On this episode of Brand Anatomy, where we get exclusive looks inside leading brands, Briefing director Jeremy Goldman sits down with Mike Janover, vice president of global digital and direct marketing at Gap Inc., to discuss how the clothing and accessories retailer is tackling personalization at scale, the nuances between the brand's marketing channels, and the top technologies it's implementing.

By definition, direct-response ads need to elicit a response from the user—and need to do so quickly, particularly on social where users are rapidly scrolling. Videos for lower-funnel campaigns should be quick hitting to capture users’ attention right away, immediately communicate information, and drive momentum toward making a purchase.

Recent gains in direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecommerce sales are being driven more by incumbent brands than disruptors. What can they learn from each other about building brands in the digital age?

Brooklinen and Parachute push to gain market share: The two D2C home goods brands are opening stores and expanding into new channels to drive sales growth.

Roderick Morris co-founded Lovevery to provide parents with a subscription-based model of toys that evolve with children as they develop. He spoke with Insider Intelligence about expanding the subscription business internationally, providing parents with proper data to make purchasing decisions for their children, and more.

Direct-response (DR) advertisers—those driving any type of lower-funnel action, like a purchase—have seen performance declines on their Facebook ad campaigns due to the impact of signal loss on targeting, measurement, and attribution. Advertisers using Facebook for branding reach have been less affected or not at all.

As UK consumers settle on new ways of shopping and buying post-pandemic, retailers must keep pace and cater to these new habits.

Retail media has revolutionized the search ad market, where most of the focus still is. But display and video ads that target consumers higher in the funnel are becoming a more important part of the mix, and technological innovation is ushering in new ad products that bring together the best of branding and the best of performance marketing.