Ruggable Pulls 10% of Meta Budget, Pivots Toward ShopMy Creators

Ruggable has pulled roughly 10% of its overall ad spend out of Meta since last August. The washable-rug direct-to-consumer brand is pushing those dollars into brand channels — chiefly influencers and connected TV — and plans to add another 15% to 20% next year.

The shift spans roughly 18 months, per the brand's own marketing lead. Chief marketing and creative officer Lauren Sherman-Kaoud framed it bluntly: "What got us here is not going to get us there."

What's actually moving, and how fast?

The shift is incremental but directional. About 10% of Ruggable's total marketing dollars moved from performance channels (Meta) to brand channels — creators on ShopMy, plus CTV (connected TV, or programmatic ads served on streaming services and smart TVs) — between August 2024 and now. The brand's CMO declined to share an absolute dollar figure for its marketing budget, so practitioners should read the percentages as directional, not as a fixed tote.

The next leg is bigger in relative terms: another 15% to 20% of the same overall pot, this time routed entirely to brand-side inventory in 2026.

Why is a Meta-heavy DTC brand walking back performance?

Ruggable isn't alone — every performance-led brand is running into the same math. Rising CPMs (cost per thousand impressions, the price advertisers pay per 1,000 ad views) on Meta have thinned the return on the legacy direct-response playbook that turned Ruggable into a category leader. Sherman-Kaoud called the change "a classic" shift in DTC strategy.

In plain terms: the channel that scaled the brand can no longer scale it the same way, so the dollars need somewhere else to go.

What does this change for practitioners?

For social and influencer marketers, two practical signals matter. First, ShopMy — a creator-commerce platform that lets influencers curate shoppable storefronts and brands pay commission — is now a named line item in a senior CMO conversation. That's a legitimacy boost for any agency pitching ShopMy as a primary channel, and a signal that competing creator-commerce platforms may need to re-price their commissions.

Second, the reallocation is paired with connected TV, not just influencers. That suggests Ruggable wants top-of-funnel awareness working in concert with creator commerce, not replacing it. If you're running a similar split, expect budget conversations to push toward that hybrid — not creator-only.

What's still unverified?

The brand confirmed percentages but not the dollar base. So when Sherman-Kaoud says "15% to 20%" for next year, the absolute ShopMy creator spend could still be modest if Ruggable's total marketing pot contracts. Benchmark against the percentage shift, not a guessed total.

One forward read: if Ruggable's 2026 numbers hold, expect more DTC peers to name ShopMy publicly in their own media mixes.