Spring is in the air, but continuing Meta blips have DTC operators seeing red, not green.

We’ll start with the returns from Shoptalk, then drop the nuggets:

• Some clarity on what happened with Meta.

• Thinking of shifting dollars to Google? Better know how the hell Google Ads work.

• How to become a creative idea machine!

Welcome to the DTC Times’ most educational issue yet.

Returns from Shoptalk

If you didn’t make it to ShopTalk last week you might be experiencing serious FOMO right now. Buzz from the event echoed across social media, marking it as one of the best events in ecomm so far this year. 

Here’s a small sample of the reactions we could find:

Beck launched Get Dirty in January 2024, and after a rough Q1, found reassurance from peers at Shoptalk. 

Ron from Obvi says it was worth it if only for the positive feedback. 

Jordan West notes that the keynotes came in second to the secondary events. For some, networking is even more valuable than tactical insights. 

And Andrew Busby shared his takeaways:

What it means: It’s always a question of what kind of ROI an operator can get out of attending events. The costs of time, travel, and hassle can often make the idea seem expensive or daunting. 

However, ShopTalk has such a high density of thought leaders, brands, keynotes, networking, and peers connection that it almost enters “no-brainer” territory for anyone in the DTC or ecomm space. 

Ad Talk. Did Meta break? Does anybody get Google Ads?

Meta ads

But do they really?

If you just look at Tweets, it sure seems so. 

Taylor Holiday recently launched the DTC Index, which pools data from an unparalleled set of sources (their worlds) to give us a monthly state of the DTC industry. In the words of Ridge.com’s Sean Frank: “ [it] make[s] you not feel so crazy”.

This is not a plug by the way. It is simply invaluable to have trustworthy data to work with over Tweets. 

So, what’s their verdict regarding Meta’s performance?

Bad. Meta’s algorithms did indeed underperform in February. On one hand, it wasn’t as bad in aggregate as some Tweets may have suggested, but that’s because a few companies were hit disproportionately hard. 

If were especially hard hit by a Meta bug , Barry Hott’s Feb.15th post is highly relevant: 

Let’s talk Google Advertising

For anyone thinking about switching to Google ads, Andrew Faris sparked an interesting thread this week. 

Travis from CommnThreadCo covered each point in a great thread, so we’ll mention him a few times. 

What people said about Branded search 

According to Travis, Branded search is necessary to fend off competition and can be useful for testing/modeling at the account level. However, he wouldn’t invest more than 15% of total spend into it. 

He adds that poorly managed retailer relationships can make it so brands compete with themselves in a way, so watch out for that. 

If you’re a brand with organic demand, you’re probably overvaluing Branded Search, says Olivia Kory. It might still be worth keeping due to how cheap it is, despite its low incrementality. 

Sam, EVP @thewagency, disagrees with everyone here, claiming that branded search, “done well”, has higher incrementality than brands want to admit because they hate having to pay Google to compete for their name. 

Nah, its a waste of money, says Cameron Bush of Hexclad Cookware. But don’t just take his word for it, do a hold-out test. 

Takeaway: branded search is not very incremental, if at all, and tends to be table stakes on Google. If you’re running it, do a hold-out test to figure out whether you can drop it. 

What people said about Youtube

Olivia thinks you’re probably underestimating Youtube. And because people undervalue it, auction dynamics are less competitive there. For now. 

Travis agrees that Youtube is wildly underutilized, explaining it’s due brands’ fear of its shaky inventory. “This can be mitigated by robust researched channel-specific targeting,” he says.

Jeromy Sonne of @daypartai seems to have extensive experience with Youtube.

When it comes to attribution, he recommends getting comfortable with brand lift measurements. That and working out a ROAS by doing holdout tests, city or state-level, before using that to scale nationwide. 

Michael Morgan likes Youtube too because video is simply better, and Youtube is one of the few places people will watch them. 

Takeaway: Youtube looks like an attractive place to put your ad spend, if you’ve got the assets for it. While it won’t have the obvious last-click attribution metrics of Meta, it can be a great avenue to test brand lift and top of funnel awareness. 

