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In this episode, Pilothouse's Taylor Cain and Aves break down how to merge creative strategy with merchandising to win Q1. This is the planning season where smart brands lock in the building blocks for scalable growth—and avoid wasting paid budget.

For DTC marketers planning evergreen creative and site strategy in Q1...

• Why Q1 is the time to de-risk creative investments
• How to connect merch and creative across the entire funnel
• What emotional truths are, and why they drive action
• How to create merchandising that aligns with user intent (without sounding like a pitch deck)
• The subtle difference between price-based and identity-based offers

Who this is for: Media buyers, growth leads, and brand-side marketers aiming to improve conversion and site experience

What to steal:

• The linear structure Taylor uses to build conversion flows
• Aves' 3-step audit for understanding persona behavior online
• Why great PDPs start with emotion, not features

Timestamps:

00:00 Merchandising in ecommerce and cognitive competition

02:45 Why shoppers visit multiple brands before buying

05:10 Bringing the in-store experience into digital creative

07:20 Funnel congruency and full-funnel merchandising

09:40 Merchandising on social feeds beyond direct competitors

12:10 Information architecture and emotional storytelling on PDPs

14:05 Selling identity and ritual instead of product features

18:30 How Meta optimization and Andromeda affect merchandising

20:40 Practical merchandising spot checks for brands

Hashtags:

#ecommercemarketing #digitalmerchandising #dtcbrands #paidmedia #creativestrategy #conversionoptimization #brandstrategy #marketingfunnels #metamarketing #shopifybrands #performancecreative

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Thomas Robinson has helped build full‑funnel growth engines for brands like Tiege Henley and now Breath Death — where he’s turning chaotic traction into scalable funnels and converting creator buzz into sustainable growth.

For growth leaders scaling DTC with low‑AOV products.

In this episode, Thomas breaks down:

• How YouTube influencer authenticity became a systematic funnel driver (not a one‑hit wonder).
• Why TikTok Shop is the top strategic revenue channel — and how it boosts Amazon performance.
• The three‑part funnel framework: Hook → Integration → CTA + cohesive landing page.
• Why psychographics beat demographics in creative.
• Omni‑channel retention: SMS, email, DM automations, WhatsApp.

Who this is for: D2C marketers scaling early‑growth brands, content and performance teams, founders wrestling with low‑AOV CAC.

What to steal:

• Turn creator moments into evergreen assets for Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Build landing pages that mirror ad intent (don’t lose momentum).
• Segment email/SMS flows by customer psychographic intent.

Timestamps

00:00 — Turning creator buzz into scalable growth

02:00 — Why Breath Death chose TikTok Shop as a core channel

04:00 — Gen Z targeting, nostalgia, and early audience signals

06:00 — Learning from Liquid Death’s polarizing brand strategy

08:00 — Turning influencer moments into evergreen funnels

10:00 — Structuring ads with hooks, integrations, and CTAs

12:00 — TikTok Shop, Amazon halo effects, and channel synergy

14:00 — Affiliate strategy from nano creators to macro partners

16:00 — Why YouTube influencers compound better than paid ads

18:00 — SEO, Reddit, and authority in AI-driven search

20:00 — Scaling low-AOV products on Meta ads

22:00 — Psychographics, motivations, and creative archetypes

26:00 — Q4 growth, LTV focus, and retention strategy

28:00 — Email, SMS, WhatsApp, and DM automation

31:00 — Long-term brand storytelling vs direct response

34:00 — Personalized landing pages and post-click experience

Hashtags

#dtcpodcast #dtcbrands #ecommercegrowth #tiktokshop #influencermarketing #creatorcommerce #brandstrategy #performanceads #youtubeinfluencers #affiliatemarketing #consumerbrands #foundermarketing #growthmarketing #directtoconsumer

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Eric sits down with Dougie, Pilothouse's Google Lead, to dig into why content targeting—specifically with YouTube Select—is outperforming audience-based targeting, even at premium CPMs. If you’ve been running low-cost YouTube campaigns with underwhelming results, this is the mindset shift you need.

For DTC brands tired of wasting money on passive YouTube impressions.

• What YouTube Select actually is (and why it matters for performance)
• How to think about placements vs. audiences
• Why content congruence improves funnel performance
• Scaling tips: what kind of brands can go big with Select
• How to build creatives that match the content being watched

Who this is for: Brands spending serious dollars on YouTube, or considering a shift from Meta to a broader channel mix.

What to steal:

• Align creative to content before launch
• Use Google reps to identify top indexed channels by persona
• Treat YouTube Select like TV: flight-based, not daily budget-driven

Timestamps

00:00 Content vs interest targeting

02:01 Why content alignment converts

04:02 YouTube Select explained

06:02 Why low quality inventory fails

08:04 How content based creative works

10:03 Google and YouTube strategy shift

12:02 Aligning creative to placements

14:02 Meta and Google funnel synergy

16:01 Scaling with YouTube Select

Hashtags

#YouTubeSelect #GoogleAds #ContentTargeting #MediaBuying #DigitalAdvertising #PerformanceMarketing #BrandStrategy #YouTubeAds #PaidMedia #MarketingPodcast #DTCMarketing #AdStrategy #AudienceTargeting #CreativeStrategy #Pilothouse

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Albert Chow built Silk & Snow in the shadow of the DTC mattress wars—but instead of racing to burn VC cash, he played the long game. Today, Silk & Snow has grown into a full home brand with 10 retail stores, a thriving Canadian customer base, and a strong U.S. expansion roadmap.

For DTC founders scaling from $5M to $50M...

• Why they skipped the mattress arms race and leaned into vertical integration
• How bundling less (and planting trees instead) saved $1.3M
• What they learned scaling from 1 to 10 retail stores in a year
• The metrics they track now that ROAS is irrelevant
• Why launching a sofa was more about customer affinity than furniture

Who this is for: Operators scaling past one SKU or one channel—and looking for a sustainable path to growth.

What to steal:

• Bundling with purpose (optional tree planting vs. free stuff)
• Bottom-up brand building: low-funnel mastery first
• How to use DTC data to drive brick-and-mortar strategy

Timestamps

00:00 Organic growth and surviving the DTC mattress crash

02:00 Entering the crowded mattress market in 2017

04:00 Why Silk and Snow became a full home brand

06:00 Factory-first supply chain and Canadian manufacturing

08:00 Launching with Kickstarter and early traction

10:00 The 2019 DTC apocalypse and sustainable growth

12:00 Expanding beyond mattresses into sleep accessories

14:00 Functional vs aspirational buying in home goods

16:00 Becoming a multi-channel retailer

18:00 Using customer data to choose store locations

20:00 Canada vs US growth strategy

22:00 Building brand from the bottom of the funnel

24:00 Replacing bundles with tree planting

26:00 Performance marketing roots and early Google

28:00 Shifting into awareness and brand media

30:00 Why ROAS isn’t the real growth signal

32:00 Retail partnerships and staying DTC

34:00 Black Friday for big-ticket home products

36:00 Fulfillment, returns, and sustainability

38:00 Repeat customers and long-term LTV

40:00 Sleep Country acquisition and retail scale

42:00 Vancouver store and physical retail strategy

Hashtags

#DTC #EcommercePodcast #SilkAndSnow #AlbertChow #DTCBrands #HomeGoods #MattressIndustry #BrandBuilding #RetailStrategy #DirectToConsumer #EcommerceGrowth #StartupPodcast #FounderStory #CanadianBrands #PerformanceMarketing #Omnichannel #RetailExpansion #DTCpodcast

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🎧 Listen now: https://www.pilothouse.co/

This week on the DTC Podcast, we’re re-airing a must-listen from our sister podcast Adventurous, hosted by Avery Valerio.

Avery’s diving deep into one of the most overlooked levers in DTC growth: angles — the emotional and strategic hooks that turn browsers into buyers. If you’ve been leaning on “vibes” and lifestyle content to carry your creative… this is your wake-up call.

For creative strategists, performance marketers, and founders stuck at the “vibes plateau.”

🧠 Tactical takeaways:

• Why most brands stall at $3–5M without real angle development
• How to build angles that scale across top and bottom funnel
• The difference between product features and product benefits — and why that matters
• Why “vibe-first” brands eventually need strategy to survive
• How Avery maps personas to angles using a tool she built (linked on her LinkedIn/TikTok)

👀 Who this is for:

Creative leads, ad buyers, or anyone building brand strategy from the ground up.

