Last month, Jones Road unleashed its …

• Biggest new product
• Biggest brand campaign
• Biggest TV and OOH buy
• Biggest creative arsenal
• Biggest email + SMS sends

Did I mention it was big?

😍 Cody Plofker pulls back the curtain on his launch playbook

🔮 Connor MacDonald prognosticates the future of ecommerce

🏆 Top five headlines from this week in consumer (DTC) news

Plus, tariff and exit prep’ing updates.

Cody Plofker CEO, Jones Road Beauty

Our Biggest Product Launch: What Worked, What Didn’t & What We Learned

In April, we completed our biggest launch of the year. Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer (JETM) was a monstrous undertaking.

We pulled out all the stops — brand campaign, homepage takeover, multiple personas, out-of-home buys, TV spots, and the most creative diversity our ad account has ever seen.

Today, I want to take you behind the scenes on our strategy — what worked, what didn’t, and my big lessons.

 The Strategy 

When I say JETM was our biggest launch of the year, I mean it.

As the foundation, we developed persona-driven creative showcasing how JETM fits into the lives of different women. We produced six new TV spots and released cutdowns on organic social every few days during the ramp-up.

For paid social, we loaded our account with over 100 ads — performant versions of the persona videos, standard DR narratives, statics, and everything in between.

The primary campaign was a single ACS, but we also ran lead generation for maximum exposure.

To round out our content, we added a few behind-the-scenes looks at making the campaign as well as product marketing with practical how-tos + Q&As.

Onsite, we designed two early-access landing pages — one with email + SMS for new subscribers and an SMS-only version for existing contacts. We built a JETM-specific quiz, listicles for top personas, and a Trojan Horse lander.

Both before and during, we ran a full homepage takeover:

• Banner
• Hero
• Shade finder
• Personas
• Video CTA

The email and SMS strategy was equally massive — a 15-part send featuring personas, social proof, and personalized blocks. This way, we could speak directly to what each customer cared about while not overwhelming them.

On the PR front, we arranged multiple pieces along with a tier-one exclusive for the day of launch.

We also coordinated our largest digital OOH buy in NYC and day-parted to target specific personas during relevant hours when they’d be most likely to see it.

Everything was integrated across channels with the same messaging, which is what a true brand campaign should be.

 What Worked 

Looking at the data, several strategies moved the needle. The overall creative quality was strong, with our pre-launch content particularly effective.

On email, this “social proof” send (on the left) emerged as the star performer across all JETM campaigns by featuring press quotes and publication logos.

Even our purely brand-focused teaser (right) converted surprisingly well despite not highlighting product details.

Personalization was key.

15 emails and texts are a lot. So, we included dynamic blocks within the tentpoles based on skin concerns and types. Anyone who bought, we immediately excluded. This kept momentum high without burning our list.

On social, we saw several bright spots.

Diversity paid off huge. Our top spenders were a mix of long-form stills, on-the-street interviews, founder videos with Bobbi, explainers, UGC-style, and statics.

I’ve said it before …

The goal isn’t to find winning ads and scale them. It’s to have as many diverse ads in an ASC that Meta will spend on.

One of our partners who helped the most was Statiq. They produced some of the best performers and let us pack our account with quality + volume.

I’ve worked with them since before 2025 because they came recommended by HexClad and AG1. These are a sample, but you can book a call to see more for yourself.

Our ecommerce tactics yielded measurable improvements in conversion.

Adding “Free Shipping” prominently on our launch pop-up increased the opt-in rate. Our pre-launch “Notify Me” PDP collected +5.2k new contacts, creating a ready-to-buy audience.

The Trojan Horse lander became our top performer over the last 30 days with an impressive $3.05 ARPU.

On the PR front, we secured 33 product features — more than double what we got for our previous Pinky Bronze launch. Our influencer strategy also delivered results, with partner boxes increasing post frequency from our VIP creators.

Overall, +$1M in earned media value, amplifying our reach beyond paid channels.

 Where We Can Improve 

JETM initially launched below forecast, with the most variance in week one. Reception was super strong with existing customers, but it’s been a slower build with new. Early on, 73% of orders came from returning customers versus our YTD average of 56%.

Since then, week-over-week performance has steadily improved, and we’re now beating our original projections.

Based on surveys, 71% of JETM customers were over 55 — right in line with our company-wide average. We did see JETM slightly outperform in the 35-44 age group: 7.9% vs 6.4%.

Pushing into new, younger audiences is a top priority.

When customers bought JETM, they frequently paired it with our Face Pencil (28%), Miracle Balm (24%), or What The Foundation (18%). This suggests the product found a place in our existing ecosystem — a positive sign for long-term adoption, but not necessarily hero-level yet.

Our OOH holdout with Haus came back mixed:

• Four weeks in NYC
• 9% lift in new orders
• No lift in repeat orders

It’s the first channel we’ve seen a 100% lift on new. But it wasn’t profitable. About 40% higher iCPA than we need.

Maybe a channel like this should have a longer period. Does all marketing have to be profitable in month one? Why not a six-month payback for our retail stores?

The challenge is validating that there is a long tail. Will we run OOH again? Absolutely. Will we run more than before? Not sure.

