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Eric sits down with Dougie, Pilothouse's Google Lead, to dig into why content targeting—specifically with YouTube Select—is outperforming audience-based targeting, even at premium CPMs. If you’ve been running low-cost YouTube campaigns with underwhelming results, this is the mindset shift you need.

For DTC brands tired of wasting money on passive YouTube impressions.

• What YouTube Select actually is (and why it matters for performance)
• How to think about placements vs. audiences
• Why content congruence improves funnel performance
• Scaling tips: what kind of brands can go big with Select
• How to build creatives that match the content being watched

Who this is for: Brands spending serious dollars on YouTube, or considering a shift from Meta to a broader channel mix.

What to steal:

• Align creative to content before launch
• Use Google reps to identify top indexed channels by persona
• Treat YouTube Select like TV: flight-based, not daily budget-driven

Timestamps

00:00 Content vs interest targeting

02:01 Why content alignment converts

04:02 YouTube Select explained

06:02 Why low quality inventory fails

08:04 How content based creative works

10:03 Google and YouTube strategy shift

12:02 Aligning creative to placements

14:02 Meta and Google funnel synergy

16:01 Scaling with YouTube Select

Hashtags

#YouTubeSelect #GoogleAds #ContentTargeting #MediaBuying #DigitalAdvertising #PerformanceMarketing #BrandStrategy #YouTubeAds #PaidMedia #MarketingPodcast #DTCMarketing #AdStrategy #AudienceTargeting #CreativeStrategy #Pilothouse

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Albert Chow built Silk & Snow in the shadow of the DTC mattress wars—but instead of racing to burn VC cash, he played the long game. Today, Silk & Snow has grown into a full home brand with 10 retail stores, a thriving Canadian customer base, and a strong U.S. expansion roadmap.

For DTC founders scaling from $5M to $50M...

• Why they skipped the mattress arms race and leaned into vertical integration
• How bundling less (and planting trees instead) saved $1.3M
• What they learned scaling from 1 to 10 retail stores in a year
• The metrics they track now that ROAS is irrelevant
• Why launching a sofa was more about customer affinity than furniture

Who this is for: Operators scaling past one SKU or one channel—and looking for a sustainable path to growth.

What to steal:

• Bundling with purpose (optional tree planting vs. free stuff)
• Bottom-up brand building: low-funnel mastery first
• How to use DTC data to drive brick-and-mortar strategy

Timestamps

00:00 Organic growth and surviving the DTC mattress crash

02:00 Entering the crowded mattress market in 2017

04:00 Why Silk and Snow became a full home brand

06:00 Factory-first supply chain and Canadian manufacturing

08:00 Launching with Kickstarter and early traction

10:00 The 2019 DTC apocalypse and sustainable growth

12:00 Expanding beyond mattresses into sleep accessories

14:00 Functional vs aspirational buying in home goods

16:00 Becoming a multi-channel retailer

18:00 Using customer data to choose store locations

20:00 Canada vs US growth strategy

22:00 Building brand from the bottom of the funnel

24:00 Replacing bundles with tree planting

26:00 Performance marketing roots and early Google

28:00 Shifting into awareness and brand media

30:00 Why ROAS isn’t the real growth signal

32:00 Retail partnerships and staying DTC

34:00 Black Friday for big-ticket home products

36:00 Fulfillment, returns, and sustainability

38:00 Repeat customers and long-term LTV

40:00 Sleep Country acquisition and retail scale

42:00 Vancouver store and physical retail strategy

Hashtags

#DTC #EcommercePodcast #SilkAndSnow #AlbertChow #DTCBrands #HomeGoods #MattressIndustry #BrandBuilding #RetailStrategy #DirectToConsumer #EcommerceGrowth #StartupPodcast #FounderStory #CanadianBrands #PerformanceMarketing #Omnichannel #RetailExpansion #DTCpodcast

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🎧 Listen now: https://www.pilothouse.co/

This week on the DTC Podcast, we’re re-airing a must-listen from our sister podcast Adventurous, hosted by Avery Valerio.

Avery’s diving deep into one of the most overlooked levers in DTC growth: angles — the emotional and strategic hooks that turn browsers into buyers. If you’ve been leaning on “vibes” and lifestyle content to carry your creative… this is your wake-up call.

For creative strategists, performance marketers, and founders stuck at the “vibes plateau.”

🧠 Tactical takeaways:

• Why most brands stall at $3–5M without real angle development
• How to build angles that scale across top and bottom funnel
• The difference between product features and product benefits — and why that matters
• Why “vibe-first” brands eventually need strategy to survive
• How Avery maps personas to angles using a tool she built (linked on her LinkedIn/TikTok)

👀 Who this is for:

Creative leads, ad buyers, or anyone building brand strategy from the ground up.

💡 What to steal:

• The "steak vs. sizzle" framework for angle testing
• A mindset shift: Treat angles like campaign assets, not just captions
• How to tell when you’re out of angles — and how to fix it fast

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro to Ad-venturous Angles

02:00 Why most DTC brands stall on vibes

04:00 The need for real creative strategy

06:00 What an angle really is

08:00 Features vs benefits in ad angles

10:00 The Got Milk example

12:00 How angles create emotional connection

14:00 The upside-down triangle framework

16:00 Why modern angles must be agile

18:00 Using research and reviews to build angles

20:00 Personas and segmentation for scale

22:00 The three layers of the triangle

24:00 Top of funnel angle development

26:00 Middle of funnel curiosity

28:00 Bottom of funnel community content

30:00 Why angles must work everywhere

32:00 Testing and iterating angles

34:00 Final takeaways on creative strategy

Hashtags:

#DTCMarketing #AdCreative #MarketingAngles #PerformanceCreative #EcommerceMarketing #BrandStrategy #CreativeTesting #FunnelMarketing #DigitalAdvertising #ContentStrategy #Pilothouse #DTCNewsletter #AdVenturousPodcast #MarketingPodcast

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