Marketing Operators Podcast - Episode 31 Summary

Title: One Month Countdown to BFCM: What We're Working On Right Now To Maximize Success
Release Date: October 30, 2024
Hosts: Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, Cody Plofker

1. Introduction

In Episode 31 of the Marketing Operators podcast, hosts Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, and Cody Plofker delve into strategic preparations for the upcoming Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) season. The episode emphasizes the importance of meticulous planning, inventory management, and leveraging advanced marketing tools to ensure a successful BFCM across their e-commerce brands—Hexclad, Jones Road Beauty, and Ridge.

2. Sponsor Segment

Motion App:
[00:56] Connor MacDonald highlights Motion, a long-time ally of the hosts, which recently secured a $30 million Series B funding round. Motion offers innovative features like Creative Research, a free tool for building swipe files from favorite brands, and Winning Combinations, an advanced analytics feature that swiftly identifies effective ad concepts and messaging themes across various influencers and formats.

Connor MacDonald: "Winning Combinations helps you instantly answer complex business questions... it takes seconds to pull insights."

Call to Action: Experience Motion's new features by booking a demo at motionapp.com and receive 50% off the first month using the promo code "Marketing Operators."

3. Personal Banter and Product Discussions

The hosts engage in light-hearted conversations, sharing personal updates and preferences. Connor mentions finding his favorite Olipop flavor—cream soda—which leads to discussions about healthy beverage alternatives and the challenges of maintaining a low-sugar diet.

Host 1 (Connor Rolain): "I don't know beer, so I gotta give it that one in the queue."

Cody shares insights from his recent trip to LA, where he explored Erewhon grocery stores, praising their extensive selection of trendy CPG products and unique prepared foods.

4. Product Launches and Q4 Planning

Cody Discusses Jones Road Beauty's Anniversary Kit:
[11:33] Cody provides an in-depth overview of Jones Road Beauty's successful launch of their limited-edition anniversary kit, surpassing last year's sales with over 32,000 units sold in the first five days. The kit includes exclusive products like a gel eyeliner and a yet-to-be-released brush, aimed at both retention and acquisition through high average order values (AOV).

Cody Plofker: "I'm pumped, I'm thrilled. Seems like everything has gone very well so far for this launch."

Strategy for Limited Edition Products:
Cody emphasizes the value of launching limited-edition items to test market reception before deciding on making them evergreen products. This approach allows for flexibility and scalability based on consumer demand.

Cody Plofker: "I do think there's a lot of value in launching some type of limited thing, you know, testing, seeding the market and if people loving it, then kind of going big and making it evergreen."

Connor and Host 2's Insights on Scaling and International Marketing:
Connor MacDonald shares Ridge's strategy to refine their international campaigns, particularly targeting markets like Australia and the UK with localized messaging and launch timelines tailored to regional shopping behaviors.

Host 2 (Connor MacDonald): "We're just trying to serve the most relevant messaging throughout a period that has a lot of different messaging across different markets."

5. Advanced Analytics and Media Mix Modeling

Introduction to Prussian AI for Media Mix Modeling (MMM):
Cody introduces Prussian AI, Jones Road Beauty’s new MMM tool, which has proven instrumental in quantifying the effectiveness of various marketing channels, including traditionally hard-to-measure avenues like TV advertising.

Cody Plofker: "Prussian AI has been super impressive... It's really going to help us leaning into Q4."

Prussian AI allows brands to measure the direct and organic impact of their advertising efforts, offering insights into halo effects and cross-channel attribution. This tool enables more confident and data-driven decisions, especially crucial during volatile Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) periods.

6. BFCM Plans and Tactical Preparations

Connor and Host 2 Outline Ridge's BFCM Strategy:
[27:21] Connor MacDonald details Ridge's comprehensive BFCM plan, which includes early bird sales, singles day promotions across international markets, and extended holiday sales spanning Cyber Monday and Boxing Day. The strategy focuses on segmented marketing efforts tailored to each region's unique shopping patterns.

Connor MacDonald: "We're trying to squeeze more juice out of all these markets... it's just how do we act more natively in all these different regions where our products are available."

