The D2C marketing landscape is experiencing unprecedented transformation. From traditional execution-heavy models to AI-driven strategic frameworks, agencies and brands are reimagining how marketing functions evolve, scale, and deliver results. In our latest episode of Velocity: Performance Marketing Podcast, we explored these shifts with Aditya Somaiya, founder of 367 Agency, who brings a unique perspective shaped by 17+ years in FMCG, D2C entrepreneurship, and agency leadership.

About Aditya Somaiya: Founder of 367 Agency, Aditya has over 17 years of experience spanning FMCG giants like GSK and Dabur, D2C entrepreneurship (founding The Sweatshop), and performance marketing. His agency has worked with 150+ D2C brands, focusing on brand strategy, performance marketing, and creative optimization. Currently leading 367 Agency toward an ambitious goal of 100 CR revenue with just 100 team members.

The Evolution of Marketing Functions in D2C Brands

The journey of marketing function development in D2C brands follows a predictable yet nuanced pattern. Understanding this evolution is crucial for founders planning their marketing investments and agencies positioning their services.

Early Stage: Founder-Led Marketing

In the initial phase, marketing essentially revolves around the founder. The focus centers on establishing core brand elements - visual identity, website development, packaging design, and product development. This stage requires founders to work closely with agency partners to create the foundational marketing infrastructure.

During this period, founders typically reach out to agencies when they have a clear consumer profile and market understanding. The priority shifts from pure product development to reaching target audiences effectively.

Growth Stage: Building Internal Capability

As brands scale, the first marketing hires typically serve as agency liaison points, freeing founders to focus on strategic initiatives like new product development, exploring marketing channels, distribution expansion, and fundraising activities.

Interestingly, social media management is usually the first function brands bring in-house, while performance marketing remains the last to be internalized. This pattern reflects the complexity and specialized expertise required for effective paid media management.

Maturity Stage: Structured Marketing Teams

Established D2C brands eventually mirror traditional FMCG marketing structures. Teams organize around brand pods or categories, with marketing directors overseeing category heads, who in turn manage individual brand teams. Support functions like research, digital, and consumer activation operate across all brand teams, creating a comprehensive marketing ecosystem.

Rethinking Brand vs Performance: Beyond the False Dichotomy

The traditional brand versus performance debate misses the fundamental point that all marketing activities should drive business growth. Rather than viewing these as opposing forces, successful marketers focus on media allocation strategies that evolve with brand scale.

The Allocation Evolution

Early Stage Strategy: Begin with 10-15% of media budget allocated to brand awareness activities, with the remainder focused on performance marketing channels.

Growth Stage Transition: As brands scale, these percentages gradually flip. Established brands often reach a 70% brand, 30% performance allocation, driven by factors including:

• Geographic distribution expansion

• Increased retail outlet presence

• Need for broader market visibility

• Category maturity and competitive dynamics

The Functional Messaging Approach

Successful brand building doesn't require abstract messaging. Consider Sensodyne's billion-dollar business built on a single, functional message about tooth sensitivity. This approach demonstrates that effective brand communication can be both functional and memorable, challenging the notion that brand building requires purely emotional or abstract messaging.

Channel Evolution and Media Mix Strategy

The progression from D2C-first to omnichannel marketing follows predictable patterns based on target audience reach and budget thresholds.

Digital-First Foundation

Most D2C brands start with owned channels and Meta/Google advertising because these platforms offer immediate accessibility and lower entry barriers. This approach allows for storytelling and concept selling more effectively than marketplace-constrained formats.

Traditional Media Integration

Television typically enters the mix when annual media budgets reach 40-50 crores, driven by TV's superior CPM efficiency for broad reach. However, category-specific exceptions exist where offline-primary audiences may require earlier traditional media investment.

Emerging Channel Opportunities

Connected TV and OTT: These platforms offer the reach benefits of television with digital measurement capabilities. Early results show promising performance with comprehensive digital metrics while maintaining the engagement qualities of video content.

Live Commerce: Despite success in markets like China, live commerce remains underexplored in India, presenting potential opportunities for early adopters.

AI's Transformative Impact on Agency Models

The integration of AI technologies is fundamentally reshaping how agencies operate, from team composition to service delivery models.

The 100 CR, 100 People Vision

367 Agency's ambitious goal of achieving 100 crores in revenue with just 100 team members illustrates the efficiency potential of AI integration. Traditional agencies reaching similar revenue typically require 300-400 people, highlighting the transformative impact of AI-enabled productivity.

