Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Epizódok

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  Skullcandy Is Building Black Friday Demand With TikTok Shop 08.10.2026 29p

  By the time Black Friday arrives, Skullcandy wants customers ready to buy.Evin Catlett, Skullcandy’s Global VP of Ecommerce and Growth Marketing, joins Taylor Holiday live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to explain how the brand uses TikTok Shop and creator content to build demand ahead of its holiday promotions. She shares what helped TikTok Shop gain traction after a slow start and how her team selects products for creator campaigns that support sales across Skullcandy’s website, Amazon, and retail stores.In this episode:Building a digital growth strategy inside a brand with extensive retail distributionWhy Skullcandy kept investing in TikTok Shop after a slow launchThe role of creator content in generating demand across sales channelsCoordinating Black Friday offers across DTC, Amazon, and retailEvin’s approach to investing before the sale so customers are ready to purchaseGiving shoppers reasons to buy directly through loyalty benefits and exclusive productsPlanning for holiday sales through Christmas and the end of the yearKey takeaway: Evin reports seeing retail sales of specific products move within weeks of creator campaigns. Measuring the full impact across channels remains a work in progress.This episode is brought to you by:- Trybe: https://bit.ly/4xXvD08- Alia: https://bit.ly/4yuP8ON- Bill: https://bit.ly/4e9JQQmShow Notes:Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two monthsLearn more: https://commonthreadco.comTrack your brand’s performance: https://statlas.ioWork with us: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/contactHave a question for the Ecommerce Playbook? Email [email protected]
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  Turning Black Friday Shoppers Into Customers Who Stay 06.10.2026 35p

  Justin Palmer, Founder & CEO of Home Life Brands, joins Taylor Holiday live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to discuss Black Friday customer retention and turning holiday shoppers into customers who stay.After 12 years in pet ecommerce, the company behind iHeartDogs and The Hero Company prioritizes acquiring customers in September and October, when they’re more likely to buy again during the holidays. Justin explains how member discounts, early product access, and daily inventory planning shape the brand’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday strategy.For DTC brands preparing for BFCM 2026, Justin shares an approach to driving repeat purchases and building membership revenue around products customers don’t need every month. Charitable experiences and personal impact updates give members an ongoing reason to engage beyond the initial discount.In this episode:- Why September and October acquisitions tend to return during the holidays, while November and December buyers are more often one-time gift shoppers- Finding the intersection of three customer interests to develop more specific products and ad creative- Building membership revenue around products with limited natural repeat purchase frequency- Giving members early access and discounted pricing before Black Friday- Testing product concepts with existing customers and cold audiences before ordering inventory- Using daily inventory projections to adjust pricing and ad spend ahead of the shipping cutoff- Giving iHeartDogs members a reason to stay through meal donations, monthly rescue flights, and personal impact dashboards- Producing AI ad creative at scale when predicting winners is increasingly difficult- Building toward automated offers, from a discount idea to a landing page and published ad creative- Why Meta remains the primary acquisition channel, and where TikTok Shop, Amazon, and AppLovin fit- Moving media buyer compensation toward contribution margin rather than last-click revenue aloneKey stat: Justin says memberships account for roughly 25% of the business’s revenue, helping provide stability outside the holiday season.Community impact: The Hero Company has also funded more than $2 million in donations to organizations that match veterans with service dogs.This episode is brought to you by:- Trybe: https://bit.ly/4xXvD08- Alia: https://bit.ly/4yuP8ON- Bill: https://bit.ly/4e9JQQmShow Notes: Go to ⁠https://www.universalads.com/middleman ⁠and use code UACTC to get $2,500 in matched ad credits when you spend $2,500.- Learn more: https://commonthreadco.com- Track your brand’s performance: https://statlas.io- Work with us: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/contact- Have a question for the Ecommerce Playbook? Email [email protected]
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  Your Black Friday Sale Doesn’t Need to Last All November 02.10.2026 40p

