Justin Bridges

imogene + willie's Austin store sets a new retail standard. While a big fan of imogene + willie (shoutout to Ryan Babenzien for introducing me to the brand!), I'd never actually tried their denim since I don't live near one of their stores. But on a recent company off-site in Austin, I finally got to check out their spot on S. Congress, which shares a communal outdoor space with another awesome brand I love, Sabah Shoes. It was cool to see them collaborating on a event that evening - live music, burgers, beers, and the chance to try stuff on before buying. All things I love! Here are 3 reasons why Imogene + Willie's in-store experience is unbeatable: 1. Next-Level Customer Service: Tyler, the sales associate, was an absolute legend. He totally embodied the brand's vibe through his interactions and went above and beyond by hemming my new jeans in 20 mins while I stepped out for a meeting. Plus, bonus points for Tyler being a big Deadhead and blasting a live show through the speakers! 2. Sizing Made Simple: Tyler knew the sizing quirks of every product like the back of his hand. He encouraged me to try multiple sizes across different styles to nail the perfect fit. Having all the options ready in the fitting room made it a breeze. Buying before trying online is where sizing and return problems rear its head — I'm simply unwilling to charge $1K to my card to try stuff on, resulting in a lower likelihood of finding the perfect fit. 3. Trying New Things: More trying = more buying, and Tyler gets that. He kept nudging me to step outside my comfort zone, so instead of just grabbing the blue jeans I came for, I ended up with this insanely unique charcoal pair that I love. Threw in some shorts too since I was in full discovery mode... upsell for the win. Definitely deepened my brand loyalty! Between the chill, immersive vibe and Tyler's A+ customer service, Imogene + Willie's is nailing the premium in-store experience. Best-in-class products are a pre-req, of course. Products like this require a tactile experience. Getting to actually try more products is such a luxury compared to online shopping. If you're near one of their stores, it's a must-visit! Kieran (K.P.) McNeill, great execution and nice job hiring Tyler — he's the man. #TryNewThings #TryBeforeYouBuy #Retail

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Finding the Perfect Balance at popped.nyc: Where Exclusive Meets Inclusive At popped.nyc, we're all about crafting a unique environment that bridges the gap between exclusivity and inclusivity. We embrace the "IYKYK" mentality, creating a space where insiders and newcomers alike feel valued and engaged. How do we achieve this balance? Open-Access Programming: We host events that are welcoming to all, ensuring that new faces can seamlessly integrate into our community while still offering exclusive experiences that make our regulars feel special. Inclusive Design: Our workshops and events are crafted with everyone in mind. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a curious newcomer, you'll find opportunities to connect and contribute meaningfully. Mentorship and Guidance: Experienced members are encouraged to share their knowledge and guide newcomers. This fosters a collaborative atmosphere where everyone can grow together. Segmented Access: We offer a range of events, from exclusive gatherings to open-access programs, ensuring that there’s something for everyone while maintaining the special touch of our niche community. Transparent Communication: We believe in clear, open communication about the nature of our events and the reasons behind any exclusivity, helping manage expectations and ensure inclusivity. Interactive Elements: Our events are designed to spark curiosity and engagement, providing newcomers with a glimpse into what makes our community unique. Respectful Boundaries: We balance privacy with openness, ensuring sensitive topics are handled respectfully while still fostering an inclusive dialogue. By focusing on these principles, we create a vibrant, dynamic space where the "IYKYK" mentality enhances our community while ensuring that everyone feels welcomed and involved. Join us at popped.nyc and be part of a community that celebrates both exclusivity and inclusivity. Let’s make connections and build something special together! #CommunityBuilding #InclusiveCulture #Networking #PoppedNYC #Events #ProfessionalGrowth

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Hampton Founders Club is a private network for high-growth founders. It is a highly vetted membership community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, the brainchild of Sam Parr. Less than six hours ago, I offered the first 13 lucky Hampton members a free demand generation audit, with no strings attached, no commercial agreement, just a conversation and me trying to be a good friend of the community. Here is what I wrote: "If your business relies heavily on lead generation, outbound emails, cold calling, etc., and you have always wanted to see if you could turn your company into a demand creation, performance marketing, SEO, automated, scalable, inbound machine --> this free, no-strings-attached call and follow-up report is going to be perfect for you." I expanded this to 30 lucky people because the demand is off the charts. Apparently, many businesses are looking to move from traditional lead generation to a more hybrid model. Open rates are approaching 0%, and cold calls are being screened by in-mobile applications. The future is content creation and demand generation. A photo of my inbox today... ⤵