Here’s what I’d change for our next major launch …

1. Lock in calendar + coordination

We need to align our calendar 3-4 months in advance. No more shifting guidelines or last-minute changes. Every team needs clear direction that they can trust won’t change. This gives us time to build campaigns, review content, and ensure quality.

2. Better technical testing

We ended up with load time issues on our shade finder quiz. More QA as part of the coordinated calendar could have caught that before it went live. It wasn’t like anything “went down.” But technical hiccups make a nontrivial difference in conversions.

3. More audience differentiation

Our persona approach was good, but needed more specificity. Different channels should have had custom content, not just cutdowns. In particular, Instagram needed stronger hooks and YouTube needed better thumbnails.

4. Lots more social proof via paid

Next time, we’ll push hard to get our influencers and pre-screeners’ day-one content beforehand. The social proof email drove our best results, showing how powerful external validation is. We should maximize this across all channels.

5. Add IRL activations

We missed a big opportunity for physical activations that could have expanded our reach beyond digital, TV, and OOH. This means partnering with pilates studios, yoga instructors, etc. The places our personas go, not just what they see.

 The Bigger Lesson 

The JETM launch reinforced something I’ve been talking about for a while. Product expansion is how brands grow …

You can have the best product and the best creative. However, if your timing, team coordination, and channel strategy aren’t dialed in — you’ll fall short.

JETM was a monstrous undertaking well worth the effort. It was a win. And it will be an even bigger win over the long term. The product is strong, feedback has been positive, and sales continue to trend upward.

We’ll be taking these lessons to heart.

• Longer lead time
• More internal coordination
• Stronger channel differentiation

In the end, growth marketing isn’t just about running ads or building landing pages — it’s about orchestrating all elements of the business toward a shared goal. Product, creative, channels, messaging, and timing have to align.

That’s the level we’re aiming for next time. And I hope sharing these insights helps you plan your next big launch, too.

Connor MacDonald CMO, Ridge

Pixels Track Devices. Accounts Recognize People.

Onsite personalization to support retention was one of my top five strategies for 2025.

And so far, we’ve kicked it into gear.

Using Rivo, we now instantly recognize every email or SMS click as a person with enriched customer data, not just a device.

When we run retention campaigns, we show targeted messaging to specific customers based on their profile or Shopify segment.

See how Rivo is building a signed-in future for ecommerce ↓

THE FEED

​How US Trade Policy Could Shape the Future of Our Brands​

​Marketing in a Recession: Cuts, Bets, and What You Can’t Afford to Lose​

​Is Gymshark in Trouble? Breaking Down Their Newest Filings + More​

The Trends

 TARIFFS  Reuters​

Earlier today, the US and China announced a 90-day rollback on reciprocal tariffs by 115 percentage points, effectively reducing US tariffs from 145% to 30% and China’s 125% to 10%.

Here’s a YTD timeline via Joey Politano that accounts for “exclusions and sector-specific tariffs.”

This week’s five biggest headlines in consumer news — curated by the editor of CPG Wire.

1. 3G Capital Takes Skechers Private for $9.4B: CNBC​

3G Capital agreed to acquire Skechers for $9.4 billion, representing a 30% premium to the footwear giant’s public market valuation. Robert Greenberg launched Skechers in 1992 and built it into the third-largest footwear company in the world.

Today, Skechers is sold in 180 countries and operates more than 5,300 retail stores globally. 85-year-old Robert Greenberg will continue to lead the company as Chairman and CEO.

2. Kraft Heinz Goes After Uncrustables: Food Business News​

Kraft Heinz wants a piece of the Uncrustables franchise with their newest line — Lunchables PB&J. The new line is a dippable, crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich merchandised in the refrigerated section.

For context, sales of Uncrustables (owned by J.M. Smucker) jumped from $200M in 2016 to $800M in 2023.

3. Meati to Sell for $4M, Raised $450M: The Plant Base​

After raising $450M, plant-based meat producer Meati is preparing to sell for a paltry $4 million. The valuation is a far cry from the company’s peak valuation of $650M in 2022.

The collapse of Meati is due to the plant-based meat category contracting in recent years, and a wise lender apparently repossessed two-thirds of Meati’s cash.

4. Wonderskin Grabs $50M in Funding: PR Newswire​

Tech-enabled, social-first beauty brand from London Wonderskin, secured $50M in a funding round led by Insight Partners. The company launched in 2020 and is best known for its viral Lip Stain line.

Wonderskin plans to use the funding to expand retail and develop new products via its in-house lab. Insight Partners is also an investor in Prose, Quince, and The Farmer’s Dog.

5. Unilever Invests $1.5B in Mexico: Reuters​

Unilever is investing $1.5B into Mexico to expand its country's beauty & personal care production capacity. The global consumer giant also plans on opening a new manufacturing facility in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. The facility is expected to create over 1,200 jobs.

 Update: Exit Prep’ing 

Next week, we’ll send the first of three follow-ups to Sean Frank’s Private Equity Revealed.

Plus, I’m still bugging Mr. Frank + Mr. Panzer!

With thanks and anticipation,
Aaron Orendorff 🤓 Executive Editor

Disclaimer: Special thanks to Static and Rivo for sponsoring today’s newsletter.

​Read online | Unsubscribe​