What people said about PMAX

Travis believes non-branded PMax could be the future of Google Ads. It takes a bit of tinkering, he says, but you can achieve 4.00x ROAS (yes, he hit us with the decimals).

Unfortunately for those who like clarity, Matt Breuer’s experience with PMax has pretty much been the opposite. He’s witnessed multiple brands get their best results from pulling money out of PMax. According to him, either too many people started using PMax, or the inventory finally capped out about two years ago. 

The sobering truth is, it might just be brand-dependent. 

Takeaway: This one you’ll have to test out. A number of people say PMax is best at converting MOFU/BOFU. 

What people said about Demand Gen. 

Travis says demand gen was better when it was limited to Android Discover inventory, when it rivaled Meta. Now, he calls it “risky”, “uncontrolled”, “tough to measure/trust” and will never rival Meta’s click-based attribution.

Sam of @thewagency thinks demand gen is surprisingly good actually but puts most people off because of its high cost of entry ($10k to $20k). 

Michael Morgan, agrees that demand gen is unreliable. When it converts to MQL, great, but there is just too much variation. 

Cam Bush, a man of few words, says it’s “repackage inventory and is garbage.”

Takeaway: demand gen isn’t held in high favor. 

What people said about Categorical Non-Brand Search

Travis, our bedrock, thinks it is a high-energy strategy. Still, when in Broad Match keyword settings, it learns from past conversions, leverages user search data, and draws context from various places to create a pretty strong algorithm. Not to be overlooked. 

Cam Bush thinks it's actually under-used. He recommends leveraging it to supplement affiliate and SEO strategies and lowering ROAS goals to increase testing.

Takeaway: definitely worth playing around with. 

Whew, that was a lot. 

If you’re thinking of pulling dollars out of Meta, Google’s various properties are a logical alternative. However, you’re dealing with a very different ecosystem so consider starting slow, testing incrementally, or partnering with a vendor with deep expertise to avoid wasting your time and money. 

How to become a “world class idea machine”

We loved Matt Bertulli’s post this week on how to develop your creative chops. 

The idea?

Even if you aren’t creative, the idea is you can work the “creative muscle” with the right habits.

To his credit, his tips resonate with those of the world’s most influential creatives, like Seth Godin, or Ann Handley. 

Here are our favorites.

1. Follow a variety of niches

Matt says he ignores his competition and finds sources of inspiration elsewhere than in his niche.

Seth Godin’s philosophy is similar: "In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible." 

Pulling inspiration from what’s already around you is a surefire way to stay the same. 

2. Swipe files by hooks, meat, and CTA’s

Matt reminds us that the best storytellers can see the different blocks in a story. 

When you come across a block that you love, like a killer headline or visual, save it somewhere!

In his book “Steal Like an Artist”, Austin Kleon says: "Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy, you will find yourself."

We’d also like to include an honorable mention to Entropychaser and the following tweet:

3. Write ideas down daily.

Just write them down, says Matt. Best case, you get better ideas. Worst case, you’ve got something to laugh at later. 

James Altucher thinks it’s a necessity: "The idea muscle must be exercised every day. If you don’t exercise it, it atrophies and dies."

4. Study your customer feedback/reviews.

“I’ve often turned customer reviews into ads word-for-word because they were that good,” says Matt. 

We think this resonates with Ann Handley’s philosophy of searching one’s customer base for real stories, which, as we all know, can be more engaging than fiction.

5. Use media profiles WITH your customer profiles(avatars).

"Content is king, but context is God." - Gary Vee. 

Both Matt and Gary agree that knowing the “who” and “where” is just as important as the “what”. You won’t reach the Gen Z skater and the boomer opera fan with the same formats or channels. 

So, spend time in the exact channels and communities you intend to reach, and more suitable ideas will come. 

Quick Hits

• Are you a Shopify Plus brand? You’ve just struck gold with The Top 100 Shopify Plus App report.

• Google launches Meridian, an open-source Mixed Media Modeling platform.

• Fermat, the consumer journey optimization platform, recently raised $17M. 

• Prescient AI, a new attribution platform focusing on mixed media modeling over click-based attribution, raised $10M. 

• Activewear brand Outdoor Voices will close all of their retail stores and revert to strictly online sales.