📦 - “Moisturize Your Mind.”

DTC 493 - Michael CeraVe Super Bowl Ad, Brand Acquisition and SEO, Generating Ideas Wednesday, February 14, 2024 Smiles and nods… I guess I’ll be figuring that one out later 😂 Good morning, The Liquid Death eBay auction results for its Biggest Ad Ever campaign are finally in and it looks like the winning brand spent $355,000 for the coveted ad spot. This might seem like a hefty sum, but it's a steal compared to the cost of Super Bowl ads and with a much wider reach. Let's do the math, shall we? 🤓 Around 123 million viewers tuned in to watch the Chiefs take on the 49ers and the average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad is $7 million. In contrast, Liquid Death claims 200 million people will be exposed to the winning brand's message on half a million cases. That's a CPM of $1.77 compared to Super Bowl's average CPM of $56.91. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - We breakdown the award winning Michael CeraVe Super Bowl ad - We chat with Ezra Firestone about his latest brand acquisition and the importance of SEO - And Kanye Math: How much did Yeezy’s $0 Super Bowl ad do in sales? You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Scroll Trellis, Gold’s Gym, and Artur Express. 👋 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TATARI 🤫 The Secret Marketing Channel to Accelerate Your Full Funnel in 2024 Tatari teamed up with Nik Sharma to survey 275 DTC brand leaders, asking 26 questions about the state of marketing and advertising heading into 2024. Download the [ungated report]( for Nik’s curated insights on emerging trends, growth tactics, and challenges (plus proven solutions to overcome them). But that's not all – in this report, you’ll also find top strategies for the secret channel that acts as a full-funnel powerhouse. This undisclosed marketing gem is proven to give marketers a real competitive edge. Stay ahead with the best. [Click through to the ungated report]( SUPER BOWL ADS 😂 Michael CeraVe Campaign Breakdown For the past few weeks actor Michael Cera has been photographed holding bottles of CeraVe leading people to wonder what was the common connection and causing an uptick of Google searches like: - Is Michael Cera the owner of CeraVe? - Does Michael Cera own CeraVe? - Is CeraVe owned by Michael Cera? But now it’s been revealed after weeks of speculation that this has all been a marketing teaser campaign leading up to [their hilarious Super Bowl ad](. In the commercial Michael Cera finally addresses the online confusion. Yes, it’s true. He is the owner of CeraVe and gives a very convincing portrayal of a quirky New Age brand owner. “The truth has been hiding in plain sight. I am… CeraVe,” he says before applying CeraVe lotion to the side of a mountain and getting complimented on his baby-soft skin by a dolphin. The punchline? This concept was all Michael Cera’s idea. And at the end of the commercial a room full of dermatologists look less than impressed after watching his video pitch. The ad ends with a tagline that puts an end to all the online misinformation: ‘CeraVe is developed by dermatologists. Not Michael Cera.’ Why it works so well: - Searches for CeraVe skyrocketed: after building up hype for weeks, searches spiked even further once the Super Bowl commercial was released. - CeraVe reinstates one of its biggest selling points: it’s a reputable skincare brand developed by dermatologists and not founded by an actor with a similar name. - Extends brand campaign buzz with microsite: With some hilarious one-liners and a funny on-page experience, fans of the commercial can further interact with the brand campaign through the microsite [iamcerave.com](. This is one of the most unhinged beauty marketing campaigns we’ve seen and we’re loving it. 👏👏👏 This is a great example of how you can use brand humor to connect with your audience. This out-of-the-box campaign idea delights and surprises audiences since they are ‘in on the joke’ and provides pun-filled entertainment. Which Super Bowl commercial was your favorite this year? Reply back to the newsletter and let us know! IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MINISOCIAL 💘 Your Brand + minisocial = A Creative Power Couple If your brand is looking for a Valentine, look no further than [minisocial](. With minisocial, you'll get micro-influencer posts and fully-licensed UGC in one campaign (without having to put in hundreds of hours to get things moving). Brands like Plant People, Quip, Imperfect Foods, and AdoreMe are using minisocial to see: - 50% decrease in costs per add-to-cart - 92% increase in organic video views - TikTok ads performing in the top 1% CVR - over a 30% increase on ROAS Join minisocial and [get content your entire marketing team will LOVE]( 💘 Ready to commit to love? [Click To Accept]( PODCAST 🎧 Proactive SEO and The Power of Brand Acquisition In this episode of the pod, we catch up with Ezra Firestone the DTC titan behind Boom Cosmetics with Cindy Joseph, Zipify, Smart Marketer, and more recently Naväge, a leading nasal irrigator product that Ezra's company acquired. In this podcast, we cover: - Why he is focused on proactive SEO and content marketing - The power (and longevity) of building a personal brand - And how to acquire brands and reinvigorate them Ezra explains: “There’s a bare minimum everyone must do for SEO: optimizing the content on the page with title tags, meta descriptions, and interlinking properly. Every page needs to be optimized for a target keyword and the site structure as a whole needs to be organized in a way that benefits your SEO. Along with getting backlinks. SEO is a long term investment. In the beginning, you will see nothing but in a few years, it will pay dividends. You'll need to consistently invest in it to see results." 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Ezra [here](. 🧰 THE TOOLKIT 😊 AI should be your brand’s friend, not foe. Discover how AI can boost your CX at Bloomreach’s Commerce Experience Summit. [It’s free, it’s virtual — be there or be square](. * ❣️ Give customers another reason to love your brand. With CleanHub’s plastic recovery checkout plugin, collect 1lb of plastic waste for every product sold. Wow customers with genuine impact. [Start tracking in real-time](. * 📰 NEWS - X will allow advertisers to [run ads on selected content creator profiles]( with its new Creator Targeting feature. - Microsoft’s Copilot and Temu [top the app download charts]( after Super Bowl commercials aired. - Feastables closes ecommerce site and is forced to [rebrand ‘Deez Nutz’ after a copyright dispute](. SPONSOR DTC 📥 Promote your product to 160,000 digital marketing professionals DTC Newsletter + Podcast reaches a highly qualified audience of Shopify merchants, eCommerce founders, and digital marketers. [Talk to our team to learn more](. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE While most of the Super Bowl ads that aired this past Sunday cost millions of dollars, Kanye West spent $0 on production for his 30-second slot. How did he do it? The famous rapper and fashion designer recorded the ad on his phone instead, plugged his website, and announced everything on Yeezy.com, including his $200 Yeezy Pods “shoes” would be priced at $20. In less than 24 hours, Ye generated 19.3 million dollars with his scrappy commercial and a mind blowing price drop. 💰💰💰 The sales numbers are impressive, but it's got us wondering...those margins must be as thin as the sole on our Yeezy Pods. Can't view the image? [Click here]( Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 📈 [AKNF 377:]( Spilling our Performance Max Google Ad Secrets - ⭐ Niclas Bornling on [the Art of Brand Storytelling]( - 🚀 [AKNF 375](: ‘The Three W’s’ of Email CTR - 🥟 Eric Ji Sun Wu’s [Entrepreneurial Journey with Sobo Foods]( - 💗 [AKNF 373:]( The Art of Valentine’s Day Advertising - ⭕ The Rumpl and Houdini [Partnership Story of Innovation and Sustainability]( 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]( [Unsubscribe](