Case study · Subscription DTC
Flower-subscription DTC · Agency turnaround
Profitable within 2 months · 71% cost decrease · 16% revenue lift in year one.
Challenge
A fresh-flower subscription DTC business was looking to transition affiliate agencies due to rising costs and stagnant growth. Their affiliate program was underperforming and lacked an organized approach toward consumer offers, affiliate commissions, and expanding their publisher base.
Through a trusted industry relationship, Surge was introduced to revitalize the program.
Solution
Surge restructured the program by focusing on product margins and re-organizing affiliate partnerships and offers. After thoroughly analyzing publishers, we identified that 3 of them were being significantly overpaid based on competitor and vertical benchmarks. One in particular had an incentive structure that bled the business of profitable margins once it hit performance tiers originally designed to promote subscriptions vs one-time purchases.
With newly established KPIs and directives, Surge removed publishers and extended updated offers to those still in the program. After ongoing negotiation, the removed partners were added back into a structure that was mutually beneficial.
DTC brands rely on various vendors for marketing success — Surge collaborated with internal brand marketing contacts, the client's PR firm, and supportive paid marketing agencies to align on growth goals, messaging, and promotional calendars. This collaborative approach onboarded new partners, extended updated affiliate offers, and ensured consistent copy and consumer offers were displayed across affiliate sites.
Results
71% decrease
in affiliate program costs within 3 months.
Profitable in 2 months
after Surge took over.
Top 3 listicle rankings
improved · margin became positive.
16% revenue lift
in affiliate-driven revenue after 12 months.
Stuck with rising agency costs and stagnant growth?
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