What makes a successful subscription brand?

This is the hot industry question we aimed to answer at our recent Spark Session, which we streamed live on Tuesday 28th March.

“Unique, relevant and simple” – is the key according to one of our speakers, Santiago Navarre from Garçon Wines.

We caught up with the prominent DTC thinkers and industry experts who shared their experiences as part of the session titled Digital Disruption: what brands can gain from going direct-to-consumers. 

A DTC revolution is underway. More and more brands are embracing digital to connect directly with consumers like never before. The likes of Dollar Shave Club and Deliveroo are ripping up the rule book to deliver truly 360° experiences that delight and excite consumers.

“DTC seems to work best with offers that position themselves at either end of the needs spectrum, think ‘basic replenishment’ in the form of contact lenses, coffee, and socks or ‘exclusive treat’. At this end, brands can really capitalise on the ‘gift in the letterbox’ feeling”.

Kahlia Pyle, Director The Big Picture

There’s certainly an expectation with DTC and subscription offers that the service provided will offer the consumer some kind of extra benefit that buying through a retailer can’t provide. But this isn’t simply just about delivering price or convenience, it’s about creating a valuable branded experience across all consumer touchpoints.

For Daniella Peri, co-founder of Yoppie Your Happy Period – an emerging start up that aims to make periods happier, simpler and natural – it’s important to “be able to reach and exceed all your customers expectations, while staying true to your brand and value propositions”.

With DTC and subscription services such a rapidly evolving category, it’s also important to look to the future. How will brands need to evolve to remain relevant and exciting to the increasingly digital consumer?

“I’m excited about seeing more innovation in how the digital and physical DTC experience marry together. Right now, although there are brands doing a brilliant job of creating seamless, desirable experience, for many the high expectation created online dissipates when the physical packaging arrives at your door”. Prominent DTC thinker Nick Dormon, Echo brand design

Whatever the future holds for this industry, one thing is for certain – DTC is a game changer for brands.

“One thing I’ve learnt is the importance of creating lifetime value…and how you need to think differently”. Santiago Navarre, Garcon Wines

You can still watch our live stream of the Spark Session to hear Daniella, Santiago, Nick, Kahlia, and Janis Thomas, Marketing Director at Birchbox, share what brands can do to be successful in DTC/subscription services.