Adam Weber

The Future of Retail keeps changing. Direct to Consumer was a hot business model innovation while retail felt old-fashioned, but now brands are thinking hybrid and looking with fresh eyes on different distribution models. Where do we stand, how do brands break out, and where do we go from here? Join Blake Brown, Jake Berube, Beth Smith, David Bradley, Leah Garcia and Jaclyn Tracy to here about brands like Pesti, Kizik, NULASTIN®, Formula 707, SUSTAIN and more are approaching the next wave of marketing to consumers. #DSW24 #DTC #FutureofRetail

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CTV ads + first-party data = your new marketing power couple 🤩 Want to learn how brands like Kroger and Nielsen are making the most of CTV? LiveRamp's CTV Activation Guide for Brands is here to help you turn viewers into buyers, one ad at a time. https://lnkd.in/gvkYGNV9

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Sometimes the stars align, and you get to share your passions with the world. Sure, I know marketing - but did you know I'm the world's foremost expert on the ambrosia of the gods, otherwise known as Diet Mountain Dew? (Those of you who know me personally...know this to be true). I got a chance to talk to Charles Passy at MarketWatch about my love for doing the Dew (and a few thoughts on why it's not clicking with Gen Z). You can read about my absolutely appalling habits here: https://lnkd.in/eh32DfWj I'm completely aligned with Serenity Griffin, who is quoted on Mountain Dew's artificial coloring. To me, the neon green is part of the appeal, but for wellness-obsessed Gen Z, I get it! But the idea of a "clear" Mountain Dew soda is just so counter to the brand, I don't see how that could ever work (I imagine it going down the same path as Crystal Pepsi). If I were PepsiCo, I'd consider two campaigns: 1) Bring back DewMocracy. It is quite literally a bipartisan soda -- apparently loving Dew is a prerequisite for a United States VP. You could have SO much fun with that. And 2) Lean into being a guilty pleasure. Drink your dew while you're getting ready for a good bed rot. Enjoy the ultimate (but relatively benign) vice (see what I did there!?). #marketinginsights #publicrelations #genZ

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📣Precise TV’s 2024 media consumption trend report among US Gen Z teens is now available! As a mom to 2 teens who love their screens and are constantly asking for products they see on YouTube, TikTok and other media platforms, this report will be super helpful to advertisers who want to reach this VERY picky audience. The 2024 Precise Advertiser Report; Teens & Youth (PARTY)  reveals: 🏆 YouTube remains the #1 platform among teens 🎵 79% of teens use YouTube to listen to music 📲 Teens' favorite apps include YouTube, YouTube Shorts & TikTok 🎮 More than 60% of teens like to play video or app games Download for free here: https://lnkd.in/e__Uz25z #GenZ #Report #YouTube #teens

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"We need to do more with less" -your boss, VP, CEO, board (probably) 😤 I have been having a lot of conversations with agency execs and in-house marketing leaders over the past several months, and the feelings are all very similar. Everyone feels crunched, budgets and headcount are tight, but expectations around output aren't decreasing inline. You know the drill. You're probably living it right now. But let me tell you, the idea that you're going to "throw a little AI on it" isn't going to fix the problem. It's a different world out there and the brands that are seeing success while not pulling their hair out are the ones who have inherently evolved their process and workflows to be efficient AND maintain a high bar. The two aren't mutually exclusive. You CAN work smarter and deliver game-changing work. You just need to figure out the operational flow to do so. And that piece is what so often falls to the bottom of the to-do list amidst all of the other client or stakeholder demands. If you're nodding your head in agreement to all of this but thinking you'll never have the time to figure this out, you're in the same boat as so many others. But the good news? You don't have to. I can do it for you. And I'm currently working with select clients to help operationalize their brand. Because it works. And it can work for you. If that sounds interesting, check out the link and let's chat! Or if you can commiserate, but really don't like chatting, and wouldn't mind hitting 'like', that's great too and I guarantee others in your network are feeling this way. Stay sane out there. https://lnkd.in/eH4dZNAG

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Consider that Starbucks is a market leader in consumer technology and loyalty and is armed with data and insights to make strategic decisions that can mitigate the macro-economic impacts driving customer frequency down and they still can't hold the line. Restaurants that don't have those resources are absolutely suffering far worse, unable to understand why, and making guesses about what they can do to turn it around. Restaurant loyalty and top-notch apps in 2024 are a must-have to navigate such treacherous waters.

