Ruggable has moved roughly 10% of its total ad budget out of performance channels such as Meta and into brand channels including influencers and connected TV since last August. Chief Marketing and Creative Officer Lauren Sherman-Kaoud said the brand will grow that brand-side spend by another 15% to 20% next year. She declined to disclose the total dollar size of the marketing budget.

The shift marks a sharp break for a direct-to-consumer brand built on performance advertising. The classic DTC playbook — heavy Meta spend, conversion-driven returns — is losing force as digital ad costs rise and performance dwindles, according to the report in Digiday.

What is driving the change?

For Ruggable, the calculation is straightforward. Audience costs on the performance platforms have climbed while returns have thinned. The company's answer is to rebalance toward channels that build the brand rather than chase the click: influencer marketing and connected TV.

"We have been focused on shifting over the last 18 months is a classic: what got us here is not going to get us there," Sherman-Kaoud told Digiday.

The quote signals an 18-month strategic transition. The measurable step — the 10% reallocation since August — began well before the public disclosure.

Where is the money going?

The destination for a growing share of the budget is ShopMy creators, according to the report's headline focus. ShopMy sits at the center of Ruggable's influencer strategy, alongside connected television as the second major brand-side recipient of reallocated funds.

The reallocation breaks down as follows:

• ~10% of total spend already moved from performance to brand channels since last August.
• 15% to 20% additional growth in that brand spend planned for next year.
• No dollar figure disclosed for the overall marketing budget.

What does it signal for DTC marketers?

Ruggable's move is a data point in a wider migration. Brands that scaled on cheap Meta inventory are confronting a harder cost structure and are redeploying budgets toward creators and CTV, where measurement differs but brand equity accumulates.

The company is not abandoning performance outright. It is rebalancing. Sherman-Kaoud's framing — that the tactics which built the business cannot sustain its next phase — captures the strategic logic in plain terms.

For DTC operators watching CAC rise, Ruggable offers a live test case: a mid-size brand publicly committing to double down on brand channels, with a further 15% to 20% increase planned next year.