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In this episode, I sit down with Nick Shackelford, Head of Retention and Partner at BREZ, to break down modern customer acquisition and retention strategies for 2025.
Nick has managed over $200M in ad spend and brings hard-won insights from scaling multiple brands — including his own agencies, Structured and Konstant Kreative — into this conversation.
We get into:
- Why creative is now the new targeting, with Nick giving the keys on Meta’s evolving algorithm
- The ideal framework for customer acquisition in today’s landscape
- How to structure your testing budget between proven winners and fresh creative
- Conversion tactics that immediately lift performance — from mobile-first design to offer structure
- The retention strategies behind BREZ’s drop in subscription churn from 24% to 17%, on a mission toward sub-5%
- The tactics powering BREZ, one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the country, on pace to hit $50M in just two years
- How celebrities like Drake and Druski use subtle content strategies to drive massive viewership — and what brands can learn from it
Enjoy the conversation!
Chapters:
00:00:00 Trailer00:00:57 Customer Acquisition & Creative Testing
00:05:52 How to Optimize Ads with Smart Creative
00:09:13 Targeting in a Post-iOS World
00:11:56 Media Buying Meets Creative Strategy
00:18:03 Influencer Army
00:19:35 Clipping Culture (Cheat Code)
00:25:13 Running Ads as a Founder + Managing Creative
00:33:38 Marketing Funnel Breakdown
00:39:32 Organic Content’s Role in Paid Performance
00:43:24 Learnings from Running a Creative Agency
00:45:30 Conversion Optimization & Offer Strategy
00:55:32 Retention Marketing + Subscription Tactics
01:04:35 Building Products & Activating Loyal Customers
01:08:06 Smart Product Strategy and Feedback Loops
01:16:20 Building a Brand in Public (Pros & Cons)
01:24:43 Playing the Long Game: Brand, Business & Burnout
01:27:49 Work-Life Balance, Tools & Final Reflections
01:35:00 How Big can Brez Be?
01:36:00 Outro
Guest: Nick Shackelford, Partner of BREZ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnickshackelford/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickshackelford/
Website: https://www.drinkbrez.com/
Get in Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openresidency/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmastrandrea/
Website: https://openresidency.com/
Contact: info@openresidency.com
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamnickshackelford/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickshackelford/
Website: https://www.drinkbrez.com/
Get in Touch:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openresidency/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmastrandrea/
Website: https://openresidency.com/
Contact: info@openresidency.com
Powered by IKONICK
Get 30% off motivational art at ikonick.com/openresidency
Use code: OPENRESIDENCY30