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We all know the main stage moments will dominate headlines — but sometimes, what happens offstage is where the real energy lives. In this issue, we’re spotlighting the undercurrents of The Lead Summit 2025: the fresh ideas and emerging brands that aren’t headlining keynotes… yet. From a first-of-its-kind DTC track to the buzzy epicenter that is Innovation Village, here’s what we’re keeping a close eye on.
🚀 One to Watch: The DTC Symposium
This year, The Lead introduced something new — and necessary.
The DTC Symposium is a focused program for founders, operators, and growth leads navigating the realities of building (and rebuilding) brands in 2025.
Sessions go deep on scaling tech stacks that don’t buckle under growth, using content and community to drive top-of-funnel lift, and learning from founders who’ve survived the messy middle.
One panel we're watching: "Build a Brand & Community Through Power of Storytelling and Social Media" featuring Jacob Zuppke (Whisker) and Sabeen Mian (Performance Beauty Group) — a real look at brand building beyond the paid engine.
📍 Stage 2 | 🕰 2:25 pm - 2:45 pm
📝 Editor’s Note: What’s Shaping the DTC Playbook in 2025
DTC brands are navigating a wave of transformation as 2025 unfolds, setting the stage for conversations at The Lead’s DTC Symposium.
Social media is at the center of this evolution. U.S. social commerce sales are projected to more than double from about $67 billion today to $145 billion by 2027, with Gen Z and millennials leading the charge, buying through social apps roughly four times more often than older generations.
TikTok exemplifies this shift. Since launching its in-app shopping feature, the platform has seized roughly 68% of U.S. social commerce sales. It’s proof that consumers discover and buy in one place. A single viral TikTok video can drive a seamless journey from inspiration to checkout, blurring the line between entertainment and commerce. That makes it more critical than ever to understand which moments actually convert.
Embedded social shopping journeys are rewiring marketing playbooks. Where DTC brands once poured budgets into search and social ads to drive traffic to their sites, now they focus on engaging customers in-app with native content and frictionless checkout. This pivot comes as customer acquisition costs have skyrocketed. In response, brands are cultivating loyal communities and investing in storytelling.
Blending online sales with retail partnerships is back in vogue. Owning the customer relationship remains vital, but now it must fit into an omnichannel strategy. The new mantra: be wherever the customer is—on socials or Main Street.
As The Lead’s DTC Symposium convenes, these forces set a tone of urgency and optimism.
💡 Tech is part of this conversation, too — but the real shift is about smarter visibility.
As customer journeys grow more fragmented, performance clarity is back in the spotlight. Brands are under pressure to connect awareness to revenue, across the full customer journey.
That’s where partners like Fospha come in. Their full-funnel measurement platform gives marketers a clear view of how media spend drives performance — not just on their own DTC site, but across Amazon, retail media, and more. With finance teams demanding proof, Fospha helps brands make better budget decisions, faster.
And if you’re looking for energy? The DTC Pitch Competition is set to deliver 🎤
Eight early-stage brands — including Angel Margarita, Safely, and SMEARCASE — will pitch their vision in six minutes flat. You’ll get the inside story, the strategy, and a taste of the product. Literally.
There’s a reason this track ends with a CEO mixer and closing cocktails. It’s where the real conversations are happening — between brands that are still writing their playbooks.
ClickZ launched #BuildingBrands to follow stories like these: high-pressure growth, hard pivots, and what happens after you hit go.
📝 Got your own journey to share?
🏙️ Inside the Innovation Village
The Innovation Village
The Innovation Village spans over 80,000 square feet and acts as the beating heart of the event. This is where the best ideas are exchanged, partnerships are sparked, and creative brand activations cut through the noise.
Expect conversations that don’t happen on stage — from off-the-record strategy huddles to chance meetings over cold brew and custom merch drops. Think Barbie Dream House photo ops, free DTC product pickups, even tattoo stations (yes, really).
💡 The Innovation Village is also where retail leaders come to explore what’s next:
AI tools that reduce complexity and improve ROI
eCommerce add-ons for scaling smarter
CX platforms built to retain high-value shoppers
Attribution and marketing automation tools (including solutions from partners like Fospha) designed to connect spend to outcome
This is where you’ll find the edge — and the people who are thinking three steps ahead. Don’t skip it.
📲 Like what you’re seeing?
🎟️ Your Invite to The Lead Summit 2025 — On Us
As an official partner of The Lead Summit, ClickZ is excited to extend a special offer to our Unofficially Lead Summit readers:
✅ Work at a brand or retailer? You can attend for FREE.
Just add our name “ClickZ” in the “how did you hear about us?” field when registering.
💼 Not a brand or retailer? We’ve got you covered too.
That’s all for now — but if you’re headed to The Lead Summit, remember: some of the best insights won’t be on stage.
The Unofficially Lead Summit Team
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