Tariff Impacts, Meta Ad Stucture, and copywriting that resonates

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If it feels like everything’s getting harder, it’s because it is.

First it was iOS. Then interest rates. Then inflation, stagnant demand, and rising acquisition costs. Now tariffs are punching a hole through the hull, and even profitable brands are starting to take on water.

This isn’t a blip. It’s the compounding effect of three years of macro pressure, now colliding with operational reality.

Let’s look at the policy impacts that are landing in DTC. Then shift to the stuff that still matters (media buying and creative development).

In this issue:

• The Tariff Crunch Is Here - Second-order effects and what brands are facing

• Media Strategy by Maturity Stage - Testing and spend structures that match your brand size and budget.

• Messaging Strategy by Funnel Stage - Most ads fail because the right message is being shown at the wrong time.

• Quick Hits - How to turn Claude into your dedicated marketing analyst

Let’s get into it 👇

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🧱 The Tariff Crunch Is Here

Tariffs aren’t theoretical anymore. They're detonating inside DTC — and the fallout is now visible in ad auctions, supply chains, and balance sheets.

But first, some unexpected good news...

🚨 Temu's Collapse Might Actually Help You

Temu — the ultra-cheap Chinese marketplace that distorted ad auctions and consumer expectations — just hit a wall.

• Google Shopping spend: $0

• iOS App Rank: Plummeted from Top 5 to #64

• Ad campaigns: Fully shut off

Mike Ryan and Jon Elder both confirmed it: Temu can’t function without a firehose of ad dollars. And the new tariffs — plus a crackdown on the Section 321 loophole — just cut that firehose off.

💡 Why it matters:
Temu’s collapse might briefly lower CPMs and remove downward pressure on pricing — giving real brands a chance to breathe.

But this silver lining comes with storm clouds.

💣 Import Collapse, Fraud Risk, and Operator Despair

While Temu flails, many U.S.-based brands are buckling under the weight of the same tariffs.

• Imports down 64% week-over-week (Dave Rekuc)

• Ocean freight bookings from China down 50% (Ryan Petersen)

• $1T in economic activity at risk

Operators are speaking up:

This is going to get very ugly, very soon, for a lot of businesses. American companies are taking a lot of friendly fire in the trade war.

⚠️ The Playing Field Is Still Rigged

The real kick in the teeth? U.S.-based brands are being penalized more than Chinese sellers.

Casey Ames runs a children’s product company out of Idaho. He pays taxes, holds insurance, complies with testing regulations, and declares his imports honestly.

His China-based competitors? No payroll taxes. No customs scrutiny. No accountability.
The tariffs hurt him — not them.

It gets worse:

Aaron Rubin: Chinese companies are now setting up shell entities in the U.S. to commit tariff fraud. Estimated losses? $100B.

🧱 Some Are Proposing a Path Forward

Sean Frank of Ridge laid out a multi-point plan:

1. Gradual tariff ramps

2. Deferred duties tied to domestic investment

3. Realistic “Made in USA” standards

4. North American supply chain coordination

5. Industrial zoning for actual manufacturing

💡 Smart ideas. But without enforcement, they won’t matter.

Takeaway: The Real Shockwave Is Just Beginning

✅ Temu’s collapse may give DTC some breathing room
❌ But imports, ad spend, and brand confidence are cratering
🚨 U.S. businesses are being punished harder than overseas sellers
🧠 There’s a window to push for smarter, long-term industrial policy — but it’s closing fast

🧠 Media Strategy by Maturity Stage

Alright, let’s talk about some stuff you can actually control: paid acquisition.

There’s a lot of advice about budget allocation and ad structures out there, but the truth is, media buying isn't one-size-fits-all. It’s a system that needs to evolve as your brand scales.

Whether you're spending $5K or $5M/month, the way you test, allocate, and build creative should match the stage you’re in — not some generalized best practice floating around on Twitter.

🧪 Match Your Testing System to Your Budget

Dara Denney breaks down the right approach by spend level:

💸 New Brands (<$15K/month)

• One ASC+ campaign, mostly statics

• Focus on fast learnings — UGC, ugly ads, benefit callouts

At this stage, you probably don’t have the budget to break things into tests and scaling campaigns. Instead, you need to give the system some material and see what works.

