📦 Is Your Room Clean?

DTC 278 - Sipping sober, clean rooms, and refreshing content DTC Banter Wednesday, January 4, 2023 If you’re new to DTC, welcome! You’re in good company with fellow newcomers from Zerode Bikes, Devoted Pet Foods, Ice Barrel, Mini Katana, and Rokne Pickleball. 🥒 In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇 📦 Sansorium – Fiona Hepher: Sipping sober with a 30% return customer rate 📦 Is your room clean? Google’s PAIR clean room solution 📦 A three-step strategy to refresh your content in post-production Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎 👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, [subscribe,]( so you never miss out. Podcast 🎧 On today’s episode of the DTC pod, we’re sitting down with Fiona Hepher, cofounder of Sansorium , Canada’s premium alcohol-free marketplace. Fiona discusses the growth of the non-alcoholic beverage industry and the challenges facing alcohol-free brands today. She explains how Sansorium was founded in response to a growing demand for non-alcoholic options and a lack of quality and variety in the market, the role of pop-ups in driving growth for the company, and the importance of brand design and positioning in the alcohol-free market. ‍The takeaways 👇 🍷 Branding is everything Fiona emphasizes the importance of branding and packaging in the non-alcoholic beverage industry. Customers so often rely on the appearance of a product, especially the label, to make purchasing decisions. So, carefully considering the branding and packaging of your product as well as investing in good design can make a huge difference to become competitive in the market. For example, positioning a product as “alcohol-free” versus “non-alcoholic” can be a game changer for brands. “Half of your product is the branding [and] half of your product is the packaging and a lot of people don't nail that. They don't have their positioning right and, you know, language on a bottle is also so important… Sit with it. Test it with lots of different people and spend the money on a good designer. Don't go cheap… That's really what will pay off in the long run.” 🍾 Popping up It’s hard to place a value on connecting with consumers in-person and Fiona discusses how Sansorium’s use of pop-ups and tastings have been a key marketing strategy for the brand. Focusing on the importance of in-person conversations and the sensory experience of the brand has been essential to converting customers. They hosted over 60 pop-ups in the past year and traveled to various locations to reach as many people as possible. “We wanted to return the sensuality back into not drinking alcohol. For a long time, the word ‘sober’ and words associated with sobriety have been ‘dry,’ ‘mock,’ or ‘fake’ – all negative words. Even ‘non,’ right, ‘non-alcoholic’... That's like a double negative at the same time so I want people to realize that there is a true sense quality in not consuming alcohol [and] that there is more feeling to be had. It's like Technicolor vision because you're not dulling any of the senses.” 💰 What Fiona would do with an extra $50K: Fiona discusses two potential investment opportunities for Sansorium. “My first idea, because this is a real challenge for us, is that I could invest in product. There are some really great brands that I want to bring out from the US… I have the demand, I have the consumer, they're waiting for these products [and] I just don't have the cash flow to be able to invest in the quantities that I need to bring in. My more creative idea is I would love to see Sansorium present in really cool ways and [in] different retailers across the country.” 👉 Listen to the full episode with Fiona Hepher [here!]( Google 🧹 Nothing Quite Like a Clean Room Google wants to start tidying up with its new ‘clean room’ solution called PAIR, set to roll out in 2023. If you’ve never heard of a clean room before, it can be visualized as a neutral ground for companies to exchange audience data. No names are identified, but if the companies share a common demographic, information can be exchanged within a ’clean room’ environment. For example, let’s say that a golf club company predicts that they will serve a similar demographic to that of a luxury car manufacturer. These two companies can agree to share general information about their newsletter subscribers in a ‘clean room.’ 🧼 🔒 Secrets are safe Data shared within a clean room environment using Google’s PAIR solution can be leveraged with Google’s advertising suite of tools. Once common ground is found between two companies, they will be able to retarget ads towards specific audiences within Google’s Merchant Center ecosystem. That highlights the goal of clean rooms. They are only meant to retarget ads and not acquire new customers. When a company submits data into a clean room, only common audiences will be shared with the other participating company. Another bonus with using clean rooms is that a company will retain its valuable first-party data! 🤫 Top-secret club At this time, it is rumored that the eligibility criteria to use PAIR is quite substantial. A company should expect to have thousands of email subscribers to be eligible, so PAIR can guarantee that no individual can be identified to retain customer privacy. For more information on Google’s PAIR initiative, check out the [open source repository]( here and a word from the development team about what it means to focus on the ‘human side’ of AI. Creative Convert Your Creative Into Performance Creative Most companies don’t have limitless assets to keep churning out content, and that’s okay! Refreshing your existing content in post-production while focusing on creating content that wins in your ad account is a killer strategy to nail down. Ready to get started? Take yourself (or your team) through this three-part funnel exercise: 1️⃣ Part one – Ad Strategy Start by reviewing your content funnel. Ask: - Do you have diverse content? - Have you tested using static, video, GIFs, polished VS direct response style, and creator generated content? - Have you tested different types of content in different parts of your funnel? - Ex: Scrappy content might be a good way to warm a prospecting audience to retarget with more polished, branded content. 2️⃣ Part two – Production Assets Now that you have a clear idea of the content you have or need to create, it's important to think about the experience you want for your customers. To do this, consider the following questions: - Do you have high-quality, up-to-date photos, videos, or GIFs of your product that are taken with the customer in mind? - When posting this content, think about where it will be displayed and what message you want it to communicate. For example, showcasing your product in use (with a hand model for scale or real people using the product) can help build trust on your product's page. - Have you or your team filmed any user-generated content that talks about your brand or product? - Do people know your brand's purpose or "raison d'etre?” This can help customers understand why you do what you do and build a connection with your brand. 3️⃣ Part three – Content Now it’s time for the big question – are you effectively capturing your customers' attention? In video content, you only have a few seconds to make an impact and introduce your product, so it's important to make them count. Generally, you have three seconds to get their attention and the next three seconds to make them understand why they should watch the video. But it's not just about getting their attention – your content should also be relevant to what they want to know. To maximize the effectiveness of your creatives, consider including a strong call to action (CTA). Examples of high-performing CTAs include phrases like "Last Chance," "Free Shipping," "Low Stock/Back in Stock," and "Don't Wait." Be sure to also highlight any current offers or create a sense of urgency to encourage viewers to take action. By following these tips, you can increase the chances of converting viewers into customers. Use this three-step process to refresh the creatives you already have and make sure what you’re running on your ad accounts and pages are converting the way you want them to! Quick Hits 🤓 [Meta]( acquires Luxexcel, a smart eyewear company. 🔑 [Instagram]( Chief outlines key areas of focus for the app in 2023. 🙅‍♀️ [Shopify]( tells employees to “say no” to meetings. 👩‍⚖️ [Twitter]( sued for not repaying their rent. 👀 Almost everything [Wall Street]( expects in 2023. 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