On Friday, we began one of our favorite holiday traditions: highlighting all the top advertisers from 2019 in the style of the 12 Days of Christmas.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, MediaRadar sent to me:
12 Engines Revving
11 Boxes Shipping (that’s today!)
10 ???
9 ???
8 ???
7 ???
6 ???
5 ???
4 ???
3 ???
2 ???
And a ???
Be sure to sign up for our blog newsletter so you don’t miss the rest of our year-end countdown!
Today, we continue the tradition, replacing “eleven pipers piping” with “eleven boxes shipping”: the top direct-to-consumer subscription box brands advertising in 2019. We’ve covered DTC advertising aplenty this year — if you’d like a recap, check out some of our resources:
- Understanding the Direct-to-Consumer Market
- How the Top DTC Brands Spend Their Ad Dollars
- Ad Sales Tips: Selling to the DTC Market
DTC is a fascinating niche to cover, particularly as the industry transitions to more traditional advertising with more cash flow. These are the top subscription boxes, by ad spend YTD.
StitchFix
Considering Stitchfix spent over $100 million on advertising in 2018, the personal styling brand’s spending is relatively low in 2019 at $30 million YTD. In this creative, we see the brand drive the direct-to-consumer message home: it’s personal styling for everyone, no matter your size, style or occasion.
Hims
The men’s wellness and personal care DTC brand has spent $15 million on advertising this year so far. As this ad creative highlights, Hims focuses on hair loss but is also a provider of erectile dysfunction medication.
Harry’s
Owned by CPG company Edgewell Personal Care, Harry’s is one of the biggest players in subscription box shaving brands. The brand has spent $13 million on advertising YTD on display ads, TV spots, print placements and more.
Daily Harvest
Setting itself apart from other meal subscription services with a focus on smoothies and soups, Daily Harvest has spent $10 million on advertising in 2019. The health-food-meets-subscription-box brand focuses its creative on a special offer for new customers.
Hint Water
Hint Water’s concept is simple enough: water, with a touch of true fruit flavor. It’s simple enough to garner $90 million in revenue and warrant $8 million in spend in 2019 so far. Hint Water spends on digital, print and TV ads.
Graze
Part of Nature Delivered, Graze has spent $6.5 million YTD. Graze combines its TV commercials with a special promo codes like “TV24” both to incentivize signups and track ROI on these spots.
WatchGang
Somewhat unique in the subscription box world, WatchGang operates a premium service for delivering watches on a monthly or quarterly basis. The brand (billed as watch club, complete with exchanges) has spent $5 million on advertising YTD.
Barkbox
As the name implies, Barkbox focuses on toys and treats for dogs, set up as a monthly subscription box. With over half a million subscribers, the brand has an ad spend of $4 million YTD.
Freshly
Another meal subscription service, Freshly sets itself apart by focusing on healthy, single-serving meals. They may not like the comparison, bu it’s like the luxury, delivery version of LeanCuisine. The brand has spent $3.5 million YTD.
Sun Basket
Focusing on specialty diets (like vegan and paleo), Sun Basket offers flexible pricing and menus. With an ad spend of $3.5 million YTD, their creatives tend to focus on sign up special offers.
The Farmer’s Dog
The Farmer’s Dog is meal delivery for the dog lover, delivering ‘homemade’ and healthy dog food to customers’ front doors. Unlike Chewy (owned by PetSmart), The Farmer’s Dog was launched as a startup, and has spent $2 million on advertising in 2019.
