The direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing movement has undoubtedly transformed the consumer landscape, allowing businesses to forge closer relationships with their customers and manage their operations more efficiently. However, as the market matures, it is becoming increasingly important for DTC brands and the agencies they engage with to think beyond their immediate consumer base and embrace DTC marketing strategies that drive mass awareness and brand building.
An ever-evolving digital landscape allows DTC businesses to take control of their advertising distribution channels and grow their customer base at exponential rates while embracing an all-encompassing marketing mix. In this blog post, we will explore how a marketing mix model (MMM) can play a pivotal role in measuring and optimizing these broader strategies to meet both short-term and long-term goals.
Leavened and DTC Marketing Strategies
Leavened’s origin story can in significant ways be traced to the development of our platform in response to the needs of direct-to-consumer (DTC) clients. Many of these businesses were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on digital marketing data analyses that didn’t provide them with the information they needed to make more informed choices regarding ad spend.
Leavened revolutionized DTC marketing by marrying holistic measurement with placement-level optimization, thus enabling cross-channel optimization at scale.
We created our platform in part so that DTC clients and agencies could automate their analyses for a fraction of the cost of traditional providers. In addition, Leavened provides robust data at lightning speed with complete transparency.
What’s more, our clients can gather data at daily or weekly intervals; wherever is best suited to their particular needs.
Of course, those initial processes led inexorably to questions regarding an overall DTC strategy — one that was informed by data and packaged in a way that provided clients and agencies with actionable insights into the performance of their ad spends.
Marketing Strategy for DTC Brands
Direct-to-consumer marketing strategies have been game-changers for many brands. By selling directly to their customers, many companies have been able to disrupt traditional retail models, resulting in decreased costs for themselves and increased satisfaction for their customers.
To excel in their respective categories, DTC brands must be willing to evolve their marketing strategies, media, messaging, and most importantly, measurement. And often, in order to scale, DTC brands engage with agencies to help manage advanced analytics.
Let’s delve into the world of DTC marketing strategies and explore how a marketing mix model (MMM) can help provide invaluable insights into one’s marketing impact and expand media reach.
A Shift in DTC Marketing Strategies
Initially, DTC companies, especially those operating within niche markets, relied heavily on traditional media channels for advertising to and engaging with their consumer base. However, many soon realized that in order to establish themselves as dominant players in their market, they had to venture beyond this approach, transforming their marketing — both in terms of media and messaging.
As DTC businesses continue to focus on growth, there comes a time when relying solely on performance digital media is no longer enough. To maintain autonomy in their distribution network, expand their consumer base, and stand out from the crowd, brands must look toward mass awareness and brand-building channels. These include video, CTV, television, outdoor advertising, influencer marketing, sponsorships, and events.
Expanding into these high-reach media options enhances brand awareness and enables word-of-mouth marketing growth via social media platforms. It also reinforces a brand’s credibility, creates a strong brand identity and brand image, and lays a solid foundation for future growth.
Additional efforts can then be deployed for an even more personalized experience for one’s target audience. These efforts might include email marketing campaigns or perhaps even a renewed focus on offline marketing, such as retail store popup experiences, whereby brands can sell their products, reinvigorate their consumer brands, and engage in good old-fashioned trust-building customer service.
Exploring the Marketing Mix Model
Marketing mix models are valuable tools that can help agencies and DTC brands gauge the impact of their marketing strategies on various KPIs. Through the evaluation of historical performance data, an MMM allows marketers to better understand the causal relationship between marketing investments and key business outcomes, such as sales and profit. By incorporating marketing investments, external factors, and internal factors into the model, MMM enables DTC brands to strategically allocate their resources to achieve short- and long-term goals.
It is critical to have a comprehensive understanding of the impact of marketing efforts on KPIs beyond just sales. MMM uses advanced statistical techniques to measure the effectiveness of various marketing tactics. Utilizing MMM allows DTC companies to assess their marketing efforts holistically, identify opportunities for growth, and allocate resources more effectively.
By better understanding the relationship between marketing spend and its impact on KPIs, more informed decisions can be made regarding DTC marketing strategy.
Moving Beyond Digital Media
To compete with larger, more established brands, DTC companies need to expand beyond performance digital media and embrace high-reach media platforms. By doing so, they can reach a wider audience, increase their brand awareness, and ultimately drive greater revenue. However, this approach requires a tailored strategy and a seamless integration of traditional and digital media channels in order to maximize marketing effectiveness and ROI.
Cross-Channel Optimization at Scale
With a diverse marketing mix, it becomes crucial for DTC brands to efficiently optimize their campaigns across multiple media channels. Cross-channel optimization ensures that each marketing dollar is allocated to the most effective platform, maximizing ROI. Leavened supports DTC brands and agencies through their SaaS platform that offers holistic measurement solutions and provides placement-level optimization capabilities.
Leavened’s Role in Revolutionizing DTC Marketing Strategies
Leavened is committed to helping agencies and DTC companies navigate the complexities of the rapidly evolving marketing landscape. Leavened enables DTC brands to effectively expand their media reach and establish themselves as dominant players in their respective markets. With cross-channel optimization at scale, Leavened ensures that DTC brands can compete with larger, more established brands while continuing to maintain their core values and unique selling propositions.
As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, so must the strategies employed by DTC brands. By embracing a holistic approach through the use of marketing mix models, expanding digital media, and implementing cross-channel optimization at scale, DTC brands can enhance their marketing effectiveness and drive substantial growth.
Finally, adopting a growth mindset enables businesses to continuously evolve and adapt in a competitive market. By staying open to new ideas, technologies, and methods, DTC brands can remain agile and capitalize on opportunities that arise in the ever-changing digital landscape.
Fostering long-term success means striking a balance between maintaining the unique advantages of the DTC model and adopting the essential elements of traditional CPG marketing. Many brands have already begun to navigate this complex territory, and it’s increasingly clear that the ability to embrace both worlds will be critical for businesses that want to rise to the top of their respective categories.
Leavened’s MMM platform offers support to these companies as they navigate this complex landscape, empowering them to become dominant players in their respective markets — and to remain there far into the future.
