To, Me. From, Me ❤️

‘A Little Treat’ Shopping Behavior, AI Lead Gen, Costs Down Profit Margin Up, Capitalizing on TikTok Trends Thursday, January 4, 2024 Good morning, After 95 years, Mickey Mouse breaks free! Disney's iconic character from 'Steamboat Willie' is now in the public domain. Get ready for plenty of Mickey Mouse memes and his unexpected role in upcoming horror films. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - Bye bye gifting season, hello buying personal little treats season — The January shift in shopping behavior (and how to capitalize on it) - Reduce costs in your supply chain to optimize your profit margin - And…how Cesar Dog Food repurposed a viral TikTok trend for their niche You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Mind Love, Paper Picture Productions, and Tech Torque. 👋 This newsletter is brought to you… IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SMART RECOGNITION 🤯 New AI Lead Gen Tool Identifies Email Address of Your Visitors What if we told you that you can Identify the email addresses of your anonymous [website traffic?]( AI-powered tool [Smart Recognition]( has created the next evolution in lead generation. 👀 Rather than getting only 5% of your traffic via an opt-in form, you can now target and email most of your website traffic, [growing your email list and revenue faster!]( Here’s some examples of how Smart Recognition can help: 👇 - Capture the email addresses of up to 40% of your anonymous website Traffic. - Email an irresistible offer to prospects browsing your site. - Send abandoned cart emails to people who don't complete checkout. - Add those email addresses to Meta remarketing audiences. Curious to see how much of your anonymous website traffic you can identify? [Get Started with Smart Recognition]( [Try It]( 📰 NEWS - Low-calorie ice cream brand Halo Top [recruits everyday athletes for their New Year’s Resolution self-growth campaign.]( - Advertisers that [left X are now flocking to Linkedin]( to boost brand visibility. - Canva is finalizing a deal that will allow long-term employees and investors to sell [$1 billion worth of stocks]( to enable stock liquidity without raising new capital. - Reddit will launch its long-awaited IPO this year with a [$15 billion valuation](. GOOGLE SEARCH 🎧 January Searches Reveal Shoppers Are Into Self-Gifting While the weeks after the holidays may feel quieter, it’s still prime shopping time for a lot of customers. Last year [U.S. consumers spent over $47 billion dollars in retail]( (excluding auto, grocery, and restaurants) in the two weeks after Dec 25, proving shoppers are still in a spendy mood, but instead of shopping for others, self-gifting and deal hunting is the priority. 📈 Here are some revealing post-holiday search insights: - Searches for “gifts” and “presents” remain high in the New Year, up 45% from September and 15% from October. - 15% of shopping-related searches contain the word “sale” from post-holiday to the first two weeks of January. - And most surprisingly…there’s a 50% surge in search interest regarding loyalty programs compared to December, due to searches for “reward program” and “loyalty points.” The takeaway? Shoppers are still spending in January but the intent has changed. Rather than gifting for others, they want to find deals for themselves from the brands they love. For ecommerce brands, here are ways you can capitalize on these customers: - Capture deal-seeking shoppers with a January sale and make it clear these are great deals in your messaging. - Consider leaving your curated gift landing pages up a little bit longer on the main nav of your site so self-shoppers can find what they are seeking immediately. - If you have a loyalty program, it’s the perfect time to promote and encourage your followers to join. What’s your January game plan? Share how you are keeping momentum post-holiday for a chance to be featured in our next newsletter! PODCAST 🎧 Discussing Supply Chain Woes and Solutions In this episode of the pod, we sit down with Eran Mizrahi, co-founder of [Ingredient Brothers](, a company that sources ingredients across the globe and improves the supply chain for many CPG brands. In this podcast, Eran talks about: - The cost-efficiency challenges faced by legacy manufacturers in the DTC world - Tips on how companies can bring down costs in their supply chain to optimize margins - The latest trends in ingredients and product development and why it’s important to simplify ingredient labels 👉 Listen to the full episode with Eran Mizrahi [here](. CREATIVE CORNER 🎨 Are You Tailoring Your Content To It’s Destination? Welcome back to another installment of the [DTC x Pilothouse Creative Corner](! We want to wish you all a Happy New Year and hope you had the chance to unwind this holiday because we know you deserved it. To get you back into the swing of things, we’ve pulled together some creatives that we think are beautifully curated for their designated platform. So without further ado, let’s go! 👇 Cesar: Dog Math Trend Want to watch the TikTok? [Click here]( TikTok is a fusion of trends and creativity. When tailoring for TikTok, focus on short, engaging content. Embrace the trends, use catchy music, engaging voiceovers, and clear text overlays. TikTok is all about capturing attention in the first three seconds, so be sure to put extra thought into your hooks. Remember, weird and simple usually works! This ad for Cesar Dog Food is a great example of how brands can jump on trends and create ads out of seemingly organic content. This video immediately grabs your attention – who doesn’t love a dog in a hat – calls out the current trend “Dog Math,” and presents all of the important selling points while keeping the viewer engaged using quick cuts and dynamic clips. Want to see the ad we analyzed for Instagram and Meta? [Click here](. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE Add these five elements to your product pages and start the New Year strong with higher conversions. Can't view the image? [Click here]( 🧰 THE TOOLKIT 👏 You could be doing micro-influencer campaigns on easy-mode... Create a ravenous, brand-loyal community on demand with minisocials fully managed high-quality micro-influencer activations. [Check it out here](. * 👀 BANTER 2024 is all about setting boundaries. Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 📦 [Unboxing the Supply Chain]( with Ingredient Brothers’ Eran Mizrahi - 📧 [AKNF 365:]( Jogo Talks About Critical Gmail Changes for 2024 - 💵 Tiny Founder Andrew Wilkinson [Hero’s Journey From Barista to Empire Builder]( - 😎 [AKNF 364:]( The Secret to 5x Scale on Meta Ads - 💪 [Creating a $4 Million Dollar Modern Creatine Gummy Brand]( with Dan McCormick - 😆 [AKNF 362:]( Is CPC for Clowns? Meta Ads BFCM Recap 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](. NEED MORE DTC? 🚀 [Advertise]( in DTC Newsletter. 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]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](