📦 Why 2022 is the year of direct mail

TikTok retargeting advice, direct mail deep dive, and non-alcoholic beverage Sansorium [DTC]( Banter Monday, March 14, 2022 Starting your Monday the right way with some clever Google Ads results from our friends at Canva. “YOUR BRAND alternative” is a powerful keyword string, and even more so when you can add custom ad text that references it. Before we get going here… make sure your team is testing this! In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇 🎯 How to crack the TikTok retargeting algorithm 👍 Winning big through personalization with Sailthru 📬 Why you should consider adding direct mail to your strategy ⛅ Upgrade your asset library and save time with Air 🆙 Pop-ups and try before you buy with Sansorium Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎 👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, [subscribe]( , so you never miss out. TikTok Tikok and retargeting are like bitter cousins. 😂 Retargeting wants to hit its audience 3+ times and raise the frequency. Tiktok doesn't want to show the ad to someone twice. Retargeting wants to hit the hottest audiences that are the lowest in the funnel. Tiktok has data loss. 🤦‍♂️ To solve both of the above scenarios, the [Pilothouse TikTok]( team suggests: - Considering a weekly retargeting audience segmentation based on late % video viewers - When viewers have watched 75%+ of your creatives, they’ll then get added to a retargeting list where they’ll be hit with a new ad every week, for the next 3-5 weeks Using this strategy, your pool size will stay quite large, and the frequency won't get too high before they get moved to the new ad week. For more TikTok insight, including a full breakdown of Pilothouse’s “TikTok Creative Flywheel” make sure to check out this [All Killer No Filler Podcast](. Sponsor Retail personalization pays. Sailthru proves it. What do Food52, Everlane, and Thrive Market all have in common? 🧐 Yup, they're all incredible DTC brands, but they also deliver personalized experiences to all customers across email, web, and social. To win big in 2022, retail, e-commerce, and DTC marketers must personalize every touchpoint of the customer experience from online ➡️ in-store to enhance the shopper's purchase journey. DTC brands are turning to [Sailthru]( to arm themselves with industry-leading, data-rich, single-view customer profiles and the essential data they need to deliver meaningful marketing experiences that drive conversions. Period. Don't leave your customers in the rear-view mirror. 👉 [Start your personalization journey with Sailthru today](. Direct Mail Don't be afraid to give direct mail a try 📬 It’s no secret that email is one of the pillars of success for DTC brands in 2022… but what if we told you there was a channel that’s been around since about 1775 that would let you: - Reach every household in your target market - Earn $20 back for every dollar invested in advertising - Earn $100 for each ad dollar spent It’s not too good to be true. Some DTC brands and retailers have reported these returns from direct mail marketing—yes, physical mail. 📮 It’s no secret that receiving mail can be one of the most exciting parts of the day (oh, the times we live in 😅). [41% of Americans]( genuinely look forward to checking their mail every day, and 59% agreed that they enjoy getting mail from brands about new products. Digital marketing is the cornerstone of our businesses, but privacy changes have made it difficult for some DTC companies to hit CAC targets while also raking in the dough. Many DTC brands already use direct mail, including Bombas, Untuckit, Balsam Hill, Graze, Glossier, and Harry's. 👇 Wanna know what makes direct mail one of the best-kept secrets in DTC marketing and how to get started? Let’s go! 📫 Test a new channel The hypothesis is that direct mail marketing can generate an as-good-or-better ROAS than some digital ad campaigns. Remember that with any promotion, results tend to vary. Consider running a direct mail test, measure the results, and scale to optimize if you see big W’s. 📫 Start with shared mail It’s no surprise that postage and printing are expensive. For example, the United States Postal Service's "Every Door Direct Mail" service will cost about 20 cents per postcard or about 17 cents each when mailed in bulk. That is a helluva lot for an impression.🤑 To minimize costs, consider testing direct mail with a shared mailer. Companies like [Valpak]( put dozens of letter-sized coupons in a single envelope and send millions of offers each week. 