The Omnichannel Marketer

How this former Spotify exec uses data & consumer behavior to scale this subscription business.

On the latest episode of the Omnichannel Marketer, I spoke with David Cutler, VP of Product & Design at Cook Unity.

David started his career consulting with major CPG brands, helping them interpret big data sets to create better segmentation and advertising.

He went on to become a product manager for data products, with roles at Bloomberg and Spotify before landing at CookUnity. 

CookUnity is a D2C meal kit subscription service that delivers restaurant-quality meals made by celebrity chefs.   

It’s a marketplace where people can discover new foods and chefs can broaden their distribution outside of the traditional restaurant setting. 

CookUnity helps chefs expand from their restaurant directly to consumers (or “eaters”). 

The secret thread between product and marketing?

Consumer research.

To that end, David shared his “tripod of tools” for understanding consumer behavior that he learned from his days at Spotify. 

1️⃣ Surveys, interviews, and focus groups to develop segmentation across your addressable market, i.e. not just your customers but untapped audiences. 

2️⃣ User testing tools that capture and record user web & application activity - actual users talking through their experience and feelings. 

3️⃣ Looking at user behavior and product insights from a data science perspective.  

The result is an exhaustive body of research that maps out user personas, storylines, and daily usage patterns for each persona. 

It’s a mission-critical exercise because customer behavior informs who, how, and where you target in multi-channel advertising AND the experience they have in the platform. 

Ultimately, this research helps define what makes users happy or makes them churn, which helps create an amazing end-to-end experience. 

For CookUnity, the journey is incredibly complex - going back and forth between digital and physical – while also including dining experiences that get rated digitally via QR codes every week. 

Those feedback loops improve the meals and customer experience, i.e. feedback is used to tweak recipes. 

CookUnity has added hospitality elements to simulate a chef talking about the meal or what happens when a customer isn’t happy, i.e. items removed from the bill. 

I don’t know about you, but all this talk about dining experiences is getting me hungry… 

Give David and CookUnity a follow to learn more about this exciting new service.

Thanks, David, for sharing your experience and customer research expertise! 

Meet your customer where they want to shop. 

On the latest episode of the Omnichannel Marketer, I had the pleasure of talking with Sarah McNamara, Executive Vice President & General Manager at Peter Thomas Roth Clinical Skin Care and Naturally Serious Skin.

Sarah is a beauty industry veteran, having worked at Unilever, L’Oreal, and grew her own beauty brand, Miracle Skin Transformer to $35M in revenue before selling it.

‍Now she oversees Peter Thomas Roth.‍

Peter Thomas Roth started in a doctor’s office, but is now a retail powerhouse. 

It was one of the first brands to launch with Sephora when it came to the US market, and also is present in Sephora locations around the world. 

Other key channels for Peter Thomas Roth are Ulta Beauty, Amazon, and QVC. 

Sarah’s philosophy is that you need to be where the customer is. 

‍That is highly dependent on demographics. 

‍PTR is a legacy brand that historically skews to an older demographic.

‍So retail and QVC are big channels for them. 

‍Each channel has a unique offering for the demographic that frequents it. 

‍And the spread in Ulta is very different from Sephora. 

‍She loves department stores herself, but sees it as a shrinking business. 

‍Beauty is constantly evolving and experiencing unprecedented digital change. 

‍As Sarah says, “You snooze, you lose.” 

‍To that end, PTR also has a DTC presence and is active on social media to cater to some Gen X, Z, and even Alpha customers. 

‍Her team is actively tinkering with Tiktok shops. 

‍She was also relatively early to Amazon, compared to Clinique, another legacy brand that only launched on Amazon a few weeks ago.

‍Sarah views the DTC site as a window into the brand and is in midst of an exciting website revamp going live in August. ‍

The PTR website serves loyalists, but she also realizes that every channel has its loyalists. 

“Some people really just want to buy on Amazon. Others only at Sephora.”

‍At the end of the day, Sarah shares that good marketing is about “understanding where your customers are and making it easy for them to buy in those channels.”

‍Thanks Sarah for sharing your experience and insights. 

Retail & eCom, the one-two punch for evolving an entrenched category.

On the latest episode of the Omnichannel Marketer, I spoke with Lisa Bubbers, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer at Studs.

Studs is a new entrant in the ear piercing category – positioning itself as a piercing company instead of an earring brand. 

In contrast to Claire’s or the mall kiosk which is where children go to get their first piercing with a piercing gun (myself included), Studs focuses on needle piercings for return piercers. 

The idea came from getting a second ear piercing at a tattoo parlor, which was a sub-optimal experience. 

Part of this less ideal experience was a disconnect between the act of piercing and picking an earring that you li

Most people get their ears pierced with an earring they don’t care for, and have to wait until the piercing heals to replace it with something more fashionable that they purchased elsewhere.  

Studs fuses the retail piercing experience with fashionable lines of earrings that can be worn out of the store, and purchased online.

Lisa created the term “earscaping” to create conversation around the art and science of getting ear piercings that work with your anatomy and personal style. 

The brand started with a single studio in NoLita in 2019 and now has 25 locations across the country. 

A brand with fused retail and e-commerce presence, Lisa defines omnichannel as:

🔀 Offline to Online

🔀 Online to Offline

🔀 Moving customers between channels to drive the best LTV

The first couple of years was all about opening new stores and getting scale in retail. 

In the last couple of years, the team reoriented to understanding omnichannel data and customer behavior.

For Studs, their in-store piercing service creates the highest LTV customers, 2-3x ecom first customers. 

Those buyers have a very high repeat rate to online purchases, instore purchases, and another instore piercing. 

Studs uses two mechanisms to get people to return to the store or online. 

1️⃣ Education - nurturing on ear piercing health with ability to come back for questions, help etc.

2️⃣ Earing size changes - as the piercing heals, Studs will help downsize to smaller jewelry.

Consequently, retail expansion is still a primary focus because it is the best vehicle for profitable customer acquisition and creating word of mouth.

A store in the right location returns its investment quickly and is profitable. 

Studs does not spend a lot of money on digital marketing. 

Half the battle is won by strong store co-location; near a Lululemon, Warby Parker, and Van Llewyn, where their Gen Z and millennial customers spend time.

The stores are designed to be “Instagrammable,” so customers share their new piercing UGC, creating network effects on social media. 

The other major source of customers is from people searching for “needle piercings near me” on Google and Studs is doing a great job with local SEO to capture that intent.

This results in great foot traffic, word of mouth, and impulse purchases. 

Studs does spend some on influencers and SEM, but most customers come through the organic channels described above. 

#omnichannel #retailexperience 

In this episode, we meet Preston Rutherford, Co-Founder of Chubbies.

‍Chubbies was born in 2011 in San Francisco, they create men's shorts that aim to make every day feel like Friday at 5pm, bringing that chill vibe and good times to their audience.

In this episode, we discussed omnichannel business, key lessons learned, and strategies for supporting omnichannel growth.

‍

Topics covered

• Chubbies' unique and fun approach to men's shorts and activewear
• Challenges and misconceptions when transitioning to omnichannel
• Competition in the e-commerce marketing landscape
• Bridge the gap between online and offline experiences
• In-store setup
• Product features
• Brand advertising
• Multichannel retail strategy
• Sizing, inventory management, and product dimensions

‍

Takeaways

• Chubbies journey started with selling shorts out of their backpacks in San Francisco.
• Chubbies started as a direct-to-consumer brand selling out of backpacks and evolved into an omnichannel brand with the help of Shopify Plus.
• They struggle to gain visibility and market share in a landscape dominated by major players like Amazon and Walmart.
• Chubbies experienced significant growth leading up to their acquisition in 2021 by focusing on omnichannel expansion. 
• When selling across channels, Chubbies use in-store setup, product features, and advertising to bridge online-offline gaps, boosting awareness, and loyalty.
• The strategies for selling on Amazon and other channels have evolved over time and companies like Chubbies had experimented with different tactics.
• When considering an omnichannel approach for an apparel brand, it is important to acknowledge the expertise of channel partners and align goals.

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

‍

Where to find Preston Rutherford:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prestonr/  

​Website: https://www.chubbiesshorts.com/ 

‍

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

‍

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

Without brand, growth and performance marketing are just flashes in the pan.

In the wake of iOS 14 privacy changes & rising CACs, we’re no longer in an era where growth at all costs is a viable strategy anymore.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Foujan Volk, the VP of Brand & Marketing at Parachute Home. 

She was the first marketing hire at Parachute Home and built the brand from the ground up.

Parachute Home is an emerging brand in the home goods category with a range of products.  
  

The brand started out of a home office/showroom in Los Angeles with a DTC presence.

Foujan and her team realized people love touching the bedding fabrics, which was a different experience from the typical plastic-wrapped sheets.

From that experience, she saw immense value in having customers touch and feel products.

It’s a differentiator and a brand experience.  

That home showroom expanded to 26 brand stores.  

These stores are in major markets where DTC buyers or the customer demographic is concentrated. 

Parachute invests a lot of energy in making that experience feel like being in someone’s home. 

In the last year, they have invested heavily in experiential marketing, hosting over 200 events, which have generated sales and strong brand affinity.

Foujan defines omnichannel: “Be wherever the customer wants to shop”.

