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How to Make DTC Marketing Work for You

Article - 12 Min. Read -

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) tactics are revolutionizing the way brands connect with consumers—legacy brands included. Explore our comprehensive guide to start employing effective DTC marketing in your own campaigns.

Illustration showing an aerial view of people connecting by various lines.

Although legacy brands can typically afford to leverage bigger marketing channels such as TV, many companies may struggle to make meaningful connections with younger, tuned-in consumers seeking authenticity in the companies they do business with.

For this reason, traditional brands are increasingly looking to direct-to-consumer (DTC or D2C) businesses for inspiration, focusing on meaningful, targeted marketing tactics rather than big budgets.

Shaking up the worlds of retail and e-commerce, the DTC marketing model has shifted consumer expectations, offering a more creative, personalized brand experience—and forcing many traditional brands to take a page from the direct-to-consumer playbook.

Though legacy companies can’t—and shouldn’t—“reinvent” themselves into edgy, youth-oriented trendsetters, they can start to employ some of the tactics helping to bring the most forward-thinking brands into the future.

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Footnotes
  1. [1]“Marketing Channel Mix,” GLG Transcript, Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc., Jan. 13, 2020.
  2. [2]“USPS Mail Moments: Spring 2019 Review,” USPS, conducted by Summit Research.
  3. [3]Ibid.
  4. [4]QR Code is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INC.
  5. [5]Ryan Skinner and Sarah Dawson, “Lessons In Customer Acquisition: Learn From DTC Disruptors’ Awareness Strategies,” Forrester Research Inc., Feb. 28, 2020.
  6. [6]“Direct Brands: Media & Customer Acquisition, 2019–2020,” Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), 2019.
  7. [7]“Advertising Effectiveness and Age,” USPS Office of Inspector General, February 2019.
  8. [8]“Marketing Channel Mix,” GLG Transcript, Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc., Jan. 13, 2020.
  9. [9]“USPS Mail Moments: 2019 Review,” 2019.
  10. [10]Exterior images are only provided for letter-size mailpieces that are processed through USPS’ automated equipment. Package tracking information on Priority Mail®, Priority Mail Express® and other trackable parcels is also provided.
  11. [11]“5WPR 2020 Consumer Culture Report,” 5W Public Relations, 2020.
  12. [12]Ibid.
  13. [13]Ibid.
  14. [14]Ibid.
  15. [15]“Foresight 2020,” DNA Seattle, Oct. 15, 2019.
  16. [16]Ryan Skinner and Sarah Dawson, “Lessons In Customer Acquisition: Learn From DTC Disruptors’ Awareness Strategies,” Forrester Research Inc., Feb. 28, 2020.
  17. [17]“Direct Brands: Media & Customer Acquisition, 2019–2020,” Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), 2019.
  18. [18]Ibid.
  19. [19]Ibid.
  20. [20]Ibid.
  21. [21]Ibid.
  22. [22]Ibid.
  23. [23]Ibid.
  24. [24]“Marketing Channel Mix,” GLG Transcript, Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc., Jan. 13, 2020.
  25. [25]“Direct Brands: Media & Customer Acquisition, 2019–2020,” Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), 2019.
  26. [26]Ryan Skinner and Sarah Dawson, “Lessons In Customer Acquisition: Learn From DTC Disruptors’ Awareness Strategies,” Forrester Research Inc., Feb. 28, 2020.
  27. [27]Ibid.
  28. [28]Ibid.
  29. [29]Stephen Whiteside, “How digital brand thredUP uses direct mail to reactivate lapsed customers,” WARC, sourced from Event Reports, CommerceNext, Jul. 2019.
  30. [30]“Marketing Channel Mix,” GLG Transcript, Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc., Jan. 13, 2020.

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