This week, we're exploring how brands can truly leverage their Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) offering beyond a basic website, unlocking greater value and insights. We'll also dissect Jaguar's recent "Copy Nothing" campaign collapse, highlighting the critical importance of the foundational "P" in marketing: Product.

Happy reading!

#1 How Brands Can Maximise Their D2C Offering (Beyond Just Having a Website)

Too many brands tick the D2C box and think the job is done.
Site? Live. Checkout? Working. Maybe even a "subscribe and save" button thrown in.

But the truth is: D2C isn’t just another sales channel - it’s a strategic asset.
Done right, it can drive higher margins, deeper insight, stronger loyalty, and sharper innovation.

Done wrong? It's just a glorified online shop.

Here’s how brands can truly maximise their D2C channel and make it work harder than every other route to market.

1. Start With: “What Can I Offer D2C That I Can’t Anywhere Else?”

Your D2C proposition has to offer distinct value. If your website simply mirrors what’s available in Tesco, Boots, or Amazon, you're not giving shoppers a reason to go direct.

Ask yourself:

• Can I offer exclusive SKUs or bundles?

• Can I deliver early access to new products?

• Can I offer loyalty perks or community incentives not available elsewhere?

• Can I provide a premium experience or richer brand storytelling?

💡 Hint: Think “brand world,” not just “buy button.”

2. Use D2C as a Real-Time R&D Lab

Your D2C site should be your testbed for innovation.

Want to try a new flavour, format or formulation?
Launch it D2C first. Get real-time feedback. Gauge demand before scaling into retail.

This reduces risk, sharpens insight, and turns your customers into co-creators.

✅ Quick sprints
✅ Feedback loops
✅ Product-market fit before retail listing pitches

3. Data Isn’t Just a Byproduct - It’s the Advantage

The beauty of D2C? You don’t just own the sale. You own the data.

• Who’s buying what

• When they’re buying

• What content they engage with

• How they move through your funnel

• Where they drop off

But many brands collect this data and do… nothing.

Use it to:

• Power personalised campaigns

• Build smart retention flows

• Trigger replenishment prompts before customers run out

• Surface high-value customers for beta tests and referrals

If you're not using the data to inform everything from product to pricing to creative, you’re sitting on untapped gold.

4. Make Retention as Important as Acquisition

Paid media can get people in. But retention is where D2C profit lives.

Optimise:

• Post-purchase journeys (email, content, upsell moments)

• Smart replenishment (based on usage, not generic cycles)

• Bundles and build-your-own kits that evolve with customer needs

• Loyalty programs that reward frequency and advocacy, not just spend

💡 Your biggest D2C growth lever? Keeping the customer you already have.

5. Get the Ops Right: Delivery, CX, and Speed Matter

Nothing kills D2C like slow fulfilment and poor comms.

D2C is often your most intimate brand interaction—and it needs to feel polished:

• Fast delivery (and clear comms if it’s delayed)

• Frictionless returns

• Packaging that reflects your brand world

• Responsive customer service (ideally with a human touch)

Remember: You’re not just competing with brands. You’re competing with Amazon-level expectations.

6. Use D2C to Power Omnichannel Success

Your D2C channel shouldn't exist in a silo. It should fuel every other channel.

Use insights from your direct customers to:

• Inform your retail listings and promotional plans

• Build a stronger trade story for buyers

• Create more effective Amazon or TikTok Shop content

• Identify your most responsive segments and replicate them elsewhere

💡 D2C is the insight engine that makes your entire go-to-market strategy sharper.

Final Word

D2C isn’t dead - but lazy D2C is.

The brands that win aren’t the ones with the prettiest Shopify theme.
They’re the ones using D2C to:

• Deepen relationships

• Learn faster

• Sell smarter

• Retain longer

If your D2C channel isn’t working harder than your other channels, it’s not doing its job.

Fix that, and D2C becomes not just profitable - but powerful.

#2 Jaguar’s “Copy Nothing” Collapse: A Masterclass in Missing the First P - Product

Jaguar’s recent decision to fire its agency after the much-criticised “Copy Nothing” campaign isn’t just a shakeup - it’s a warning.

This wasn’t just a bad ad. It was a brand misfire wrapped in a strategic blind spot, made worse by forgetting the most basic principle in marketing: start with the product.

Marketing 101 teaches us the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion.

In Jaguar’s case, they went all-in on Promotion with a high-concept, futuristic campaign that featured no cars, no driving, and no connection to what Jaguar actually sells.

The irony? They branded the whole thing around “Copy Nothing” - and ended up copying every perfume ad trope from the last 20 years. Surreal visuals. Stoic models. Zero substance.

It wasn’t bold. It was blank.

Jaguar’s Real Problem Wasn’t Just Creative. It Was Strategic.

The “Copy Nothing” campaign was meant to relaunch Jaguar as a modern luxury brand. But the reality is, you can’t out-brand a product issue.

The Jaguar range today feels:

• Outdated next to BMW, Audi and Tesla

• Unclear in positioning (Are they performance? Luxury? EV-first?)

• Stuck between heritage and relevance

If the product isn’t right, no amount of cinematic lighting or cryptic taglines will fix it.

Branding is the Amplifier - Not the Fixer

The best creative builds on truth. The problem with Jaguar’s campaign is that it tried to invent a new truth rather than express an existing one.

It created a story that didn’t align with:

• What the cars are

• Who actually buys them

• What people aspire to when they think of Jaguar

The result? A brand story that felt inauthentic, confusing, and disconnected—not just to consumers, but to Jaguar’s core identity.

Even Elon Musk’s jab - “Do you sell cars?” - hit hard because it rang true.

A Branding Lesson for Every Business

This isn’t just about luxury cars. It’s a universal brand lesson:

• Don’t outsource your soul to people who don’t understand your category

• Don’t elevate abstract storytelling above functional clarity

• Don’t try to change perception without first changing the product

Most importantly:
Branding starts with what you make. Not what you say.

Tough Roads Ahead for Jaguar

Firing the agency is just step one. But the real challenge is rebuilding:

• Clear positioning (What do you stand for now?)

• Relevant product strategy (EV, hybrid, performance?)

• A believable customer journey (Where does the brand live in people’s lives?)

Until Jaguar gets the Product right - and lets everything else follow from there—no campaign, no matter how clever, will land.

This wasn’t just a bad ad.
It was a lesson in what happens when branding becomes theatre and forgets what it’s meant to support: the product.

Free Tools to Help your Brand

Digital Shelf - ShelfBoost: Optimise Your Product Listings with Ease

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Benefits of PersonaForge:

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With PersonaForge, you can transform vague assumptions into sharp, strategic actions that drive results.