  Kyle Yeoman, President of Groove Life, joins Taylor Holiday live at Commerce Roundtable in San Diego to explain why the brand is pulling back on discounts.With profits tripling, Kyle breaks down the changes behind Groove Life’s turnaround, from cutting operating expenses to rebuilding product pages. He also shares the brand’s Black Friday plan: start the Wednesday before, run the sale for one week, and stop.In this episode:What changed when discounted sales grew from 20% to 40% of revenueWhy brands get stuck in “discount prison” and what it takes to get outGroove Life’s 2026 plan to reserve discounts for Father’s Day and the holiday seasonWhy fixing operating expenses came firstThe product page changes that lifted conversion rates 61% YoY on the updated pagesWhy Groove Life is keeping its Black Friday sale to one weekHow the brand approaches linear TV and YouTube beyond traditional attributionOne thing worth noting, Kyle reports that site changes cut Meta CPA in half, measured on the same seven-day click attribution window.Key stat: Kyle reports that site changes cut Meta CPA in half, measured on the same seven-day click attribution window.This episode is brought to you by:Trybe: https://bit.ly/4xXvD08Alia: https://bit.ly/4yuP8ONBill: https://bit.ly/4e9JQQmShow Notes:Q4 waits for no one. AppLovin is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to applovin.com/ctc to set up your first campaignExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  The Video Volume Secret Behind Every Winning TikTok Shop Program 28.09.2026 32p

  Tyler and Alex from TBAR just joined CTC — and in this episode, Shack sits down with them right after their first-ever stage presentation at Commerce Roundtable to break down everything they know about building winning TikTok Shop programs.This is the tactical breakdown behind one of the fastest-growing creator commerce agencies in the space: how they built their client roster (Ridge, David Protein, Jones Road and more), why video volume beats virality every time, how they structure creator communities in Discord, and where social commerce is heading next.In This Episode:Why TikTok limits views on shoppable videos (and why that actually doesn't matter)The GMV Max algorithm explained: why it's a slot machine, not a scienceHow to get 3 videos back for every sample you sendThe creator community flywheel: Discord, coaching, competitions, retainersHalo effect to Amazon, Shopify, and retail — when to expect it and how to measure itWhere social commerce is heading: YouTube Shop, Meta Reels, and live sellingShow Notes:Go to https://bit.ly/4cbihFx to Claim $25,000 in Lutiq platform creditsExplore Tikok Shops; https://commonthreadco.com/pages/tiktok-shop-agencyExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  The Machine: How We Back-Check Every Q4 Plan Before BFCM 24.09.2026 37p

  8 year CTC veteran Garrett Hord sits down with Randall to break down what separates the brands that crush Q4 from the ones that scramble.For many ecommerce brands, 50% of annual revenue and contribution margin lands in a single 30-day window, November 13 through December 13. Most brands treat it like any other month. The ones that win treat it like a machine.In this episode, Garrett walks through the frameworks, patterns, and tactical mistakes he's seen across 8 years and hundreds of brands — including CTC's "four peaks theory," the October cohort principle, and why squeezing the sponge is the most common Q4 killer.Topics covered:Why 50% of revenue hits in just 30 days — and how to be ready"The Machine": submitting your Q4 plan for a back-check before BFCMPulling revenue forward: the right way vs. the wrong wayCTC's four peaks theory for Q4 promotional strategyThe October cohort — why it has the highest short-term LTV of the yearThe "double dip" strategy: acquire new customers pre-BFCM, convert them on the spikeSqueezing the sponge: the most common Q4 mistakeWhy brands that miss July–October targets almost never catch up in NovemberWhat season of ecommerce are we in, and who will win the next 5 yearsWant to put your Q4 plan through The Machine? https://commonthreadco.com/pages/contactShow Notes:Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two monthsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  We Acquired the Fastest-Growing TikTok Shop Agency. 22.09.2026 36p

  CTC just acquired TBAR Partners — the fastest-growing TikTok Shop agency in the country. In this episode, Luke sits down with co-founders Tyler Brechbiel and Alex Rudolph to walk through the origin story, the playbook behind their results, and what this partnership means for ecommerce brands.Tyler and Alex built TBAR from a college dorm room in June 2025. Sixteen months later they're managing over $5M in monthly GMV for brands like Ridge, HexClad, and Grüns — and now they're part of Common Thread Collective.In this episode:How TBAR went from zero to managing Ridge, HexClad, and Grüns in under 18 monthsThe creator recruitment and Discord community system that 3x's video output per sampleWhy video volume and GMV have a direct correlation — and how to use thatThe "blitz launch" strategy that sold Naked Sundays out of inventory overnightHow Ridge's tracker card — their worst D2C seller — became their top TikTok Shop productThe volume-based competition that generated 7,000 videos in a single month for RidgeWhy 90% of TikTok Shop revenue comes from the top 10 affiliates — and how to find them fastWhat GMV Max actually is and how to feed it correctlyTikTok LIVE selling and the halo effect into Meta, Amazon, and retailHow Statlas will track the full demand cascade for TBAR's brand rosterShow Notes:Go to https://bit.ly/4cbihFx to Claim $25,000 in Lutiq platform creditsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Why September Is the Most Important Month of Your Q4 17.09.2026 24p

  Black Friday is not won in November. According to CTC data, brands that grow their active customer file by 10% or more this year have a 77% chance of beating last year's BFCM — with a median result of 40% growth. The brands that hold back in September are the ones that underperform in Q4.Topics covered in this episode:Why your active customer file is the single biggest predictor of BFCM performanceThe data: 77%, 50%, and 30% — what your customer file growth tells you right nowHow CTC defines and measures the active customer file across Shopify brandsWhy short-term LTV peaks in the first 30 to 60 days after acquisitionWhy that window gets heightened heading into BFCM, not reducedThe case for leaning into acquisition spend now rather than saving it for NovemberHow to measure the incremental impact of your media spend in September vs. BFCMWhat incrementality factors are and how CTC has seen them across brandsThe step-by-step September playbook: file, scenarios, moments, measurementWhy the fear of pulling revenue forward or confusing your BFCM offer is overblownShow Notes:Q4 waits for no one. AppLovin is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to applovin.com/ctc to set up your first campaignExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  The Supplement Industry Is Broken, Sports Cheating Is Rational, and Influence Is Misunderstood 15.09.2026 1ó 9p

  Taylor and Andrew dig into three topics that have more in common than you think: why the supplement industry struggles to build real moats, whether the Dodgers and Clippers crossed ethical and legal lines, and the most important marketing distinction almost nobody is making between influencers and creators.Topics covered in this episode: Why no supplement brand has a defensible customer acquisition costAG1, Gruns, and how a form factor change can destroy a cohortIMA's billion-dollar debt facility built specifically to fund CACWhere the real moats in health and wellness actually are: hardware, data, and telehealthMark Walter, insurance float allegations, and the Dodgers cheating scandalThe Clippers punishment: $30M and five first-round picksParity in sports: why big markets winning is actually better for the productJoy as the delta between expectation and realityCreators vs. influencers: why this distinction matters more than your entire creative strategyThe Mark Dowdle and Rapid hat story: what real influence actually looks likeHow to approach influencer marketing at $0 vs. 8-figure revenueEquity deals, embedded influencers, and the Jason Khalipa modelDHH on AI: the most optimistic take Taylor has heardAgency cash management: should you hold reserves or get a revolver?Show Notes:Visit eCapital  to see how much working capital you may qualify for: https://bit.ly/4xO3VDdExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  The Re-Hire Nobody Saw Coming 10.09.2026 27p

  One of CTC's earliest hires just returned after years away. He left to build his own media agency, acquired a major email and retention agency, then co-founded a beverage company where mastering subscription economics was the only path to survival. Now he is back, and the skills he forged along the way make him a different kind of asset for 7-to-9-figure ecommerce brands than when he first walked in the door.Our guest today is a returning member of the CTC family — a media buyer turned agency founder turned beverage entrepreneur, now rejoining as a senior leader focused on retention strategy, media, and industry events. Find out who it is in this episode.Topics covered:The original CTC hiring story and what early platform arbitrage taught him about finding edgesWhy he left CTC and what he set out to prove by building his own agencyAcquiring a top email and retention agency and what running lifecycle marketing for real clients taught himCo-founding a beverage company and what subscription economics looks like from inside a real P&LWhy Statlas and CTC's current scale made returning the obvious moveThe financial forecast connection: why email revenue expectations must be tied to the paid calendarWhere offer-to-ad-to-landing-page continuity breaks down at most brandsDeep storytelling vs. volume tactics: a real example of what actually drives conversionActive vs. lapsed customer strategy and the economics of subscription reactivationCommerce Roundtable events and Hyrox Anaheim Dec 3-4Show Notes:Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two monthsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  The Service That Turned a Brand's Worst Summer Into Its Best. 08.09.2026 18p

  CTC's Marketing Moments service is built to create new revenue spikes for 7-figure brands through structured offer testing, targeted landing pages, and high-volume creative. In this episode, host Richard Gaffin sits down with Roberto Fink, Profit Engineer at CTC, to break down exactly how the service works and why every brand that has signed up has seen at least one meaningful unlock.In this episode:What Marketing Moments is and the COAL framework behind it (Content, Offer, Acquisition funnel, Landers)What each brand gets: 2 marketing moments per month, 1 landing page + 20-25 creatives eachHow the program evolved from calendar-event hooks to evergreen offer testing year-roundThe 100% hit rate: every enrolled brand has unlocked incremental spend, better efficiency, or higher AOVWhy CTC's view of a brand's P&L and margin profile lets it engineer offers that improve margin AND unlock higher CPA bidsThe men's grooming brand that had its first ever profitable summer, with offer campaigns driving 75% of account spendShow Notes:Go to https://bit.ly/4cbihFx to Claim $25,000 in Lutiq platform creditsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  What a Profit Engineer Does Every Day at CTC 02.09.2026 29p

  Most agencies promise results. Few can show you the system behind them. In this episode, Randall Thompson sits down with Jar, a Profit Engineer at CTC who previously built and scaled a multi-7-figure apparel brand, to break down exactly what the Profit Engineer role looks like day to day.From daily contribution margin targets inside Statlas to the 4 levers that actually move paid media performance, this is an inside look at how CTC drives predictable, profitable growth across 7-figure and 8-figure ecommerce brands.Topics covered:What a Profit Engineer does every morning (and why contribution margin comes first)The 3 forecasting models inside Statlas: Spending Power, Retention, and Event EffectHow to diagnose a volume problem vs. an efficiency problemThe 4 levers of paid media: Creative, Offers, CRO, and Marketing MomentsHow Statlas Jams work and why collective knowledge across 170+ brands mattersBase plans vs. stretch goals and how to beat the modelWhat separates CTC from agencies that promise big and deliver smallCTC stat: $3B in GMV managed, within 3% of forecast target, 40%+ contribution margin growth, 30%+ revenue growth (2025).Show Notes:Q4 waits for no one. AppLovin is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://applovin.com/en/ad-experience?referralCode=CTC to set up your first campaignExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Why Your Email Strategy Is Not a Content Calendar 01.09.2026 23p

  In this episode Luke breaks down the complete CTC email methodology as part of the Canon series. This is the framework CTC uses to build email programs that generate a median of 22% of total store revenue, with the scaffolding to push well beyond that for brands operating at the highest level.What you will learn:Why an email plan is a revenue forecast commitment, not a content calendarThe three-act framework: hit the forecast, expand volume, add segmentationAll 10 core flows and how to tier them by priorityThe 4 campaign types CTC uses and when to deploy eachMoment orchestration across standard days, promo days, launch days, and sales eventsWhy revenue per recipient decays with volume but total profit keeps growingEngagement and lifecycle segmentation dimensions and how to combine themAttribution settings: 3-day click, exclude opensThe Statlas Email Plan and how it connects email to the revenue forecastKey stat: Email delivers 22% of total store revenue (median) across CTC-managed brands, with range from sub-10% all the way to 65%.Show Notes:Visit eCapital  to see how much working capital you may qualify for: https://bit.ly/4xO3VDdExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Diversify Now: The 6-Week Q4 Window Closing Fast 27.08.2026 26p

  Richard and Luke (newly promoted President at CTC) break down why channel diversification is no longer optional for 8-figure ecommerce brands heading into Q4 and what creative diversification actually means when you need 1,000-plus ads per month from 100-plus creators. This episode covers the exact tools, platforms, and testing frameworks that changed CTC's position on scaling beyond Meta and Google.What we cover:Why CTC reversed its position on channel diversificationHow Statlas automation now pushes thousands of ads per monthWhy geo holdout incrementality testing is now in-house at CTCCreative diversification as production source diversity, not format diversityThe 3-4 production source minimum before Q4Why 3% of ads drive 80-plus percent of spendFinding your top 20-30 creators before the September window closesAppLovin, TikTok GMV Max, and YouTube Demand Gen entering Q4CTC's Mountain partnership for Connected TV geo holdout testingKey stat: 3% of ads drive more than 80% of spend. Find your outliers before Q4 locks in.Show Notes:Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two monthsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  We Analyzed $1.5 Billion in Meta Spend. Here's What We Found. 25.08.2026 29p

