Nate Champion

We are living the midwit meme right now in eCommerce. Brands have zero confidence in the allocation of their media dollars. Despite having more tools than ever before, I have never seen more confusion inside of organizations. Proxy metrics have been substituted for financial measures and the allocation of capital has become disassociated from the financial return it intends to create. With the introduction of so many difference forms of measurement you create the ability to defend every channel. Your MTA, In platform, post purchase survey and incrementality studies often all say different things making every decision "defensible". Combine that with agencies or employees whose financial incentive is tied directly to channel performance and you immediately create a counter incentive to the financial health of the company. I can't tell you how much money we have seen be wasted on account of this problem. So what is the solution... Simplify. Build a connection between your in-platfrom results (i recommend 7 day click) and your primary business measurement for media (i recommened aMER). Best way to do that is with a geo holdout experiment that gives you a relative incrementality % for platform results. Use that weighted measure to set cost controls and you will never have to think about measurement again. But regardless of what system you choose fight for clarity and speed to action. Avoid decision paralysis and ambiguity. Think from first principles and measure the bank account.

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We've collected over 166 million emails with pop-ups for eCom brands. Here's an actionable discovery we made... For context, there were 3 main types of pop-ups we tested: 1. Free shipping 2. Free resource/downloads 3. Dollar discount/percentage discount Wanna know which works best? From our testing, number 3 wins... by far. And, percentage discounts perform even better than dollar. The higher the percentage, the higher the opt-in rate. If your brand hasn't implemented this style of pop-up yet, try it. You'll be surprised by how fast your database grows.

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READ THIS CAREFULLY: If you’re just tracking sales, you’re leaving money on the table—literally. When I speak with eCommerce brands, the most common pain point they share is a lack of clarity on profitability. They’re drowning in data but starving for insights. They’re focused on what’s visible—sales—while the hidden costs beneath the surface, like shipping fees, transaction costs, CAC, and fulfilment expenses, quietly erode their profits. It always makes me pause because it’s the clearest signal that brands are only seeing a fraction of the whole picture. When I see high sales numbers, my first thought isn’t, “Great job!” It’s, “Are they actually making money?” Here’s the brutal truth: Just because your sales are up doesn’t mean your profits are too. Without a clear view of how your marketing spend, operational costs, and customer acquisition impact your bottom line, you’re sailing straight into dangerous waters. But there’s a better way. Imagine having a dashboard that not only tracks your sales but also reveals the bottom of the iceberg—giving you a complete profitability overview. Imagine knowing exactly how each dollar spent is affecting the profitability of your store. With StoreHero this is finally possible. Link to book a demo in the comments 👇

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Why we should all take a lead from the Geico Gecko If I were starting a brand today the one thing I would seriously consider is creating a brand character If that seems like some throw back to 1980's cereal brands then the data would back you up as incidents of brand characters in award winning IPA entries has tumbled dramatically from around 40% to 15% over that time. They really aren't that fashionable today. But you ignore them at your peril because they are one of the most powerful advertising tools out there Orlando Wood who describes them in his incredible book Look Out as "character fluent devices" has shown that they have a profound impact on business results get a copy you won't regret it!) Take the 2024 Super Bowl for example. Had you used a celebrity like most advertisers then the average Star score (emotional response) was exactly the same as those without one. However had you used a branded character then on average you would have seen a massive 1 Star advantage over non characters & celebrities. Add to the fact that they don't charge the same fees as a celebrity and its the Advertising effectiveness bargain of the century! In the latest episode of Uncensored CMO I caught up with the very clever Michelle Moscone (she/her) who is in charge of brand and creative at Geico about the importance of their famous Gecko which is 30 years old now She puts it in a beautifully simply way that the Gecko enables the audience to have a really fast connection with the brand in a lovable way creating a short cut for your brand and message. It's well worth reading Jenni Romaniuk's brilliant book called Distinctive Brand Assets which covers a lot of research on types of assets and how they work. Link to the episode in the comments section below Jon Lombardo Peter Weinberg Vanessa Chin Andrew Tindall Kerry Collinge

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Why did Stitch partner with Talon.One? Three main reasons... 1️⃣ In working with Braze customers, we've seen an incredible amount of pain with their existing loyalty platforms (looking at you, Punchh & CrowdTwist, Inc.). 2️⃣ The platform is 👌. The response time and the ability to customize workflows is elite. 3️⃣ The combination of Braze + Talon.One is a marketer's dream. Scale, capability and efficiency bridging marketing & loyalty together.

