Former AOL and Google exec Tim Armstrong is pronouncing a day for direct-to-consumer brands to rival Black Friday and promising them an audience of at least 100 million

dtx company/rockets of awesome

Rockets of Awesome founder Rachel Blumenthal.

• Former AOL and Google executive Tim Armstrong is pronouncing Nov. 15 as DTC Friday to promote direct to consumer brands.
• His startup, called the dtx company, is promoting DTC brands through ads featuring their founders and products on TV, billboards and digital media.
• The idea is to use technology embeds like QR codes to NFC tags to see how the ads spur sales.
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Move over Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Former AOL and Google executive Tim Armstrong is pronouncing Nov. 15 as DTC Day to promote the sale of direct-to-consumer brands.

Armstrong's new company, the dtx company, will promote nearly 50 brands including swimwear brand Andie Swim and kids brand Rockets of Awesome collectively on TV, billboards and digital media to reach at least 100 million people in the US, said Armstrong.

The products will be sold through the brands' websites, but the dtx company will measure whether the ads spur sales through technology embeds like QR codes to NFC tags, said Armstrong. Shoppers will also be given $5 to donate to charity through Givz, a platform that aggregates hundreds of charities.

"People might know a few DTC brands, but there's scope for them all to increase the size of their audience," Armstrong told Business Insider. "DTC Friday is about giving a platform to founder-led DTC brands to communicate the everyday problems they are solving and double down on their direct relationships."

Armstrong is trying to build a new direct-to-consumer ecosystem on the internet

Armstrong's mission with the dtx company is to help DTC companies reduce their reliance on platforms like Facebook and Instagram that have largely fueled their growth.

The company has invested in DTC startups such as beverage company Dirty Lemon and lingerie company Third Love. It also promotes DTC brands' growth with things like product catalogs and events.

"We want to essentially help these brands move from a platform-structured internet into an ecosystem-driven internet," he said. "Instead of the data and value being accrued at the center to these platforms, it moves toward the edges to benefit the brands and their consumers."

DTC brands are branching out of performance marketing on online channels

Armstrong's DTC shopping day comes as direct brands expand beyond online performance marketing to other marketing channels such as TV and branded videos.

Andie Swim will run its first TV ads in collaboration with the dtx company timed with DTC Day, said founder and CEO Melanie Travis.

"As DTC brands move from catering to early adopters to mass marketing, they will need to diversify," she said. "We're at that stage."

While the dtx company initially planned to charge clients a one-time fee for its technology and marketing, it decided to only charge for the performance it delivers for these brands, such as the number of site visits through the codes on its ads, said Armstrong.

That change appealed to brands like Rockets of Awesome because no extra cost was required.

Companies including Andie Swim, Rhone and Rockets of Awesome said they would pay close attention to the data they get back from the dtx company around the designated day.

"It's a great testing ground to see which formats appeal to which new sections of the audience," said Rhone co-founder and CEO Nate Checketts.