In this episode, Scott and Gaby break down how a women’s fashion brand hit eight figures without increasing ad spend. The win came from a cleaner creative process, better iteration, and a tighter link between data and production.

Over the first 90 days the brand saw:
• 50 percent growth in acquisition MER
• 72 percent growth in new customer revenue
• 29 percent drop in new customer acquisition costs
• 168 percent lift in contribution margin

Gaby walks us through how the team:
• Identified winning templates, cut creative waste,
• Built a predictable weekly production cadence,
• and turned chaos into consistent performance.

The conversation also touches on why many brands struggle with creative output and how to fix that with a clear testing and briefing framework.

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Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.

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If you're an 8 or 9 figure retailer looking for deeper creative insight or performance insight grounded in real finance reach out today.

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:
Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

Episode four from Cape Town brings Nathan and Ibra together for one of our most direct strategy sessions. No fluff, just hard truths on what actually drives growth for ecommerce brands.

In this episode they break down:
• Why most one to five million dollar brands are not ready for an agency
• How to tell if your issue is the offer, the creative, or the product
• Why attribution is misunderstood and often useless
• The real link between profitability, scale, and cash flow
• How to build a useful testing roadmap instead of random experiments
• When creative fatigue is a research problem, not a production problem
• Where forecasting starts and why most brands leave it too late
• How AI changes media buying and where it still falls short
• Why hiring better people outperforms every tactic long term

What you can expect:
• Straight, unscripted thinking from the two strategists behind Blue Sense
• Real examples, blunt explanations, and zero theory
• A clear view of how high performance operators diagnose problems

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Get the latest updates, best practices, and PROVEN eCommerce strategies every day. Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@bluesensedigital

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Blue Sense is a global eCommerce consulting firm that partners with founders & operators to tackle their biggest growth challenges.

Our YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing our most effective marketing strategies to help you achieve your business goals.
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Sign up for a FREE Action Plan today: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/

⬇️️ You can find us here ⬇️️:
Website: https://www.bluesensedigital.com.au/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/bluesensedigital/
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/blue-sense-digital/

Scott sits down with Gaby to unpack the creative systems that drive scale. They discuss the biggest testing mistakes brands make, how to set velocity without sacrificing quality, the formats that consistently win across industries, and how to turn a single founder video into a scalable creative engine.

They also dive into Meta’s new diversity and fatigue metrics, planning output via a marketing calendar, what to do when peak season hits, and where AI genuinely fits into modern creative workflows.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:30 Creative as the fuel for growth

00:43 Testing mistakes and audience assumptions

02:18 Creative velocity and fatigue management

05:24 Meta’s diversity and fatigue metrics

07:20 Winning creative formats by vertical

10:01 Founder-generated content that scales

13:22 Auditing complex brands

15:30 The Creative Volume Calculator explained

17:38 Using a marketing calendar to forecast output

19:18 Refreshing winners for BFCM

21:03 AI’s role in creative

26:50 The creative team of 2026

CTA: Book a Creative Audit → bluesensedigital.com.au

Key Takeaways

• Why “creative velocity” is the single most important growth lever
• How to identify and multiply winning assets
• How to prepare your team for the 2026 creative landscape
• Practical frameworks to blend creative intuition with performance data

In this episode of @Blue-Sense-Podcast, our host and Head of Growth Scott sits down with Ibra, Lead Strategist at Blue Sense Digital, to unpack the fundamentals of testing, measurement, and strategic decision-making in eCommerce growth.

Together, they tackle one of the industry’s biggest challenges: attribution. Ibra shares how brands can move beyond unreliable data and platform metrics to focus on what truly drives incremental growth. From isolating variables and running meaningful experiments, to diagnosing creative and offer performance, this conversation breaks down how to make smarter, data-led marketing decisions that improve business outcomes, not just dashboards.

🎙 Guests:
- Ibra – Lead Strategist

📍 Recorded in Cape Town, October 2025
🎧 Subscribe for more insights from the @bluesensedigital team

👉 If you’re an 8- or 9-figure retailer ready to turn performance marketing into a financial advantage, reach out to the team at bluesensedigital.com.au

In the first episode of the newly relaunched Blue Sense Podcast‬ , filmed in October 2025 while the team got together in Cape Town, South Africa, Scott (Head of Growth) hosts Nathan (Co-Founder), Ibra (Lead Strategist), and Gaby (Creative Strategist) to unpack what’s really changing in eCommerce marketing heading into 2026.

From declining attribution accuracy to creative fatigue, shrinking margins, and the rise of “back to fundamentals” marketing, this conversation dives deep into:
• Why measurement is no longer the marketer’s safety net
• The operational and financial blind spots killing profitability
• How to scale creative without scaling waste
• Why most brands test the wrong way—and how to fix it
• How to plan your 2026 creative and media strategy by month
• What Meta’s latest algorithm changes mean for advertisers
• Why AI-generated creative is changing the rules (again)

Whether you’re a 7-figure founder trying to escape the discount trap or a 9-figure retailer refining global efficiency, this episode gives you a clear lens on what separates resilient brands from those getting squeezed out.

🎙 Guests:

• Nathan – Co-Founder
• Ibra – Lead Strategist
• Gaby – Creative Strategist

📍 Recorded in Cape Town, October 2025
🎧 Subscribe for more insights from the ‪@bluesensedigital‬ team

👉 If you’re an 8 or 9-figure retailer ready to turn performance marketing into a financial advantage, reach out to the team at bluesensedigital.com.au

In this podcast episode, Nathan discusses the prevalent issue of the 'death spiral' that many e-commerce brands are facing in 2024. He explains how rising customer acquisition costs, coupled with a reliance on returning customers, can mask underlying financial problems. The conversation delves into the importance of cohort analysis, understanding customer acquisition costs, and the impact of attrition on revenue. Nathan emphasises the need for brands to track key metrics to identify potential declines in profitability and offers strategies for recovery and sustainability.

