How a leading pet nutrition brand scaled affiliate growth by +26% and increased subscription conversions.

The Challenge

A market-leading pet nutrition brand sought to expand its affiliate marketing efforts and drive sustainable growth within its direct-to-consumer subscription model.

With a product offering tailored to individual pet needs, the brand aimed to scale customer acquisition through the affiliate channel while maintaining profitability at an efficient cost per acquisition (CPA).

The key objectives included:

• Increasing new customer signups while ensuring strong conversion to active subscriptions.
• Expanding the affiliate partner base to enhance reach and diversification.
• Optimising campaign performance through data-driven strategies and improved customer journey experiences.
• Enhancing profitability by aligning lifetime value (LTV) with acquisition costs.

The Gen3 Approach

To achieve these objectives, Gen3 Marketing developed a strategic affiliate growth framework focused on three core areas:

1. Optimising Affiliate Performance

• Conducted detailed performance audits to identify opportunities within top and mid-tier affiliate partners.
• Implemented tailored content, messaging, and creative strategies to enhance engagement and conversions.
• Refreshed affiliate marketing assets, incorporating compelling visuals and refined calls to action (CTA).
• Enhanced tracking and reporting, enabling real-time insights to drive incremental growth.

2. Tactical Investment & Offer Testing

• Introduced dynamic offer testing, evaluating the impact of different promotions, including free trials, multi-box discounts, and targeted incentives.
• Rolled out seasonal and event-based campaigns to align with high-intent purchasing periods.
• Leveraged affiliate partnerships for premium placements, securing increased visibility and engagement.
• Optimised commission structures to incentivise high-value conversions and long-term subscribers.

3. Customer Experience Enhancements

• Streamlined the affiliate-to-subscription customer journey by optimising landing pages, sign-up flows, and checkout processes.
• Integrated value-driven messaging across all touchpoints, reinforcing the brand’s unique proposition.
• Applied A/B testing to refine conversion strategies, from email subject lines to landing page layout adjustments.
• Strengthened post-sign-up engagement, ensuring higher retention and subscription longevity.

By combining these data-driven initiatives with a strong collaborative approach, Gen3 positioned the brand’s affiliate programme as a key revenue driver within the marketing mix.

The Results

The strategic execution led to outstanding results, surpassing initial targets:

• +26% YoY growth in new customer acquisitions via the affiliate channel.
• +27% increase in new customer signups beyond initial projections (+13,000 additional customers).
• The largest acquisition channel within the brand’s performance marketing mix, achieving a 5% share and exceeding the 12.5% target.
• +16% increase in active subscription customers, with a £85 cost per subscriber, well below the £120 benchmark.
• An improved 1:2 LTV-to-CPA ratio, reinforcing long-term profitability.
• +30% increase in top- and mid-tier affiliate signups, driving higher conversion rates.
• +15% growth in active affiliate partnerships, with 190 new affiliates onboarded.

By continuously refining its approach through data-led optimisation, strategic partnerships, and a commitment to customer experience, Gen3 successfully positioned the affiliate programme as a high-performing, scalable channel for sustained long-term growth.

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