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Global Sportswear Brand

Conquering Cyber Week: How We Surpassed Revenue Target By 16% Whilst Exceeding ROAS by 21%

For those with only 30 seconds, this is what we achieved:

  • We exceeded the brand’s revenue target by 16.74%. 
  • Strategic real time budget reallocations and performance tracking resulted in a 574% ROAS, a 21% year-on-year increase. 
  • Strengthening relationships with key publishers led to a 44% increase in order active partners and a 12% uplift in click active partners. 
  • We achieved significant partner results, including a 176% sales uplift for Blue Light Card and a 717% increase in traffic for TopCashback. 

Big Results!

Revenue target exceeded by

16.74% 16.74%

Cyber Week revenue YoY uplift of

+6% +6%

Who is the brand?

This brand is a global leader in performance apparel, footwear, and accessories. Founded in the 1990s, it revolutionised sportswear with its innovative technology and has since expanded its range to cater to athletes of all levels. Known for its forward-thinking approach to athletic performance, the brand continues to push the boundaries of technology and design to provide high-quality gear that enhances performance. With a strong focus on digital commerce, the brand leverages multiple marketing channels – including affiliate marketing – to drive customer engagement and sales growth.

What was the challenge?

In early 2024, the brand reviewed its affiliate partnership platform and management. The analysis revealed that its current system wasn’t equipped to support rapid growth, resulting in missed optimisation opportunities and a lack of new partner recruitment.

The brand was introduced to Silverbean and decided they were the best partner to grow its affiliate programme in Europe, focusing on full-price sales.

As Cyber Week approached – the most pivotal time of the year – the brand faced the challenge of optimising the affiliate programme for sustainable growth while driving revenue efficiency. The overarching goal for the financial year was twofold: reduce reliance on discounting and win Cyber Week. This was part of a larger strategic shift to elevate long-term brand value by moving away from constant discounting while ensuring Cyber Week remained the most important sales moment of the year.

The primary objectives were clear:

  • Revenue Target: Achieve 9% lower than 2023 while maintaining profitability.
  • Affiliate Engagement: Strengthen relationship with key partners, including Blue Light Card, TopCashback and Airtime Rewards to drive sustained traffic and conversions.
  • Marketing Competitiveness: Monitor and respond to competitor activity in real time to secure the brand’s position as a top performing brand within the affiliate space.

Reducing reliance on discounting was particularly challenging as the brand wanted to create an exclusive and impactful Cyber Week, setting it apart from the rest of the year. The brand aimed to limit the number of offers throughout the year so that when Cyber Week arrived, the deals would feel even more enticing to customers. The brand’s key reasons for reducing reliance on cashback and voucher publishers included:

  • Enhance long-term brand value: By reducing regular discounting, the brand could preserve their premium image.
  • Maximise Cyber Week impact: Limiting offers throughout the year would make the Cyber Week deals more attractive and impactful.
  • Protect wholesaler relationships: Avoid direct competition with wholesale partners who often run aggressive offers throughout the year. 
  • Reinforce brand identity: The brand wanted to distance itself from competitors who were veering into fashion wear and affirm their position as a performance wear brand, focusing on quality, innovation and the story behind its products.

This created a complex challenge for the Silverbean team, requiring a balance between short-term revenue generation and long-term brand positioning, all while driving sustained engagement with high-value publishers and responding to market dynamics. 

What was our solution?

To address these challenges, the Silverbean team worked closely with the brand to implement a strategy that blended short-term revenue generation with long-term brand positioning. The approach was centred around optimising the affiliate programme for sustainable growth, focusing on the right mix of partners, strategic budget allocations and a shift away from frequent discounting that had characterised previous years.

Reducing reliance on discounting and cashback partners

By analysing customer conversion trends and embedding granular market share tracking, the team were able to identify which publishers were driving value beyond just discount driven conversions. They strategically pulled back from cashback and voucher sites for the majority of the year, reserving these publishers primarily for Cyber Week. This created an exclusive, highly attractive promotional moment that differentiated the brand from competitors.

