytelling. - Tackling greenwashing accusations and the need for a rational debate around waste reduction. - The value in TV advertising for reaching older audiences with a premium product. 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Matt [here.]( 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE If you aren’t seeing any improvement in conversions from adding another sticky element, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at your copy and see if it addresses your customer’s main pain points. Can't view the image? [Click here]( ⚡ QUICK HITS ⭐ We’re entering a new era, the cookieless era. Let Wunderkind’s Identity Playbook be your guide. Dive deep into identity resolution and its pivotal role in shaping marketing strategies. [Grab your copy](! * 😰 Are you dreading setting up your next email/SMS campaign? Work smarter, not harder and get HOURS of time back using Yotpo's Multi-Message campaign builder.[Check it out here](. * ❗ Why wait for devs when you can build your app now! Take complete control of your app’s design and UX, no code and no dev needed. Get flat-rate pricing when you [build your app with Apptile](. * 📰 NEWS - The Senate [passes legislation to ban or force a sale of TikTok in the United States](. - Google AdSense [launches a new ‘ad intent’ feature for Auto Ads]( that places links to related organic search results and ads into pages on your site. 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 397](: Using Data to Understand Your Authentic Audience - 👟 How Kizik [Revolutionized The Footwear Industry]( - 💸 [AKNF 395](: Navigating The New Amazon Fee-Scape - 🌱 Epic Gardening’s [Strategic Leap from Content to Commerce]( - 📧 [AKNF 393](: Staying Inbox Relevant With Gmail Authentication Update Tactics 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](