In this episode, Ari Murray, CDO at Salt & Stone, discusses how to scale a DTC brand in a competitive market without relying on discounts. She shares strategies for building an in-house growth team, optimizing organic discovery, and leveraging discovery sets to drive first-order AOV in scent-driven categories. This is a must-listen for DTC operators looking to refine their acquisition strategy and understand the evolving brand-performance marketing landscape.
Key takeaways
Prioritize organic discovery and brand building before investing heavily in paid channels, as the market ultimately dictates your hero products.
Implement discovery sets as a key part of your DTC funnel, particularly for experiential products like fragrances, to increase first-order AOV.
Focus on session growth as a daily metric, as it indicates genuine customer interest and allows for more effective acquisition strategies.
Avoid dabbling in new channels; commit sufficient resources to new acquisition channels or stick to established ones to see meaningful returns.
Recognize that the line between brand and performance marketing is blurring; integrate these functions for a holistic growth strategy rather than treating them as separate silos.
“The market will tell you your hero — you can’t decide it.” How do you build a brand after you've seen the inside of 30 others? Connor Rolain and Cody Plofker sit down with Ari Murray, Chief Digital Officer at Salt & Stone, who spent four and a half years as Chief Growth Officer at Sharma Brands before going in-house. They dig into what it takes to lead growth for a single brand after years of running it for dozens at once. You’ll learn when to hire an agency versus build in-house, and why the answer changes as a brand matures. Ari shares how Salt & Stone approaches acquisition without discounting, why discovery sets are central to their DTC funnel, and how she thinks about first-order AOV in a scent-driven category where customers can't smell the product before they buy. They also discuss session growth as a daily obsession, the real cost of dabbling in new channels without enough commitment, and why the line between brand and performance is too often drawn in the wrong place. Powered ByMotion Creative Benchmarks 2026https://motionapp.com/thumbstop-pulse/creative-benchmarks-2026?utm_campaign=marketing-operators&utm_medium=sponsor&utm_content=creative-benchmarks-2026&utm_source=marketing-operators-podcastAftersell https://9ops.co/4i3bb5Rivohttps://www.rivo.io/operatorsPrescient AI https://www.prescientai.com/operatorsRichpanel https://9ops.co/richpanelOperators Newsletter https://9operators.com/
Prioritize organic discovery and brand building before investing heavily in paid channels, as the market ultimately dictates your hero products.
What does this episode say about brand & content?
Implement discovery sets as a key part of your DTC funnel, particularly for experiential products like fragrances, to increase first-order AOV.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Focus on session growth as a daily metric, as it indicates genuine customer interest and allows for more effective acquisition strategies.
What does this episode say about conversion & cro?
Avoid dabbling in new channels; commit sufficient resources to new acquisition channels or stick to established ones to see meaningful returns.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Recognize that the line between brand and performance marketing is blurring; integrate these functions for a holistic growth strategy rather than treating them as separate silos.