Takeaways

- Customer acquisition costs are rising, impacting profitability.
- Returning customer revenue can mask declining first-time sales.
- Cohort analysis helps visualise customer acquisition trends.
- Brands often misinterpret returning customer rates as growth.
- Attrition affects long-term revenue from returning customers.
- Tracking profit on first purchase is essential for sustainability.
- Downsizing operating expenses may be necessary during downturns.
- Understanding blended CAC is crucial for financial health.
- E-commerce brands must adapt to changing customer behaviours.
- Proactive tracking can prevent falling into a death spiral.

Chapters

00:00 The Death Spiral of E-commerce Brands
02:56 Understanding Customer Acquisition Costs
06:09 Cohort Analysis and Its Importance
08:57 The Role of Returning Customers
11:55 Identifying the Hidden Issues
14:56 The Impact of Attrition on Revenue
18:11 Tracking and Preventing the Death Spiral
20:59 Strategies for Recovery
23:55 Conclusion and Call to Action

In this episode, Nathan and Josh Tay discuss the importance of accountability in agency relationships, the challenges of forecasting retention and sales, and the necessity of setting realistic goals. They delve into financial transparency, especially during Black Friday, and the impact of offer structures on consumer behaviour. The conversation highlights the significance of profitability over revenue and the complexities of branding in a competitive market.

Takeaways

• Accountability is essential in agency-client relationships.
• Forecasting retention sales requires a different approach than acquisition.
• Setting realistic goals is crucial for agency success.
• Financial transparency fosters trust between agencies and clients.
• During Black Friday, prioritizing profitability is key.
• Brand loyalty diminishes during high-discount periods.
• Effective bundling can enhance profitability and customer satisfaction.
• Understanding P&L is vital for informed decision-making.
• Agencies must connect their actions to financial outcomes.
• Consumer perception of brands can take years to evolve.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Agency Accountability
03:06 Forecasting Retention and Sales
06:00 Setting Realistic Goals and Expectations
09:02 The Importance of Financial Transparency
11:59 Navigating Black Friday Strategies
14:52 The Role of Profitability in Marketing
18:11 Branding Challenges and Consumer Perception
20:57 Utilizing Data for Effective Decision Making
24:11 The Impact of Offer Structures on Consumer Behavior

In this episode, Nathan and Val dive into a P&L teardown of a business that operates multiple D2C brands. They discuss the importance of accurately structuring the P&L to understand the business's activities and potential to generate profit. They highlight the need to separate and track components of net revenue, such as gross revenue, discounts, returns, and shipping collected. They also emphasise the importance of transitioning from cash accounting to accrual accounting and the challenges of accurately tracking cost of goods sold and inventory. They discuss the significance of tracking transaction fees and the need to allocate them correctly. They also touch on the importance of segmenting advertising and marketing expenses and the benefits of using buckets to categorise expenses. In this conversation, Val and Nathan discuss the importance of understanding and optimising the financial aspects of a business. They explore topics such as gross margin, operating expenses (OPEX), marketing expenses, and the impact of personal expenses on the P&L. They emphasise the need for businesses to make strategic investments and allocate resources efficiently to maintain profitability and long-term success. They also highlight the challenges faced by online retailers who stock other people's products and the need for them to maximise spend per order and optimise OPEX. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the balance between reinvesting in the business and personal financial stability.

Takeaways

- Accurately structuring the P&L is crucial for understanding a business's activities and potential to generate profit.
- Separating and tracking components of net revenue, such as gross revenue, discounts, returns, and shipping collection, provides valuable insights into the business's financial performance.
- Transitioning from cash accounting to accrual accounting can be challenging, but it allows for a more accurate understanding of revenue and expenses.
- Tracking transaction fees correctly is essential for making informed financial decisions.
- Segmenting advertising and marketing expenses and using buckets to categorise expenses can provide clarity and help with decision-making. -- - - Understanding and optimising the financial aspects of a business is crucial for long-term success.
- Gross margin and operating expenses (OPEX) play a significant role in determining a business's profitability.
Marketing expenses are often high in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space, and businesses need to find efficiencies in other areas to maintain profitability.
Online retailers who stock other people's products should focus on maximizing spend per order and optimizing OPEX to improve gross margin.
Strategic investments and efficient resource allocation are key to building long-term brand equity and staying ahead of the competition.
Business owners need to find the right balance between reinvesting in the business and personal financial stability.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background
02:12 The Importance of Accurately Structuring the P&L
03:38 Tracking Components of Net Revenue
06:08 Transitioning from Cash Accounting to Accrual Accounting
09:25 The Challenges of Tracking Cost of Goods Sold and Inventory
12:31 The Significance of Tracking Transaction Fees
15:22 Segmenting Advertising and Marketing Expenses
33:27 Understanding the Impact of Fixed Costs on Profitability
36:10 The Significance of Gross Margin for DTC Brands
37:20 Challenges Faced by Online Retailers Stocking Other Brands
38:30 Maximizing Spend per Order and OPEX Optimization
41:15 The Shock of Marketing Expenses in the D2C Space
44:29 The Regression to 0% Net Profit and the Importance of Innovation
53:47 Minimising Noise and Adjusting for Personal Expenses on the P&L
58:15 Balancing Reinvestment and Personal Financial Stability