The Client

An up and coming leader in the fast beauty space, this client follows a unique manufacturing cycle that’s instantaneous enough to serve the swift nature of the millennial market. To show growth in a competitive market, the client needed to find an agency that could substantially increase the output of their affiliate program. The brand interviewed several affiliate management agencies but ultimately chose DMi to help them accelerate their program.

The Objective

Leveraging DMi’s affiliate management services, the client hoped DMi could help them with two of their yearly goals: 1) Increase the output of the affiliate channel to make up for at least 10% of total e-commerce sales 2) Gain brand recognition in a competitive space by partnering with industry-leading media outlets

The Challenge

The American beauty industry is thriving. Acclaimed media outlet, Cosmopolitan, said that the beauty vertical made up 60% of all of its advertising volume in 2018, which is up 55% from last year. While Conde Nast announced the debut of a studio dedicated to advertising clients to curate beauty coverage. It’s hard to deny that beauty is a significant opportunity for publishers. However, with so many new contenders entering the beauty space, commission rates and offers to consumers typically have to be extremely competitive in order to secure impactful placements, meaning that margins are at risk if not done strategically.

The Strategy

DMi devised an extensive recruiting and optimization plan to introduce the brand to affiliates and give affiliates the tools they needed to launch the program. DMi worked with the brand to create compelling offers that lived in the marketplace for a short period of time to keep competitive but not saturate the space with a high volume of high- value discounts that would cut into their margins if not used advantageously. Additionally, DMi conducted a competitive analysis to illustrate gaps in the marketplace where the brand needed to be more diverse and aggressive to win customers, as well as areas where they could afford to cut back on offerings to help stabilize ROI across the board.

The Highlights

Over the course of three months, DMi grew overall affiliate revenue for the client by 400% while maintaining an 11:1 ROAS. DMi helped the brand gain features with Buzzfeed, BusinessInsider, Conde Nast and many other relevant, vertical-specific publishers that helped contribute to the brand becoming a well-known name in the beauty space. The program continues to average a 20% MoM increase.

Interested in hearing more about how your team could leverage DMi as your affiliate management agency? DMi Partners affiliate management solutions help brands build a footprint in the affiliate space by providing program consulting, strategy, and execution. DMi has a proven track record of success scaling programs for our advertisers and keeping them one step ahead of their competition. If you’re interested in learning more please contact affiliate@dmipartners.com.