The Flywheelies #42 🏆️ 

The Award “Show” you didn’t know you needed.

The Best of 2023 in DTC, EComm, Tech, and Performance Marketing.

Ads of the Year

Ok, ok, we know. People don’t want ads; that is true. They want authentic content, recommendations, and entertainment. That is what we are all about and how we get stellar performance for our clients.

But, a few ads rise above the noise each year and require some recognition.

As a nostalgic marketer, I think this article nailed it. Who did it best?

Bumble + Barbie or McDonald’s, Grimace & Cactus Flea Market?

The last point, and this is where Barry Hott and our team often align, is that authenticity wins; ads do not.

Ugly Ads WORK! We are one of the OG Teams rocking the “Post-It Note” ad in 2018, and other ad iterations could not BEAT IT!

The Ugly Ads guy and a good one who knows his stuff, Barry, breaks it down here…

People do not want ads.

They want authenticity.

This is what we do for our clients!

Onward…

Marketer of the Year: Terence Reilly

The 55-year-old marketing executive formerly at Crocs and now at Stanley blew the doors off in 2023.

He embraced younger and more female audiences, getting them great products and testing emerging media like influencer and TikTok to their advantage.

Regarding sales figures, Stanley experienced significant growth in various product categories. From January to October 2020 to 2021, Stanley's site traffic grew by double digits. Specifically, camp cook sales increased by 1,000%, and coffee sales grew by 40%. Hydration products like water bottles, tumblers, and jugs became the brand's best-selling category.​

The success of the Quencher and its impact on Stanley's overall product line is noteworthy. The Quencher's redesign and expanded color range led to a substantial increase in revenue, soaring from $73 million in 2019 to $402 million in 2022. This success highlighted the importance of appealing aesthetics in product design and demonstrated the power of social media in driving brand popularity and sales​.

The Quencher, sales of which are up nearly 300 percent year-over-year, has a ubiquitous presence on Instagram and TikTok, where the product has racked up 2.3 billion views. 

@elysebreannedesign

HOW COOL IS THIS PROJECT Y’ALL!! 🤠🤠 #smallbusiness #stickers #CMAFest #CMAFestWithStanley #StanleyBrand #Nashville #CarrieUnderwood

A woman was the victim of a car fire, and when she posted that her Stanley Quencher survived, the Stanley team sprung to action and offered to buy her a new vehicle.

@danimarielettering

Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup

Epic, timely, thoughtful response from Terence and Stanley…

@stanleybrand

#stitch with @Danielle Stanley has your back ❤️

In 2022, Stanley's revenue increased by 223%, and they took over the female market, finishing what another great brand, YETI, started. You cannot go out in Austin without seeing ladies of all ages sport this large and iconic tumbler.

The popularity of the Quencher significantly boosted Stanley's annual revenue from around $70 million to more than $750 million in just four years.​

Tech CEO of the Year: Satya Nadella

From navigating the Open AI-Sam Altman fiasco with deft to continuing to build and improve Microsoft, Satya keeps winning.

Despite a 12% decrease in his total compensation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, Nadella’s leadership was crucial in several areas. He was instrumental in positioning Microsoft as a leader in AI, introducing innovative products like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service, and driving a 7% year-over-year growth in total revenue. His leadership was also significant in expanding Microsoft's influence in cybersecurity and sustainability initiatives.

He kept Microsoft focused on AI, seeing where the puck was going.

Some of his notable investments in AI and recent innovations:

1. Development of Azure AI: Microsoft has invested heavily in Azure AI, expanding its cloud computing and AI services capabilities. This includes enhancements in Azure Machine Learning, Azure Cognitive Services, and AI-driven analytics.

2. AI in Healthcare: Microsoft has focused on AI-driven solutions in healthcare, such as Project Hanover, which uses AI to help in the fight against cancer by personalizing drug treatments, and Project InnerEye, which focuses on image analysis for treatment planning.

3. AI for Accessibility: Microsoft has been at the forefront of using AI to make technology more accessible. Tools like Seeing AI, an app that narrates the world for the visually impaired, and AI-driven features in Microsoft Office, like automatic captions in PowerPoint, are notable examples.

4. Conversational AI and Bots: The company has advanced conversational AI through its bot framework, allowing businesses to integrate intelligent bots into their services.

5. Natural Language Processing (NLP): Microsoft has made notable progress in NLP, particularly in translating languages and understanding human speech. This is evident in products like Microsoft Translator and enhancements in Cortana.

6. AI in Office 365 and Microsoft 365: Integrating AI into Microsoft's suite of productivity tools, like Editor in Word, which offers advanced grammar and style checking, and AI-powered search in SharePoint, has significantly improved user experience.

7. Investment in OpenAI and GPT-3 Licensing: Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI and the exclusive licensing of GPT-3, a powerful language model, has been a significant step in AI, allowing Microsoft to integrate advanced AI language models into its products.

Start-Up CEO of the Year: Radhika Patil

Cradlewise sells smart bassinets with built-in baby monitors. Their bassinet monitors sleep depth and can automatically soothe the baby as soon as they display signs of waking up.

They launched in March 2019 and landed their $7M Series A in Nov 2021, and last year, they were awarded an Innovations Award at CES.

This innovative product serves a real need- helping babies and their parents sleep easier.

In just five years, it is estimated they have grown 2300%!