To that end, Parachute has wholesale distribution with Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales.

In addition to their DTC presence and owned retail locations.

Foujan shares that wholesale is a double-edged sword.

She has very little insight into who their customers are, but wholesale brings a big uplift in brand awareness. 

Foujan suggests entering retail with small tests with a limited selection of SKUs.

And monitoring sell-through, DTC cross-over, and brand lift to determine the next steps.   

Brand awareness is the leading indicator, whereas the DTC cross-over as measured through the post-purchase survey is the lagging indicator.

Keeping a consistent brand experience across channels is of paramount importance.

Foujan and her creative team run brand training during onboarding and invoke the brand regularly. 

Foujan is excited that brand marketing is back in the forefront in the wake of iOS 14 privacy changes and the sunset of the growth at all costs era.

Without a brand, growth and performance marketing are just flashes in the pan.

That sentiment is stronger than ever.

Thanks, Foujan for sharing your story and perspective!

#omnichannelmarketer #retail #brandmarketing

In this episode, we meet Chad Wilson, Head of Marketing at Olipop.

‍Olipop is a better-for-you soda brand on a mission to make the world healthier and happier. 

‍In this episode, we discussed growth into retail, structuring marketing teams, understanding the customer journey, and staying close to consumers.

‍

Topics covered

• Brand awareness and brand storytelling
• Equity metrics to measure campaigns performance
• Understanding and connecting with consumers emotionally.
• Structuring and organizing marketing teams
• Shift from D2C to retail post-Covid
• Omnichannel and consistency
• Testing TV and out of home channels 
• The rise of Tiktok as a marketing platform

‍

Takeaways

• Olipop's mission is centered around an emotional connection with consumers.
• Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in retail sales, now constituting approximately 85% of total sales.
• Chad mentions that TikTok can be a viable channel for reaching a wide audience, especially Gen Z.
• The company is actively looking at calculating the lifetime value of its customers and has upcoming initiatives to increase customer numbers and long-term value. 
• Staying close to consumers is crucial, Chad emphasizes the need to prioritize them in decision-making.
• Olipop introduced TV and out-of-home advertising channels in 2023 to focus on more upper-funnel messaging and reach a larger audience.
• Olipop's Chicago campaign surpassed industry benchmarks with 80% brand affinity, exceeding the 50% benchmark.
• Olipop faced a challenge bridging the consumer experience and customer across different channels, including digital and in-person touchpoints.

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

‍

Where to find Chad Wilson:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chdwlsn/ 

​Website: https://drinkolipop.com/ 

‍

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

‍

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

‍

Meet your customer where they want to shop. 

On the latest episode of the Omnichannel Marketer, I had the pleasure of talking with Sarah McNamara, Executive Vice President & General Manager at Peter Thomas Roth Clinical Skin Care and Naturally Serious Skin.

Sarah is a beauty industry veteran, having worked at Unilever, L’Oreal, and grew her own beauty brand, Miracle Skin Transformer to $35M in revenue before selling it.

Now she oversees Peter Thomas Roth.

Peter Thomas Roth started in a doctor’s office, but is now a retail powerhouse. 

It was one of the first brands to launch with Sephora when it came to the US market, and also is present in Sephora locations around the world. 

Other key channels for Peter Thomas Roth are Ulta Beauty, Amazon, and QVC. 

Sarah’s philosophy is that you need to be where the customer is. 

That is highly dependent on demographics. 

PTR is a legacy brand that historically skews to an older demographic.

So retail and QVC are big channels for them. 

Each channel has a unique offering for the demographic that frequents it. 

And the spread in Ulta is very different from Sephora. 

She loves department stores herself, but sees it as a shrinking business. 

Beauty is constantly evolving and experiencing unprecedented digital change. 

As Sarah says, “You snooze, you lose.” 

To that end, PTR also has a DTC presence and is active on social media to cater to some Gen X, Z, and even Alpha customers. 

Her team is actively tinkering with Tiktok shops. 

She was also relatively early to Amazon, compared to Clinique, another legacy brand that only launched on Amazon a few weeks ago.

Sarah views the DTC site as a window into the brand and is in midst of an exciting website revamp going live in August. 

The PTR website serves loyalists, but she also realizes that every channel has its loyalists. 

“Some people really just want to buy on Amazon. Others only at Sephora.”

At the end of the day, Sarah shares that good marketing is about “understanding where your customers are and making it easy for them to buy in those channels.”

Thanks Sarah for sharing your experience and insights. 

#omnichannelmarketer #omnichannel

In this episode, we meet Chris Hobson, President and CEO of Rare Beauty Brands.

‍Rare Beauty scales challenger brands with expertise in innovation, marketing, and infrastructure across various channels. 

