Turning over rocks to find winners 🪨 TMT, Games, Consumer.
New York, USA
Joined February 2017
- Tweets1.8K
- Following1.7K
- Followers1.8K
- Likes6.2K
Okapi retweeted
Our @AppLovin results: outperforming Meta on CPA and AOV at $1k/day. Here's a screenshot with some data:
$14,940.34 spend
$27,091.29 attributable revenue in a standalone funnel
1.81% ROAS (considered above average attributed to an ad channel)
$180-$220 AOV (above average)
$16.93 eCPM
$0.49 eCPC
15-17% lift in sales by day 7
54% new visitor rate (based on @blotout_io data)
This brand spends over a million a month so this spend hasn't made a dent.
Goal is to see how it performs at $10k/day. Let's see!
Okapi retweeted
We’ve officially spent more on AppLovin MTD than Meta….
Y’all seriously need to get on this channel 📈💰
Okapi retweeted
One of our brands will probably be spending ~30%+ of budgets on AppLovin by January. Kind of wild. I wonder how FB will respond.
Okapi retweeted
🍃🍄 November @drinkbrez | Month 19 📆
• $3,522,370.58 in Revenue (+16%) 🔔😮💨
• 13,544 New Customers 👀
• Meta, Google, Amazon, AppLovin, X, Snapchat, Email, Subscription, Retail, & WoM 💯
• Subscription: ~35% of Revenue 🫡
• Ad Spend: $1,260,022.37 💸
• bCAC: ~$40 | ~$96 AOV | 2.42 MER👌
• 81% DTC | 14% Retail | 5% Amazon ✔️
This month was all about getting BRĒZ into our customers’ hands for the holidays. BFCM was massive—our biggest ecomm weekend yet, with over $700k in sales (12x growth from last year).
Retail has soared, jumping from $331k to $478k+. Email and ad campaigns with the goal of turning online customers into retail shoppers have worked, with retail partners reporting customers coming in specifically for BRĒZ frequently, and often adding other products to their cart. Glad to say we haven’t seen this degrade our DTC efforts either. In fact, it’s only amplified them. The reality is our customers ultimately want convenient access to make us part of their lives, whether that’s in-store or DTC—and when combined, the synergy is incredible. Immense gratitude to @Brian_Dewey and our retail and distribution partners for making this a reality.
On the DTC front, we’ve continued to diversify channels, with @AppLovin, @Snapchat, and @X becoming key players. Less dependence on Meta is a win as we build a more balanced and resilient ecosystem.
In January, we’re launching a new SKU that adds versatility to the @drinkbrez experience. We’re doubling down on delivering fun and relief in ways that feel good without feeling worse.
November also brought major press moments—@GQMagazine, @Forbes, @NylonMag, @EsquireNetwork —cementing BRĒZ as a leader in the category, and we’re honored to be an ambassador this cultural shift.
On the advocacy front, we continue to collaborate with the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Hemp Beverage Alliance, Cannabis Beverage Association, and CABA to push for fair regulations that ensure safety and access for consumers. Progress is real, and the alcohol and cannabis industries are now allies in many of these efforts.
We’re getting ~2,000 cans in hands weekly at everything from wellness festivals to cultural moments like the Paul vs. Tyson fight and Art Basel Miami, where we passed out 10,000 cans across 26 events. Moments like these—introducing people to BRĒZ and the category for the first time—are what it’s all about.
As we finish the year and head into Dry January, we’re focused on continuing this momentum and expanding what it means to connect, celebrate, and live with intention. @drinkbrez is more than a beverage—it’s part of a movement expanding how we enjoy life, creating space for joy, connection, and growth.
None of this happens alone. It takes a team, partners, and an entire category working together. We’re deeply grateful to be part of this movement and proud to help shape the future with a better beverage. ❤️🔥
🍃🍄 October @drinkbrez | Month 18 📆
• $3,020,355.13 in Revenue 🔔😮💨
• 11,777 New Customers 👀
• Meta, Google, Amazon, TikTok, X, Snapchat, Email, Subscription, Retail, & WoM 💯
• Subscription: ~35% of Revenue 🫡
• Ad Spend: $1,151,692.96 💸
• bCAC: ~$48 | $88 AOV | 2.73 MER👌
• 89% Sales DTC | 11% Retail ✔️
October was wild - for the first time, BRĒZ crossed $3 million in monthly sales—a threshold we’ve had our sights on from awhile. Retail revenue grew from $240,000 to $320,000 as we expanded into @TotalWine stores across Florida and Texas, with Minnesota, North Carolina, and South Carolina soon to follow. This month’s new distributor partnerships in Ohio, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Minnesota bring BRĒZ to more shelves and more people, grounding our presence nationwide.
Digitally, we continue to gain traction—we now rank in the top 3 for high-demand search terms like “THC drink,” “cannabis drink,” and “mushroom drink,” while we’ve continued our efforts on @Meta, @Google, @tiktok_us, @X, and are now adding new channels like @rumblevideo and @Snapchat further expanding our reach. Every step bringing us closer to making BRĒZ a household name.
October also brought some great media moments. A feature review in @VICE highlighted BRĒZ as an empowering alternative to wine. Interest from major outlets like @CNBC, @Forbes, The Guardian, and @RollingStones shows no signs of slowing, underscoring the cultural shift that BRĒZ and the broader category represents.
