D2C Diaries – Details, episodes & analysis

D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Motion.

If you’re ready to learn how the best DTC and ecommerce brands use Motion to ship winning Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads, book a demo today, or create a free account here - http://bit.ly/3Q7Kkdt 

Get 50% off your first month when you mention “The D2C Diaries” podcast to Motion’s sales team. 


The best-performing ads don’t feel like ads, they feel like stories.

In this episode, Olly and Loukas break down why storytelling is the future of paid social and how top DTC brands are using it to scale. Traditional direct response tactics are losing effectiveness, while organic-feeling, narrative-driven ads are driving higher engagement, stronger brand affinity, and more conversions.

With examples from brands like Club Neuro, they explore how to inject personal narratives into creative content to resonate with target audiences. Plus, they chat about the evolving world of performance creative, the importance of diversifying creative formats, and the role of organic content in scaling DTC brands.

Topics covered:

1. The power of storytelling in marketing: Vulnerability and founder narratives
2. Evolving performance creative: Diversifying formats for reach
3. Organic content's role in scaling DTC brands
4. Industry news: Wild Deodorant's potential £230 million acquisition by Unilever

If you want to create ads that stop the scroll and actually convert, this episode is for you.

Find the ad that Loukas is breaking down here : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEp77ygs_xM/

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow D2C Diaries on socials
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

D2C Diaries is proudly sponsored by Motion.

If you’re ready to learn how the best DTC and ecommerce brands use Motion to ship winning Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads, book a demo today, or create a free account here - http://bit.ly/3Q7Kkdt 

Get 50% off your first month when you mention “The D2C Diaries” podcast to Motion’s sales team. 


Most DTC brands launch with a product and hope people care. Club Neuro did the opposite.

Before even selling a single item, they built:
✅ 25M views
✅ 250,000+ social followers
✅ A waitlist of thousands
✅ A thriving private community

In this solo episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas breaks down exactly how he built a creator-led brand from scratch, leveraging organic content, community-first strategies, and the power of the right creator to drive explosive engagement.

Tune in to learn:

1. Why he started with faceless content before introducing a creator
2. How he scouted, vetted, and partnered with the right creator
3. The strategy behind building demand before launching a product
4. What most brands get wrong about creator-led growth

If you’re thinking about launching a brand in 2025, this episode is a must-listen. Loukas breaks down how his SHAEC framework helped him to select the perfect creator to lead the brand.

Join the waitlist: https://signup.clubneuro.com/
Follow Club Neuro on Instagram: www.instagram.com/clubneuro/
Follow Olivia on Instagram: www.instagram.com/neurodiversing/

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow D2C Diaries on socials
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

In this episode, we break down our step-by-step process for crafting high-performing ad creatives that drove a brand to 400% growth! From identifying where your creative sits in the funnel to leveraging proven frameworks and ideating game-changing concepts, we’re sharing the blueprint for ad success.

Here’s what we cover:
1. Funnel Stages: Tailoring creative to each stage.
2. Persona & Angles: Targeting the right audience with impactful messaging.
3. Frameworks vs. Swings: Balancing data-driven and bold creative ideas.
4. Concept Building: Turning insights into actionable ad concepts.
5. Strategic Buckets: Leveraging improvements, competitors, and organic wins.
6. Testing & Learning: Measuring, refining, and scaling what works.

If you’ve ever struggled to connect your creative process to real results, this episode will give you the clarity and structure you need to build ads that convert. If you’re planning for your next big campaign, this is your ultimate guide to winning ad strategies.

Watch on Youtube📺: https://youtu.be/4B0EGwqBn8w

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow D2C Diaries on socials
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

In this episode of D2C Diaries, Loukas and Olly dive deep into the exact research blueprint that drives our high-performing ad campaigns. If you want to unlock better creative performance and make the most of your existing assets, this is a must-watch.

Episode Focus: Our Exact Research Blueprint for Crafting Winning Ads

Here’s what we cover:
1. Turning Reddit threads and social listening into actionable insights
2. How to mine customer reviews and comments for winning hooks
3. Breaking down the steps to optimise your creative strategy
4. Why ongoing research is the key to staying ahead in D2C
5. Practical tools and frameworks you can use today

This episode is packed with insights to help you better understand your audience, refine your creative, and unlock bigger results.

Don’t miss this deep dive - tune in now to get a behind-the-scenes look at the research process that powers our most successful campaigns!

🎧 Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@d2cdiaries

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow D2C Diaries on socials
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

Matt Kelly, founder of Spacegoods, joins Loukas and Olly for an unfiltered conversation about the “Valley of Death” journey from £10M to £100M. From retail strategies to the challenges of working with VCs, this episode is packed with actionable insights for scaling brands with intention.

Episode Focus: The £10M to £100M Journey: Scaling D2C Brands

We cover:
Retail Strategies: Insights into leveraging retail to amplify D2C success
VC Funding: The pros, cons, and lessons learned from raising capital and working with investors
Building Community: How a strong brand community fuels growth and retention
Founder Relationships: The balance between personal relationships and running a business
Strategic Hiring: Why hiring the right team is essential for scaling
Whether you’re in the early stages of scaling or ready to take your business to the next level, this episode is packed with real-world tips, hard truths, and actionable strategies.