Strategic partner engagement

A significant part of the strategy was to deepen relationships with high performing publishers particularly those that aligned with the brand’s values. This included Blue Light Card, TopCashback and Airtime Rewards. By offering exclusive early access to products, time sensitive incentives and performance based commissions, the team ensured that key partners had the tools they needed to drive strong sales without the overuse of promotional discounts. This strategic engagement led to increased affiliate activation.

Real time data and agile execution

The team took an agile approach to campaign execution, leveraging real time data to continuously optimise the affiliate programme. Daily performance tracking allowed the team to immediately shift budget allocations to the highest performing placements and partners, ensuring that every marketing dollar was spent effectively. Real time competitor analysis in the cashback and voucher space helped the brand remain competitive, enabling the brand to respond instantly to market shifts and ensure they were always ahead of key competitors.

Exclusive partner collaborations and high-impact exposure

Leveraging the team’s deep network relationships, we secured exclusive exposure opportunities that set the brand apart from its competitors. By working closely with key partners, we developed early promotional exposure tactics, such as the CYBER20 discount code, and introduced time-sensitive incentives designed to drive incremental sales beyond standard cashback models. These exclusive deals ensured that partners had a competitive advantage, leading to increased engagement and higher sales conversions during Cyber Week.

Maximising Cyber Week impact

The culmination of these strategies was an exclusive, highly attractive Cyber Week campaign that drew significant attention and engagement. By limiting discounting throughout the year, the brand was able to create a sense of rarity and exclusivity around its Cyber Week offers, driving exceptional results. We worked to ensure that partners had the tools and incentives needed to push for strong sales, resulting in a competitive advantage during the key sales period.

By integrating these strategic elements, SIlverbean ensured the brand not only met its revenue targets but also reinforces its long term brand positioning.

What results were achieved?

Thanks to the strategic initiatives led by the Silverbean team, the brand successfully achieved its goals for Cyber week 2024, driving both revenue growth and enhancing affiliate engagement.

Revenue Growth

Surpassed their revenue target for Cyber Week by 16% and marked a 6% increase YoY. 

Affiliate Engagement

The number of clock active partners rose by 12% during Cyber Week, driven by commission increases which incentivised affiliates to drive more traffic to the brands offers. Order active partners also saw a 44% increase, reflecting the effectiveness of the team’s strategy in engaging key partners without relying heavily on discount driven conversions throughout the year.

Individual Publisher Results

  • Blue Light Card achieved a 176% sales uplift during Cyber Week, showing significant revenue growth as a result of the tailored approach.
  • Airtime Rewards saw an astonishing 534% increase in engagement and sales, thanks to the introduction of flash rewards and time-sensitive promotions.
  • TopCashback experienced a 717% increase in traffic and an 885% increase in sales, demonstrating the power of strategic partner engagement and exclusive offers.
  • Combined, these three publishers contributed 28.3% of the overall programme revenue during the Cyber Week period.

Key Takeaways

This case study highlights the importance of a highly focused, data driven strategy when aiming to achieve aggressive goals in a competitive market. By aligning efforts across performance tracking, strategic partnerships, and an emphasis on incremental growth, the Cyber Week success was no accident – it was the result of a carefully crafted, adaptable approach that maximised both short term impact and long term sustainability.

  • Data Driven Decision Making: Real time tracking and competitor analysis were crucial in optimising budget allocation. 
  • Strategic Partnerships: Strengthening relationships with key publishers led to substantial growth in traffic and sales. 
  • Incrementality Focus: Investments in high converting placements ensured revenue growth while reducing reliance on deep discounting. 
  • Scalability & Future Strategy: The insights gained from Cyber Week will shape long term affiliate strategies, securing future growth opportunities. 

Affiliate marketing is a powerful tool when executed correctly, offering brands a scalable and cost effective way to drive revenue and customer engagement. Whether your brand is looking to refine its affiliate programme, optimise for incremental revenue or unlock new growth opportunities, Silverbean is here to help.

If you’re ready to take your affiliate strategy to the next level, get in touch with us today. Let’s build a tailored approach that delivers measurable success for your brand.

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