Challenger brands upend agencies, marketing's rising stars, and how to make $50,000 on a YouTube video

Pattern co-founders Nick Ling and Emmett Shine

Hello,

Welcome to the Advertising and Media Insider newsletter. First, a PSA: We're publishing our first list of rising CMOs later this summer, and we want your ideas. Read the criteria and how to make a nomination by August 15 here.

On to the news: We're seeing the rise of direct brands impact the marketing and advertising world in new ways. For one:

A leading direct-to-consumer ad agency behind upstarts including Harry's and Hims just raised $14 million to spin off into its own multi-brand DTC company Ad agencies don't want to just help bring direct brands to market anymore. One, Gin Lane, the agency behind direct-to-consumer upstarts Harry's and Hims, is relaunching itself as a company called Pattern that will make DTC brands itself. The competition's fierce, but Pattern's founders told senior reporter Tanya Dua that they believe with 10 years of experience, they know what they're doing.

DTC brands are also attracting investor fever. Consumer brands have raised more than $3 billion since 2012, about half of it raised in 2018 alone, according to CB Insights data cited by Digiday. Tanya also asked investors what their hot DTC picks are.

Investors from Greycroft, Science, Lerer Hippeau, and others who control millions of dollars name the direct-to-consumer startups that will blow up this year After the healthy sodas and canned booze, some of the more novel ones to me included companies that sell affordable bathing suits for people of all sizes, personalized migraine treatments, and online classes.

Finally, the direct-to-consumer explosion is touching PR agencies.

PR agencies are beefing up their data services to keep consulting firms like Deloitte and Accenture from eating their lunch

Companies that built themselves by selling directly to consumers on social media are entirely optimized around sales, so to get their business, PR agencies need to show their services can help lead to business outcomes. PR firms have traditionally relied on inaccurate measurement, so now they're adding data services to show their work actually delivers.

Now, a fun thing: I have to plug this piece of great reporting by entertainment reporter Jason Guerrasio on movie subscription service MoviePass. Jason tells the definitive story of the company's rise and fall— and of the lasting impact it's had on the movie business.

Here's the rest of the Advertising and Media Insider newsletter, where we round up the most interesting stories we covered this past week. (If you got this email forwarded, sign up for your own here.)