🎧 Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@d2cdiaries

Follow Matt: https://x.com/matthucius
https://spacegoods.com/

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow D2C Diaries on socials
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

Loukas sits down with Fred, Creative Director at Hambi Media, to reveal how founder-led content can skyrocket brand authority, trust, and engagement. Whether it’s organic strategies or high-impact ads, they break down the playbook for scaling brands with authentic stories in just 50 minutes.

Episode Focus: Using founder story content to drive brand growth

They cover:
➡️ Importance of founders as the face of the brand, boosting trust and authority
➡️Organic Content Strategies: Odd Muse founder Aimee Smale
➡️ Storytelling techniques, consistent messaging, and founder lifestyle as brand identity
➡️ Objection handling in ads and specific founder ad formats
➡️ Power of documenting vulnerable moments and transparency in founder storytelling
➡️ Transition to paid content strategy: How founder story ads drive growth 
➡️ Ad Framework: Problem, Want, Threshold, Founder Introduction, Product Introduction, Benefits


🎧 Watch on Youtube: 

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow D2C Diaries on socials
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@d2c.diaries
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d2c_diaries/

The founders of Soar Group reveal their exact strategy behind hiring a team of A- players to help you to scale your D2C brand to 7-figures🤯

Download our incredible 100+ resource Black Friday packages below

Download our Black Friday Performance Care Package for FREE ➡️ 
https://www.soarwithus.news/2024-bf-cm-care-package

Download our Black Friday Creative Playbook for FREE ➡️ 
https://www.hambimediasolutions.com/bfcm-2024-performance-creative-guide

They cover:
➡️Scaling challenges and hiring 30+ team members in 2024
➡️HR and management success at the agency
➡️Key hiring mistakes for D2C founders
➡️Progression roadmaps and team motivation
➡️Building standardised interview processes
➡️Importance of vetting and culture fit in hiring
➡️Effective performance feedback and empowerment

Listen on Spotify:

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Download our incredible 100+ resource Black Friday packages below..

Download our Black Friday Performance Care Package for FREE ➡️ https://www.soarwithus.news/2024-bf-cm-care-package

Download our Black Friday Creative Playbook for FREE ➡️ https://www.hambimediasolutions.com/bfcm-2024-performance-creative-guide


Another solo episode with Olly and Loukas talking all things creative.

They cover:
- Takeaways from the DTC agency dinner sponsored by Triple Whale
- The role of AI in creative optimisation 
- Obvi case study in using AI in static ads
- Answering the question; is it inspiration or stealing?
- Pushing the boundaries on high-production ASMR creatives
- Creative trends: Founder stories and podcast style ads

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/THNPfEoU2t0?si=tfzx066GJLo1BGg6

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Download our incredible 100+ resource Black Friday packages below..

Download our Black Friday Performance Care Package for FREE ➡️ https://www.soarwithus.news/2024-bf-cm-care-package

Download our Black Friday Creative Playbook for FREE ➡️ https://www.hambimediasolutions.com/bfcm-2024-performance-creative-guide

This is the Black Friday / Cyber Monday episode you've been waiting for. In this jam-packed episode, we’re sharing everything we’ve learned from managing 8-figure campaigns across some of the biggest DTC brands across Black Friday. We dive deep into what worked in 2023 and what you need to do to win big this year, so e-commerce brands can work smarter, not harder.

They cover:
-Biggest performance and creative learnings of 2023
-The standout Black Friday case studies from 2023
-How we made TEV £3M in 2 days
-The psychology behind discount strategies
-Answering the question: should every brand participate in Black Friday / Cyber Monday
-The EXACT audit process Soar use on every client
-Mastering retention: how to keep customers coming back

If this episode wasn't already enough, as promised, Soar and Hambi have released their 'behemoth' Black Friday / Cyber Monday care package to help DTC brands scale up this BFCM. Links above!

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2-kTIqr7zE

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson

Follow Jamie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-ingham/
Follow Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-wright-324737216/
Follow Fred on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-ezekiel-76018a111/

In episode 6, we sit down with Oliver Kenyon, also known as the 'Landing Page Guy.' Oliver has spent the last 12 years experimenting with landing pages and optimising sites - turning more clicks into customers. We also dive into his huge exit story and how he's recently scaled his agency.

In this episode, we discuss:
-The power of AI in optimising landing pages and conversion rates
-Why 'ugly' landing pages often outperform the great designs
-Best practices for landing pages and conversion optimisation
-Oliver’s experience with exiting his agency
-TikTok shop's impact on website traffic

Welcome to D2C Diaries, brought to you by Soar and Hambi Media! With Loukas & Olly's combined expertise in managing over £150M in ad spend on Meta and TikTok, and scaling over 200 brands through creative and performance, we’re here to share a blend of performance insights, operational strategies, and creative wisdom. 🚀

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/P-AUb_HyuDU

Powered by Hambi Media & Soar With Us
Need help with performance creative? ➡️ https://www.hambimedia.com/
Need help with paid performance? ➡️ https://www.soarwithus.co/

Follow Oliver Kenyon on socials:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverkenyon/
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverkenyon
https://conversionwise.com

Follow Loukas on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/TRI8B
Twitter: https://x.com/LoukasHambi

Follow Olly on socials:
LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/kPrqO
Twitter: https://x.com/oliverwhudson