Driving Revenue Through Affiliate Holidays – It’s Not Just About Black Friday and Cyber Monday

It’s no secret that both brands and shoppers spend a lot of time preparing for the biggest shopping days in the U.S.: Black Friday and Cyber Monday; this year alone, they’re expected to exceed the $10 billion figure in e-commerce sales. However, retailers don’t have to wait for Q4 to capitalize on e-commerce holidays.

Affiliate partners also offer opportunities during their own promotional holidays that are capable of driving more revenue than sales around national holidays. By building brand alignment through relationships with strategic publishers, marketers can leverage promotional opportunities through affiliate marketing. Affiliate holiday programs drive awareness and revenue during a time specified by publishers to amplify engagement and conversions.

Here are a few ways affiliate holidays can open new avenues to drive revenue for your brand:
 

Increase sales
Consumers with holiday deal opportunities, especially cash-back promotions, are more likely to convert and will often spend above the minimum required amount to receive a cash-back bonus or other incentive. Cash-back tiers (e.g. spend $25 and get $5 cash back or spend $50 and get $10 back) often prompt customers to spend at the higher threshold to save more.

Drive brand recognition
When a brand participates in an affiliate holiday, its logo gains exposure to an additional audience in the affiliate partner’s promotional material. For example, Rise's affiliate partner Rakuten has an annual birthday promotion. During the event, Rakuten features the participating brand in promotional emails and on a featured landing page to expand its audience and potential reach. Affiliate programs can expose your brand to a new audience through affiliate partners who have an already-established following.

Stay ahead of the competition
Many retailers are already taking advantage of affiliate holidays, and by doing so, are putting their brand at the forefront of customers’ minds when shopping. Retailers not yet participating in affiliate holidays could see their customers buying from the next best competing brand offering deals through affiliate partners. By staying top-of-mind with customers, you’re staying ahead of the competition.

Acquire new customers
A customer who has never purchased from a specific brand might not be confident enough in the company to try a product at full price. A 15% cashback offer could be the encouragement a customer needs to make a purchase with a new brand. Affiliate holidays often create a sense of urgency because of their limited-time nature and prompt customers to take advantage of opportunities that only happen during limited times each year.
 

Affiliate Holidays in Action
With the above benefits in mind, our team knew the annual birthday promotion for our affiliate partner, Rakuten, could drive impressive campaign growth for a specific client. The client was already using Rise’s affiliate services and because the brand aimed to increase its overall revenue, we recommended it participate on the first day of the seven-day shopping period of the affiliate holiday to elevate sales and optimize ROI.

To ensure maximum visibility, Rise secured the first Rakuten’s Birthday Week email promotion exclusively for the brand, featuring a 15% off birthday deal in addition to the brand’s own special offer. The promotion not only reached the brand’s customers, but also Rakuten’s customers, who eagerly anticipate the event throughout the year. The offers drove revenue increases at 108% and 38% higher than Rakuten typically sees on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, respectively. Ultimately, the day of the promotion increased the brand’s year-over-year revenue by a staggering 619%, making the participation in the affiliate holiday a resounding success.

The client’s participation in Rakuten's birthday event exemplifies how brands can gain exposure and increase revenue through affiliate holidays.  To learn more about how affiliate marketing can drive results for your brand, reach out to Rise.

UPDATED: OCTOBER 30, 2020

This feature was released in November 2017.