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DTC managers at multi-channel revenue brands are getting under-credited. Let me explain. I talk to dozens of brands per year that: • Sell across 3 primary channels (DTC, in store, Amazon) • Have "growth" or "performance" laddering into the DTC team • Track P&Ls separately across each rev stream It's usually the CMO or the VP of Growth or whoever manages the DTC line item who reaches out to me. They say something like this: "Ben, I keep having to cut my ad budgets because my DTC revenue is barely growing and efficiency is terrible! Can you help improve our marketing program?" This is a classic case of where company structures and KPIs dictate performance. The poor DTC manager is out here thinking that their growth marketing program is bad, but, in reality they've misdiagnosed the problem. When I dig in further with them, I end up finding out: • The DTC marketing budget is 90% of the ad budget • Amazon and in-store are both growing very well • There's no clear reason why a customer would buy direct Here's the harsh truth: it is very very VERY hard to make people buy in an experience that they don't prefer. Direct to consumer ecommerce is still only 13% of all retail transactions in the US. 13%! That's it! People prefer to buy on Amazon, or in Target, or at Sephora. Why wouldn't they? They've spent tens of billions of dollars building a brand that has a wide assortment of access, best prices, best fulfillment, etc. How can the lil ol' DTC manager compete? When I start to ask how the DTC team is being measured, it is usually some combination of: • DTC revenue over performance marketing costs • Touch based attribution performance • Customer surveys and trends How is it fair that 90% of the marketing budget is going toward something that's likely to only produce 13% of the sales? That doesn't mean that the marketing is ineffective, on the contrary, it means that the brand is measuring wrong. The Amazon and in-store team get all the credit while the DTC manager gets shafted. So how can you fix this? Properly understanding the contribution of ALL marketing across ALL revenue and customer interactions. We often see an equal if not GREATER contribution to incremental revenue and customer acquisition across Amazon and in-store than in DTC, even from "performance" campaigns that are driving directly to the website. Yes, really. For example: a performance Meta campaign might have a 1.5x incremental ROAS on DTC, a 1.5x incremental ROAS on Amazon, and a 1x incremental ROAS on in-store retail. That's a total of 4x iROAS vs the "proven" 1.5x iROAS. See it all the time across hundreds of tests and marketing mix models. Reach out to me and I can help dig you out of this pit. #dtc #attribution #incrementality #omnichannel

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Walmart builds wide lead among US retail media networks, report finds: 1. Walmart Dominates Impressions Walmart's retail media network is leading the pack. In Q1, Walmart generated 11 billion impressions. Target, the closest competitor, had fewer than 7 billion. Chewy, The Home Depot, and Kroger also made the top five. 2. Specialized Retailers on the Rise Niche players like Chewy and Sephora are growing. They each generated over 1 billion impressions in Q1. This shows the expanding scale of specialized retailers. 3. Onsite Media Success Walmart excels in onsite media impressions. They have monetized their owned properties better than others. Retail media networks are now pushing into offsite media. This move aims to tap into additional revenue streams. 4. The Future of Retail Media Retail media networks are evolving. They are exploring new ways to generate revenue. Walmart's success sets a benchmark for others. Specialized retailers are also making significant strides. The landscape is becoming more competitive and diverse. 5. Key Takeaways Walmart leads in retail media impressions. Specialized retailers are growing their presence. Onsite media is a strong revenue stream. Offsite media is the next frontier. Retail media networks are continuously evolving. #walmart #retailmedia #paidmedia

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This chart is a warning to agencies that primarily specialize in platforms. Plenty of agencies can just talk about your product or service on LinkedIn, Google, Meta, etc. That's not really marketing. We take a different approach at DSM. Our priority is understanding the target customer. We want to know what makes them tick. What are their questions, their objections, and their desired outcomes? One we have that, we can resonate with them via email, search, YouTube, TikTok...you name it. Platforms come and go. Who uses them and how they're used are constantly changing. Understanding your customer, on the other hand, is timeless. THAT'S the heart of marketing.

