Paddy Kennedy managed $5M a month in global media spend at Oodie and helped scale it to $220M in turnover. At Füm, he built an entire multi-channel growth programme from scratch when Meta kept banning their account. Now he is building Menina, his own DTC eyewear brand, launching June 26th.
In this episode Ryan sits down with Paddy to unpack three growth levers most DTC operators underinvest in: Employee Generated Content, podcast advertising and the full-funnel persona approach that holds up in the Andromeda era. Plus what a career performance marketer discovers when they try to build a brand brand for the first time.
If you work in DTC, run growth for an ecommerce brand, or are building your own product business, this one is worth your time.
(00:00) Introduction
(00:53) Who is Paddy Kennedy
(01:41) Selling snapbacks at school
(03:26) The Melbourne watch brand
(04:41) How Paddy landed at Oodie
(05:23) COVID and Oodie: perfect timing
(05:48) Brand manager to head of marketing
(07:48) What is Füm
(08:47) Meta is still the meta
(09:04) Employee Generated Content
(09:15) The Oodie Girl
(09:51) Why EGC builds brand trust
(10:20) Represent 247 and Minted New York
(12:22) Authentic vs AI-generated creative
(13:07) Meta Andromeda explained
(13:56) Persona-matched creative at Füm
(14:51) Whitelisting: still underutilised
(15:16) Founder account vs brand account
(16:04) Groons: full-funnel persona targeting
(17:03) Why brands are not doing EGC
(18:07) How to hire for an EGC role
(19:34) Podcast advertising at Füm
(20:01) Getting banned on Meta
(21:07) Podcast strategy: CPM and show selection
(22:16) Why crime podcasts outsold everything
(23:24) Podcast ad creative approach
(23:52) Measuring podcast ROI
(24:32) Discount codes, Fairing and Podscribe
(25:14) Podscribe: multi-touch attribution
(25:38) Podcast as digital billboards
(26:59) Podcast as a long-tail channel
(27:36) The clipping economy
(28:56) The moment that validated podcasts
(29:55) Media mix: 60/40
(30:14) YouTube creator partnerships
(31:40) YouTube as passive income
(32:56) Organic vs paid YouTube
(33:53) Creator selection: category fit
(34:08) Ridge Wallet and MKBHD
(35:49) YouTube Shorts
(37:02) Google Demand Gen
(37:40) YouTube in the DTC funnel
(38:52) TikTok Shop: here to stay?
(39:35) TikTok Shop AOV: $30 to $50
(39:56) The TikTok affiliate flywheel
(41:33) Live shopping: China vs the West
(42:41) Menina: DTC eyewear brand
(42:56) The story behind the name
(44:04) June 26th launch and scarcity model
(45:21) Performance marketer builds a fashion brand
(46:48) Direct response vs brand marketing
(47:38) Menina product details
(49:04) Leveraging a creator's audience
(49:35) Why it is not merch
(50:05) Product quality as the foundation
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Follow Paddy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddytkennedy/
Follow Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aurary/
DTC Unboxed is the growth podcast for modern direct-to-consumer brands. New episodes every two weeks.
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