Direct-to-consumer brands have shown they’re here to stay — and now they have the advertising budget and strategy to match.
Last month, AdWeek reported on MediaRadar research showing that average ad spend by DTC brands is up 50 percent in 2019. Part of that growth means turning to more traditional advertising formats. “In the early days, DTC brands did purely transactional direct-response advertising,” MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman told AdWeek. “All mathematical—but today, as these companies mature, they’re looking more like standard companies.”
That’s not only true of established, quasi-household name DTC brands. These are five new DTC brands to keep your eye on. They all just started advertising in Q3, and they all have bought ads in a variety of formats.
Gym King
After more than four years of building a foundational presence with retails, Gym King is now launching into its next phase, advertising DTC athleisure products online. “It is a pivotal time for Gym King, which has been investing in its infrastructure over the past six months to go from bedroom brand to retail heavyweight,” writes Emily Sutherland at Drapers.
The luxury-oriented workout and lifestyle apparel brand was first seen advertising with Daily Mail back in August, with promotional offers.
Nadine West
A women’s personal shopper service in the style of DTC subscription boxes, Nadine West promises affordable, high quality outfits delivered to customers doorsteps every month.
The DTC brand first started advertising in August across a variety of women’s interest publications like USA Today, Healthline and AllRecipes.
Pinna
Pinna is a new, kid’s focused audio company with podcasts, audiobooks, music and more. From CEO Maggie McGuire: “It is the first audio on-demand streaming service for kids that brings together all of the best audio into one place, including podcasts, audio shows, music, and audiobooks. There is no other one aggregated destination for all audio formats curated and created just for kids.”
Pinna is a premium app, charging $7.99/month with a 30 day free trial. The company was first seen advertising in September on, of all places, The Weather Channel.
Crane & Canopy
Crane & Canopy is a DTC home furnishing brand, pitching luxury bedding online. It’s not exactly new — the brand has made headlines since 2016 — but Crane & Canopy was first seen advertising in July of this year, on Cooks.com
FaceTory
Another subscription box player, FaceTory takes it very niche with its focus on Korean face masks. With a focus on a free product trial, FaceTory was first seen advertising in September on Fashionista.