💡 What to steal:

• The "steak vs. sizzle" framework for angle testing
• A mindset shift: Treat angles like campaign assets, not just captions
• How to tell when you’re out of angles — and how to fix it fast

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro to Ad-venturous Angles

02:00 Why most DTC brands stall on vibes

04:00 The need for real creative strategy

06:00 What an angle really is

08:00 Features vs benefits in ad angles

10:00 The Got Milk example

12:00 How angles create emotional connection

14:00 The upside-down triangle framework

16:00 Why modern angles must be agile

18:00 Using research and reviews to build angles

20:00 Personas and segmentation for scale

22:00 The three layers of the triangle

24:00 Top of funnel angle development

26:00 Middle of funnel curiosity

28:00 Bottom of funnel community content

30:00 Why angles must work everywhere

32:00 Testing and iterating angles

34:00 Final takeaways on creative strategy

Hashtags:

#DTCMarketing #AdCreative #MarketingAngles #PerformanceCreative #EcommerceMarketing #BrandStrategy #CreativeTesting #FunnelMarketing #DigitalAdvertising #ContentStrategy #Pilothouse #DTCNewsletter #AdVenturousPodcast #MarketingPodcast

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Daniel Rotman built Pretty Litter into a $300M+ revenue juggernaut by doing something most founders won’t: going all-in on an unsexy product. In this episode, he breaks down how a single innovation in kitty litter unlocked a billion-dollar outcome—with just $1M raised and a 12-person team.

For DTC founders scaling from 7 to 9 figures...

• How to win in overlooked categories (and why sexy products attract deadly competition)
• Why kitty litter was the perfect subscription product
• The secret to high-margin DTC logistics (and how silica unlocked DTC viability)
• Daniel’s media buying strategy in year 1 that drove $750K solo
• How Pretty Litter used smart ops, lean hiring, and brand positioning to build a moat

Who this is for: Founders, growth leads, and marketers looking to scale profitably and avoid the DTC hype traps

What to steal:

• The underdog category playbook
• Retention-driven brand building
• The ops strategy behind $300M revenue and 12 employees

#DTCGrowth #SubscriptionBusiness #RetentionMarketing #BootstrapStartup #EcommerceStrategy #ConsumerBrands #FoundersJourney #LeanStartup #ProductInnovation #BrandBuilding #UnsexyProducts #ScalingUp #StartupExit #PetCareIndustry #MarketingTactics

00:00 – Introduction: The Power of Unsexy Products

04:41 – The Loss That Sparked Pretty Litter

16:41 – The Health Monitoring Breakthrough

20:25 – From Idea to Launch in 6 Months

23:44 – $750K Year One, Solo Founder

25:33 – Why Daniel Said No to VC

30:20 – Year-by-Year Revenue Growth to $300M+

36:00 – How Unsexy Built a Moat and Killed the Copycats

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Most brands obsess over ads and ignore the moment that matters most: where the click lands.

In this episode, Jordan Gordon and Pilothouse strategist Taylor Cain break down how to decide whether traffic should go to your homepage, a PDP, a collection, or a dedicated landing page—plus how to diagnose when conversion rate issues aren’t about your ad at all.

You’ll learn:

• When a landing page outperforms your homepage (and when it doesn’t)
• How consideration level, pricing, and message clarity determine the ideal click-through path
• Why “anchoring” and UX sequencing can dramatically change conversion rates
• How testing new PDP structures (including delaying price) can increase results
• How to build fast, scrappy landing pages that plug cleanly into Shopify
• What heatmaps, scroll behavior, and section-level engagement reveal about friction
• Why iteration beats theory — and how to develop a testing mindset that actually finds signal

#EmailMarketing #RetentionMarketing #CRO #LandingPages #EcommerceStrategy #DTCMarketing #ShopifyBrands

00:00 — Introduction

01:00 — When a Landing Page Beats Your Homepage

03:00 — How Disrupted Traffic Changes Your Funnel

06:00 — Rising Prices, Rising Consideration

10:00 — PDP vs Landing Page: Which One Converts Better?

14:00 — Why Testing Beats Theory Every Time

20:00 — The Underrated Power of Email Capture on Landers

29:00 — Inside a High-Performing Landing Page Build

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On this episode of the DTC Podcast, Eric sits down with Dean Krowitz, Co-Founder of Blend‑AI, to unpack what happens when you stop managing channels in silos and start automating your entire media mix. If Meta’s efficiency is dropping and your cross-channel budget is vibes-based… this is your fix.

