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In this episode, Pilothouse's Taylor Cain and Aves break down how to merge creative strategy with merchandising to win Q1. This is the planning season where smart brands lock in the building blocks for scalable growth—and avoid wasting paid budget.

For DTC marketers planning evergreen creative and site strategy in Q1...

• Why Q1 is the time to de-risk creative investments
• How to connect merch and creative across the entire funnel
• What emotional truths are, and why they drive action
• How to create merchandising that aligns with user intent (without sounding like a pitch deck)
• The subtle difference between price-based and identity-based offers

Who this is for: Media buyers, growth leads, and brand-side marketers aiming to improve conversion and site experience

What to steal:

• The linear structure Taylor uses to build conversion flows
• Aves' 3-step audit for understanding persona behavior online
• Why great PDPs start with emotion, not features

Timestamps:

00:00 Merchandising in ecommerce and cognitive competition

02:45 Why shoppers visit multiple brands before buying

05:10 Bringing the in-store experience into digital creative

07:20 Funnel congruency and full-funnel merchandising

09:40 Merchandising on social feeds beyond direct competitors

12:10 Information architecture and emotional storytelling on PDPs

14:05 Selling identity and ritual instead of product features

18:30 How Meta optimization and Andromeda affect merchandising

20:40 Practical merchandising spot checks for brands

Hashtags:

#ecommercemarketing #digitalmerchandising #dtcbrands #paidmedia #creativestrategy #conversionoptimization #brandstrategy #marketingfunnels #metamarketing #shopifybrands #performancecreative

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Thomas Robinson has helped build full‑funnel growth engines for brands like Tiege Henley and now Breath Death — where he’s turning chaotic traction into scalable funnels and converting creator buzz into sustainable growth.

For growth leaders scaling DTC with low‑AOV products.

In this episode, Thomas breaks down:

• How YouTube influencer authenticity became a systematic funnel driver (not a one‑hit wonder).
• Why TikTok Shop is the top strategic revenue channel — and how it boosts Amazon performance.
• The three‑part funnel framework: Hook → Integration → CTA + cohesive landing page.
• Why psychographics beat demographics in creative.
• Omni‑channel retention: SMS, email, DM automations, WhatsApp.

Who this is for: D2C marketers scaling early‑growth brands, content and performance teams, founders wrestling with low‑AOV CAC.

What to steal:

• Turn creator moments into evergreen assets for Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.
• Build landing pages that mirror ad intent (don’t lose momentum).
• Segment email/SMS flows by customer psychographic intent.

Timestamps

00:00 — Turning creator buzz into scalable growth

02:00 — Why Breath Death chose TikTok Shop as a core channel

04:00 — Gen Z targeting, nostalgia, and early audience signals

06:00 — Learning from Liquid Death’s polarizing brand strategy

08:00 — Turning influencer moments into evergreen funnels

10:00 — Structuring ads with hooks, integrations, and CTAs

12:00 — TikTok Shop, Amazon halo effects, and channel synergy

14:00 — Affiliate strategy from nano creators to macro partners

16:00 — Why YouTube influencers compound better than paid ads

18:00 — SEO, Reddit, and authority in AI-driven search

20:00 — Scaling low-AOV products on Meta ads

22:00 — Psychographics, motivations, and creative archetypes

26:00 — Q4 growth, LTV focus, and retention strategy

28:00 — Email, SMS, WhatsApp, and DM automation

31:00 — Long-term brand storytelling vs direct response

34:00 — Personalized landing pages and post-click experience

Hashtags

#dtcpodcast #dtcbrands #ecommercegrowth #tiktokshop #influencermarketing #creatorcommerce #brandstrategy #performanceads #youtubeinfluencers #affiliatemarketing #consumerbrands #foundermarketing #growthmarketing #directtoconsumer

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Eric sits down with Dougie, Pilothouse's Google Lead, to dig into why content targeting—specifically with YouTube Select—is outperforming audience-based targeting, even at premium CPMs. If you’ve been running low-cost YouTube campaigns with underwhelming results, this is the mindset shift you need.

For DTC brands tired of wasting money on passive YouTube impressions.

• What YouTube Select actually is (and why it matters for performance)
• How to think about placements vs. audiences
• Why content congruence improves funnel performance
• Scaling tips: what kind of brands can go big with Select
• How to build creatives that match the content being watched

Who this is for: Brands spending serious dollars on YouTube, or considering a shift from Meta to a broader channel mix.

What to steal:

• Align creative to content before launch
• Use Google reps to identify top indexed channels by persona
• Treat YouTube Select like TV: flight-based, not daily budget-driven

Timestamps

00:00 Content vs interest targeting

02:01 Why content alignment converts

04:02 YouTube Select explained

06:02 Why low quality inventory fails

08:04 How content based creative works

10:03 Google and YouTube strategy shift

12:02 Aligning creative to placements

14:02 Meta and Google funnel synergy

16:01 Scaling with YouTube Select

Hashtags

#YouTubeSelect #GoogleAds #ContentTargeting #MediaBuying #DigitalAdvertising #PerformanceMarketing #BrandStrategy #YouTubeAds #PaidMedia #MarketingPodcast #DTCMarketing #AdStrategy #AudienceTargeting #CreativeStrategy #Pilothouse

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