Marketing Operators

Two $100M+ Operators Get Honest About Launching New Brands

“There’s so much that I took for granted. It’s such a different playbook.” What happens when two operators who’ve helped build nine-figure brands start again at zero? C

How a 15% Price Cut Sent a Ridge Product’s Revenue Up 60%

Why do experienced operators still overcorrect on average order value?  Varun Kundra (Co-founder, Aftersell by Rokt) joins Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Cody Plofker

Two 2027 DTC Shifts: AI Retention Marketing & TikTok Creator Burnout

“We just had a hundred thousand people buy in the last 60 days.”  What does the future of retention marketing actually look like by 2027?  Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge)

Holiday Offers vs Black Friday, Cyber Monday: Which Comes First?

“Don’t let perfect measurement get in the way of good marketing”  How do Ridge, HexClad and Jones Road each structure Black Friday, Cyber offers differently?  Connor Ma

Incrementality Testing for Black Friday, Cyber Monday: What to Spend?

“It is so incredibly easy to not drive incremental results the week of Black Friday.” Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (Advisor & fmr. CEO, Jones Road), and

“Leadership Is Leverage”: Motion’s CEO on the Future of Marketing

What changes when a single marketer creates as much value as an entire department?  Reza Khadjavi (Founder & CEO, Motion) joins Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Cody Pl

Funnel Coverage: The Upsell Fix Most Brands Never Check

How much can filtering a collection page actually lift average order value? What about cart, checkout, and post-purchase? Varun Kundra (Co-founder, Aftersell) joins Conn

Haus CMO Reveals the Incrementality Index Behind Smarter ROAS Calls

“I just don’t hear a lot of good reasons why this can’t be automated”.  Can an algorithm allocate ad budget better than a human media buyer?  Olivia Kory (CMO & Strate

Employee Number Four to a $1.2B Unilever Exit: Katie Cirulli’s Story

“It was the most fun role I think I’ll ever do”.  How do visionary founders build teams to protect their time for big ideas?  Katie Cirulli (Chief Emerging Brands Offic

Creators Over Reach: How to Rewrite Your Influencer Marketing

“Borrow cultural equity executed with real partnership compounds faster than anything built in-house.”  What happens when a legacy brand like Lexus stops buying reach an

TikTok Shop Masterclass: Inside Ridge & HexClad Affiliate Programs

“The new infomercial is TikTok shop.”  Why did Ridge see 88% of its GMV Max lift happen outside of TikTok?  Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty), Connor Rolain (Head o

Meta Ads Underperforming? Why + What To Do Right Now

“I don’t think our ads are any better.”  Why are Meta click-through rates rising while conversion rates keep falling?  Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge), Cody Plofker (CEO,

The Performance Creative Director Hire: Operator vs. Ideator

“She has built an amazing system and an amazing flywheel.” What separates a performance creative director worth hiring from one who just manages a content calendar?  C

Big-Swing vs. Incremental: Our Ecommerce CRO Testing Framework

“All bad tests turn good and all good tests turn bad.”  How do you run ecommerce A/B testing faster without sacrificing statistical confidence? Connor MacDonald (CMO,

The Right Way to A/B Test Landing Pages on Meta Ads for Ecommerce

“It’s not a test. It’s diversity for the Meta algorithm.”  Can running more landing pages hurt your ability to make decisions?  Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Cody P

How to 2x Your A/B Testing Output Without More Budget

“We used to try to win every day. Now we’re willing to sacrifice entire months.” What does it mean to optimize ad spend when there’s no universal answer? Michael Ting

DTC Content Creation Process That Wins on Paid Social

“The digital deliverables have outpaced production company knowledge.” How do you build a repeatable content creation process without hiring a full agency? Connor Mac

How AI Is Reshaping Ecommerce Growth Teams: HexClad & Jones Road

“We’re not hiring less because of AI. We just expect each hire to be more productive.”  Is AI shrinking your marketing team, or just changing who belongs on it?  Connor

Meta Ads Catalog, TikTok Shops + GMV Max, and the Future of Creative

Can Meta and TikTok Shop be combined into a single playbook?  Connor MacDonald (CMO, Ridge) and Cody Plofker (CEO, Jones Road Beauty) are fresh off the Meta Performance

Live at Meta’s 2026 Performance Marketing Summit: Ads, AI & Audiences

“There’s going to be a world where you just tell them your product and your business goals and they do the rest.” What does Meta’s AI push mean for ecommerce brands try