Creative Volume Revolution

Practical AI implementation has already delivered measurable results. Over three months, 367 Agency doubled their creative output volume using the same team size. This improvement comes from AI-enabled tools that can generate 50 images from a single prompt - work that would typically require 3-4 days of manual graphic design effort.

Evolving Team Composition

The future agency model prioritizes strategic thinking over execution:

Target Composition: 60-65% creative team, 30-35% media and marketing functions Skill Evolution: Emphasis on strategic direction and core marketing principles rather than platform-specific execution skills Role Convergence: Growing value in full-stack marketers who can bridge creative strategy and media execution

The Future of Marketing Roles and Skills

The rapid advancement of AI capabilities is reshaping the skills most valuable in marketing roles.

From Execution to Strategy

Traditional execution-heavy roles face automation pressure. Campaign setup, ad creation, and routine optimizations increasingly require minimal human intervention. This shift elevates the importance of strategic thinking, business understanding, and creative direction capabilities.

Core Marketing Principles as Foundation

Rather than focusing on platform-specific skills, marketers benefit more from understanding fundamental marketing principles. These timeless concepts of human influence, brand positioning, and value communication translate across all execution methods and technologies.

As creative performance analysis becomes increasingly important, marketers who understand the underlying principles can effectively leverage AI tools while maintaining strategic oversight.

The Data Analytics Advantage

Future media buying may favor professionals with strong data analytics backgrounds over those with platform-specific experience. The ability to run regressions, analyze performance patterns, and make data-driven optimization decisions becomes more valuable than understanding specific platform interfaces.

Staying Updated in a Rapidly Changing Landscape

The pace of change in marketing technology requires systematic approaches to staying current.

Platform Updates: Direct communication from Meta, Google, and other platforms about feature releases and algorithm changes

Quarterly Reports: Earnings calls and summaries provide insights into platform priorities and revenue strategies

Industry Thought Leaders: LinkedIn and podcast content from experienced practitioners offers practical insights

Active Testing: Hands-on experimentation with new tools and platforms provides firsthand experience

Emerging Trends and Market Opportunities

Several significant trends are reshaping the D2C landscape, creating opportunities for forward-thinking brands.

The Aging Population Opportunity

While many brands chase Gen Z audiences, demographic projections show approximately 30% of India's population will reach 60 by 2050. This represents a fundamentally underserved market with growing purchasing power and specific needs.

Early movement in this direction includes health and nutraceutical categories focusing on anti-aging and longevity products. Service businesses targeting this demographic also show promising growth potential.

Attribution and First-Party Data

As privacy regulations evolve and platform targeting becomes more automated, first-party data collection and attribution modeling become critical competitive advantages. Brands that build robust data foundations will outperform those relying solely on platform-provided insights.

Key Takeaways for D2C Founders

Based on Aditya's extensive experience across 150+ D2C brands, several critical recommendations emerge for new founders:

Product Differentiation Imperative: Before launching, rigorously evaluate whether your product creates sufficient value to justify premium pricing or category switching. Most categories don't need another generic option.

Messaging Over Aesthetics: Prioritize developing powerful messaging and communication strategy over visual brand elements. A strong message with basic visuals outperforms stunning design without meaningful content.

AI Adoption Strategy: Begin experimenting with AI tools early, but focus on 2-3 platforms initially rather than trying to adopt every new tool. Build meaningful capabilities rather than surface-level familiarity.

Conclusion

The convergence of AI technology, changing consumer behavior, and evolving platform capabilities is creating unprecedented opportunities for D2C brands and agencies. Success in this new landscape requires balancing strategic thinking with tactical excellence, leveraging AI capabilities while maintaining core marketing principles, and staying adaptable to rapid technological change.

The agencies and brands that thrive will be those that view AI as an amplifier of human creativity and strategic thinking rather than a replacement. As Aditya's experience demonstrates, the goal isn't to eliminate human insight but to multiply its impact through intelligent automation and data-driven decision making.

This post is based on our conversation with Aditya Somaiya in the Velocity: Performance Marketing Podcast. Listen to the full episode for deeper insights into D2C marketing evolution and AI implementation strategies.

More Episodes: Explore our podcast library for conversations with leading D2C marketing practitioners and thought leaders.