
Advertise on podcast: D2C Diaries
This podcast has
89 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Loukas Hambi and Olly HudsonExplicit
No
Date created
2025/02/21
Latest episode
2026/10/05
Average duration
62 min.
Release period
9 days
Description
Join Olly Hudson and Loukas Hambi in a laid-back yet insightful podcast, where we dive into the heart of D2C and e-commerce. With a combined experience of managing over £150 million in ad spend across Meta and TikTok and helping scale over 200 brands, we bring you a digestible blend of performance, operational, and creative wisdom.
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Check latest episodes from D2C Diaries podcast
What £32M in Ad Spend Taught Us About Black Friday | Offers, Creative & LPs BFCM 2026
2026/10/05
We managed over £32M in ad spend in November last year. This episode breaks down everything we learned what you need to prep now to hit the ground running going into Q4.
We cover how to phase Q4 so October builds the audience you'll sell to in November, how to build offers around your margins and show the value clearly, what last year's creative audit showed about statics, urgency and reskinned winners, and why landing pages could be your quickest win. If you're planning peak for a DTC brand on Meta, this is your October prep list.
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
Get our BF/CM playbook for free here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yS4M30
06:05 Why creative can't be left late
09:06 October: build the audience before CPMs rise
15:22 Are brand awareness campaigns worth it?
18:06 November: from warm-up to peak week
20:10 Offer is more than a discount
28:12 Auditing last year's Black Friday creative
43:14 Setting strategy: swing types and funnel splits
51:47 What worked: high prod, factory UGC and satire
1:04:16 Statics that convert and daily iteration
1:07:33 Landing pages, post-click and gamification
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow D2C Diaries: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries / https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/
He Took ironSource to $11B. Here’s His $180M AI System for Scaling DTC| Omer Kaplan, Zyg
2026/09/28
Before you spend more on ads, find out what's really capping your growth. Apply for a Growth Compass to unlock strategic clarity: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yFr2w0
Omer Kaplan, co-founder of ironSource, joins Loukas to share how he's bringing the data and prediction playbook from mobile games into DTC, building agentic infrastructure to handle the work Shopify still leaves founders to do themselves. We cover predicting LTV, the margins you need before scaling, defensibility, inventory, fundraising, when to go all in, and why the best founders stay hands-on, so if you're building a consumer brand for an agentic world, this one's for you.
Check out Zyg: https://www.zyg.com
Timestamps:
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
What Will It Take To Win Peak 2026 - Soar x Fospha
2026/09/22
🚀 Claim 1 of 5 Spots: 6 Months Fospha + Free Audit: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yvPGP0
It's crunch time. With BFCM just weeks out, Olly from Soar joins Fospha to break down what "ready for peak" actually looks like: the creative volume and diversity brands need, why the top 25% of performers run more campaigns in BAU than at peak itself, and how automation like Advantage+ and Smart+ is shifting the game back onto creative and offer quality.
They cover forecasting creative output before Q4, scaling volume without losing intention, why upper-funnel spend keeps brands out of a reach hole, and the TikTok Shop halo effect most are underestimating. If you run paid media or creative strategy for a DTC brand, this is worth the watch.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:19 Introducing Phosphor and Soar
03:48 What "ready for peak" actually means
06:22 Forecasting creative volume for Q4
09:29 Building intentional creative diversity
12:58 Catching up when you're behind on volume
16:52 Peak Playbook data: preparation beats aggression
20:17 Full-funnel investment and the reach problem
23:33 Automation and the new creative requirements
28:06 Peak mistakes, and when to scale or pull back
30:41 Proving upper-funnel spend, and the TikTok Shop halo
36:08 Q&A: fatigue, measurement blind spots and iteration loops
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Creative Research 101 | The Hidden System Behind Ads That Scale
2026/09/14
🚨🚀 Get your growth compass score: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0yhtSG0
Loukas and Olly go back to basics on creative research: the five-factor scoring system that finds your real binding constraint before you open a single tab, and the audience, competitor and social research techniques that get you there. If you run creative strategy for a DTC brand or agency and want a sharper process for finding what to test next, this is your refresher on the fundamentals.
AI Prompt: https://soarwithus.notion.site/Indirect-Competitor-Discovery-Prompt-3d711884e3c9802d843ff7eb108045c6
Growth Compass "cheat sheet": https://www.notion.so/soarwithus/How-8-and-9-figure-D2C-brands-scale-spend-profitably-A-Complete-Framework-35711884e3c98073b830d1cbe90c2224?source=copy_link
Timestamps:
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
From Complete Burnout To A £40M Category Leader! Mark Scott | The Leader Mindset
2026/09/07
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_88
Mark Scott built Bella & Duke into one of the UK's biggest raw pet food brands - £40M+ revenue, 140+ employees, profitable since early on - then deliberately stepped down as CEO at £30M to get out of his own way. He breaks down how community (not audience) drove Bella & Duke's growth, why referral rate is the only way to beat the "death curve" on rising CAC, and the signals that tell a founder they've become the bottleneck. Plus: delegating KPIs not tasks, hiring people who aren't like you, and why he now spends his time doing breathwork instead of chasing another exit.
