Windmill, a DTC AC brand, turned a 2020 supply chain bottleneck into marketing gold, leveraging a massive waitlist to generate buzz and media coverage. This episode reveals how they scaled from an unexpected viral launch to tripling sales, expanding into major retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's, and evolving their marketing from word-of-mouth to TV ads, all while building a strong brand identity in a commodity category. Learn how to strategically navigate supply chain challenges and adapt your marketing mix for sustained growth.
Key takeaways
Embrace scarcity: A supply chain bottleneck forced Windmill to build a waitlist, which unexpectedly generated significant media buzz and customer anticipation, turning a challenge into a marketing asset.
Diversify sales channels: Transition from a pure DTC model to an omnichannel strategy by partnering with major retailers like Home Depot, P.C. Richards, and Lowe's to reach a broader customer base and fuel growth.
Invest in brand personality: Differentiate commodity products by infusing brand personality into all marketing and product aspects, making typically unbranded items desirable and memorable.
Evolve marketing strategies: As your brand scales, shift beyond initial digital and word-of-mouth tactics to incorporate traditional advertising channels like TV to expand reach and reinforce brand messaging.
Leverage PR for growth: Proactively engage with media outlets to amplify unexpected positive situations (like a waitlist) into earned media opportunities that drive brand awareness and customer interest.
For most brands, going to market only being able to sell a few hundred units because of supply chain headaches sounds like a nightmare. But for Windmill, which sells both air conditioners and HVAC filters, this turned into marketing gold.
The company first launched in the summer of 2020. "[We] had a really awesome launch plan for 2020 that we had to scrap," said co-founder Mike Mayer. "And so we couldn't get units from the factory to the U.S., just given all the complications in the supply chain." This made it so that the company had to build a waitlist.
It's not the cleanest way to launch a brand and a business," Mayer said on the Modern Retail Podcast. "But it did sort of stir up some buzz." Many media outlets wrote about the multi-thousand-person waitlist. And when the products were finally ready to ship to customers' homes many months later, that led to even more coverage.
It's been a few years since then, and Windmill has continued to grow. The company saw sales triple between 2022 and 2021, and just this year has expanded into HVAC air filters. With this growth, the business and marketing has gotten more nuanced. For one, Windmill -- which began as a DTC brand -- has expanded into new sales channels. Its available at the Home Depot and P.C. Richards, and will launch online at Lowe's later this summer.
What's more, Windmill has begun investing more heavily in advertising. It no longer just relies on word of mouth or digital campaigns. For example, it's investing more in TV. It's a difficult formula to master, said Mayer, as Windmill makes a product that most people don't usually think of as branded.
"The magic that we bring to this category is we have a brand [and] we have a personality in everything that we do," Mayer said. "TV is no different."
With the summer on the horizon, Windmill has plans to introduce more people to its products. It also has some new products it's going to unveil. "There's a lot more to come from Windmill and from us," Mayer said. "We'r
Embrace scarcity: A supply chain bottleneck forced Windmill to build a waitlist, which unexpectedly generated significant media buzz and customer anticipation, turning a challenge into a marketing asset.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Diversify sales channels: Transition from a pure DTC model to an omnichannel strategy by partnering with major retailers like Home Depot, P.C. Richards, and Lowe's to reach a broader customer base and fuel growth.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Invest in brand personality: Differentiate commodity products by infusing brand personality into all marketing and product aspects, making typically unbranded items desirable and memorable.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Evolve marketing strategies: As your brand scales, shift beyond initial digital and word-of-mouth tactics to incorporate traditional advertising channels like TV to expand reach and reinforce brand messaging.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Leverage PR for growth: Proactively engage with media outlets to amplify unexpected positive situations (like a waitlist) into earned media opportunities that drive brand awareness and customer interest.