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The secret to making big ideas happen is radical collaboration At this years Superbowl Doordash pulled off something that has never been done before To demonstrate the fact they can deliver almost anything they came up with the idea of a promotion at the end of the Superbowl where you could "doordash all the ads" and win everything that was featured in an ad that night That's right, they would deliver a lucky winner every product featured; the cars, the tax software, the phone contracts, the drinks .... not quite sure how they were going to cope with Jesus & RFK but am sure they found a way ..? How do you come up with such a bold idea and then execute something that isn't just creative but a logistical nightmare? Kofi Amoo-Gottfried the CMO of Doordash described it as "radical collaboration" between the in-house team and Wieden + Kennedy and described it as leaving your ego at the door, thinking of it as "our thing not my thing" and treating everyone across in-house and the agency as part of the same team. I am a strong believer in the power of partnerships as they enable you to create something so much bigger than you could ever do alone. Working with a different organisation can bring its challenges which is why thinking of it in a radical way makes a lot of sense. What could you achieve if you were radical in your collaboration? Check out the Doordash case study here https://lnkd.in/e9KVuNcW See link to the full episode of Uncensored CMO in the comments Kerry Collinge James M. Andrew Tindall

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My ecommerce trend prediction: Prescription Testosterone Replacement Therapy for men is going to see as big of a boom as hair loss in the next 2-3 years among telehealth brands. I’m already seeing brands crop up in this space on Meta. Convos around testosterone are starting to dominate the “manosphere”. Common health misconceptions/old myths about the risks of TRT are being dispelled similar to Creatine in the last 5 years. Search volume for this category is pacing on par with total search volume for hims & hers in the last 5 years There are still many valid health risks to TRT that may prevent this from scaling the way I predict, but this is a trend that’s happening in real time, a trend that is STILL EARLY and GROWING.

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It's Amazon Prime Day and lots of sites have roundups of its best deals (like Consumer Reports' below), but no one else tests products with the research and rigor that we do. Since taking this job I've switched out an air purifier and mattress highly-recommended by popular review sites because it didn't work and was killing my back, respectively. At CR, for example, we don't just ask people if they like their mattress - we move a 300-lb wood roller across a mattress 30,000 times to test its lifelong durability. My typical MO on LinkedIn is career advice but I'm not just doing my job - I'm doing you a favor - when I say: if you're buying something big, don't just buy it without checking Consumer Reports. https://lnkd.in/efmb8S6N

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Squarespace announced today that they are going private, in an all-cash $6.9B transaction with the private equity firm Permira. For those in the Shopify ecosystem, this will be interesting to watch. Squarespace was one of the many “second place” e-commerce platforms working to make selling online easier than ever. Their core strength is easy website building; by adding e-commerce capabilities to their feature set they opened up their potential market include some of the same customers as Shopify. The Squarespace stock price YTD prior to this announcement had grown at about twice the rate of the S&P500, although it is now up about 30% this morning on the news to reflect the offer premium. Even before 2024, the stock price was holding well when compared against major indexes. It will be interesting to watch how Permira manages Squarespace. Will they follow the standard private equity playbook and work to extract all the value possible to recover their $6.9B? Given the recent financials for Squarespace this seems challenging without changes to their operating approach - does it mean price increases for Squarespace products are coming or that product improvements will slow or stop? Permira does not hold a large number of DTC brands that could take advantage of an in-house platform. They hold a number of e-commerce and e-commerce adjacent portfolio companies such as Klarna, Allegro, GoCardless and Magneto, - but it does not appear that there are many synergies available. While this will be interesting to watch, it does not appear to have any large, immediate impact worth considering for Shopify, or their merchants and developers.