Timestamps:
02:58 Chopping a tree, and finding raw dog food
07:51 Community vs audience, and why authenticity is uncomfortable
11:03 A clear mission makes every decision easy
17:34 Be more like a duck: expecting failure and letting it go
20:07 Redefining the category and getting raw into retail
22:31 The death curve and why referral rate is everything
29:02 From pet food to full pet wellness
39:32 Stepping down as CEO at £30m
41:15 Are you the bottleneck? Signals to watch for
46:18 Hiring people better than you, and delegating accountability
49:55 Building a business vs building yourself a job
51:24 Torus Tree, 9D breathwork and leading from the heart
57:35 The real goal: energy, not money
Torus Tree: https://www.torustree.com/
Follow Mark Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscottperth/
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Meta Creative Strategy | Building Banger Yapper Ads That ACTUALLY Convert
2026/09/01
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads.
Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_87
Yapper ads have taken over Meta and TikTok this year, and the best ones are almost impossible for AI to write. We break down what actually makes the format work: the "Oracle" who introduces the product, mining Reddit for real stories instead of AI slop, building curiosity loops that pay off, and turning a winning script into native ad copy, all for anyone writing or briefing DTC creative right now.
Creative Intelligence Report: We've helped 250+ DTC brands generate £600M+ by fixing the thing most teams get wrong: creative. In 4 weeks, our Creative Intelligence Report audits your ad accoun to find exactly where your creative is leaking money, and hands you a 180-day roadmap to fix it. No guesswork, just real customer research and a plan you can action.
Apply for your Creative Intelligence Report here: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0xZP9d0
Resources:
"Yapper" Ads Database: https://www.soarwithus.co/newsletter/yapper-ads-database
Watch Harry Delme on Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zCLVmZCoQQ&t=2s
Follow Harry: https://x.com/harrydelmege_
Timestamps:
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/
Follow Liam: https:https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Meta AI Creative Strategy | What’s Working Now (Secrets From $100M+ Spend This Quarter)
2026/08/24
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C+Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_87
Olly and Loukas are back with a full round-up of what's working in paid social right now. They cover the AI tools turning any reference static into a new ad in minutes, why whiteboard and Miro style ads keep winning, how to audit an ad account in three steps, and the organic trends being turned into big swing formats. They close out on why landing pages are the next big skill gap for DTC brands, and how to prioritise what to build next.
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas:https://www.linkedin.com/in/loukas-hambi-388067152/
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Understanding Your True LTV and Company Value | Prof. Daniel McCarthy
2026/08/18
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C+Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_85
Daniel McCarthy is the founder of Theta and an associate professor of marketing at the University of Maryland. Private equity firms bring him in to dig through the transaction data before they buy a DTC brand, and he's done it on over 450 companies, from McDonald's to some of the biggest names in ecommerce. He breaks down the "growth report card" that shows whether a brand's growth is real or just manufactured by spend, why discounting a customer's first order drags down what they're worth long after, and why most brands have no idea where they stand when someone asks ChatGPT which brand to buy.
Harvard Business Review article: How to Value a Company by Analyzing Its Customers: https://hbr.org/2020/01/how-to-value-a-company-by-analyzing-its-customers
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus
Follow Daniel McCarthy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmcc/
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Follow D2C Diaries: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries / https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/
Carl Weische - CRO Mastermind Behind IM8's $50M/Month, Spills On Funnels, Offers & Post-Click
2026/08/10
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_84
Carl Weische, founder of Accelerated Agency, runs CRO for AG1, Huel, Vessi, The Oodie, Bioniq and IM8. He breaks down why postclick and "the fragmentation of the funnel" are becoming the next big lever as media buying gets more automated and more expensive, why one product page can't sell to every customer avatar, and how he reframes offers around perceived value instead of discounting. He also tells the inside story of building IM8 from zero to over $50m a month using a network of 50 congruent, persona-driven funnels, each built around a specific ad angle.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:58 From Reselling Yeezys to founding Accelerated
05:09 Media buying isn't enough anymore
08:58 Postclick mistakes brands make
15:27 Perceived value over discounting
21:57 The IM8 story: $0 to $50m/month
30:44 When to build a dedicated funnel
33:42 The post-purchase upsell playbook
38:58 The research most brands skip
42:14 Where AI helps (and where it can't)
45:02 In-house software and Claude Code
48:09 The next competitive edge?...
