蘑菇AV

On Holdings鈥檚 sales jumped 34% in Q3: The upstart鈥檚 efforts to boost brand awareness gave lucrative direct-to-consumer sales a lift.

Hims to offer a generic GLP-1 in 2025: It鈥檚 preparing for headwinds if the FDA halts compounded versions of weight loss drugs. But we think its diverse D2C offerings and strong subscriber growth should help insulate it financially.

Paramount鈥檚 Q3 results reflect strong streaming growth: To attain 3.5 million new subscribers and $49 million in DTC profit, it鈥檚 leveraged cost cutting and content innovation to balance revenue pressures from traditional TV.

Walgreens expands D2C telehealth to 30 states: We examine how the move aligns with Walgreens鈥� strategy to rightsize its retail pharmacy business.

Senators probe Pfizer, Eli Lilly about their D2C telehealth platforms: But we don鈥檛 expect a slowdown in Big Pharma鈥檚 push into direct-to-consumer sales. Here鈥檚 why.

Insurance agents marked 鈥榮afe鈥� from disruption: The ups and downs of the direct-to-consumer life insurance market have taught the industry a lot about contemporary consumers and in-person experiences.

Volkswagen aims to attract truck buyers with retro-themed Scout SUVs and pickups designed and built in the US.

Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to force pharma companies to list drug prices in their direct-to-consumer ads.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly advocated for stricter regulations or even ban on pharma advertising.

We鈥檙e not only seeing price wars emerge between Novo and Lilly, but also among PBMs, insurers, and D2C companies鈥攁ll of whom want to stake their position as the best channel for consumers to acquire weight loss drugs.

Plus, the D2C market for weight loss drugs is already paying off. Lilly said on its Q1 earnings call that about 10% of its first-quarter Zepbound sales and 25% of new Zepbound prescriptions came through the self-pay channel.

This isn鈥檛 surprising, considering D2C pharmacy services side-step common barriers to medication access, such as long wait times to see a doctor, inadequate pharmacy access, and lack of transparency around medication costs. The final word: Pharma companies might view 鈥渟cript lift鈥� as a key metric to measure progress of their D2C models.

After years of emphasizing direct-to-consumer under former CEO John Donahoe, Nike is now rebalancing its approach. That pivot was evident in the company鈥檚 FYQ4 numbers:. Nike Direct revenues fell 14% YoY to $4.4 billion. Wholesale revenues dropped 9% to $6.4 billion. Other Q4 highlights:. Earnings per share were 14 cents, down 86% YoY, but slightly above the expected 13 cents.

Digital-first expansion: Dormify鈥檚 digital-native model supports Williams-Sonoma鈥檚 push to grow digital sales and deepen direct-to-consumer relationships. Customer lifetime value: Reaching consumers as they gain spending power gives Williams-Sonoma a longer runway to retain them, cross-sell across brands, and move them up the value chain as their lifestyles and needs evolve.

At Disney鈥檚 recent upfront presentation, ESPN was front and center, backed by the announcement of a new $29.99-per-month direct-to-consumer product offering 47,000 live events a year. Disney also revealed a bundled version with Hulu and Disney+, highlighting the centrality of sports to its streaming model.

Our thought bubble: Drugmakers in the D2C market want to funnel people to their online platforms where folks can order health products, schedule services, and access educational resources. Novo just recently joined the D2C space, but might be purposely avoiding tie-ups with telehealth companies amid senators鈥� increased scrutiny of such deals.

Consumer demand is driving pharma companies to improve access to their GLP-1 products through D2C channels. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of people in 蘑菇AV鈥檚 December 2024 survey who have taken a GLP-1 said they covered the whole cost. Eli Lilly said on its Q1 earnings call that about 10% of its first-quarter Zepbound sales and 25% of new Zepbound prescriptions came through the self-pay channel.

We expect more pharma players to join the D2C market this year. Their aim is to build trust and customer loyalty鈥攅specially as access to traditional care and treatment worsens and gets more expensive.

Total Entertainment segment income, which includes DTC and linear networks, grew 61% YoY to $1.26 billion. Hulu ended the quarter with 54.7 million subscribers, up from 53.6 million in Q1.

Kennedy Jr. to ban pharma direct-to-consumer advertising. A pharma ad deduction ban also could generate new revenues for the cost-cutting administration. Banning advertising tax deductions for pharma could generate $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion in federal tax revenues, according to Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing鈥檚 ad spending analysis of 10 leading pharma companies.

"It has men's personal care, a huge up-and-coming category crowded with direct-to-consumer brands (D2Cs) that need to find a way to stand out. It has a very relevant actress and it has controversy.". The timing was strategic, coinciding with Sweeney's movie promotion cycle, creating "a perfect storm," according to our analyst Rachel Wolff. Encouraging digital disconnection in a connected world.

Look to D2C healthcare and pharma companies as digital innovators. Consumer-focused brands are prioritizing a convenient online experience with an emphasis on price transparency (which is easier when insurance isn鈥檛 accepted). Some traditional healthcare and pharma players are responding with their own D2C offerings.

Beekman 1802 uses marketing mix modeling to measure this impact, finding that "for every sale on TikTok, we see another sale on D2C and Amazon combined," with approximately two-thirds of those additional sales occurring on Amazon and one-third on their direct-to-consumer site, per Baker. This makes TikTok Shop both a direct sales channel and an awareness marketing channel.

The news: Embattled direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe filed for federal bankruptcy protection and announced the resignation of CEO Anne Wojcicki. 23andMe鈥檚 stock plummeted nearly 60% on Monday following its Sunday night filing. How we got here: 23andMe was a market trailblazer in the DNA testing segment, becoming the first company to sell FDA-approved genetic tests to consumers.

How we got here: BetterHelp advertises mainly on digital platforms, and is one of the largest spenders on podcast advertising, to drive its direct-to-consumer telemental health. It has partnered with mainstream celebrities and influencers like Ariana Grande, Venus Williams and Tom Brady in the past, and recently began women's college and professional athletes鈥� mental health promotions.

This approach allows them to test new styles in their direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels before potentially expanding successful items across their 50+ US stores and ecommerce platform. D'Arcy said this responsiveness helps them stay relevant while maintaining their core identity. "The chase program means that we are looking at trends that are happening right now in the market," she said.