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Spoke to Bloomberg about lululemon which is a fascinating company. They are a giant and pioneer in their field. What a brand. People simply love it. But they have built a big tent and that tent has to cover many customer cohorts. Women’s. Men’s. Youth. Can you think of a women’s brand that built 25% of its considerable business in men’s in 10 years? Hard to find one. How to appeal to the early adopters and the followers at the same time? They are a company in transition from contender to incumbent now defending itself from its own spawned contenders. Challenges: - Crowded activewear space/ growing competition in athleisure: losing customers to newer brands like Alo Yoga and Vuori - Changing silhouettes and shift back to apparel, particularly denim, post covid: looser fits are increasing in popularity, and can shift spend away from athleisure and beauty as higher end customers are increasingly cautious with purchasing - May departure of chief product officer Sun Choe & updated organizational structure Positives: - From a brand equity perspective, LULU will remain a giant in the space - While there are concerns, it should also be noted that Lululemon does more business in one quarter than Athleta does in one year - Since launching in 2014, LULU’s men’s business has proliferated (~25% of total business): for men to adopt a women’s brand the way they have in a short period of time is highly impressive - Still huge international opportunity

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This company is redefining an industry. Women's clothes? ❌ - Men's clothes? ❌ None of that. And I had the pleasure of learning all about it through the lens of their founder and COO, Kelly Moffat. Don't miss this episode of The DTC Insider podcast, in which Kelly shared a ton of value about: 🔥 Actions Required to Educate Customers and Disrupt the Industry 🔥 Factors Contributing to Kirrin Finch's Rapid Growth 🔥 Impact of Team Expansion on Operations 🔥 Strategies for Maintaining High Customer Loyalty and the Role of the Rewards Program 🔥 Incorporating Customer Feedback Link in the comments 👇

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Justin Keller is the founder of 2448 AGENCY he is a seasoned fashion industry executive. From New York now living in LA he went from running his own successful business then navigating lockdown challenges and starting a new business, Justin's journey has evolved into guiding innovators and creatives. In this podcast you will learn:  ➡️ Crafting Your Unique Identity: Delve into Justin's philosophy on building brands that authentically reflect the essence of the creative entrepreneur.  ➡️ Gain valuable tips for small brands entering the U.S. market and seeking to establish a foothold in specific stores.  ➡️ Embracing Entrepreneurial Authenticity: Learn how to embrace your true self and infuse authenticity into your brand, creating a powerful connection with your audience.  ➡️ Learn how to tap into your unique expressions, to foster creativity and set your brand apart.  ➡️Uncover the secrets to achieving balance as a business owner, including practical tips for avoiding burnout and fostering a healthier work-life equilibrium. Listen to the full episode here https://lnkd.in/gu8YkR2Y #branding #fashion #product #entrepreneurship #ecommerce #retail

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Nothing build confidence in a consumer than a peer review. Whether it be a friend, family member, or a stranger that aligns with their needs, interests, and values. It's really difficult to demonstrate these attributes with written reviews but UGC that shows the user physically, how they use it, how they talk, and the value they get from your product is gold. Generating this sort of content at the right moment is an art. Brands need to communicate different benefits at different points in the buying journey from discovery to purchase to nudge the buyer forward. In this clip from my conversation with Tom Logan, CEO and Co-Founder of Cohley on The MarTech Matrix Podcast, we discussed all the ways brands can leverage UGC right down to the point of purchase. Check out the comments for links to more clips and the full episode. #MarTechMatrix #Podcast #UGC #InfluencerMarketing #ContentCreation #BrandStrategy #DigitalMarketing Tom Barbaro Cogent Collective

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User Generated Content Needs a Good Strategy Brands shouldn't be haphazard with their UGC. They must have a strategy and a buttoned up plan or they run the risk of seeming inauthentic, lazy, and disconnected from their target consumers. Consistency and structure are keys to success and working with a good partner will help brands achieve their goals. In this clip from my conversation with Tom Logan, co-founder of Cohley on The MarTech Matrix Podcast, we discussed what a strategy and plan requires so listen in and build your own checklist. If you find this clip valuable, watch more clips or the full episode via the lonks in the comments. #MarTechMatrix #Podcast #UGC #InfluencerMarketing #ContentCreation #BrandStrategy #DigitalMarketing Tom Barbaro Cogent Collective

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Insane podcast episode today picking the brain of a $500M apparel brand… From formation of the brand, their expansion into retail, to how they constructed their visual identity and so much more – True Classic’s Ben Yahalom hit it out of the park This may be a spoiler… but he revealed the biggest tip around your branding system… Overall, your branding system (should) change over time as your brand evolves and figures out what it really is Like your logo, typefaces, colors, you name it – your visual identity is ever changing. 💡But the key to having a strong brand → making these changes unnoticeable to the consumer’s eye. At Obvi, we’re constantly iterating and refreshing the brand – but people don’t notice because we keep it small and under the radar. So it was pretty cool to see that a huge brand like True Classic is still making these changes just like any other size brand. I can’t wait for you guys to see this episode. (Ronak Shah – missed u)

