DTC Pod: Micro-Influencer Secrets for Driving Sales with William Gasner + This Week's Top DTC News

NOVEMBER 9 2023

We're back with another jam-packed episode and newsletter. This week, we sat down with William Gasner, Co-Founder of Stack Influence, to unpack all things micro-influencers - from creative strategies to performance measurement.

Key topics:

- Micro-influencers vs mega influencers
- Optimizing creator partnerships for sales
- Attribution challenges and solutions
- Leveraging UGC

Plus, key headlines in DTC including True Classic's first flagship store, J.McLaughlin's menswear expansion, Bath & Body Works' immersive pop-up, and more. Let's dive in!

Dive in, share your thoughts, and reach out anytime.

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This Week’s DTC Pod Guest

#297 - William Gasner, Stack Influence: How To Win With MicroInfluencers

On today's episode, we have William Gasner, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Stack Influence, a company revolutionizing influencer marketing through micro-influencer automation. With deep expertise in winning with micro-influencers, William saw a gap in the market and launched Stack Influence to help brands effectively scale influencer campaigns.

Join us as we dive deep into the world of influencer marketing data, creative campaign strategies, attribution challenges, and leveraging organic content halo effects across social platforms.

NEWS

👉🏻 True Classic Opens First Flagship Store, Expands Brick-and-Mortar Presence.

DTC menswear brand True Classic opened its first company-owned flagship store in Houston, marking the start of its brick-and-mortar expansion. (3 minute read)

The 1,600 square foot store is the first of three new locations planned by year's end, including Boca Raton and Frisco. Launched in 2019, True Classic aims to operate 50-100 stores in the next 2-4 years to complement its e-commerce business and bring its offerings to more shoppers.

Read more here 🔗

👉🏻 J.McLaughlin Doubles Down on Menswear, Debuts Second Men's Only Boutique

Traditional sportswear retailer J.McLaughlin opened its second menswear only boutique in Palm Beach, Florida last week. (3 minute read)

The 488 square foot store offers a curated selection of apparel and accessories for men. While menswear currently represents less than 10% of sales, J.McLaughlin plans to double that in the next 18-24 months by opening more dedicated men's stores.

Read more here 🔗

👉🏻 Investor Group Acquires Petaluma's Griffo Distillery to Boost Distribution

Petaluma-based distillery Griffo Distillery has been acquired by investor group MGD Acquisition to expand its national distribution and sales. (3 minute read)

Though seeing rapid growth, Griffo founders sought a partner to manage sales so they could focus on product development and community engagement. Under new CEO Will Maroun, MGD aims to scale Griffo's market presence while keeping ties to its Sonoma County roots. The Griffos will retain ownership and continue overseeing operations.

Read more here 🔗

Other News + Resources

👉🏻 VC Funding for DTC Plummets 97% From 2021 Peak (2 minute read)
Venture capital investment in direct-to-consumer startups has cratered, with only $130 million deployed so far this year versus over $5 billion in 2021. Key factors include the pullback in funding for e-commerce and waning interest in consumer products overall amid struggling public listings. Many formerly digital-only DTC brands are now expanding into offline channels. (link)

👉🏻 KiwiCo Drives Customer Acquisition with Instagram Reels (4 minute read)
Kids' activity kit maker KiwiCo is finding success using Instagram Reels to attract new customers. During a recent test, Reels drove a 17% lower cost per purchase and 40% lower cost per acquired customer for KiwiCo. Reels outperform feed videos for KiwiCo, with higher engagement and reach. (link)

👉🏻 Bath & Body Works Promotes Men's Line Via Immersive Pop-Up (3 minute read)
Bath & Body Works is touring an immersive pop-up experience to nine U.S. markets to showcase its expanded men's grooming assortment. The mobile showcase will be stationed near major sporting events and feature product samples and giveaways. The retailer sees a major growth opportunity in the men's grooming market, expected to expand 43% globally by 2028. (link)

👉🏻 Amazon Rolls Out AI-Powered Image Generation to Improve Ad Performance (2 minute read)
Amazon Ads launched an AI-powered image generation tool in beta to help advertisers easily create more compelling and effective creatives. In testing, mobile ads with lifestyle images saw 40% higher click-through rates versus standard product shots. Users simply add a product and text prompts to generate tailored brand imagery in seconds. (link)

X of The Week

Top 6 Ecom creators on Twitter you should follow ASAP

This week's tweet comes from @Deezium, who put together an incredible list of must-follow ecommerce creators on Twitter.

With concise breakdowns of each creator's unique value, this is a tactical guide for finding your dream team of ecommerce advisors on social media. Whether you need Facebook ads expertise, psychology-backed creatives, or simply stellar examples to inspire your next campaign, these are the perfect accounts to follow.

DTC Event

Nashville eCommerce Summit - December 12, 2023

Join at The Westin Nashville for a day of innovative discussion and networking at the Nashville eCommerce Summit.  

The summit will cover a range of topics including strategy, marketing, operations, and customer experience, offering panel discussions, presentations, and one-on-one meetings.

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Contact Heather at 310.699.8024 or [email protected]

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