Brilliant Commerce

Building the Glossier Playbook: A Decade of D2C Marketing with Ali Weiss

Welcome to Brilliant Commerce where we get real operators behind iconic brands around a table to discuss what actually makes these brands tick. As our host (and Founder/CEO) Bryan Mahoney puts it: "It's not magic. It's hard work."
In this second episode, Bryan sits down with Ali Weiss (former CMO of Glossier) to explore the evolution of direct-to-consumer marketing from the early days of social media through today's AI-powered landscape. As one of the architects behind Glossier's iconic brand building, Ali shares candid insights about creating authentic customer relationships at scale.
This conversation digs into both strategic and tactical approaches to brand building - from balancing qualitative and quantitative inputs to measuring customer experience effectively. Ali shares specific examples from her decade at Glossier, including memorable campaigns and how the team approached major retail moments like Black Friday.
Topics discussed:
The early days of D2C brand building and social media marketing
Creating the Glossier marketing playbook without traditional marketing experience
Evolution of Black Friday/holiday strategy as retail has become more omnichannel
How to balance performance marketing with long-term brand building
Practical approaches to measuring customer experience beyond NPS
The role of data in creative decision making - being "data informed" vs "data driven"
Managing major brand campaigns like Body Hero launch
Current views on AI's impact on marketing and importance of human oversight
Finding the right mix of qualitative and quantitative inputs for marketing decisions
Specific examples of reactivating hero products effectively
The critical balance between brand vision and customer voice

Beyond the CDP: How Sonos and Ruggable Are Reimagining Their Tech Stacks

Welcome to Brilliant Commerce where we get real operators behind iconic brands around a table to discuss what actually makes these brands tick. As our host (and Founder/CEO) Bryan Mahoney puts it: "It's not magic. It's hard work."
In this first episode, Bryan sits down with JP Beegley (Senior Manager of MarTech at Sonos) and Josh Maynard (Technology Leader at Ruggable) to discuss how they're evolving their tech stacks, managing customer data, and breaking down silos between marketing and technology teams.
This conversation digs into how two leading brands are tackling current commerce challenges - from moving away from third-party data dependence to enabling true self-service capabilities for internal teams. Both guests share candid insights from their transitions from agency life to in-house operations, and how they're approaching the increasing complexity of the marketing technology landscape.
Topics discussed:
Real talk about CDP implementation - why both brands needed "more than a CDP" and how they're using it
Practical approaches to breaking down marketing/tech silos and enabling true cross-functional collaboration
Moving from "submit a ticket, wait 6 weeks" to actual self-service for marketing teams
How to evaluate and embed agency partners effectively when you're resource-constrained
Balancing customer data collection with privacy and control
Q4 preparation strategies from both a marketing and infrastructure perspective
The shift from pure performance marketing to strategies that build long-term brand value
Specific examples of reducing implementation time from 6 months to 3 weeks through better tooling and collaboration