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A few ponderings on what it means that the FTC has banned non-compete agreements 🧐 💡 Will marketers become even more idolized and “traded” like athletes amongst brands? Influencers the same, but amongst talent agencies? 💡 Will marketing get boring because there’s less movement across consumer brand categories? 💡 How will this affect exclusivity clauses in influencer contracts? 💡Recruiters everywhere must be celebrating today… right? #FTC #news #marketing #influencers #influencermarketing #socialmedia #socialmediamarketing

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Hello, I'm Anthony and I'm looking for a A+ killer Head of Growth for Equip Foods! Here are some wild stats on Equip: 🚀 Mid 8-figures in revenue, bootstrapped, and highly profitable (no VC BS) ✌️Only 2 FTE at the moment (no micromanaging or endless meetings) ❗️Only currently focusing on one marketing channel (affiliate/influencer) 🛍️ Industry best CR, LTV, and subscription #s (clear product market fit) 🥤Real food supplement products that are clean, transparent, and of the highest-quality that people absolutely love (actually doing something important in CPG) Perfect role for anyone who gives a damn about health, wants to get their hands dirty and build out a growth process, have huge amounts of agency and autonomy, and keen to make a dent every day when they show up to work. Here's a link to why we exist: https://lnkd.in/gGb-qCA4 Here's a link to the job description and app: https://lnkd.in/gxwE7xk7 (TIP: DO NOT APPLY IF YOU ARE PLANT-BASED) Please tag anyone you think could be a good fit! (P.S. I've been a tad quiet here. Are you interested in anything else about this business? Should I share more on LinkedIn?)

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One interesting thing about creator-led businesses, is whether they can be packaged and sold. Without the primary influencer promoting the products, does the business hold up? If Mr. Beast sold feastables and stopped plugging it, will it still sell on its own? If Prime drink stopped being pushed by Logan Paul, does it still do $1B in revenue? Creators should focus on building businesses that are sustainable even when they do walk away. ~~~ ✍️ Grow fast, join my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ex88GKnQ ♻️ Reshare if these are helpful.

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Every once in a while, I get asked what we really do at deeproots partners The answer is simple... We help our dispensary and brand partners sell more weed through Google Search. How we do it is a bit more complex, but to keep it simple, we get it done in three ways: 1) Organic Search (SEO) We use our SEO recipe to push our clients to the top 3 of local Dispensary + City/Near Me searches. 2) Google Paid Search (Google Ads) We use Google Ads to ensure our clients are omnipresent on Page 1 before and after they rank organically. 3) Youtube Ads We build brand awareness through Google’s own video search engine. Checkout the results the our team got for our friends at Smoakland. Like what you see? These could be your results. Shoot me a DM.

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I helped this fashion brand outrank Macy's and Nordstrom for a set of keywords that get searched 110,000 times per month. Here's how 👇 1. I identified the keywords. This was the easy part. These were more of the "dream keywords" that we were working on. We initially focused on longer tail keywords, but we wanted to have the opportunity to show up for these broad keywords as well. The keywords are just exactly the types of products they sell. Nothing fancy here. 2. I determined which page we wanted to target these keywords on. This was a little trickier. I knew from a simple search that Google likes to show category pages for these target keywords. So I knew we had to go with a category page. 3. I optimized the page for those keywords. Again, not overly complicated. I made sure the keywords were in the title tag, meta description, page title, and content on the page. This page didn't have any text content on the site. It was something I added, and it's made a big difference for them. 4. I built consistent backlinks. Over the 6 month span, we built backlinks each month. We made sure they were getting links from both real AND helpful websites. I don't have the space to elaborate on this here, but there are a million ways to do this wrong. That's a topic for another post. We built backlinks to their homepage, category page, and blog posts. 5. Content This part was fun. We created a ton of blog content around their main products. We talked about different use cases, what types of problems they solved, and how to use them. The blog content didn't get much attention at first, but it's been starting to pick up some traction in the last few months. The Results: 👉 Their organic traffic has almost doubled. 👉 This traffic is from people searching for exactly the type of product that they offer. 👉 Their revenue has increased significantly. P.S. If you have a fashion brand and want to improve your organic revenue, send me a DM. I have one more spot available in May.