‍In this episode, we discussed  retail, e-commerce, direct-to-consumer channels, and how to build and scale an omnichannel brand in the beauty industry.‍

‍

Topics covered

• Omnichannel distribution strategy
• Starting in luxury retailers
• The rise of Korean beauty
• Using retail for profitable trial
• Impulse purchase price points
• Importance of social  media content
• Collaborations with influencers
• Tips for sell-through across channels
• Focus on product
• Retail associates

‍

Takeaways

• The company has since expanded internationally, partnering with distributors in different countries to reach a global audience.
• The channel strategy has evolved over time, with a focus on expanding into new markets and reaching a wider customer base.
• The brand decided to initially focus on the assisted sale channel to gain credibility and educate consumers about their product category.
• Amazon is viewed as a place where consumers can learn about the brand and check ratings and reviews.
• DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) channel is used strategically to engage with consumers and gain insights.
• The different channels work together to reinforce each other and provide a seamless brand experience for customers.
• While retailers may share high-level consumer information with the brand, there is a limitation to the depth of data they can access.
• Building a successful business requires both online and offline presence

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

‍

Where to find Chris Hobson:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherhobson/ 

​Website: https://rarebeautybrands.com/ 

‍

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

‍

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Chad Wilson, Head of Marketing at Olipop.

‍

Olipop is a better-for-you soda brand on a mission to make the world healthier and happier. 

In this episode, we discussed  growth into retail, structuring marketing teams, understanding the customer journey, and staying close to consumers.

‍

Topics covered

• Brand awareness and brand storytelling
• Equity metrics to measure campaigns performance
• Understanding and connecting with consumers emotionally.
• Structuring and organizing marketing teams
• Shift from D2C to retail post-Covid
• Omnichannel and consistency
• Testing TV and out of home channels 
• The rise of Tiktok as a marketing platform

‍

Takeaways

• Olipop's mission is centered around an emotional connection with consumers.
• Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in retail sales, now constituting approximately 85% of total sales.
• Chad mentions that TikTok can be a viable channel for reaching a wide audience, especially Gen Z.
• The company is actively looking at calculating the lifetime value of its customers and has upcoming initiatives to increase customer numbers and long-term value. 
• Staying close to consumers is crucial, Chad emphasizes the need to prioritize them in decision-making.
• Olipop introduced TV and out-of-home advertising channels in 2023 to focus on more upper-funnel messaging and reach a larger audience.
• Olipop's Chicago campaign surpassed industry benchmarks with 80% brand affinity, exceeding the 50% benchmark.
• Olipop faced a challenge bridging the consumer experience and customer across different channels, including digital and in-person touchpoints.

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

‍

Where to find Chad Wilson:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chdwlsn/ 

​Website: https://drinkolipop.com/ 

‍

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

‍

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com

In this episode, we meet Preston Rutherford, Co-Founder of Chubbies.

Chubbies was born in 2011 in San Francisco, they create men's shorts that aim to make every day feel like  Friday at 5pm, bringing that chill vibe and good times to their audience.

In this episode, we discussed omnichannel business, key lessons learned, and strategies for supporting omnichannel growth.

‍

Topics covered

• Chubbies' unique and fun approach to men's shorts and activewear
• Challenges and misconceptions when transitioning to omnichannel
• Competition in the e-commerce marketing landscape
• Bridge the gap between online and offline experiences
• In-store setup
• Product features
• Brand advertising
• Multichannel retail strategy
• Sizing, inventory management, and product dimensions

‍

Takeaways

• Chubbies journey started with selling shorts out of their backpacks in San Francisco.
• Chubbies started as a direct-to-consumer brand selling out of backpacks and evolved into an omnichannel brand with the help of Shopify Plus.
• They struggle to gain visibility and market share in a landscape dominated by major players like Amazon and Walmart.
• Chubbies experienced significant growth leading up to their acquisition in 2021 by focusing on omnichannel expansion. 
• When selling across channels, Chubbies use in-store setup, product features, and advertising to bridge online-offline gaps, boosting awareness, and loyalty.
• The strategies for selling on Amazon and other channels have evolved over time and companies like Chubbies had experimented with different tactics.
• When considering an omnichannel approach for an apparel brand, it is important to acknowledge the expertise of channel partners and align goals.

Please let us know your thoughts about the episode!

‍

Where to find Preston Rutherford:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prestonr/  

​Website: https://www.chubbiesshorts.com/ 

‍

Where to find Kait Stephens:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kait-margraf-stephens/

Website: www.brij.it 

‍

SUBSCRIBE TO THE OMNICHANNEL MARKETER

www.theomnichannelmarketer.com