Unlocking The Brez Diversification Playbook

Hey everyone,

Welcome back for another bite to chew on.

What would you do if your top ad account got nuked overnight? It’s not hypothetical anymore. It basically happened to us this year. 

After watching our Meta performance nosedive, we realized just how fragile a Meta-first growth engine really is.

It wasn’t just a slowdown — it was a warning shot. 🔫

That’s why we recently sat down with Nick Shackelford, partner and head of retention at Brez, to dig into how they're evolving their approach.

Today, we’ll go over the many hurdles and hoops Brez has had to jump through to become one of the fastest-growing DTC beverage brands in the world.

And how they’ve survived and thrived despite being FORCED to diversify their marketing efforts.

On the Menu:

• The New Reality - Why Meta Dependency Is a Ticking Time Bomb

• The AppLovin Opportunity - Real Numbers That Will Make You Rethink Everything

• Traffic-Based Optimization - The Hidden Revenue Lever Most Brands Are Missing

• BOUNUS: Beyond The Basics - Additional Tactics to Juice Your Diversification Efforts

Reminder - This is just a small sample of our conversation. Be sure to check out the whole thing on Youtube:

You can also find us on Spotify 🎧 and Apple 🍎 as well.

The New Reality: When "Plan B" Becomes "Plan A"

Meta has been the backbone of DTC acquisition for years.

We get it—we've built Obvi to $100M in sales, mostly on Meta.

But the landscape is changing. Not just algo updates or increasing macro headwinds like tariffs, but other stuff like health category restrictions. 

As Nick told us:

"The easiest path to purchase is to get customers to PDP (product details page), but Meta is not gonna allow us to do this," Nick explained. 

They couldn't even rely on SMS for follow-ups after account suspensions became frequent.

What became clear in our conversation is that channel diversification isn't just about optimization anymore—it's about business continuity. 

When Brez's Meta accounts started "pinging like, accounts down, accounts down, accounts down," they were forced to find alternatives out of pure survival.

Even if you're not in a restricted category, the fundamental risks remain similar:

• Platform algorithm changes can tank performance overnight

• Ad accounts face unexpected restrictions without warning

• One policy update can disrupt your entire acquisition strategy

This new reality requires a shift in mindset. 

Instead of viewing alternative channels as experiments or supplements to your Meta strategy, they need to be developed as fully viable acquisition paths that can scale when needed.

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The Channel Diversification Opportunity: Looking Beyond the Obvious

When exploring diversification options, most brands consider several established channels:

• TikTok for its cultural relevance and growing commerce features

• Google/YouTube for high-intent search and video audiences

• Pinterest/Snapchat for specific demographic targeting

These platforms can be excellent additions to your marketing mix depending on your audience, product, and goals. But what's interesting is how many brands stop their exploration there, potentially missing opportunities in less conventional channels.

In our conversation with Nick, we were surprised to learn that Brez has found significant success with AppLovin. 

The results from their campaigns were pretty eye-opening:

• $0.83 average cost-per-click (when was the last time you saw a CPC under $1?)

• 1.4 billion daily active users reached through the platform

• $12,500-$15,000 daily spend sweet spot they've identified through testing

Bult to serve ads via the mobile games, platforms like AppLovin represent untapped potential for many ecommerce brands looking beyond the usual suspects. 

What makes these alternative platforms worth exploring isn't just their reach but how they might complement your existing strategy.

Naturally, every platform comes with tradeoffs. 

Conversion rates on gaming-adjacent platforms are typically lower than Meta since users have different intent. 

But depending on your brand's needs, the volume and efficiency might balance the equation, especially during periods of volatility on primary platforms.

Principles for testing new channels:

Regardless of which platform you explore, these principles can help guide your expansion:

1. Start with proven messages: Your best-performing creatives from existing channels provide a baseline for testing

2. Adapt for context: Different platforms require different creative approaches—video might work better than static in certain environments

3. Test with a meaningful budget: Allocate enough spend (Nick suggests testing in $10K batches) to gather actionable data

4. Consider user mindset: Someone browsing social media has a different intent than someone playing a game or searching Google

5. Set appropriate expectations: New channels rarely match your best-performing campaigns immediately—focus on building a resilient, diversified portfolio

As noted, be sure to calibrate expectations properly. 

Your first AppLovin tests probably won't match your best Meta campaigns—but that's not the point. 

The goal is to build a resilient marketing mix that can withstand platform volatility.

Traffic-Based Optimization: Stop Treating All Traffic the Same

Here's where things get really interesting. As Brez diversified their traffic sources, they noticed something crucial: different traffic behaves differently after the click.

Obvious in theory. But most brands are still flying blind post-click. 

Think about the customer mindset:

Meta visitor: Scrolling their feed, sees your ad, clicks through with moderate intent 

AppLovin visitor: Playing a game, sees your ad, clicks with potentially lower initial purchase intent 

Google visitor: Actively searching for a solution, high intent but potentially price-sensitive

Each of these visitors needs a different experience to maximize conversion. This insight led Brez to completely rethink their post-click optimization strategy.

Here’s how to turn traffic intel into profit 🤑

1. Segment your pop-ups by traffic source

   • Meta traffic might respond better to social proof

   • AppLovin traffic might need stronger offers

   • Google traffic might need more product details

2. Customize email timing by platform

   • Game players might need faster follow-up (15 minutes vs. 60 minutes)

   • Different platforms create different urgency levels

3. Test different offers by source

   • Dollar amount vs. percentage discount

   • Free shipping vs. bundle deals

   • Subscription incentives vs. one-time purchase offers

4. Tag all traffic sources for proper measurement

   • Without proper tracking, you can't identify which sources drive your best customers

Brez is running these tests right now and seeing significant differences in behavior across platforms.

For example, their welcome flow that was optimized for Meta traffic didn't perform nearly as well when the traffic mix shifted to include more AppLovin visitors.

The good news is you don't need a massive team to implement this approach. 

🔑 Start with a simple A/B test on your pop-up offer, segmented by traffic source. Even this basic implementation can drive meaningful improvements.

Quick Implementation Example:

Here's how to set up a basic traffic source test…

1. Tag your URLs with source parameters (utm_source=applovin, utm_source=meta, etc.)

2. Create conditional logic in your pop-up tool based on these parameters

3. Test different offers for each source

4. Measure not just conversion rate but LTV

This approach unlocks an entirely new optimization lever that many brands aren't using.

Beyond the Basics: Additional Diversification Tactics

While AppLovin and traffic-based optimization represent the core strategies, Brez is exploring several other approaches worth considering:

1. Personalized Welcome Flows

❌ Standard approach: One welcome email series for everyone
✅ Better approach: Different sequences based on traffic source: 

• Customized timing (15 min vs. 60 min vs. 24 hours)

• Customized offers (subscription vs. one-time)

• Customized content focus (education vs. conversion)

2. Persistent Offer Displays

A simple but effective tactic is to keep your offer visible in the bottom corner of your site even after someone dismisses your pop-up. 

This creates a persistent reminder without interruption, and it's easy to implement with most pop-up tools.

3. Strategic IRL Activations

Brez recently distributed 30,000 cans at SXSW—a six-figure investment with no immediate ROI. 

But physical activations create brand awareness that supplements digital channels, especially for products that benefit from a trial like food and beverage.

4. Simple Subscription Incentive Promotions

Instead of discounting products (which hurts margins), Brez ran a successful promotion offering a chance to win free product (Brez 6-pack) for anyone subscribed by a certain date. 

This drove their largest single day of subscription sign-ups and reactivations ever—with minimal cost.