The Growth Playbook Behind a Brand in Major Retail
In this episode of The DTC Insider, Brian Roisentul sits down with Brittany Tomkiewicz, VP of Marketing at Kate McLeod, to discuss how the brand approaches growth across customer acquisition, creators, paid media, DTC, and major retail partners including Sephora, Nordstrom, Anthropologie, and Goop.
Brittany shares how a constantly changing marketing landscape has made evolution and resilience essential for growth, and how Kate McLeod has built an acquisition ecosystem that connects content creation, creator partnerships, and paid media. She explains how the team uses CPA and blended CAC to determine when to scale, why Meta remains their biggest advertising channel, and how TikTok, Google, and Pinterest fit into the broader strategy.
They dive into Kate McLeod’s creator strategy, why authentic relationships still matter, and how expanding paid creator partnerships has led to a major uptick in sales. Brittany also explains how the team evaluates creators, uses whitelisting to reach new audiences, and balances creator marketing with the rest of its acquisition strategy.
Plus, they explore how Kate McLeod approaches Q4 and Black Friday, why the brand is keeping much of its promotional strategy consistent, and how gift-with-purchase offers and contingency planning can help maximize revenue. Brittany also shares how the brand adapts its strategy across DTC and major retail partners like Sephora and Nordstrom, how the team is beginning to use AI for data analysis, customer support, and discoverability, and why successful growth today requires constantly evolving without losing focus on what actually works.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
• Why evolution and resilience have become essential for marketers navigating constant changes in platforms, technology, and consumer behavior. • How Kate McLeod built an acquisition ecosystem connecting content creation, creator partnerships, and paid media. • How the team uses CPA and blended CAC thresholds to determine when to scale customer acquisition. • Why Meta remains Kate McLeod’s biggest advertising channel and how TikTok and Google fit into the broader strategy. • Why Pinterest represents a potential next frontier for the brand’s acquisition strategy. • Why Kate McLeod has found more success using TikTok ads to drive customers to its DTC site than through TikTok Shop. • Why founders of younger brands can benefit from personally building relationships with creators. • How Kate McLeod evaluates creator partnerships beyond follower count. • Why authenticity and avoiding creator oversaturation matter when building long-term partnerships. • How expanding paid creator partnerships led to a major uptick in sales for Kate McLeod. • How whitelisting creator content helps the brand reach new customers and tap into creators’ existing communities. • Why Kate McLeod remains selective about promotions and treats Black Friday as one of its biggest promotional moments of the year. • How gift-with-purchase offers can help increase basket size and maximize Q4 revenue. • Why contingency planning is an important part of the brand’s Q4 strategy. • How Kate McLeod approaches growth differently across DTC and major retail partners including Sephora and Nordstrom. • Why the brand creates a different marketing strategy for each major retail partner instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach. • How sponsored product ads, in-store events, and VIP programming help Kate McLeod grow awareness at Nordstrom. • How Sephora Squad and creator communities play a role in Kate McLeod’s Sephora strategy. • Why even product pages and creative assets need to change depending on the retailer and its customer. • How Kate McLeod is beginning to use AI across data analysis, customer support, and brand discoverability. • Why brands need to embrace AI without losing the human and sensory elements of the customer experience.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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This episode is brought to you by BSR.
BSR helps 7-figure+ brands build and optimize strategic growth systems that unlock hidden revenue and scale profitably, without adding chaos, channels, or unnecessary spend.
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