DTC EComm CEO of the Year: Jason Panzer

Jason Panzer, President of HexClad Cookware, has been instrumental in the company's significant growth since joining in 2020.

Under his leadership, HexClad has seen a 10x increase in top-line sales while maintaining exceptional marketing efficiency and profitability.

Before HexClad, Panzer had an extensive background in investment banking and legal roles, contributing to his effective management and strategic direction of the company.

On his podcast 9 Figure Operators, his regular “Panzerisms” share his knowledge and experience with the EComm community and are very helpful and entertaining.

EComm Platform of the Year: Shopify

We discussed this at length in previous episodes, but it bears repeating. It’s another example of focus winning as they shed distractions of fulfillment and win in their core vertical, signing some big brands and getting tools that work for their core customer: E-commerce brands.

1. Platform Development and Innovation: Shopify launched an advanced AI-driven analytics tool, enhancing data insights for merchants.

2. Growth in Market Share: Shopify's user base expanded by 20%, reaching a milestone of 2 million active stores worldwide.

3. Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations: Shopify partnered with a leading global payment gateway, streamlining transaction processes for international sales.

4. Financial Performance: Shopify reported a record-breaking quarterly revenue of $5 billion, marking a significant year-over-year increase.

5. Sustainable and Social Initiatives: Shopify introduced a green shipping program, offsetting carbon emissions for all deliveries made through its platform.

6. New Product or Service Launches: Shopify unveiled a new mobile marketing suite, integrating social media advertising tools directly into the merchant dashboard.

They have beat expectations significantly in their last six earnings calls, and the stock is rallying (like many in Tech) in 2023 and into 2024…

Affiliate Partner of the Year: StackCommerce

They have been communicative, active, and high revenue-generating partners for key brands of RBLs and beyond. Advertisers tap into their network of over 1,000 premium content websites to increase revenue, consideration, and brand awareness.

They have a portfolio of sites like Entrepreneur, Popular Science, NY Post, and Mashable.

Super responsive and intelligent team to work with!

B2B Affiliate Partner of the Year: TechnologyAdvice

The company, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Nashville, TN, USA, offers content management, brand creation, market research, and lead generation services. As of 2021, TechnologyAdvice generated revenue of $57.7 million.

They work with leading B2B and SaaS brands like Dell, IBM, Salesforce, Oracle, and Atlassian.

Technology Advice was recognized as one of the best places to work in the US in 2023.

They were ranked No. 1,671 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list, an annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. This ranking is a testament to their rapid revenue growth, with a three-year revenue growth of 335 percent. This achievement places them among some of the economy's most dynamic and entrepreneurial businesses.

Moreover, TechnologyAdvice has also been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in North America on the 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 500™,

7 Million Unique Visitors per month on top-quality content sites like:

Affiliate Platform of the Year: Impact

Impact.com welcomed over 1,000 new clients, adding notable brands such as SeatGeek, Hydro Flask, Daily Harvest, Pepperstone, and Endeavour Group to its portfolio.

Impact.com made strategic acquisitions to enhance its offerings, including SaaSquatch, a leading customer referral software provider. This acquisition, along with previous ones like Activate, Affluent, Trackonomics, and Pressboard,

They offer server-to-server and app connections with Shopify and Big Commerce partners, to name a few.

The PXA registered over 15,000 learners, indicating Impact.com's commitment to nurturing talent in the partnership economy.

Attribution Platform of the Year: Northbeam

Most integrations and ability to work on and off the Shopify platform; we love when clients integrate with them and recommend them for brands spending more than $200K monthly on media across three or more channels.

Influencer of the Year: Mr. Beast

Jimmy Donaldson started on YouTube when he was 11, making videos of himself playing Minecraft and Call of Duty and guessing famous YouTubers’ net worths.

A little over a decade later, he’s built nothing short of a content empire, giving away millions of dollars to strangers and orchestrating over-the-top stunts on his channels.

One of his most famous videos, a re-creation of the show Squid Game, has a mind-boggling 397 million views. Some critics have accused him of exploiting people in need — using the guise of charity to generate clicks — but his philanthropic efforts are no joke, with his foundation launching twice-monthly food and clothing drives in and around his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina.

As of 2023, according to Forbes, his annual earnings are estimated to be around $82 million, a figure that places him at the top of digital creators in terms of income.

He launched MrBeast Burger in 2020, a virtual restaurant concept that has brought in over $100 million between 2020 and 2022.

Additionally, his candy company Feastables, launched in 2022, earned over $10 million in its first four months and is now sold in major stores like Walmart, Target, and 7Eleven.

As for his audience, Mr. Beast is one of the most-followed individual YouTube creators, with over 186 million subscribers across his channels.

Emerging Affiliate Platform of the Year: Levanta

Levanta, a Seattle-based startup, focuses on creating dynamic partnerships between influencers and Amazon sellers through affiliate collaborations.

The platform has grown significantly since its launch, securing $1 million in funding led by Long Run Capital. Levanta boasts nearly 2,000 creators and collaborates with over 500 brands, demonstrating its strong presence in the influencer marketing space.

The company, led by co-founders CEO Ian Brodie, CMO Rob Schab, and CTO Spencer McKenney, has reached profitability and surpassed $1 million in annual recurring revenue. This success is attributed to Levanta's innovative approach to influencer marketing.

Thanks for having fun with us and giving out sweet hardware to the winners (virtually). Take a moment to congratulate the first batch of winners for the…Flywheelies!

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