Cody Plofker on Jones Road Beauty's BFCM Initiatives:
Cody discusses the development of a new "bundle builder" UX for better customer experience and higher AOV. The team has also invested in a director of e-commerce and a UX designer to enhance website functionalities and optimize for conversions.

Cody Plofker: "We've created a 16-page mini catalog going out with Postpilot... it'll house our whole holiday collection."

Inventory Management and Marketing Alignment:
Both brands emphasize the critical role of inventory reports and cross-departmental collaboration in aligning marketing campaigns with available stock, ensuring timely adjustments to promotional strategies based on real-time sales data.

Host 2 (Connor MacDonald): "We have our call tomorrow morning with merchandising as well, where it's like, okay, what's the plan from there we're going to have to rekit some things."

7. Media Buying Optimization and Incrementality Measurement

Discussion on Platform Attribution vs. Incrementality:
The hosts explore the limitations of platform attribution, noting that platforms often misreport performance metrics. They advocate for incrementality measurement to truly understand the ROI of marketing channels. House, a self-serve experimentation platform, is highlighted as a valuable tool for configuring regional tests and control experiments to measure true marketing impact.

Host 2 (Connor MacDonald): "82% of incrementality experiments showed that platform reporting was either under reporting or over reporting by more than 25%."

8. Moperators Hotline: Listener Question

Question from Rohan:
Rohan inquires about strategies for advertising a service-based business, particularly translating e-commerce direct response tactics to a B2B roofing company. He seeks advice on ad creative, attribution channels, and general strategies applicable across different business models.

Hosts' Response:
Connor and Cody provide actionable insights:

• Optimizing for High-Quality Leads:
  Focus on setting up custom conversions that track leads through the sales funnel to ensure lead quality.

  Cody Plofker: "The most important thing is I would say follow up... you can be really aggressive with follow up."

• Content Marketing:
  Utilize educational content like whitepapers or case studies to provide value and attract qualified leads.

  Connor Rolain: "If you can get screen sharing of my Facebook ads manager and be like, look, here's all build out the ads... you are actually technical with whatever service or product that you're offering."

• Localized Campaigns and Creative Strategies:
  Tailor content and advertising strategies to the specific nuances of the service-based industry, leveraging platforms like TikTok for engaging, viral content.

  Cody Plofker: "You get the roofing version of that... something like that."

9. Closing Remarks

As the episode concludes, the hosts reiterate the importance of strategic planning, cross-functional collaboration, and leveraging advanced marketing tools to navigate the complexities of high-stakes sales periods like BFCM. They encourage listeners to submit questions for future hotline segments and express gratitude towards their sponsors.

Host 1 (Connor Rolain): "Thank you for tuning in to episode 31 of the Marketing Operators podcast... We're taking your questions we're answering them live."

Key Takeaways:

• Early and Granular Planning: Initiating BFCM strategies early with region-specific campaigns can significantly enhance performance.

• Advanced Analytics Tools: Implementing tools like Prussian AI and House for media mix modeling and incrementality measurement provides deeper insights into marketing effectiveness.

• Inventory and Marketing Alignment: Regular inventory assessments and cross-departmental collaboration ensure that marketing campaigns are scalable and responsive to real-time sales data.

• Customized Marketing Approaches: Tailoring marketing strategies to the specific needs and behaviors of different regions and business models is crucial for maximizing ROI.

• Leveraging Limited Editions: Utilizing limited-edition product launches can serve dual purposes of testing market reception and driving both retention and acquisition through higher AOV.

Notable Quotes:

• Cody Plofker [11:33]: "I'm pumped, I'm thrilled. Seems like everything has gone very well so far for this launch."

• Connor MacDonald [00:56]: "Winning Combinations helps you instantly answer complex business questions... it takes seconds to pull insights."

• Cody Plofker [15:59]: "We're super lucky so far. I wouldn't say we're good at it, but we're starting from a very conservative spot."

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the critical discussions and insights from Episode 31 of the Marketing Operators podcast, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the strategies and tools essential for achieving BFCM success.