Why “out of stock” is your best ad
🧨 Vanishing creates hype that discounts never will, Google Ads Connects Web, App, and YouTube Performance, and more!
Howdy Readers 🥰
In this newsletter, you’ll find:
🧨 Why “out of stock” is your best ad
📊 Google Ads Connects Web, App, and YouTube Performance
🏆 Ad of the Day
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Together with Levanta
Only a Handful of Brands Get Featured This Season
This holiday season, top publishers are actively sourcing brands to feature in their gift guides, newsletters, listicles, reviews, and more, driving high-intent shoppers directly to Amazon storefronts.
Here’s why it matters:
Marketplace brands are seeing a 5:1 conversion rate compared to DTC sites
Millions of shoppers discover products through trusted publishers
Levanta is working directly with these publishers to introduce them to a small number of 7–9 figure brands.
If you qualify, your products could be featured in high-traffic placements that deliver predictable CAC and directly measurable sales.
🧨 Why “out of stock” is your best ad
Every brand has products that are used to convert. That used to excite. That used to move. But instead of killing those SKUs or discounting them into oblivion, there’s a smarter play: pull them intentionally, then reintroduce them like an event.
🎯 The Core Idea: Scarcity as a Campaign Engine
Forget always-on availability. You create built-in urgency when you temporarily remove a SKU and bring it back in a time-limited format:
Reframed product narratives
Higher perceived value (new context, not new cost)
Conversion urgency without media dependency
Each restock becomes its own mini-launch, with a CRM drip, a scarcity countdown, and a new reason to buy something old.
📅 Why Now: Q4 Burnout Meets Q1 Reality
It’s Q4. Every list is being blitzed. Every SKU is being pushed.
This tactic flips the playbook:
Instead of sending more emails, you pull a product.
Instead of discounts, you frame a return.
Instead of blowing the budget, you create built-in triggers:
“Back by request”
“Waitlist re-opening”
“Founder’s re-pick”
And because many Q4 best-sellers decline in January, re-entry drops are your cheat code for Q1 lift, without new creative, budget, or launches.
🔁 The Re-Entry Stack: What Actually Makes It Work
1. SKU Rotation Cadence: Don’t relaunch too soon. Wait 30–60 days. Model decay curves by AOV drop-off and email CTR fatigue to time it right.
2. Price Elasticity Ladder: Each re-entry can soft test new price points. A +10% increase after 60 days off-shelf behaves like a new launch, without the CAC of one.
3. Waitlist Drip Flows: Trigger the flywheel:
T–7: VIP notify
T–3: Early access link
T–0: Scarcity push
T+2: Almost gone
4. Fulfillment Timing
No relaunch works if delivery is slow. Shipfusion analyzed 110 Cosmetic brands and found 74% missed post-purchase upsells and 73% failed to set ETAs. You can download the DTC Delivery Files and audit your own flow today, as these insights apply to every DTC brand. Don’t end up making mistakes that cost you thousands of dollars this Q4.
🧪 Bonus: Attribution Layer
Because re-launches often bring returning buyers, standard tracking underreports success.
Fix it like this:
Segment SKU ID re-entry cohorts in GA4
Run Meta with extended 14-day post-click windows
Tag re-entry buyers in Klaviyo for LTV lift modeling
🧠 Why It Works
It builds margin through timing, not COGS.
It trains the list to wait, not churn.
It weaponizes absence as a sales tool.
And it works in Q4, Q1, or anytime a product needs to sell again, without creating a new one.
Want to turn dormant SKUs into recurring revenue loops? Start rotating. Stop retiring.
📊 Google Ads Connects Web, App, and YouTube Performance
Google is rolling out new features to tie together web and app campaigns while also adding deeper YouTube reporting inside Demand Gen. The updates aim to simplify cross-platform measurement, unify workflows, and give advertisers clearer visibility into which placements drive results.
The Breakdown:
1. Web to App Connect Expansion - Clicks from YouTube and Demand Gen ads can now drive directly into apps, extending beyond Performance Max, Search, and Shopping. Early testing shows that YouTube traffic routed to apps delivered 2x higher conversion rates.
2. Unified Workflows and Measurement - Google is bundling web + app conversions into one setup, adding nudges for in-app optimization, and displaying a combined overview card on the Ads homepage. For the first time, Search and Shopping campaigns can also be credited with driving app installs and in-app conversions.
3. Demand Gen Adds YouTube Breakdown - Reporting for Demand Gen campaigns now separates performance across YouTube In-Stream, In-Feed, and Shorts, removing the old lumped-together view, giving advertisers a clear picture of how each format contributes.
4. Campaign-Level Visibility - The new YouTube breakdown requires no extra setup and is visible directly in campaign reporting, allowing more precise creative and budget alignment across formats.
These updates signal a clear move toward holistic funnel visibility inside Google Ads. Web and app data no longer sit in silos, and YouTube placements are no longer a black box. Together, these changes let advertisers pinpoint where conversions originate, cut wasted spend, and refine creative for the formats and journeys that actually perform.
🏆 Ad of the Day
What Works and Insights
1. Lifestyle framing over product framing - Positioning the chair as “More than a chair, it’s a lifestyle” pulls it out of the commodity space and into aspiration, making the product about transformation rather than just features. Always find a way to elevate functional items into emotional or identity-driven spaces.
2. Feature callouts that feel premium - The ad highlights specific details like JBL sound, lumbar heat, and Cloud Touch acupressure, but arranges them visually so they feel like luxury add-ons rather than technical specs. This works because it blends wellness with high-end tech.
3. Experience-first CTA - “Experience in-store” flips the call-to-action from “buy” to “try,” lowering purchase resistance for a high-ticket item. It reduces risk and builds confidence through firsthand testing. Sometimes a trial-driven CTA works harder than direct conversion messaging, especially in premium categories.
This ad shows how blending emotional lifestyle framing with premium feature proof allows even a utilitarian category like massage chairs to compete with luxury goods. The opportunity lies in reframing their product from “something you use” into “something you become part of.”
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