direct-to-consumer

Jessica Padula, Nespresso’s VP of marketing, on tapping into existing communities, hanging out in Reddit threads and how the coffee brand is using data to stay close to its customers.

As ecommerce advertising becomes more expensive on Facebook, Jeremy Bloom, co-founder and chief revenue officer of tech startup Marpipe, said that brands need to take a data-driven approach to creative testing instead of relying on antiquated “spray and pray” A/B testing methods. Marpipe was founded by 26-year-old CEO Dan Pantelo and last year launched an […]

The insurance market is highly competitive, with big marketing budgets and highly recognizable mascots – like the Geico gecko and Progressive’s Flo. The direct-to-consumer insurance company Lemonade (which went public in July) started four years ago in New York City offering renters’ insurance – the type of $60 per year policies  the  big guys didn’t […]

In December 2020, Get Maine Lobster sold more lobsters in three weeks than it did in the entirety of 2019. And all this year, it’s often selling more lobster than Maine fisherman can catch. The decade-old lobster-by-mail business experienced hockey-stick growth because CEO Mark Murrell took a big risk last March. As millions of Americans […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Nielsen Gets The Nod Vizio is tapping Nielsen to measure its advanced TV campaigns as the CTV space heats up. Read the release. Vizio Ads, the company’s advertising business, will use Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings to help advertisers better measure and optimize digital audience […]

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, DTC sleepwear brand Lunya had to furlough staffers, shut down retail stores and lay off part-time workers to break even through the downturn. “It was painful pivoting,” said Lunya’s Founder and CEO, Ashley Merrill. But there were bright spots. Lunya’s business is more than 80% ecommerce. The company […]

Disney Plus is off to a strong start. In its inaugural quarter, the subscription video on demand (SVOD) service brought in 10 million subscribers on the first day and 26.5 million subscribers over Q4, Disney said during its Q4 earnings Tuesday. By contrast, twelve-year-old Hulu, which is majority owned by Disney, totals 30.4 million users. […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Mobile Detox Are people cutting back on their mobile phone use? Media agency Hearts & Science tracked the phone usage of more than 2,000 Americans over 14 months and found that 64% scaled back their app usage during that period, with the average down […]

When direct-to-consumer cleaning startup Truman’s launched seven months ago, it didn’t just set out to disrupt the way cleaning companies make and distribute products. Its underlying goal was to humanize the category by creating a direct connection with customers. “I like the idea of reimagining what a brand can be in a sleepy category,” said […]

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing budgets are starting to include larger-scale media, which is having a massive impact on national TV ad spend, according to Magna’s fall 2019 ad spend forecast, released Thursday. Marketing spend in the DTC category increased 30% YoY in Q2 2019. And DTCs spent 50% more on national TV in particular. “These new […]

Shopify powers digital marketing for many of the savviest direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. In addition to its foundational ecommerce services, Shopify provides DTC marketers with a range of creative and media buying tools through an automated chatbot named Kit. It also connects merchants to major media platforms such as Instagram, Amazon, Google and Facebook through a […]

Starting this week, luxury bedding startup Boll & Branch will add TV to its marketing mix, joining many other direct-to-consumer brands. But the data-driven company is being disciplined, which means using a different strategy than other DTC brands and the traditional marketers that dominate TV. It’s targeting a broad national customer base, not just urban […]

 Large, established companies such as P&G, Verizon and Kellogg’s are building direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands to compete with the challengers encroaching on their territory. In addition to investing in or acquiring other DTC brands, there are strategic advantages to a company building its own. P&G for instance thinks of buying, building and acquiring brands as a […]

Once upon a time, direct-to-consumer startup Parachute sold high-quality sheets online, touting efficiencies by cutting out middlemen. Five years later, Parachute sells sheets, towels, mattresses, bathrobes and baby blankets to consumers online and in five stores on each coast. “Bedding was a vehicle to gain customer trust, but it was never the end goal,” said […]

Six-year-old women’s underwear brand ThirdLove considers data critical to its whole business, not just its marketing plan. The direct-to-consumer company was founded by husband-and-wife team Heidi Zak and David Spector, who both hail from Google’s advertising business. “The biggest thing I learned [at Google] was about testing and optimization,” Zak said. “Even if something didn’t […]

Article co-founder and CMO Andy Prochazka will speak at AdExchanger’s upcoming Industry Preview conference on Jan. 23-24, 2019 at the Grand Hyatt New York. Direct-to-consumer furniture startup Article takes data seriously. Founded by four engineers, every team within the Vancouver, Canada-based company, including its marketing team, is built around a measurement culture. “We’ve focused on […]

Direct-to-consumer brands like Mack Weldon, Manscaped and Peloton have expanded beyond their Facebook and Instagram roots – but don’t expect them to start advertising with or selling most of their products on Amazon. Though Amazon seems like a natural expansion for ecommerce startups, reducing the impact of the world’s biggest ecom platform is a strategic […]

The online clothing retailer Bonobos is at the center of upheaval in US retail and ecommerce. The company was acquired by Walmart last year for $310 million and has opened 58 brick-and-mortar stores in the past seven years. Bonobos also exemplified the direct-to-consumer category in September when former CMO Micky Onvural was promoted to CEO. […]

Ecommerce startup Material sells kitchen tools – including a chef’s knife, a wood spoon and one-handed kitchen tongs – meant to appeal to home chefs and people who like well-made, thoughtfully designed products. But the direct-to-consumer brand’s challenge has been connecting with consumers using customer insights, not just site analytics and sales data. “We take […]

Snapchat took a short-term revenue hit last year when it pivoted from its original direct branding business to a self-serve ad platform. But the low inventory prices and data and user-tracking features that have accompanied Snapchat’s programmatic transition are making the company more competitive with Facebook and Instagram. Snapchat’s improved measurability come as Facebook’s platform […]

Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club went from upstarts to behemoths, shaking up the century-old razor category in just a few short years. But there’s still more market share to shave off the top. What about women’s razors? That’s the question that Billie, a razor subscription service for women founded last year, is aiming to answer. […]