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Big Chalk uses a number of techniques to triangulate and forecast Trade-Off Consumer behavior. One of the lesser scientific (but more fun) metrics is the "Big Chalk Pizza Index," which maps in-home pizza consumption with restaurant foot traffic. The "BCPI" shows rough times ahead for restaurants... More than 60% of U.S. restaurants reported lower year-on-year foot traffic June-August 2024, while y-o-y at-home pizza consumption jumped 11.6% for the same period. And the shift is accelerating... We have more on Trade-Off Consumer behaviors here: https://lnkd.in/e82Egamm Cristina Itze Sean Ogar Chris Rugaber Bruce Montgomery Sri Rajagopalan Kris Walker Alicia Kelso Lynn Petrak Sam Silverstein Suzanne Kapner Chad M. Scott Petinga Jeffrey Williams Kyle Celeste

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Retail Media Ad Tech: Why cheap can cost you $$$ 🤑 In retail media, tech isn’t just a simple tool—it’s the engine driving ad revenue. Opting for budget tech may cut costs, but it often caps your growth potential. Here’s why: A retail media platform generating $50M in ad revenue might spend $5M on tech fees. Budget options could cut this to $1.5M, saving $3.5M—but that “savings” can cost you up to $200M in unrealized revenue. Advanced platforms double click-through rates and allow you to expand ad inventory, turning $50M into $250M. Leaders like The Home Depot and CVS know that high-performance tech is an investment that pays off. Oh, and we’re called Pentaleap for a reason—that’s the 5x our clients have seen in the many A/B tests we've run. Choose tech that drives growth, not just savings. #retailmedia #commercemedia #pentaleap

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One of the things I'm continually shocked by is how many marketing organizations operate with blinders to their customers and their needs. Getting your arms around your customers' requirements and using it to ensure you have the right product/market fit - not only for your offerings, but also for your approach to getting them to market - is foundational not only to your marketing team, but also to your entire corporate strategy. Our latest blog entry talks a bit about the importance of nailing your product fit. We think it's important enough that it's one of the key tenets of the Callan Way.

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DTC Companies with AOC's lower than $100... focus on bundles to increase your cart value. Change your shopper's habits to buy more at a time. For better or worse, this is becoming the only way to negate the avg. acquisition cost of a new client. Requires a little creative thinking but it can be done.

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Has anyone been using Particl? I’ve been using their software for 2-3 months now and it’s absolutely mind-blowing the amount of details they have about competitor analysis from pricing changes, revenue generated and product / SKU changes. One of newest aspects they’ve launched is a tracker to see what % of brands have launched Black Friday sales already (21% so far) - check it out here 👉https://lnkd.in/gQttGW75 They hit me up and wanted to offer a discount to my network so I said 110% yes 🫶 For a limited time you can get a 14 day free trial + 50% off your first month by clicking the link below. https://bit.ly/4feTIH7

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The Director of Marketing for a $500M merchandise retailer internally reviewed their CDP. Here are 2 things she says the vendor aced and 2 that might get them fired: 🏆//1 Great at Unifying Data She’s faced difficulties integrating past CDPs with the many 3rd-party tools her company uses. It always led to site slow-downs that limited their conversion rates. But her current vendor has seamlessly unified all their customer data across channels. No site slow-downs, no integration issues. And she loves how much it’s helped her better understand customer interactions. She’s also thrilled by how it’s made it easy to craft more relevant, compelling, and effective marketing in real-time for her customers. 👎//2 Not User-Friendly This CDP starts running into trouble with content creation and audience segments. She says, “It’s unnecessarily complex and difficult to manage.” Plus: - Navigating the platform is challenging - And its segmentation tools aren’t as intuitive as they could be - Causing friction in leveraging the CDP’s full range of capabilities 🏆//3 Effective Identity Resolution “We have a high number of customers using different platforms,” she says. So she needs a tool with strong identity resolution (IDR) capacities. The good news: She’s been thrilled with her CDP’s IDR. She says it’s significantly improved their reach “by uncovering an extra 20% of users across different devices!” 👎//4 Lack of Actionable Insights Despite the CDP’s effectiveness, she’s frustrated at how little guidance the vendor offers. “I’ve found myself guiding our CDP more than it’s been helping us,” she says. “It’s not ideal.” She’s hopeful though, as the platform has teased an upgrade that promises enhanced actionable insights. But if the vendor doesn’t deliver — this is going to be a big sticking point for her. She’s felt similarly irritated by a lack of actionable insights in other tools… Like their: - A/B testing AI tool - Personalization tool - Product recommendation tool She doesn’t want to have to waste hours digging for actionable insights. She wants platforms that make it easy for her to get the main points and quickly act on them to drive market growth. ___ Tl;dr A few *amazing* features won’t make up for others that constantly frustrate your clients. MarTech is a competitive market – if you don’t offer the full enchilada, buyers will find a competitor who will. Thoughts?