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Thrive is a silent killer of a channel. But driving velocity can be tricky. At least until yesterday. Thrive and Instacart have teamed up to provide Thrive Carrot Ads. Now you can drive velocity with a surgeon's scalpal. Oh, and if you're approaching Thrive's Innovation Program. This is your chance to secure a permanent spot on their digital shelf. If you're interested, feel free to DM me or book a call. (No, I cannot get you 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 Thrive. But I can help you stay there.) ——— 🔹 We grow brands on Amazon. 🔹 We increase velocity in Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Sam's, COSTCO, and lots of other cool retailers. #cpg #cpggrowth #retailgrowth #retailvelocity #omnichannel #retail #amazonagency #retailmedia #shoppermarketing #instacart #thrive #thrivemarket #carrotads

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How you can lose your brand dominance

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Measurement is key to maximize (and prove) marketing impact. Kroger shares how they hold traditional reach mediums like CTV accountable to actual conversion outcomes. Explore more from LiveRamp's #RampUp24 here: https://lnkd.in/eWWh3cGk

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Inspired by a 2018 Reddit post of an empty Reese's cup, the brand continues their humor with the release of a "Deconstructed Peanut Butter Cup Kit." The kit features a 10oz jar of peanut butter and a 9oz milk chocolate shell for consumers to try their own combinations & achieve the perfect peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio! 🥜🍫 #ConsumerTrends #Advertising #BrandStrategy

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Want to lower your COGS today and let your CAC run wild? :) One of our favorite ways to slice into COGS at DTC brands with commoditized products is by piggybacking aggressively off huge brand's purchase orders. Ask your supplier to show you when their weak and strong seasons are. Ideally they send you their volume per week. Ask them if ordering when one of their larger customers is ordering would reduce pricing. It almost will because they're effective just making more of the same thing with some tweaks. The more common the bill of materials is, the better this works since the manufacturer can pull from the same pool. It also reduces risk for them substantially because they now have another customer consuming the same raw materials at the same time.

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Lots of action in CPG world right now. Many brands are experiencing volume declines as consumers respond to inflation. Private label competition is up. A lot. Smaller, digitally native DTC brands are chipping away at the share of legacy brands. And there's tremendous pressure to improve outcomes with smarter advertising and promotional strategies. Here's one: Don't forget about the stores. Most of them are now digitally enabled and you can access these massive audiences at scale as easily as any other digital channel - just without the fear of wasting impressions on shady MFA sites or other places where the audiences are less engaged in commerce activity at best, and not even human at worst 🤖 Take a look at the media plan. Anything looking stale? Could it make sense to reallocate some portion of that budget to get closer to people as they shop in the physical stores where 85%+ of your sales occur? Yes - Reach them while they watch TV on the couch. Yes - Reach them while they are scrolling social. Yes - Speak to them while they are walking the dog and listening to a podcast. Yes - Put your brand in front of them with sponsored product listings. But why go silent on them once they arrive at the actual store? Remind them. Get that additional imprint on their memory at the final moment of truth. It's getting complicated out there. But maybe taking advantage of digital in-store media is part of the solution? https://lnkd.in/eD6gHBV7

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If you are a CPG founder interested in learning more about community rounds, this is a good 101 overview. Thanks to Daniel Scharff and the team at Startup CPG for hosting, and James Reina for sharing his personal experience of running a Wefunder community round for Jibby Coffee. Without question, the best slide of the deck screenshotted below. https://lnkd.in/gHyxFuDa

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Shared some thoughts with Pear VC on how we think about marketing at immi, crazy experiments we've tried since the early days, and some of our marketing processes that have helped us scale. Thanks for being in our corner! https://lnkd.in/gBAkTUzH #brand #marketing

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