DTC Podcast – Ep 541: Mastering the First Second: How Chris Erthel Hooks Attention in Meta Ads

Podcast: DTC Podcast
Host: Eric Dick (DTC Newsletter and Podcast)
Guest: Chris Ottle (also goes by Chris Erthel)
Date: September 8, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the art and science of mastering the "first second" in Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ad creatives with leading expert Chris Ottle. Chris and Eric discuss actionable strategies for capturing attention, optimizing ad creatives, leveraging comments, maximizing A/B tests, expanding international markets, and building a sustainable, high-performance DTC brand in the evolving e-commerce landscape. The conversation blends tactical marketing advice with Chris's unique career journey, mindset for growth, and lessons in personal well-being.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Chris Ottle’s Hero’s Journey & Experience (02:48)

• Global Expertise: From university in South Carolina to launching startups in Europe, eventually advising 142+ ecommerce companies globally.
• Notable Successes: Helped take German skincare brand from €30M to €107M and a United Nations project netting 230+ million shared meals.
• Failure Lessons: Frequent failed projects (like a SaaS tool for ad spend transparency) contributed to growth:

  “I've been failing a lot and winning a lot. And so in general, like, you know, if you do this, you win.” (05:23)

The Power of Landing Page Choice (06:32, 09:38)

• Common Mistake: "Half of [brands] send their traffic to the wrong landing page." (00:00, 06:32)
• Optimal Approach: Always A/B test sending traffic to a collection/category page (showing multiple products) vs. driving to a single bestseller product page.
  • Collection pages build trust and drive higher AOV (average order value).
  • "It can bring up to 20% higher average order values and return on ad spend." (08:55)

Hooking Attention in the First Second (11:52)

Chris details a toolbox of first-second strategies:

• Rapid branding hooks: Montage of people voicing three quick attributes about the brand.
• Bold statements or immediate answers to pressing questions.
• Humor & surprise: Comedy, unexpected visuals (e.g., “car drives over this guy”—in a comedic context) or stunning pattern interrupts.
• Clean, beautiful shots: Especially in fashion, where ultra-premium visuals can act as the hook without appearing like obvious ads.
• Moving product sequences: For example, models spinning with each spin switching outfits (fashion), or eye-catching visuals like a double backflip for snowboard brands.
• Avoiding “ad-ness”:

  “If you follow too much only all the formulas then you also look like a very generic thing … with AI, everything is going to be more uniform.” (13:05)

Creative Ad Formulas: The “Corner Kick” (17:05)

• Context: A visual effect where an ad “folds” like a page corner, transitioning to show the website beneath.
• Purpose: Pre-frames the click experience, familiarizing users with the brand’s site and products before they even click.

The Overlooked Power of Comments (17:52)

• Comments as Conversion Drivers: Most brands "don't take it serious enough how important it is" to curate and manage ad comments (17:56).

• Practical Tip: Proactively seed positive, authentic comments, answer questions, and moderate negatives—amplifies trust and ROAS.

  “It's been ignored by the whole industry how important the comments are. And I've been preaching it since four or five years. But check, check the comments and work on the comments.” (19:26; Notable Quote)

[Timestamp Note: 20:03]

• Example: Like Michael Brenner, brands have lifted revenue 20-30% simply by curating comments diligently.

Innovations: AR, Filters, and Animation in Ads (21:18–22:59)

• AR and surprise effects can create viral, memorable ad experiences.
• Example: Instagram filter for sunglasses brand—try-on experience direct from the ad.
• Reflection: Platform changes can quickly kill or enable these innovations (Meta disabled filter linking for ads).

A/B Testing: Cultivating a Culture of Experimentation (23:21)

• Pace: 40+ A/B tests per week for some teams.
• High-Value Tests:
  • Optimization events (“add to cart” vs. “purchase” for algorithm learning).
  • “Clone and Iterate”: Same ad structure tested with multiple creators—results vary wildly; sometimes one creator will drive 10x revenue over others.
• Influencer Impact Example:

  “Guess the amount that she earned in a single year? ... 6 million [euro].” (25:59)
  Outperformed all expectations: “31 million were out of her.” (26:31)

Scaling Brands to Global Exits (27:41)

• Case Study: Turned companies stuck at one revenue plateau into international, high-growth brands.
• Key Steps:
  • In-housing ad spend & creative (instead of agency, which lowers exit multiples).
  • Testing discount strategies (“30% doesn’t hook,” but “40% made everything explode”).
  • Black Friday/Seasonal Sale Tactic: Launch big offers in November, clearly stating, “we promise no bigger deal on Black Friday.” Essential to keep brand trust high and avoid race-to-the-bottom discounting.

  • “We found out is we saved 18 and a half euros on meta ads. The big loser was Mark Zuckerberg because all of a sudden the friction was over.” (32:13; Notable Quote)

Winning European (“Internationalization”) Playbook (34:11)

• Best New Markets for US Brands:

  • First: Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Holland, Belgium) – English works, euro currency, advanced ecom buyers.
  • Second: Poland—fast-growing, and English is widely accepted online.
  • Third: France/Italy, and later UK.

• Simple Approach:

  “In every brand I've ever helped, we never made ads in their language or the website, always in English. And it works perfectly.” (35:39)

• Brand Perception: US brands should lean on “California” image, avoid regionally polarizing associations.

Creative & Operational Tools (38:00, 40:11)

• Creative Stack Highlight:
  • Wevee: Single platform hosting 140+ AI tools for generating, editing, and optimizing creative assets.

    “You have this blank space, like a figma… you drag these tools in and then you can prompt from there.” (39:53)

• Email Marketing:
  • Omnisend: Cost-effective, ecommerce-optimized alternative to Klaviyo (“around 40% of Klaviyo cost; migration in hours”).

  • “Now we are like checking… now it was a monopoly and people kept rising prices… but Omnisend is much more cost efficient, efficient. Our Roas even doubled for some.” (41:53)

Mindset, Well-Being & Breathwork (46:33 onward)

• Personal Projects & Goals:

  • Building a leading reputation in Meta ads (waiting for Apple to call).
  • Personal happiness podcast focused on wellness and balance ("Happiness Podcast by Chris Ottle").
  • Competitive goals (footgolf World Cup!), family, relocation to Tenerife.

• Breathwork Practice for Stress:

  • “20 connected breaths” exercise demonstrated live (51:42).

  • “Every animal breathes connected. And humans also breathe connected if they don't have trauma. But everyone has some kind of trauma… that's why we all have stops if of inhale or exhale.” (55:23)

  • Book rec: Breath by James Nestor.

• Mindset Quotes & Maxims:

  • “Todo es perfecto en necessario — everything is perfect and necessary.” (57:38)
  • “Lamente miente — the mind lies.” (59:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On comments:

  "It's been ignored by the whole industry how important the comments are. And I've been preaching it since four or five years. But check, check the comments and work on the comments."
  (Chris Ottle, 19:26)

• On collection pages:

  "Sending the Facebook traffic to the collection page ... The numbers couldn't be more clear ... you can even do a mass change and it's such a quick hack and it can bring up to 20% higher average order values and return on ad spend."
  (Chris Ottle, 08:55)

• On innovating creative:

  "If you follow too much all the formulas then you also look like a very generic thing ... with AI, everything is going to be more uniform."
  (Chris Ottle, 13:05)

• On brand growth through AB testing:

  "A lot of the tests would really make a difference is how the audience reacts to different content creators and who can really talk to the audience."
  (Chris Ottle, 24:42)

• On biggest profit driver:

  “In nearly every E com brand ... the highest ROI is actually email marketing.”
  (Chris Ottle, 40:48)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–03:00 — Chris’s introduction, early career, initial failures and big wins.
• 06:32–09:38 — Deep dive: Why brands send traffic to the wrong page (landing page vs. collection).
• 11:52–16:49 — How to win attention in the vital “first second” of meta ads.
• 17:05–17:56 — The “corner kick” creative visual effect and comments as conversion tools.
• 19:26–20:23 — Working ad comments; curating community as a performance lever.
• 21:18–22:59 — AR and animation in ads, Instagram filter campaign experience.
• 23:21–26:31 — Culture of A/B testing; influencer-driven revenue case study.
• 27:41–34:11 — Scaling brands to international exits, in-housing, discount testing, seasonal sales strategy.
• 34:11–36:36 — Step-by-step playbook for US brands expanding across Europe.
• 38:00–43:29 — Best creative and Martech tools; Omnisend/Klaviyo debate; ROI in retention marketing.
• 46:33–55:23 — Chris’s personal goals, mindset, breathwork lesson, lifestyle choices.
• 57:38–59:04 — Mindset maxims: "Todo es perfecto en necessario"; "Lamente miente".

Final Takeaways

• First second matters: Brands must innovate, test, and refuse the generic in creative hooks.
• Landing pages: Collection/category pages consistently outperform single product pages for trust and order value.
• Comments are currency: Ignoring them is leaving major revenue on the table.
• Always keep testing: The next winning move may be a different creator, channel, or localization.
• **International markets are low-hanging fruit, especially for US brands entering the Nordics, Poland, or Western Europe with English-only campaigns.
• **Tech stack agility and cost discipline beat shiny, overpriced SaaS brands.
• **Well-being isn’t at odds with high performance—it's essential to resilience and decision quality.

Closing Words (57:38):

“Everything is perfect and necessary ... the mind lies. The mind always tells us certain things… we always believe everything the mind tells us. But ... the mind is very good at lying to us.”

Chris Ottle’s Happiness Podcast and professional links included in the episode show notes.