If you're not selling something to people while they’re out living life… what are you even doing?

In this episode of The Checkout, John, Zoe, and Bart dive into how brands can break out of the DTC echo chamber and actually stand out—through physical experiences, creative retail, and lo-fi entertainment. From coffee shops with sandboxes to vending machines in front yards, we explore all the ways brands can drive sales outside of Meta ads.

We talk:

• Coffee shops with RC cars (yes, really)


• Building marketing channels you own
  


• Retail distribution hacks, from state fairs to local shops


• Why marketing isn’t just “make another TikTok”


• The rise of "social shows" and customer-based content


• Product innovation vs. positioning tricks


• Why the best marketers spend time thinking, not just executing

💼 Sponsors of This Episode:

Marpipe – Multivariate ad testing made simple. Automate creative testing and scale what works. https://www.marpipe.com

Heatmap.com – Know exactly where users click, scroll, and drop off. Visual analytics that help you optimize conversion. https://www.heatmap.com

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: Coffee shops, sandboxes, and dad RC culture

05:00 – Building brands through experiential retail

12:30 – Creative ways to get into physical retail

20:00 – Innovation vs. repositioning in DTC

35:30 – Social shows and customer-based content

45:00 – Marketing ideas that come from thinking

55:00 – When vacation = better ideation

1:10:00 – Wrap-up: Lazy marketing vs. original thinking

👀 Follow Our Hosts:

Nick Shackelford

Twitter/X: https://x.com/iamshackelford

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickshackelford/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnickshackelford/

Zoe Kahn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_zoekahn_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-kahn-5b61aa129/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/_zoekahn_

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZoeKahn

Bart Szaniewski

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theszef/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-szaniewski-374b1141/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/TheSzef

John Coyle

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnjhcoyle

Twitter/X: https://x.com/johnjhcoyle

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnjhcoyle/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-coyle-1bb231120/