  We connected Claude to our Statlas database and analyzed $1.5 billion in Meta spend across 320 accounts and $100 million in Google spend across 134 stores. The question: do platform bid controls actually deliver what they promise?Tony Chopp, CTC's VP of Media Investment, walks through what we found — and what it means for how you build your paid media foundation.Min ROAS hits its target. Cost per result does not.On Meta, cost per result goal achieved its target less than half the time.On Google, tROAS ran above target at 1.3x. tCPA ran below at 0.8x.ROAS-based bidding gives the algorithm more flexibility to find high-value buyers.TikTok's GMV Max budget scaling solves the liquidity vs. predictability tension.The brands willing to spend the most to acquire a customer win the auction.The takeaway: build your paid media foundation on ROAS-based bidding. Not because it's a rule — because the data says it gives you the best chance to thread the needle between maximum investment and margin protection.Show Notes:Go to https://bit.ly/4cbihFx to Claim $25,000 in Lutiq platform creditsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Ecommerce Growth With a Money-Back Guarantee 20.08.2026 30p

  Our newest ecommerce growth offer comes with a money-back guarantee and a data advantage built in: visibility into what competitors in the same industry are actually bidding and converting at.In this episode, Taylor Holiday and Joy Sharma, who runs this offer for CTC's seven-figure clients, break down what's included: unlimited landing pages and creative tested until they beat CTC's own conversion-rate benchmark data, exclusive access to a top-tier creator network at no added cost, and a guarantee that ties CTC's own accountability directly to the outcome.Tune in if you've ever wondered what your competitors are actually paying to acquire a customer, or wanted an agency willing to put its own money on the line.In this episode, we cover: Why CTC ties this offer to a money-back guarantee instead of just a strategy handoffHow CTC's data shows exactly what competitors are bidding and converting atWhat's included in CTC's newest offer for seven-figure ecommerce brandsHow unlimited landing page testing works against real conversion-rate benchmarksWhy the exclusive Refunnel creator network comes at no added costWhy CTC believes strategy and production can't stay separate anymoreWant CTC to guarantee your growth the same way? Visit www.commonthreadco.com Show Notes:Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first campaign.Get 20% more Meta Growth https://commonthreadco-global.com/ytThe 7-Figure Growth Workshop https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-eventExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Ecommerce Growth: The 3-Pillar Framework We Use 18.08.2026 31p

  Our President, Luke Austin, just got back from a 3-day fishing trip in Sitka, Alaska: 90 lbs of salmon, halibut, and black cod, with orcas circling the boat the whole time. But the real story is what it taught him about growing ecommerce brands.In this episode, he breaks down the three things that have to be true for any ecommerce brand to know if it's actually winning: a single reliable source of truth for your data, a shared definition of success across your team, and relentless execution against the plan. It's the same framework CTC uses with every brand we partner with, and the standard we just recommitted to internally for H2.In this episode, we cover: Why most ecommerce brands can't clearly answer if they're winning or losingBuilding a single source of truth for your financial, marketing, and order dataWhy a shared definition of success matters more than more dashboardsHow contribution margin and daily targets keep teams alignedWhat relentless execution actually looks like: ad plans, email plans, creative testing, MMM, and incrementalityWhy brands skip straight to execution, and what it costs themWant help building this system for your brand? Visit www.commonthreadco.com Show Notes:Visit eCapital  to see how much working capital you may qualify for: https://bit.ly/4xO3VDdThe 7-Figure Growth Workshop https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-eventExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Do This to Scale Your CPG Brand — Guaranteed 13.08.2026 27p

  Joy Sharma, CTC's Director of Accelerator, walks through a brand-new CPG growth offer backed by a 20% uplift guarantee — or your money back. The strategy combines hourly API-based budget scaling (via a Meta managed service most brands don't know exists) with industry CAC benchmarking from Statlas, full-stack creative and landing page support, and an exclusive influencer whitelist through Refunnel.In this episode:What "hourly API scaling" actually means and why it drives 20–30% compounding spend growthThe Meta managed service that gives CTC budget-scaling access no other agency hasHow Statlas industry CAC data lets CPG brands "cheat" the auctionReal results: $856/day to $20K/day in 90 days at 0.9 ROASWhy "extreme accountability" means CTC puts everything on the line, not just your brandHow Refunnel's top-performing influencer community removes the whitelist bottleneckThe 3-brand invite-only launch: two slots with 20% guarantee, one with 40%This offer is currently invite-only for 3 CPG brands doing $3M–$5M+ annually who want to reach 9 figures as fast as possible. Apply via the link in the show notes.Show Notes:Get 20% more Meta Growth https://commonthreadco-global.com/ytWhat Hourly API Scaling is actually worth https://commonthreadco-global.com/case-studyThe 7-Figure Growth Workshop https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-eventGo to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two monthsExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Why 8-Figure Brands Waste Days Finger-Pointing When Results Miss (And the Fix) 10.08.2026 22p