📫 Stay close to home Your first mail campaign doesn’t have to hit the whole country. Target designated-marketing areas (DMAs) nearby. If a DTC brand has products available at the Fulfillment by Amazon warehouse in Hamilton County, Tenn., it should target the 180,000 residents of Chattanooga. This way, any order the direct mail campaign drives will be packed and shipped at lightning speed. Low shipping costs and lightning delivery speed means a happy you and happy customers. 📫 A/B test offers Just like you A/B test landing pages, do the same for your direct mail campaign's offer. Here’s some tests to try out: - Is it enough just to state the price and show a picture of the product? - Do you need to include a discount? - If a discount is included, what percentage discount drove the most sales? A farm and ranch retailer with 15 stores in Idaho and Oregon, spent 18 months testing offers from 2012 to 2014. The honed in discount offer generated about $5 million in sales annually for the next five years. 💸 Getting the offer right matters most. 📫 Test copy and graphics While the offer is likely to be the sales driver, how that offer looks and reads is still super important. Test aspects of the mailer's design. Direct mail providers, shared mailers, or otherwise will help make suggestions based on their experience with successful campaigns. Oh, and don't be afraid to take ideas for your competitors using direct mail. 😉 ✨ In summary… There’s potential customers worldwide that are not in the current scope of online targeting for your business. Direct mail is a great way to reach them, send an offer, and make a great impression for your brand! Tell us what you think! Has direct mail made it on your project list? ✉️ Reply and let us know! Sponsor A new visual asset management solution that's a breath of fresh air… How many hours do you waste every day trying to stay organized in Dropbox or Drive or answering "Do you have that file??" questions on Slack? 😮‍💨 Cloud storage has become an impossible-to-navigate timewaster for DTC businesses. It's time to [breathe life back into your brand engine]( and make your asset library open and accessible with [Air](. - Intuitive search. Your visual assets are scanned and tagged with content keywords, so you never need to remember locations or filenames. - Visual browsing. No need to click into folders. Everything is clean and visible; a powerful filter builder gives you full clarity. - Secure sharing. Share links to single assets or entire boards, internally or externally. Set passwords or expiration dates for peace of mind. You weren't hired to manage a storage unit. End the chaos of the old and take in the new. Free yourself. Welcome to Air. 👉 [Schedule a demo today](. Brand Spotlight Say hello to alcohol-free drinks People all over the world are looking for healthier options to relax and unwind. 😌 Say hello to [Sansorium](, an alcohol-free marketplace. Alcohol-free may not be something most people have dipped their toes into yet… and it may have you thinking, ‘why would I spend my hard-earned money if I don’t even know if I’m going to like it?’. 🤔 What if you could try before you buy? Sansorium hit the streets and held monthly pop-ups around Vancouver, BC, to show their potential customers the reality of possibilities for their new and improved nightcaps. With the world opening back up, there’s no better time than the present to leverage in-person events to increase awareness and push sales. 🥂 Sansorium also nails their [socials]( and feature recipes and food pairing suggestions, artsy stills, and ingredient education. 👇 If you’re thinking about going alcohol-free, the days of only choosing between water, soda, or juice are in the past. Check out all the [alternatives]( available to you! M&A 🤭 Want to know how Clorox, Tatcha & Harry’s are monitoring their brand to grow? Chat to [ProQuo AI]( for the answer. Plus, you’ll get FREE Brand Awareness Tracking when you book a demo in March & sign up for an annual subscription.* 👟Sneaker market platform [Kicks Crew](announced $6M funding. 🤑 Serena Williams’ VC fund leads $2.1M seed round to build fashion supply chain software [Calico](. 🏬 Retail platform [Swiftly]( closes $100M in Series B. 🕺 Brand growth network [Disco]( raises $20M in Series A. 📈 DTC acquisition company [Dianthus]( secures $11.5M funding. *Sponsored Referrals SHARE DTC NEWSLETTER Looking to upgrade your WFH lifestyle? 👊 Want to level up the marketing skills of your teammates and employees? Just grab your referral link below and you’ll earn points toward cool gear for every new subscriber you bring to the DTC fam. 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