Share Lookalike Audiences

A discussion about how complementary D2C brands could share customer data and acquisition costs to create competitive advantages.

The Core Problem

• Customer acquisition is one of the top 2 costs for D2C brands
• Many brands have overlapping customer bases (e.g., Native, Hint, Outdoor Voices)
• Each company independently pays Facebook to acquire the same customers
• No effective system exists to share these acquisition costs

Previous Attempts at Sharing

• Some brands tried sharing Facebook lookalike audiences
• Challenges emerged:
  • Companies became protective of email lists
  • Legal/privacy concerns from larger companies (50+ employees)
  • Uncertainty around customer ownership

Proposed Solutions

1. Private Equity Roll-up Strategy

   • PE firm buys multiple complementary brands
   • Proves the model by reducing marketing costs ~35%
   • Creates competitive advantage through shared resources

2. Unified Checkout System

   • Single landing page for multiple brands
   • Customer enters information once
   • Orders automatically split to different stores
   • Solves customer ownership issues

Current Market Examples

• Some companies attempting this model:
  • Atomic
  • Kims and Hers
  • Jin Lane
• No one has executed it perfectly yet
• Historical data shows promise (e.g., Native customers overlapped with Honest Co.)

Benefits of Sharing Networks

• Reduced customer acquisition costs
• Shared learning across brands
• Better understanding of customer overlap
• More efficient marketing spend
• Competitive advantage against standalone brands

The framework shows potential but needs either corporate consolidation or technological solutions to overcome trust and implementation barriers.