Incrementality gets thrown around a lot in marketing—but few teams actually commit to it.
COS is one of those few.
During our fireside chat at CommerceNext, Lauren Price, SVP of Ecommerce and Digital Marketing at COS, and I discussed how the multi-billion-dollar fashion brand is rethinking performance from the inside out.
It was one of the most energizing conversations I’ve had in a long time.
Lauren’s team isn’t just checking boxes on a media plan. They’re rethinking how performance marketing works, starting with team culture.
They’re not debating brand vs. performance. They’re asking: What actually drives outcomes?
They’re not stuck chasing last-click ROAS. They’re leaning into incrementality and measuring what moves the needle, not just who gets credit.
And they’re not letting budget silos block growth. They’ve built a culture where tests are expected, failure isn’t punished, and the best ideas win.
Watch the full recording of our conversation below, and keep scrolling for three things I took away from it:
1. Performance is a mindset, not a media plan.
Lauren said it best: “We’re moving away from the term ‘digital marketing’ and toward performance marketing—not because of channels but because of approach. It’s highly targeted, measurable, and continuously results-oriented.”
At COS, paid search, paid social, and PebblePost’s Programmatic Direct Mail all fall under the same lens:
– Is it targeted?
– Is it measurable?
– Is it driving incremental outcomes?
If yes, it stays in the mix. If not, they move on. Simple as that.
2. Effective acquisition requires precision, not just scale.
COS isn’t chasing every eyeball. It’s targeting the right ones and building a thoughtful journey to convert them.
To do this, Lauren’s team uses two high-impact PebblePost tactics:
– Prospecting based on lookalikes of their best customers
– Retargeting site visitors with a high likelihood to convert
They don’t try to reach everyone. They use our proprietary identity, intent, and transaction data to engage the people who matter.
The payoff? COS customers acquired through Programmatic Direct Mail have an 18% higher AOV than other new customers.
“There’s a really strong correlation for us between the amount of your first purchase as a new customer and your LTV,” said Lauren. “So right away we’re getting a higher quality customer in the door.”
It doesn’t stop there. The brand’s Programmatic Direct Mail campaigns have improved direct traffic, branded search, and even email engagement.
3. The best marketers test everything and trust each other.
Incrementality isn’t just a tool. It’s a team sport.
At COS, performance and brand teams work side by side. They look at the same data, run shared tests, and make decisions together.
That’s rare. And powerful.
When one channel works better than another, they shift dollars—not because they have to, but because they trust the process.
Lauren’s advice for anyone trying to build that culture and scale with certainty?
- Start with curiosity and trust. You may not have perfect tools, but you can build a mindset that values learning over ego.
- Work with partners who embrace incrementality. If every vendor claims full credit for revenue, something’s off.
- Focus on approach, not channel. Channels will keep changing—but how you test, learn, and measure impact should stay constant.
And finally: “If you want buy-in, just say it’s a test. Who can argue with learning?”
Great marketing cultures don’t obsess over attribution. They chase impact and build the trust and systems to find it.
That’s the future of performance. And COS is already there.
Ready to drive measurable outcomes at scale? Let’s talk.
