Explore the transformative impact of direct-to-consumer strategies on brands, retail, marketing, and advertising in this 20-minute talk by a16z general partner Jeff Jordan. Delve into the evolution of the retail landscape over the past two decades, examining the shift from brick-and-mortar to e-commerce and the emergence of Direct Response 2.0. Discover how social commerce, online crowdfunding, and experiential shopping are reshaping consumer-brand relationships. Learn about the unprecedented access brands now have to consumer data and demand forecasting, and how this affects marketing strategies. Investigate the changing media landscape, including trends in traditional TV viewing and the rise of e-commerce as a product search platform. Gain insights into the new marketing skillsets, capabilities, and tools required in this brave new world where marketing transitions from art to science, guesswork to data-driven decisions, and disintermediated to direct connections with consumers.