Marketing Operators Podcast – Episode 104

"Salt and Stone’s Ari Murray on Sessions, Scent & Scaling DTC"

Date: March 24, 2026
Host(s): Connor Rolain, Connor MacDonald, Cody Plofker
Guest: Ari Murray, Chief Digital Officer at Salt and Stone

Overview

This episode features an insightful interview with Ari Murray, Chief Digital Officer at Salt and Stone, exploring her impressive journey through leading roles at top DTC brands, the lessons learned transitioning from agency to in-house roles, her marketing philosophies, and the strategies driving growth at Salt and Stone. The conversation covers topics like agency/brand relationships, funnel optimization, acquisition and retention tactics, the value of sessions and new users, merchandising, and out-of-home and brand marketing.

Table of Contents

1. Ari Murray’s Background & Career Path
2. Guiding Principles in Copy & Marketing
3. Agency vs. In-House Experience
4. Agency Relationships: When and How to Leverage Partners
5. In-House Marketing Leadership at Salt and Stone
6. Salt and Stone: Brand, Products, and Distribution
7. Acquisition, Onboarding, & Offers
8. Media Mix and Top of Funnel Growth
9. Out-of-Home, Brand Marketing & Measurement
10. Notable Quotes
11. Key Timestamps

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1. Ari Murray’s Background & Career Path

• Started as a law school dropout with "no hard skills," Ari covered her own transformation from customer service agent at Press Juicery to leading e-commerce and wholesale.
• Held roles at top celeb brands:
  • Press Juicery: Ran wholesale and E-comm ([03:17])
  • Poosh: Kourtney Kardashian's brand
  • About Face: Halsey’s beauty brand
  • Sharma Brands: Chief Growth Officer for 4.5 years
• Chief Digital Officer at Salt and Stone
• Authors the newsletter "Go to Million"

Ari: "I've always been enthralled in beauty brands...I only wanted to go in-house to a 'real brand brand,' and that's what Salt and Stone is." [05:12–06:13]

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2. Guiding Principles in Copy & Marketing

• Copy Clarity Rule:
  Ari is adamant about never using words in copy that the entire team doesn't fully understand.
  • Example: Don’t use words like “verdant” or cryptic time zones like “PST”—be beyond clear ([00:41], [01:52], [02:02], [02:34])
  • "No copy that every single person on the team doesn't know the definition to the word you're about to put in front of customers." – Ari [01:52, 00:41 repeated]

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3. Agency vs. In-House Experience

• Recommended Path:

  • Ari prefers in-house → agency → in-house for maximum empathy and understanding.

  • Starting in a customer service or ops role gives deep operational context and customer empathy ([12:11], [12:48])

  • Ari points out the pressure of being responsible for one brand is heavier than splitting focus across many clients ("the pressure of one brand is always going to feel heavier...").

• Agency Experience: Grinds, long hours, rapid learning, but sometimes limited scope/control ([09:46]–[11:11])
• Direct Brand Impact: Feeling of ownership is deeper in-house; can execute more flawlessly with full focus on one brand ([15:24]–[16:39])

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4. Agency Relationships: When and How to Leverage Partners

• Big Agency Fan...with Nuance
  • Specialized agencies, performance-incentivized contracts, but never total outsourcing ([20:20]–[21:48])
  • “Don’t put too much power into anyone else’s hands.” – Ari [21:38]
  • Brands need to own core competencies (e.g., creative flywheel, media buying for paid social-driven brands) ([23:08], [24:09])
• Evolving Partnerships: Agency fit evolves over time as brand grows and internalizes competencies ([22:34], [24:34])
• Transparency: Both brands and agencies should be radically candid about short/medium-term engagement plans ([33:52], [35:02])
• Insulation Risk: In-housing can create knowledge gaps; maintain outside perspective via advisors, retainers, or cross-brand peer exchanges ([28:18]–[30:11])

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5. In-House Marketing Leadership at Salt and Stone

• Preparation from Agency Life: Agency “war room” experience builds skills for major events (e.g., Black Friday), ingrained checklists ([14:34]–[16:39])
• Higher Output, Demand for Excellence: With single-brand focus, can insist on flawless execution ([16:39])
• Ownership of the Full Funnel: Now able to impact every aspect from strategy to communications ([14:04])

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6. Salt and Stone: Brand, Products, and Distribution

