A large percent of DTC brands rely too much on a narrow selection of media channels. A frightening number of brands are almost completely dependent on 1-2 channels. It’s not uncommon to find brands who funnel 90% of budgets into Facebook and Google.

While Facebook and Google can be reliable, they offer very little prospect to upstart brands for MASSIVE break-throughs. Once DTCs have secured a clear identity and a rock solid customer engagement strategy, brands MUST target break-through opportunities. The goal of growth brands should be to hunt for under-priced attention …and then maximize the impact of that attention.  

The most high-profile opportunities exist around the confluence of; (1)what’s happening with video on TikTok (and Reels), (2)livestreaming, and (3)influencers.

Often overlooked opportunities also exist with; (1)traditional PR, (2)with community management and content seeding into emerging apps, and (3)out-of-home (eg. stunts/guerrilla marketing) together with pop-ups. Community focused efforts like these are more about hustle than budget, so also well suited to DTC budgets.

For most DTC brands, opportunities in the “Metaverse” are too much of a stretch, as the barriers to efficiently executing into this environment are just too high. 

Unless there are very easy (affordable) opportunities to gain under-priced attention, experiments in newer media are more likely to fall flat and exhaust enthusiasm for future attempts. An experiment that is more than 5-10% of company effort/budget is likely to product negative outcomes. (See Page 85)