  When results miss at an 8-figure or 9-figure ecommerce brand, a familiar pattern kicks in. Someone asks "why did we miss?" There is no clear owner. Every team points somewhere else. Days pass before anyone agrees on what happened, let alone what to fix.Brian Sakansky, Profit Engine Manager at CTC, calls this the finger-pointing problem. It is not a personality issue. It is a structural one. And the structure most agencies use, where performance is measured by channel KPIs like ROAS or CPM, is exactly what creates it.In this episode, Brian walks through how CTC's Prophit Engine eliminates blame cycles entirely by tying the agency contract to business outcomes, specifically contribution margin, not channel metrics. When CTC is accountable to the brand's P&L rather than Meta performance, CTC is no longer defending the ad account. They are solving for the business.Brian also explains how Statlas gives brands a daily green/red view of whether each channel hit its expected target, how Profit Engineers pull the right levers when a channel misses, and what brands can do right now if they are not yet on the Prophit Engine.Show Notes:Your free LTV audit is waiting at smile.io: https://bit.ly/4bKlMCvExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  Taylor and Andrew Debate Cost Controls (We Ran the Numbers) 06.08.2026 57p

  Taylor and Andrew Faris sit down to debate something every performance marketer has an opinion about but almost nobody has actually tested: do Meta cost controls deliver to the bid you set?CTC reviewed $1.5 billion in Meta spend and ran a formal study on $200 million across 253 accounts from March 2025 through July 2026. The results were surprising enough to change CTC's default bidding strategy. This is the first public breakdown of the full findings.KEY TAKEAWAYS:-Min ROAS (highest value optimization) delivered 96.5% of target across the full dataset. It is the most accurate cost control CTC has tested, and the AOV is baked into the signal so you do not have to manually work through SKU-level bid math.-Cost per result goal (cost cap) consistently overshoots by roughly 40%. An average bid of $78 delivered $108 in outcome. SKU complexity makes it very hard to set the right bid, and the algorithm does not compensate for it.-Bid cap delivered 123% of target on a $3M sample and is now CTC's default cost control, replacing cost per result goal.-Stop loss rules for turning off individual ads have no discernible impact on account performance. The time most performance teams spend on that workflow is not moving the needle.-The aggregate accuracy of min ROAS is real — but individual accounts can deviate significantly. 67% of min ROAS accounts were more than 5% below target on an individual basis. The aggregate and the individual account are two different things.This research covers $1.5B reviewed and $200M analyzed across 253 accounts. Read the full study in the show notes.The Common Thread Collective 7-Figure Growth Workshop: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-eventhttps://hermod.statlas.io/mcp/report/shared?user=anmar.commonthreadco.com&ts=1785286905https://hermod.statlas.io/mcp/report/shared?user=anmar.commonthreadco.com&ts=1785513697Show Notes:-Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first campaign.-Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine-The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have
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  The Agency Model Is Broken. We Fixed It. 04.08.2026 24p

  Taylor Holiday and Richard Gaffin break down the Prophit Engine, CTC's system that combines a head of growth, Meta media buyer, and creative strategist into a single profit-engineered role powered by AI, Statlas, and a decade of operational methodology.They cover what you actually get, why it works, what you stop hiring for, and the kind of brand that gets the most out of it.In this episode:Why forecasting within 3% across $3B in GMV is now one person's jobHow the Prophit Engineer role collapses three positions into oneWhat "Push to Build" means for Meta media buying efficiencyThe Creative Demand Plan and how it eliminates creative guessworkThe total technology stack value (and why the price undercuts it by half a million)What the ideal PE8 client actually looks likeWhy the best brands let go of day-to-day and hold CTC accountable to outcomesKey stat: CTC brands that worked with us for all of 2025 grew top-line revenue 35% and contribution margin 41.5%.The Common Thread Collective 7-Figure Growth Workshop: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/sept-26-eventShow Notes:Your free LTV audit is waiting at smile.io: https://bit.ly/4bKlMCvExplore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engineThe Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have