D2C Brand’s Essence: Storytelling, Digital, Social and Identity Creation
D2C Trends:
The growth of the upper middle class is a significant macro trend favoring insurgent brands. By the end of the decade, the upper middle class in high-income segments is expected to constitute more than 50% of consumer spending. Presently, mass-market brands dominate, but there’s a shifting landscape toward catering to the preferences of the upper-middle and high-income segments.
Key Themes Driving Consumption:
1. Unorganized to organize theme. 2. Premiumization. 3. Consumers adding new categories to their spending. 4. Insurgent brands often excel by offering better products than existing alternatives or solving unsolved customer pain points.
Consumer Segments:
Social Climbers: Affluent millennials focused on improving tomorrow. Affluents: Gen Z focused on belonging and peer validation. Maximizer: Optimizing experiences and personal growth. Consciously Productive: Emphasis on productivity and community impact. Global Citizens: Well-traveled individuals with a broad worldview. Opinionated: Individualistic, expressive consumers who wear opinions on their sleeve.
Category Growth:
Insurgent brands are growing rapidly across various sectors such as Food and Beverage, Apparel and Lifestyle, Jewellery, Beauty and Personal Care, Home and Kitchen, and Electronics. In every category studied, insurgents have outpaced incumbents in growth, sometimes by significant margins (2x to 10x).
Insights for Insurgent Brands:
Brands take time to build: On average, it takes seven to eight years for an insurgent brand to scale up in revenue. However, growth accelerates after reaching this milestone. Patience is crucial, especially in the initial five years of building a consumer brand. Capital efficiency is a crucial metric: Revenue growth rate and capital efficiency are essential filters for identifying healthy-growing brands. Gross margins tend to be a challenge for consumer brands as they scale, with downward pressure due to competition and growth requirements. Brands sustaining gross margins over time stand out. Gross Margin: Early attention to gross margin is crucial as it determines steady-state gross margin. Capital Efficiency: Insurgent brands should strive for capital efficiency from inception.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Branding:
Consumer Purpose: Successful brands address clear, underserved consumer needs. Offer Innovation: Brands engage in relentless experimentation to innovate on product and price. Brand Memorability: Building distinctive assets and memorable experiences is crucial. Shopping Ability: Brands need to expand channels strategically as they scale. Business Model Innovation: Innovating on the supply chain can create differentiated advantages. Revenue growth rate: Indicates the brand’s ability to expand its market share and customer base. Gross margins: Highlight the brand’s pricing strategy, cost management, and competitive positioning.
THINGSServices for Branding Online:
Digital Market research and trend analysis: Understanding macro trends and consumer behavior shifts. Brand positioning and differentiation: Helping brands identify unique value propositions and market niches. Focused on Online & Social Media Marketing and communication strategies: Crafting messaging and campaigns tailored to target demographics. Develop a clear brand purpose aligned with consumer needs and values.
Creative Branding & Design: Design distinctive brand assets, logos, taglines, and packaging. Craft compelling messaging and visuals for brand memorability.
Channel Expansion Planning: Identify optimal timing and channels for expanding market reach. e.g. When to have a branded App or branded website or when to pick a specific marketplace like Amazon Develop strategies for seamless operational integration and customer experience.
