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- Simple Modern: $100M Brand Finds Gap in Amazon's Ad Attribution
Simple Modern: $100M Brand Finds Gap in Amazon's Ad Attribution
Plus: Customised Bundle Strategy & Scaling with Customer Feedback

Hey there!
Hope 2025 is off to an amazing start and you're getting traction on your plans. After an intense Q4, I needed to step back from the newsletter for a bit. Thanks for hanging in there with me 🙏
I'm excited to jump back in - weekly breakdowns are returning starting with this edition!
I came across a quiet, high-achieving DTC brand that is raking in over $100 million in sales per year in the drinkware space!
Simple Modern began when Mike Beckham, Bryan Porter, and Micah Ames invested $200,000 in their bold vision.
The drinkware market was dominated by established giants like Yeti and Hydro Flask.
However, Simple Modern carved out its space by focusing on e-commerce innovation.
Here's how they stood out:
They prioritized Amazon as their primary sales channel, while competitors focused on retail.
They identified and captured an untapped opportunity by offering personalization.
They made premium drinkware accessible through competitive pricing, without sacrificing quality.
This customer-first approach helped them succeed in a crowded market dominated by legacy brands.
Here’s why Simple Modern caught my attention:
How they scaled from $200k to $100M+ in annual sales
Gave people the option to personalize and focus on a few key areas vs other brands across drinkware, lunch boxes, and brands.
An unconventional digital strategy that they used to negotiate their way into retailers.
Today, I’ll break down:
How they used bundling as a growth driver
What they found about Amazon ads after hitting nine figures in sales.
How they used customer feedback to scale faster
Let’s dive in 🚀
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UPSELL STRATEGY
Turn Bundling Into A Growth Engine

Simple modern noticed families weren’t just buying single water bottles — they were collecting matching sets and struggling with multiple purchases in a single transaction.
Using this pain point, they built a sleek customization tool where they let families design entire matching sets all at once, making bulk buying enjoyable.
When back-to-school season hit, Simple Modern launched perfectly timed bundles like their "Complete School Set," catching parents right when they needed matching water bottles and lunch boxes.
Sweetening these bundles with strategic discounts, made it mathematically obvious that buying sets was smarter than single purchases.
The outcome speaks for itself. Now, families get coordinated gear without the hassle and Simple Modern increased average order values and happier customers!
Your takeaway: Look at what customers naturally buy together in your store. Time your bundles to match peak buying moments in your market. Simple Modern succeeded because they made their customers' natural buying habits easier – seems like that's the secret to bundles that sell.
AMAZON ADS
Amazon Ads Revelation Despite Hitting 9-Figures
Simple Modern was able to hit nine figures in revenue purely on Amazon before expanding.
They became a category leader in drinkware and leveraged this success to launch into big retailers like Target, Sam's Club, and Walmart.
Then they made a bold move; cutting off all Amazon advertising for 4 months. What they discovered was shocking - most of their sales continued to flow.
Here's what they found:
They were paying Amazon for customers to click between their own product listings, essentially competing against themselves
Their ads were competing with (and cannibalizing) their own organic rankings
Year-round advertising had masked their true seasonal sales patterns
The important lesson here isn't just about saving ad dollars. It's about understanding that attribution and in-platform data from Amazon Ads don't tell the full story.
Your takeaway: Before investing more in Amazon ads (or on any ad channel), ask yourself these key questions:
1. Have you tested turning off ads to measure your true organic performance?
2. Are you allocating enough ad budget to your peak seasons?
3. Could your product listings work harder so your ads don't have to?
Good products with great listings can thrive on Amazon. Simply spending more on ads won't necessarily drive new growth. Check out Bryan’s thread for a deeper look at their findings.
What we learned from re-testing Amazon Ads:
— Bryan Porter (@jbryanporter)
1:59 PM • Dec 31, 2022
PRODUCT MARKET FIT
Turning Customer Insights Into Pre-Sellers
Instead of guessing what customers want, Simple Modern built a powerful feedback engine that turned shopping data into conversions.
Their method was so straightforward:
Blast surveys to 20,000 subscribers. Within 48 hours, they'd receive 6,000 responses, instantly filtering hundreds of product ideas down to a few proven winners.
This eliminated all guesswork.
Every decision was now backed by pure customer insight.
Faster execution times became their secret weapon because they were now able to match quantitative survey data with deep qualitative reviews.
This dual approach ensured each new product wasn't just desired, but truly unique in the market.
Your takeaway: Turn your email list into a product validation machine. Aim for quick, focused surveys that get real answers fast.
Match your customer data with market gaps. This helps you spot opportunities your competitors have missed.
For DTC brands, this approach transforms risky product launches into guaranteed sellouts.
BRINGING IT HOME
WRAP-UP
Hope this case study helped you find some nuggets that you can apply to your brand and campaigns. Let me know how you get on, would love to hear from you.
Talk Soon - Dev 🤙
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