Direct-to-Consumer Landscape: How Challenger Brands Disrupt, Delight, and Drive Action

The U.S. ad market rose just 0.1% in September vs. the same month a year ago, but it nonetheless marked the third consecutive monthly gain, following a protracted period of sequential declines. While not necessarily great news amid growing concerns that the macro economy remains uncertain, including speculation over another U.S. and possibly global recession, it's not terrible news either. And while this September was down 2.0% from September 2021, that year was the best September ever since Guideline began tracking the U.S. advertising marketplace.

Direct mail is experiencing a long overdue resurgence for retailers, hastened by the pandemic. Increasingly crowded ads on social media and Google, full email inboxes, SMS dings all day long ... while the much-maligned mailbox remained emptier as credit card offers dwindled and in-store postcard coupons were recycled. It’s not surprising that many e-commerce brands decided to communicate in a new “old” way and test direct mail. We had the pleasure of assisting several launches in 2020 — some planned before the lockdowns, others as a new COVID strategy. Two of the biggest surprises for folks new to mail are: 1. the amount of time it takes to properly put together an effective mailing; and 2. how expensive mailing can be. One of our print partners and I assisted a pure-play that mailed within three weeks of our first discussion … this is NOT typical and we don’t recommend it. Haste makes waste.

Along with “storytelling” and “authenticity” the word “community” gets tossed around a lot these days by brands and marketers alike. While all three of these terms, and the sentiments they carry, are often used as empty platitudes or attractive phrases to sprinkle in an ‘About Us’ page, in their best uses they come from a place of sincerity and real consumer ramifications. In a 2021 study from ebbo, ‘community’ was the second highest factor that contributed to customer loyalty after product quality. But what does community mean for a brand? How can it be grown and nurtured? What does it look like? To answer these questions I want to take a look at three different brands each instilling community with their consumers in vastly different ways. Some take place in online chat rooms, others in secret shopping opportunities, and some through in-person engagement. No matter how they approach it, each of these brands takes what people love about their products and their mission and create a space for that to flourish. read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/creating-community/