Fast-growing DTC brand ad library (Q1 2022)

March 22, 2022

Will Hanschell

Introducing the Pencil Fast-Growing DTC brands ads library.

Every ecommerce brand wants to run the best possible ad creatives. In this new series, every quarter we'll build an ads library by working backwards from SimilarWeb's list of the Top 3 fastest growing DTC brands. We'll dive into the ads library of creatives they've run on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and elsewhere to try to understand their tactics and strategy. This includes:

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How they construct their messaging
What kinds of assets they use
How they execute layouts and composition
How they work with narrative, format and duration
Whether they do (or don't) lean into fancy effects

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Let's dive in! Who are the Top 3 fastest growing DTC brands?

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We decided to work backwards from SimilarWeb's latest "Fastest Growing DTC Brands" report. You can find it here. It ranks DTC brands based on quarterly traffic growth. The top 3 for Q4 2021 are:

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https://gentleherd.com --> 731k traffic/mo --> 707.1% QoQ growth
https://suvie.com --> 495k traffic/mo --> 652.4% QoQ growth
https://tipsyelves.com --> 749k traffic/mo --> 457.6% QoQ growth

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1. Gentle Herd

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GentleHerd is your destination for the softest, finest, and coziest cashmere clothing. Premium cashmere collections. Fast Delivered within 5 days & Easy Returns. Up To 50% Off.

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Captions

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GentleHerd generally uses very tactical captions that combine:

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Special offers "GET 25% OFF"
Voucher codes "$300 CODE: GH25"
Urgency messaging "LAST CALL!"
They also use emojis frequently to soften and humanize their copy
Sparingly they do also mention product benefits or wider market trends.

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Interestingly GentleHerd has had one creative running for almost a year that uses a caption which is a non-tactical introduction to the brand. This ad may be used to provide general-purpose top of funnel awareness.

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Creatives

GentleHerd uses simple creatives in both image and video formats. At the time of writing GentleHerd was running ~50 Facebook ads. Their creatives include:

Static lifestyle images of models wearing their clothing
Static mosaics of multiple lifestyle images
Static images of macro product shots with overlays mentioning key product features "100% cashmere" or "variety of colors"
Some creatives include a logo and others don't
UGC videos with simple logo end frame
Slideshow videos with combinations of lifestyle images, pack shots and key product benefits across their range

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2. Suvie

Cook complete meals for 4+ adults. Suvie intelligently refrigerates and cooks each ingredient in multiple zones, giving you an easy hands-free cooking experience.

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Captions

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Suvie tends to use very short, punchy captions that feature:

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Bold benefit claims "Experience delicious dinners with zero effort"
Simple benefit explanations "Ingredients in, dinner out, no effort required"
Urgency messaging "Don't miss your chance"
A combination of hype-building "Future of cooking" and objection busting "Try Suvie risk-free for 100 days"

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Creatives

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Suvie uses simple creatives in both image and video formats. At the time of writing Suvie was running ~50 Facebook ads. Their creatives include:

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Static lifestyle images screenshotted from product demo videos
Static lifestyle images of the product overlayed with logos and offers
Static unboxing lifestyle images showing "what you get"
"What it is" videos combining footage of the product in use and UGC customer testimonials
Benefit videos emphasising the delicious food you can cook with a Suvie
"Step 1,2,3" videos illustrating how the product works in simple terms
Feature videos showcasing each individual cooking mode with footage showing food cooking in each mode

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3. Tipsy Elves

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We pride ourselves on creating products that outfit you for life's greatest moments, by creating all-inclusive clothing to be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere.

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Captions

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Tipsy Elves uses a handful of similar caption templates on rotation, swapping in key product categories and their features as needed:

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How-we-did-it "to create our all new..."
Humour "we partied in Hawaii for science"
Offer codes "STRETCH20"
Benefit lists with emojis to dramatize key product features
Urgency messaging "SEASON SENDOFF SALE" "while stocks last"

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Creatives

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Tipsy Elves uses simple creatives in both image and video formats. At the time of writing Tipsy Elves was running ~150 Facebook ads. Their creatives include:

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Static pack shot images with colored backgrounds and pricing stickers to grab attention
Static lifestyle images of the product being used by the target persona
Static pack shot images combined with text highlighting key features
Static lifestyle images with emotional copy highlighting the product benefit "Say hellooo... to cloud-like comfort"
Product videos repeatedly demonstrating a key feature across different product SKUs "4 way stretch" or "all new stretch swim trunks"
UGC video combining product being used by a customer/informal model with a customer testimonial overlayed in text
UGC video of a customer talking through their experience of the product as they try it on
Slideshow video of multiple customer testimonials and star ratings, landing social proof

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