Learn More about Blend AI: blend-ai.com

What You’ll Learn:

• Why composite funnels matter more than platform-specific attribution
• How Blend automates budget shifts based on live conversion data
• Why humans shouldn’t manage five channels manually anymore
• What most brands get wrong with creative distribution
• How underused channels (like Microsoft) quietly drive results
• How to launch campaigns in October — not November — for peak BFCM gains
• Sync audiences across channels to reduce over-saturation
• Analyze top, middle, and bottom funnel cross-platform, not in silos

If you’re a media buyer, growth lead, or a DTC founder trying to scale performance without losing your mind, this episode is your new best friend.

Hashtags:

#ecommerce #dtc #mediabuying #performancemarketing #paidmedia #digitalmarketing #aimarketing #martech #adtech #marketingautomation #omnichannel #fullfunnel #growthmarketing #customeracquisition #conversionrateoptimization #cro #marketingmix #crosschannel #attribution #metaads #googleads #tiktokads #youtubeads #shopify #ecommercegrowth #d2cpodcast

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction. Why overspending on one channel kills growth

04:22 – The “who, what, where” framework behind Blend’s composite funnel

10:00 – How AI launches full-funnel ads across every major platform

15:18 – Why Microsoft Ads is the most ignored growth channel

21:40 – Why Meta’s algorithm starves most of your creative

29:15 – How one brand tripled revenue with 20% less ad spend

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When Amy joined Wildfang, she was running a storefront in Portland. 10 years later, she’s the President of a vertically-integrated DTC brand pulling $200 AOVs, 25% of revenue from extended sizing, and partnerships that drive CAC down by 50%.

She also made a major paid media pivot — bringing on Pilothouse to reset their entire growth engine.

For DTC founders scaling from $5–50M who are thinking about verticalization, performance marketing, or brand-led growth.

🔍 Inside this episode:

• How going vertical changed everything — from cashflow to creative
• Why extended sizing drives 25% of Wildfang’s revenue (and what it took to get there)
• The “90/10” Meta strategy that crushed Black Friday with Pilothouse
• The ROI of Debbie Harry and Taco Bell collabs (hint: it wasn’t just vibes)
• How to restructure ops, finance, and paid when profitability becomes the priority

👀 Who this is for:

• Brand founders, VP Growths, operators, and marketers building modern DTC brands

💥 What to steal:

• Pilothouse’s ad architecture playbook: reuse, reframe, retest
• A partnership model that blends licensing, NIL, and white-labeling
• How to spot “overthink” in your performance strategy — and simplify for scale

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In this BFCM 2025 breakdown, Eric chats with Pilothouse's Head of Ecom Grayson Rudzki and Lead Strategist Abby to unpack what actually worked, what flopped, and how smarter strategy beat brute-force ad spend.

For DTC marketers running paid, creative, or lifecycle retention

• How Pilothouse beat Meta's creative fatigue warnings
• What "targeting with creative" really means in 2025
• Why retention—not acquisition—won this year
• Tactics for using AI without generating slop
• Real BFCM ads that moved the needle (with examples)

Who this is for: Founders, brand-side marketers, and media buyers looking to de-risk spend and boost lifetime value

What to steal:

• The "persona-led Christmas card ad" concept that crushed
• How to diversify creative for open targeting without burning out
• Simple Rebuy tweaks that doubled items per order

Timestamps

00:00 AI reshaping BFCM strategy and creative testing

02:00 Record BFCM performance numbers and key takeaways

04:00 Why retention, baseline revenue, and loyalty mattered most

06:00 Real examples of AI workflows that saved teams time

08:00 Outdated playbooks vs the need for real strategists

10:00 Meta Andromeda, creative fatigue, and targeting with creative

12:00 Persona-driven creative example that drove conversions

14:00 Humor, culture, and relevance in winning ad creative

16:00 Diversified creative performance and lowered CPMs

18:00 The new state of UGC and authenticity on Meta

20:00 Post-click strategy, bundles, and conversion wins

22:00 2026 resolutions: intuition, creativity, and human strategy

24:00 Hero apps of the year: Rebuy, Triple Whale, and results

Hashtags

#BFCM #Ecommerce #EcommerceMarketing #DTC #MetaAds #FacebookAds #PerformanceMarketing #AIinMarketing #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #MarketingStrategy #CreativeStrategy #AdBuying #TripleWhale #Rebuy

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