Internationally, our non-infused blend, Flow, is now available in Europe and Canada, with new countries coming online regularly. Seeing BRĒZ reach a global audience is surreal, and we’re working to make our infused products accessible internationally soon.
We’re proud to stay profitable and scalable, achieving all this with under $250,000 in starting capital. While we’re considering raising funds to drive further innovation, we’re fiercely committed to maintaining control and staying true to our purpose - we have no desire to become a traditional VC backed brand.
October wasn’t just significant for BRĒZ, it came against the backdrop of a major election. We’re encouraged by the results and hopeful that the hemp and broader cannabis industry will thrive under the new president-elect’s leadership, setting the stage for a promising future.
As we move into Q4, our focus is clear: prepare for both the holiday season and the energy of Q5—“Dry January”—when so many seek better choices. BRĒZ is here to meet that moment, offering a drink that uplifts without compromise.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey. As I’ve said before, it takes a village, and we’re endlessly grateful for the community and category that’s held us up and partnered with us each step of the way. Heading into the holidays, we’re honored to offer a better beverage to help you be the best you ❤️🔥
Okapi retweeted
We finished the month off spending about $219,000 on applovin (first month we were on it)
That’s half of what we spent on meta (500k)
That shit is very real and it’s going to be worth testing for a lot of brands.
Shheeeeshhhh 😮💨
Okapi retweeted
Just saw the first really compelling case for Applovin in the wild on a @triplewhale consulting call.
- Brand that is VERY good at Digitial advertising
- Applovin is the second largest channel behind Meta (and not far behind)
- Meta overall CPA is much better, but if you just look at new customer Applovin is actually getting a significantly better CPA.
P.s. I don’t get paid by Applovin — just trying to bring insights to the DTC community as I see them.
Okapi retweeted
5 TABLE STAKES ESSENTIALS APPLOVIN ($APP) STILL HAS NOT CAPITALIZED ON.... THAT SHOULD ONLY IMPROVE ECOM AD PERFORMANCE:
1️⃣ 3rd Party CAPI integration (Blotout, Elevar)
2️⃣ Shopify integration to allow for catalog ads/SKU data sync, as well as 1P data sharing (which APP still sorely lacks)
3️⃣ Audience segmentation & exclusions (prospecting, engaged, existing customer)
4️⃣ Self-serve ad platform
5️⃣ Diverse ad formats
The fact performance is this noteworthy, this early without even some of the basics being checked off is pretty encouraging to me.
Could be nothing…
Or could be exponential growth in AppLovin’s TAM.
$APP
Okapi retweeted
BFCM week for us so far:
Meta: Volume
Google: Efficiency
Applovin: Santa comes early :)
Black Friday thoughts:
1. Lifetime budgets on Meta won today. In many instances these carried the account and pacing was the best during peak parts of the DAUs. Kept pushing the lifetime budget higher and these held.
2. Applovin - yes, it crushed and scaled well.
3. Pinterest / Snap - both struggled early in the day but by mid afternoon these two channels really picked up pace.
4. Static ads + GIFs featuring a wall of text of the offer.
Okapi retweeted
AppLovin x Haus experiment status
We will have a lot more data soon and plan to publish a full report with more learnings in December. If you want an objective view of this channel, wait for that. If you’re impatient like me, follow along.
In the meantime…
Please don’t:
- quote the first 2 results as definitive evidence of AppLovin incrementality
- let this distract you from BFCM, especially if you can’t hit their minimums
Please do:
- run a holdout experiment for your own business and appreciate applovin’s willingness to support it
- forgive me if things change
Go lions
$APP - almost the sole ~huge~ beneficiary of e-comm figuring out gaming ad networks
Mobile games industry - negative for just about anyone reliant on ads to drive user acquisition
1/ 🚀AppLovin Ad Spend Insights
I recently commented on a post about AppLovin, sharing that we're spending $50,000/day for an e-com client.
The response was overwhelming, so here's a thread breaking down what we've learned and the results we're seeing. 👇
Okapi retweeted
Everybody is talking about Applovin right now.
I think we were one of the first DTC brands spending on it. We’re not spending a ton compared to some, but on some days it gets to 20% of our spend.
We are the second Haus customer to run a holdout, which is underway. And we got them integrated into our MMM really quickly.
Here are my thoughts on Applovin, the good, bad, and ugly. It’s mostly good though.
First, you’re seeing a lot of people talk about it and it’s not because they are getting paid. Usually when you see vendors pop up out of nowhere, everyone is getting paid. As far as I know, no one is getting paid here.
People are just starving for another scalable channel. TikTok had promise but fell off super hard and is almost non-existent if you’re not in shops. Shops has a whole host of other issues.
YouTube can crush but creative and measurement is much harder. Snap and Pinterest, and X are usually a miss and scale is virtually non-existent there.
Applovin won’t work for everybody though. If you’re trying to beat Meta or don’t know your diminishing returns there, it’s probably not going to work as you want. If you’re just testing it because everyone is talking about it and you have FOMO, good luck.
But if you have data that scaling meta won’t result in incremental profitable revenue and you need a new channel, Applovin can work.
If your audience plays games, it can work.
Also make sure you know how you’re going to measure it before you launch. It’s very easy to do just enough, get ok results and be in a middle ground of not really knowing if it’s working or not.
Hope this is helpful. What questions do you have about trying or scaling Applovin?