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Maybe measuring last click isn’t the best way. It’s actually archaic and only building growth for Big Tech, and not your company. “Our research across hundreds of brands in dozens of categories shows that it’s possible to rigorously measure and strategically target the feelings that drive customers’ behavior.” If marketing is in the business of selling something… and we know we all buy things based off a myriad of emotions… then maybe it’s time to start measuring something else. It’s not rocket science. It’s emotional science. https://lnkd.in/euwMST4u #brand #marketing #storytelling #video #controlthenarrative #emotionsells

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Last week, a founder asked me why their Meta ads weren't converting despite "good enough" creative. After testing thousands of video ads at Obvi and working with brands across DTC, I've noticed a pattern… Most brands confuse "good enough" creative with actually effective creative. Here are 3 game-changing video editing techniques we use at Obvi to drive real results... 1. The Green Screen Effect But not how you think. We use it to create instant context by filming over actual product pages and demos. Result? 32% higher watch time and significantly better conversion rates. 2. Strategic B-Roll Implementation We shoot every product from at least 5 angles: - Top-down for detail - Wide for context - Close-up for texture - Usage shots - Lifestyle integration This variety keeps viewers engaged through the entire message. 3. The Double-Person Effect This is our secret weapon for hooks. By filming the same person in two positions within one frame, we create natural dialogue that stops the scroll. The results? - 2X higher engagement - 47% lower CPMs - Significantly better ROAS Here's the truth: In 2024, basic product videos won't cut it anymore. These are the cuts (get it?) that have been working for us 👆, but you should be testing and analyzing everything to find what works for you. The brands winning on Meta are the ones treating their ad creative like a science, not an afterthought 🔬

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9/10 eComm brands I talk to struggle with attribution & don’t know if their ad spend drives an incremental impact on their store. This is something we’ve been battling with for the better part of 2024. It’s especially important for our brands that spend over $5000/day. Looking at the Facebook or Google ads manager has proven to be pretty unreliable... So one way to solve this issue is using post-purchase surveys which we try to set up for every client we work with. Asking people how they first heard about you will give you probably the most accurate representation of which channel is working best for you and which channel is wasting your ad spend. We track responses daily and use internal spreadsheets to track the total New Customer CPA which you can monitor while scaling the ad spend on 1 channel and maintaining your ad spend on every other channel. 3 questions I advise every eComm brand to include in their PPS are: ✅ How did you first hear about us? ✅ How long have you known about us before deciding to purchase our product? ✅ What are you most looking forward to from your purchase today? You have to do everything in your capabilities to understand the customer journey otherwise you might be easily lighting your money on fire.

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Dropped a LOADED newsletter last night. I've been consulting for institutional investors for years on the state of ecommerce/paid media. Last week I had a bunch of meetings. 3 KEY TOPICS kept coming up: 1. Current Ecommerce Media Mix 2. Social Commerce: What does it mean for Industry? 3. AI Innovation on Paid Media Platforms In the newsletter, I write about my perspective on each of the above topics. I even sprinkled in some DTC 𝕏 drama on the concept of "paid speakers and sponsors" & how I feel about it. Read along here: https://bit.ly/3U4Trxn

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