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback: https://www.incard.com/?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow Carl: https://www.youtube.com/@UCIgbiNZFqHZqIQ2Uoxxfu6w https://x.com/CarlWeische
How Lapland Turned an In-Person Experience Into a Global $20M+ DTC Empire
2026/07/30
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://www.soarwithus.co/d2c-diaries-get-in-touch?utm_campaign=191661253-D2C%20Diaries&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=d2c_diaries&utm_content=ep_83
Matt, Director of Brand & Product at Lapland UK, took a 20-year live-only Christmas experience business and turned it into a DTC brand that sold 15,000 advent calendars in under 4 hours. He breaks down why Lapland builds every product from the story first, and how they cracked the US market from zero brand awareness, landing a $250 average order value from a completely cold audience.
This podcast is proudly sponsored by SATHI
SATHI is the affiliate platform built for Shopify brands that want the truth about their program. Cookieless multi-touch attribution shows you which affiliates drove the sale. AI-powered fraud engine catches leaked codes and self-referrals before your payout goes out. Ambassadors climb commission tiers, earn booster rewards, and see exactly what they need to unlock next. Payouts, invoices, and tax forms happen in one click.
D2C Diaries listeners get 20% off, free migration from their current setup, and onboarding support from their team.
Book a demo: https://www.mysathi.io/demo?utm_source=soarwithus&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=d2c_diaries
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe:https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow Matt: https://www.instagram.com/mattbatts/
£1B Ecom Operator Shares His Best Advice (What e-com founders get wrong)
2026/07/10
Paul Gedman has been in DTC longer than almost anyone we've had on the podcast - from joining The Hut Group in 2009 with 40 employees, and over nine years scaling it to £1 billion in revenue via ten acquisitions (including Look Fantastic), to now running eComplete, where he's building a model that competes directly with private equity for e-commerce acquisitions.
Paul breaks down why every DTC era is defined by a different arbitrage opportunity, what actually happens once a founder takes on investment (his "5-a-side to 11-a-side" analogy is a good one), and the brutal real odds of a successful DTC exit - he puts it at 1 in 1,600 founders who get out with more than 50% of the value.
We also get into why 80% of exit processes fail, the prep work founders skip that kills deals months later, and how eComplete is trying to build a hybrid model that gives founders a better shot.
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0wQ_DM0
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Sathi.
SATHI is the affiliate platform built for Shopify brands that want the truth about their program. Cookieless multi-touch attribution shows you which affiliates drove the sale. AI-powered fraud engine catches leaked codes and self-referrals before your payout goes out. Ambassadors climb commission tiers, earn booster rewards, and see exactly what they need to unlock next. Payouts, invoices, and tax forms happen in one click.
D2C Diaries listeners get 20% off, free migration from their current setup, and onboarding support from their team.
Book a demo: https://mysathi.io/demo?utm_source=soarwithus&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=d2c_diaries
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-gedman-626b0666/
Follow D2C Diaries https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c_diaries /
https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/
We Audited 40+ 8-Figure DTC Ad Accounts in 2026. Here's What's Broken and How to Fix It
2026/06/29
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback https://incard.co?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
Meta performance has been rough since March and if you're feeling it, you're not alone. Olly and Loukas are back for a solo episode breaking down exactly what's gone wrong on the platform and, more importantly, what's actually working across the 40+ audits they ran in Q2.
They cover the five most common account errors they're seeing right now (most of which are quick fixes), why creative diversity has become the single biggest unlock for scaling spend, and how to run a proper gap analysis across persona, messaging, valence zones, emotional drivers, and vehicle type before you produce another asset.
Krishna Rao, CFO of Anthropic, on Invest Like the Best https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEEZPpx8qow
Brian Chesky on Invest Like the Best - AI Founder mode https://youtu.be/eURcW5_uS60
Creative Forecasting resource: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0wjPt20
00:00 Intro: news and what we've been watching
17:32 State of Meta: why Q2 has been tough across the board
20:18 5 common account errors (attribution, audiences, funnel coverage, concentration, landing pages)
28:09 What's working: The Hudson Method and creator flywheels
36:36 Creative volume, gap analysis and diversifying across personas, valence & vehicle
48:42 Hit rate case study: micro personas and psychological messaging in action
50:58 Iterations, borrowing frameworks from non-competing brands
55:24 Landing pages, quiz funnels and AOV engineering
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0wjzrY0
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Follow D2C Diaries: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries / https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/
What's Working in Meta Ads Right Now with Alex Cooper | AI Animation, Research & Winning Formats
2026/06/29
This podcast is proudly sponsored by Incard.
If you're spending serious money on daily business expenses and getting nothing back on it right now, this dedicated offer gets you 2% Cashback for year 1 on Ads, SaaS, Travel and other everyday business expenses. Uncapped.