📈 Growth Brands ($30K–$50K+/month)

• ASC+ for scaling, 1 manual ABO campaign for testing

• Budget $100–$200/day per ad set, bigger swings in messaging

At this stage, you can break out your winners from your testing process. Use ABO (ad set based budgeting) so you have more control over how much money goes towards your new ads.

Anything that achieves 50+ conversions in a week at your desired CPA? Shoot it into your ASC+ scaling campaign (CBO).

🏆 Scale Brands ($1M+/month)

• 10–20+ new concepts/week

• Test high-edit video, founder/celebrity content, on top of what worked previously

• Creative ops are the growth team

Your account structure doesn’t have to get too complex, even at this scale. This comes down to adding more tests in your ABO and focusing on diversifying creative, targeting different personas, etc.

🎯 Allocate Spend With Intent

Sarah Carusona lays out how big brands spending $30M per year can treat budgets like investment portfolios in under 2 mins.

You should watch the whole thing, but here’s a quick summary:

• Determine the source of traffic and revenue per channel

• Use post-purchase surveys, MMM, and in-platform data, not just last click attribution

• Run true incrementality tests during calm periods

• Treat new channels like launches, not experiments

• Layer measurement: Daily (1-day click/MER), Monthly (reallocations), Quarterly (lift)

🧠 Her goal? Revenue MER and AMER. Not ROAS, which really doesn’t tell you anything at this level of spend and complexity.

🧨 When Creative Volume Stops Working

Connor Rolain of Hexclad makes the case for craft:

Creative volume has been the rallying cry of the Meta media buyer for months now. And for most brands, it is probably still one of the primary tactics to scale your spend.

But Connor argues that at a certain awareness and budget level, quality greatly outpaces quantity in terms of impact.

The incremental effect of another 20 new UGC ads for Hexclad (which is a huge, international brand at this points) is going to be marginal at best.

Versus, say, a Super Bowl ad featuring Gordon Ramsey, or even one exceptional explainer video, one dialed landing page, one coordinated cross-channel campaign.

💡 At a certain point, scale doesn’t mean more. It means better.

Takeaway: Media Strategy Isn’t Static — It Evolves With You

✅ Use testing structures that fit your spend and team
📊 Invest based on channel impact on net-new lift
🛠️ Shift from “more ads” to “better systems” as you scale
🎯 At higher levels, quality beats velocity

💬 Messaging Strategy by Funnel Stage

You can have perfect media and budget strategy, but if your message doesn’t meet your buyer where they are, you’ll still struggle to acquire customers efficiently.

Many brands underperform because they show the right idea at the wrong time. Or their messaging is accurate but emotionally underwhelming.

🧠 First, Speak to the Brain That Buys

Maxwell Finn shared his top ad copy lessons. Here’s just a sample from his thread:

1. Sell the problem first

2. Hook to emotion

3. Stories > stats

4. Show progress, not just perfection

5. Simplicity = trust

🧠 Ads fail because they try to explain, not resonate.

🎯 Then, Match Message to Funnel Stage

 Dan Melnick outlines exactly what to show at each step with corresponding creative formats:

• TOFU: Bold hooks, demos, stories

• MOFU: Testimonials, explainers, objection-handling

• BOFU: Urgency, comparison, guarantees

💡 Remember to vary your creative and your messaging in your ad accounts.

Audiences who aren’t aware of the problem (or your solution) need different messages than those who have already visited your site 5 times and just need a final nudge over the finish line.

Takeaway: Your Copy Needs a Funnel Too

✅ Use emotional hooks to capture attention
📽 Match message and creative to funnel stage
🧠 Speak to beliefs, not just features

⚡️ Quick Hits

🧨 Google’s Ad Monopoly Gets Slammed
A federal judge just ruled Google’s ad tech empire illegal.
Reuters →

🖼️ The Free Brand Awareness Hack Hiding in Plain Sight
Curology did it. Now they’re in every skincare blog.
Sam Mendelsohn →

📸 This Weird Prompt Makes AI Photos Look Real
No fancy prompts or camera language. Just one strange file name trick.
Cory Dobbin →

📱 How Lomi’s Using Surveys to Drive App Growth
One post-purchase tactic most brands completely miss.
Jeremiah Prummer →

🤖 Claude as Your Marketing Analyst in 30 Minutes
Build dashboards, find insights, and impress your team.
The Boring Marketer →