#308 - Rikin Diwan, Soona - How to Craft Marketing Strategies That Sell

DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

Rikin Diwan is the CMO and Chief Growth Officer at soona, the world’s first virtual content studio.

In this episode, we chat with Rikin about the intersection of AI and human creativity when it comes to content creation. We pick apart the nuts and bolts of storytelling and authenticity in marketing, the dynamic evolution of the creative content, and the unique challenges of marketing in e-commerce.

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On this episode of DTC pod we cover:
1. The Role of AI in Content Creation
2. Marketing and Storytelling
3. Evolving Market and Content Production
4. Financial Acumen in Business
5. Performance-Based Marketing
6. Creator Relationships and Distribution Channels
7. Case Study: Marketing at Uber
8. Adaptive Marketing Playbooks
9. Consistency in Company Messaging
10. Soona's Platform and Tools
Timestamps
03:58 Focus was product, now into marketing leadership.
09:06 Promoting bike share program, unique city permits.
12:03 Strategy for customer retention through creative marketing.
15:29 Embracing simplicity, disrupting with virtual shoots.
17:11 Focus on B2B SaaS, not e-commerce marketing.
21:20 Issues with SEO arbitrage and referral revenue.
24:37 Balance performance and relationship for greater success.
27:15 E-commerce and DTC learned social proof importance.
29:38 Balancing budget and channel for content marketing.
35:09 Utilize influencer collaboration to enhance content reach.
35:57 Blurring the lines between sponsoring and whitelisting.
40:05 Google AI impacting search experience and SEO.
43:03 AI tools augment creatives, won't replace them.
46:30 Customer understanding key in integrating tech with photography.
52:32 Testing new messaging, creative freedom, feedback loop.
53:33 Testing new things, grounded in value. Stay colorful.
Shownotes powered by Castmagic
Past guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.

Additional episodes you might like:

• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth

• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content

• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views

• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands

• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook

• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands

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Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:
DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internet
Olivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplement
Castmagic - AI Workspace for Content

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Rikin Diwan - CMO and Chief Growth Officer at soona
Blaine Bolus - Co-Founder of Castmagic
Ramon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic