Introduction

Running high-performing e-commerce ad campaigns in today’s competitive digital landscape can feel like navigating a maze. But with the right tools, insights, and strategies, you can simplify and optimise your approach.

That's why Incard has partnered with SoarWithUs. SoarWithUs is a top performance marketing agency that operates worldwide. They manage over $70 million in ad spending each year for many D2C brands.

What is D2C?

D2C, or Direct-to-Consumer, is a business model where brands sell their products directly to customers, bypassing traditional middlemen like wholesalers or retailers. This approach allows brands to have full control over their customer experience, pricing, and marketing strategies.

D2C brands leverage digital platforms, social media, and data-driven advertising to build strong relationships with their audience and drive sales. As competition in the D2C space grows, mastering high-ROI ad campaigns on Meta and TikTok is essential for scaling profitably. This playbook will equip you with the latest strategies to thrive in the evolving D2C landscape. Let's dive into the benefits.

What are the benefits of direct to consumer?

The Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model offers a wealth of advantages for brands looking to scale effectively in today’s digital marketplace. By eliminating intermediaries, businesses can maximize profit margins while maintaining complete control over branding, pricing, and customer experience. Key benefits include:

• Higher profit margins – Without wholesalers or retailers taking a cut, brands can retain more revenue and reinvest in growth.
• Stronger customer relationships – Direct interactions with consumers allow for personalized experiences, better customer service, and improved brand loyalty.
• Data-driven decision making – Owning the end-to-end customer journey means businesses can leverage first-party data for targeted marketing and improved product development.
• Faster market adaptation – Brands can quickly launch, test, and iterate products based on real-time consumer feedback, staying ahead of market trends.
• Greater brand control – From messaging to packaging, D2C businesses have full autonomy over their brand identity, ensuring consistency across all touchpoints.

By leveraging these benefits, D2C brands can create highly optimized, customer-centric strategies that drive sustainable long-term success.

Creative first: the new frontier of D2C ad targeting

The advertising game has changed. With the evolution of privacy laws and AI-driven algorithms, traditional methods of audience targeting are no longer enough. Today, your creative does the targeting, meaning your visuals, messaging, and overall ad concept determine who sees your campaigns.

Inside the playbook, you’ll discover:

• How to align your brand identity with your creative strategy to ensure a cohesive message across all channels.
• Practical steps for crafting ads that grab attention within the critical first three seconds.
• Examples of high-converting creative formats, from bold product demos to authentic user-generated content (UGC).

By following these strategies, you’ll learn how to stand out in the crowded feeds of Meta and TikTok while effectively driving conversions.

Harnessing data to drive insights

Every successful ad campaign starts with understanding your audience. But with so much data at your fingertips, how do you extract meaningful insights? The playbook provides a step-by-step guide to using AI-assisted tools and social listening to uncover:

• The key pain points, desires, and objections of your audience.
• Emerging trends and behaviors to inform your ad strategy.
• Actionable insights from reviews, surveys, and competitor research.

You’ll also learn how to turn these insights into audience personas and creative concepts that truly resonate. This data-driven approach ensures your campaigns are not only relevant but also scalable.

Proven frameworks for every step

Scaling ad performance requires more than just good ideas—it demands proven systems. SoarWithUs shares the exact frameworks they use to help brands achieve consistent growth:

• AIDA Model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action): this timeless framework helps you guide potential customers from discovery to purchase, ensuring each stage of the customer journey is optimised.
• Infinite Iteration Conversion Loop: a systematic process to test, refine, and optimise ad creatives for maximum ROI. This approach ensures that your campaigns improve over time, delivering better results with every iteration.
• 5-Step Creative Optimisation Process: learn how to analyse performance metrics like CTR (Click-Through Rate) and TSR (Thumb-Stop Ratio) to identify winning creatives and scale them effectively.

These frameworks simplify complex ad strategies, making them actionable for any D2C founder.

Winning ad strategies and formats

What works best in 2025? The playbook dives deep into the creative strategies that are driving results for the biggest D2C brands. You’ll learn how to:

• Leverage high-production videos that tell compelling founder stories and build trust with your audience.
• Tap into the power of UGC for authentic, relatable, and cost-effective content.
• Create scroll-stopping hooks, persuasive narratives, and clear CTAs to guide viewers seamlessly toward action.

From creative ideation to campaign execution, this section ensures you have all the tools you need to create ads that perform.

Challenges of running a D2C business

While the D2C model presents significant opportunities, it also comes with challenges that brands must navigate to succeed. Some of the key hurdles include:

• Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) – Without the support of retailers, D2C brands must invest heavily in digital advertising, which can become costly as competition increases.

This is where Incard comes into the picture. Get up to 2% cashback on ad spend and maximise your ROI. Supercharge your ad campaigns by reinvesting that cashback into even more targeted marketing. Grow your customer base, expand your reach, and make every marketing dollar work harder for your business.

• Logistics and fulfillment – Managing inventory, warehousing, and shipping directly to customers requires a well-optimized supply chain, which can be complex and expensive.
• Competitive digital landscape – Unlike established retail channels, D2C brands must build credibility from scratch, often requiring strong storytelling and customer testimonials.
• Retention and Lifetime Value (LTV) – Acquiring customers is only the first step; brands must also focus on retention strategies like loyalty programs and subscription models to drive repeat purchases.
• Scaling operations – As demand grows, maintaining quality control, customer service, and operational efficiency becomes more challenging without proper infrastructure.

Build your business with Incard and increase visibility over your business operations to power better decision making: pay your bills, track your cash flow in real time, and close your books faster.

Take the next step

Whether you’re new to performance marketing or looking to refine your strategies, this playbook is your ultimate resource. With insights from one of the most trusted agencies in the business, you’ll gain the tools and confidence to tackle your next campaign like a pro.