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I helped this fashion brand outrank Macy's and Nordstrom for a set of keywords that get searched 110,000 times per month. Here's how 👇 1. I identified the keywords. This was the easy part. These were more of the "dream keywords" that we were working on. We initially focused on longer tail keywords, but we wanted to have the opportunity to show up for these broad keywords as well. The keywords are just exactly the types of products they sell. Nothing fancy here. 2. I determined which page we wanted to target these keywords on. This was a little trickier. I knew from a simple search that Google likes to show category pages for these target keywords. So I knew we had to go with a category page. 3. I optimized the page for those keywords. Again, not overly complicated. I made sure the keywords were in the title tag, meta description, page title, and content on the page. This page didn't have any text content on the site. It was something I added, and it's made a big difference for them. 4. I built consistent backlinks. Over the 6 month span, we built backlinks each month. We made sure they were getting links from both real AND helpful websites. I don't have the space to elaborate on this here, but there are a million ways to do this wrong. That's a topic for another post. We built backlinks to their homepage, category page, and blog posts. 5. Content This part was fun. We created a ton of blog content around their main products. We talked about different use cases, what types of problems they solved, and how to use them. The blog content didn't get much attention at first, but then it absolutely exploded after a few months. The Results: 👉 Their organic traffic has almost doubled. 👉 This traffic is from people searching for exactly the type of product that they offer. 👉 Their revenue has increased significantly. P.S. If you have a fashion brand and want to improve your organic revenue, send me a DM. I have one more spot available in July.

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Nurturing Creative and Authentic Brands Justin Keller is the founder of 2448 AGENCY he is a seasoned fashion industry executive. From New York now living in LA he went from running his own successful business then navigating lockdown challenges and starting a new business, Justin's journey has evolved into guiding innovators and creatives. In this podcast you will learn:  ➡️ Crafting Your Unique Identity: Delve into Justin's philosophy on building brands that authentically reflect the essence of the creative entrepreneur.  ➡️ Gain valuable tips for small brands entering the U.S. market and seeking to establish a foothold in specific stores.  ➡️ Embracing Entrepreneurial Authenticity: Learn how to embrace your true self and infuse authenticity into your brand, creating a powerful connection with your audience.  ➡️ Learn how to tap into your unique expressions, to foster creativity and set your brand apart.  ➡️Uncover the secrets to achieving balance as a business owner, including practical tips for avoiding burnout and fostering a healthier work-life equilibrium. Listen to the full episode here https://lnkd.in/gu8YkR2Y #business #entrepreneurship #podcast #branding #productbusiness

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Nurturing Creative and Authentic Brands Justin Keller is the founder of 2448 AGENCY he is a seasoned fashion industry executive. From New York now living in LA he went from running his own successful business then navigating lockdown challenges and starting a new business, Justin's journey has evolved into guiding innovators and creatives. In this podcast you will learn:  ➡️ Crafting Your Unique Identity: Delve into Justin's philosophy on building brands that authentically reflect the essence of the creative entrepreneur.  ➡️ Gain valuable tips for small brands entering the U.S. market and seeking to establish a foothold in specific stores.  ➡️ Embracing Entrepreneurial Authenticity: Learn how to embrace your true self and infuse authenticity into your brand, creating a powerful connection with your audience.  ➡️ Learn how to tap into your unique expressions, to foster creativity and set your brand apart.  ➡️Uncover the secrets to achieving balance as a business owner, including practical tips for avoiding burnout and fostering a healthier work-life equilibrium. Listen to the full episode here https://lnkd.in/gu8YkR2Y #business #entrepreneurship #podcast #branding #productbusiness

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The past, present and future of influencer marketing, according to Taylor Lorenz who spoke Sprout Social, Inc. 's "Under the Brand-fluence" digital event, aligned to their 2024 Influencer Marketing Report. A few highlights below: 🧾 On consumer trust: -Almost half of consumers make purchases AT LEAST 1x A MONTH because of influencer posts, and 86% make purchases at least once a year. -Another half of all consumers trust influencers just as much as they did six months ago, while close to 30% trust them more, according to the Influencer Marketing Report. ⚡️️ On Gen Z: -More than half of Gen Z report they would become influencers if given the opportunity. 💸 On Pay Transparency: -“There will probably never be standardized rates for the industry. That’s like asking for all ads to cost the same. But pay transparency should be the norm. Remember that any piece of communication you share (contracts, proposals, etc.) can end up going viral on social media. Expect your interactions to be screenshotted out of context and shared online.” 🤖 On AI: -While data from Sprout’s Influencer Marketing Report points to 37% of all consumers being more interested in brands that work with AI influencers, Lorenz speculates this is a passing fad. She explains, “We already have faceless influencers. They’ve been around for a long time. What people want online is reliability—AI influencers don’t engender trust. Humans do.” -“What AI does very effectively is lower the barrier to content creation so influencers can create better content with less effort. The tools are getting more accessible every year. More and more high quality content is going to continue to shift the landscape because of that,” says Lorenz. https://lnkd.in/gQREruaD #creatoreconomy #Influencermarketing #creators #Influencers

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