• Brand Type: Unisex, body care with "iconic scents and active formulas" ([39:54])
• Hero Product: Deodorant. Other products: body wash, multi-category mists (body/hair), body creams, lotions, oils
• Distribution:
  • D2C (US/Canada/UK/EU)
  • Amazon
  • Sephora (Global)
  • Nordstrom, indie retailers
  • Launched on TikTok Shop ([40:27])
• Branding: Aspirational, high-design, high-quality product, being discovered “in the wild” by influencers, customers ([07:05])

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7. Acquisition, Onboarding, & Offers

• Non-Discount Brand: No discounts except Black Friday; focuses on value-based acquisition.
• Gift With Purchase (GWP): Main lever for larger first orders.
• Product-Led Funnels: Entry is not limited to one SKU—multiple products/categories funnel in customers ([42:07])
• Unisex Focus: Messaging and merchandising appeal to all genders, with products and kits for widespread trial ([43:51])
• Sampling Philosophy:
  • Minis/kits outperform “trinket” samples
  • Sampling should have measurable value and be structured for lift ([48:16]–[49:44])
• AOV & LTV Balance:
  • Optimize first-order AOV, not sacrificing LTV (cross-category shopping increases retention)
  • Some openness to lower-margin trial offers as acquisition gets harder ([45:26]–[46:08])

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8. Media Mix and Top of Funnel Growth

• Paid Social Heavy: Meta, TikTok, Google, YouTube, Snap, Applovin, Pinterest ([59:43], [00:49], [54:20])
• Channel/Offer/Product Agnosticism:
  • Budget and push flow to whatever is most efficient—let market data dictate winners ([54:43], [55:56])
  • "You can't decide your hero, the market will tell you." – Ari [58:42]
• Creative Iteration:
  • Creative production is distributed across partners, agencies, and internal team for diversity and for constant experimentation ([22:34])
• Session & New User Growth:

  • Top metric; tracked daily

  • Session growth is a leading indicator for business impact ([61:15]–[63:03])

  • "Every day, if sessions are not even growing week over week, I’m getting concerned." – Ari [61:56]

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9. Out-of-Home, Brand Marketing & Measurement

• OOH (Out-of-Home) & Brand:
  • Salt and Stone leverages localized campaigns (e.g., trucks in NYC).
  • Key: Go deep, not wide—concentrate spend for impact.
  • Best done for launches or key campaigns, not as a vanity metric ([64:21]–[67:25])
• Campaign Measurement:
  • Track via test/control (geo lift, search lift, etc.)
  • Don’t underinvest—dabbling doesn’t lead to learnings ([69:29])
  • Differentiate between "sales strategy" OOH and "purple elephant" virality OOH ([70:07])
• Brand vs. Performance:
  • Channels can check both boxes (brand-building and performance)
  • Use creative and channel strategy to maximize both outcomes ([72:59]–[73:35])

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10. Notable Quotes

• On Copy:
  "No copy that every single person on the team doesn't know the definition to the word you're about to put in front of customers." – Ari ([01:52])
• On Agency Experience:
  "The pressure of one brand is always going to feel heavier than...if this client doesn’t work, we have that client." – Ari ([09:46])
• On Sampling:
  "A sample should be a mini...I'm not a big fan of putting a free sachet into orders and not getting credit for that on the site." – Ari ([48:16])
• On Product Focus:
  "You can’t decide your hero, the market will tell you." – Ari ([58:42])
• On Session Growth:
  "Every day, if sessions are not even growing week over week, I’m getting concerned." – Ari ([61:56])
• On Agency Relationships:
  "Don’t put too much power into anyone else’s hands." – Ari ([21:38])
• On Insulation Risk:
  "I'm always scared that by in-housing, we lose access...the more everyone sits at the same brand and with each other, the harder it is to hear from the outside world." – Ari ([28:18])
• On Transparency:
  "Not being upfront with people is actually not nice...the more you can set those expectations ahead of time...the better it is." – Host ([36:25])

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11. Key Timestamps

• Opening & Copywriting Rule: [00:35], [00:41], [01:52]
• Career Path: [03:17], [05:12]
• Agency vs. In-House: [09:46]–[13:39], [14:34]
• Agency Relationships: [20:20]–[24:34]
• Brand/Product Overview: [39:54], [40:27]
• Acquisition Funnels/Kits: [42:07], [43:51]
• Sampling/Offers: [48:16], [48:50]
• Session/New User Growth: [61:15]–[63:03]
• OOH/Brand Spend: [64:21], [65:08], [68:05], [70:07]
• Product/Media Agnosticism: [54:43], [55:56], [58:42]
• Episode Wrap: [73:35]

Summary prepared to reflect original voices and insights, emphasizing actionable playbooks for DTC leaders seeking to build, scale, and future-proof their brand and marketing strategies.