Sign up for free and use the code SWU2K26 to unlock your cashback https://incard.co?fpr=soarwithus&fp_sid=pod
---
12 months ago AI animation wasn't really a thing. Now it's a fourth creative format sitting alongside static, UGC and high production and the brands that figure it out first are going to have a significant edge.
We got Alex Cooper back on D2C Diaries this week. And a lot has changed since he was last on. We got into everything.
How we've built an AI videographer role into our production process and why you need a specialist not a generalist.
Why winning ads right now are either hyper native or elite direct response and why everything in the middle is dying.
How the pendulum has swung too far toward AI research and why the best strategists are going back to manual.
Why iterations aren't dead post-Andromeda, they just need to mean something.
And the brand that scaled from $1M to $45M off the back of one concept.
Check out Parker AI here: https://heyparker.ai/
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0wjzrY0
Follow Alex
https://x.com/alexgoughcooper
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgoughcooper/
https://heyparker.ai/
00:00 Alex Cooper returns
02:24 Our sponsor Incard
04:01 The biggest shifts in creative strategy in the last 12 months
05:54 How we built the AI videographer role
13:25 AI animations are here to stay
16:02 Meta's persona level delivery
20:04 Gap analysis, learnings and data
26:55 Manual research vs AI automated research
30:07 Our sponsor Incard
31:45 Manual research vs AI automated research
33:39 Iterations post-Andromeda
38:26 Ugly vs high prod
48:37 Positive framing
51:22 Complexity bias in ads
55:20 How Alex is using AI
1:02:17 Parker AI
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
Follow Joe: https://linktr.ee/joe_marston
Follow Loukas: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B / https://x.com/LoukasHambi
Follow Liam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-dean-a11a43152/
Follow D2C Diaries: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries / https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/
The Organic Content Playbook Behind Tonic Health's 1.7M Followers: Sunna on Disrupting Supplements
2026/06/12
D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Commercive.
If you're a ecommerce business owner doing a minimum of 10+ orders per day and looking for a smarter and cost-effective way to source and fulfill from china, go to https://www.commercive.co for a free quote and fulfillment audit today.
---
Sunna van Kampen built 1.7M followers, generated half a billion views in 2025, and turned Tonic Health into one of the UK's fastest growing supplement brands. Without a single paid ad.
What started as a Covid panic, a Boots listing that fell through and no DTC experience, forced Sunna to figure out how to reach customers from scratch. So he walked into a supermarket with a phone and started exposing what was actually in the products people were buying every week.
That decision changed everything.
In this episode we get into the full story. How Sunna built an organic content engine that runs on two days of filming a month, why he talks about bread more than vitamins, and how a single viral video gave him the insight behind Tonic's best selling product.
We also get into the vitamin industry itself. Why the products on the shelves are underdosed by design, what Sunna found when he went into kids and baby nutrition, and why most supplement brands are built around margin rather than health.
Plus the content philosophy that underpins all of it. Why Sunna's board kept pushing him to sell more, why he kept saying no, and why that decision is the reason Tonic is where it is today.
---
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0w6mMv0
Follow Olly: https://linktr.ee/ollyhudson
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Follow D2C Diaries: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries / https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/
Creative Strategy for Meta Ads | How a Top Creative Strategist Actually Works in 2026
2026/06/11
This podcast is proudly sponsored by SARAL.
Find influencers, reach out, manage every relationship, all in one place, without any chaos. 200+ brands including Grüns, Solawave, Spacegoods are running their influencer programs on SARAL.
If that sounds like what you've been looking for, go to https://tinyurl.com/3t4d4myx and book a demo with their team. Tell them we sent you to claim your $500 discount and whiteglove onboarding.
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Chris joined Hambi Media as a creative strategist with no agency experience. One year later, he's been promoted to Senior Creative Strategist working across 7-9 figure DTC brands.
In this episode, the guys break down exactly what separates good creative strategists from great ones - the research process, micro personas, messaging psychology, and how Chris 8x'd hit rate in 30 days by changing just two things.
This episode is for you if:
- You're a founder trying to understand what great creative strategy actually looks like inside an agency
- You're a creative strategist who wants to know what top 1% performance really requires
- You're trying to break into creative strategy and want the most honest breakdown of what the role demands
What we cover:
- Why manual research is the highest leverage activity in creative strategy
- How micro personas unlock incremental reach without changing your frameworks
- The messaging psychology shift that 8x'd hit rate in 30 days
- Why AI creates the biggest opportunity in history to become a creative strategist
- The deep work principle behind every great insight
- What creative strategy looks like in 2 years
Chris's Substack: https://substack.com/@christopherstavropoulos
Chris's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisstav1/
🚨🚀 If you're a brand spending £100K/month, we'll run your ads. Apply for your growth roadmap: https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0v-BVd0
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