Leaning into seasonality to maximize your affiliate channel growth
Outdoor brands encounter unique challenges tied to seasonality, which sets them apart from other industries. Demand for outdoor products ebbs and flows with the weather and seasonal shifts. To tackle these challenges head-on, outdoor e-commerce brands are increasingly turning to affiliate marketing as a vital strategy. Let’s dive into how affiliate marketing plays a crucial role in managing seasonality for outdoor brands, aiming not just to ride the seasonal waves but also to smooth out the slower periods.
Affiliate and partner marketing involves joining forces with individuals like bloggers, content sites, media properties, shopping aggregators, and other traffic sources. These partners promote a brand’s products and earn a commission for every sale through their unique affiliate link.
Outdoor e-commerce is deeply intertwined with seasonality. Products like camping gear, hiking equipment, snowboards, and outdoor apparel witness varying demands influenced by weather conditions, holidays, and outdoor activities tied to specific seasons. Here’s how affiliate marketing lends a hand in managing seasonality for outdoor e-commerce brands:
Targeted Audience Reach
Affiliates often cater to niche audiences passionate about specific outdoor activities. By teaming up with these vertical-specific affiliates, brands ensure their products land in front of the right consumers at the right time. At Ikon Digital Media, we pride ourselves on nurturing relationships with the most influential and vertical-specific affiliate partners. This ensures robust brand awareness, unique customer acquisition, and incremental revenue for all our clients in the Outdoor vertical.
Flexible Campaigns
Affiliate marketing empowers outdoor brands to craft flexible campaigns tailored to seasonal demands. Whether promoting winter gear for skiing enthusiasts or summer essentials for hikers, brands can tweak their affiliate marketing strategies to sync with seasonal trends. Flexibility comes in various forms, including custom campaigns, incentives for affiliates and shoppers, exclusive promotions, and increased exposure for new product launches.
Leveraging Trends and Holidays
Affiliates strategically align promotions with brand trends and holidays. For instance, they may push camping gear before the summer season or offer special discounts for outdoor enthusiasts during Black Friday. This approach helps brands connect with consumers hunting for specific product categories, whether they’re ready to buy or scouting for discounts pre- or post-season. At Ikon, a crucial KPI is ensuring our clients seize peak buying periods to maximize their ROAS.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Affiliate marketing operates on a performance-based model, meaning brands pay for actual sales generated. This cost-effective approach is particularly advantageous for outdoor brands during off-peak seasons when traditional marketing efforts might not yield the same ROI. Proper commission structuring is critical to managing a healthy cost per acquisition year-round.
Building Strong Affiliate Relationships
To make the most of affiliate marketing in managing seasonality, outdoor brands must prioritize building solid relationships with their affiliates. At Ikon, relationships form the bedrock of our ethos. Strong, mutually beneficial relationships with key affiliates are what set us apart as a top affiliate agency in the Outdoor vertical. We invest considerable time and effort in nurturing relationships with new and legacy partners alike, securing ample editorial and media coverage for all our brand partners.
Clear Communication is pivotal in providing affiliates with timely updates on upcoming product launches, seasonal promotions, and marketing strategies, ensuring alignment and effective collaboration. As peak seasons or holiday events approach, we engage and educate our affiliate partners 90-180 days in advance, setting the stage for maximum success. If you’re not doing this yet, it’s time to start!
Offering competitive commission rates motivates affiliates to promote the brand’s products, especially during seasonal peaks. This ensures brands maximize their ROAS by capitalizing on peak buying seasons. It’s crucial to offer compelling commission rates to affiliate partners who can drive a positive impact. Additionally, pay intentional commission rates per affiliate and affiliate type to avoid being too generous with partners who don’t warrant your top payout.
Regularly monitoring performance and analyzing affiliate data helps brands identify successful strategies and optimize campaigns for future seasons. Learning what works and what doesn’t will help you maximize your returns during subsequent peak seasons. At Ikon, data is our guiding light. We analyze program performance daily, weekly, and monthly, making adjustments to boost conversions, improve channel health, and maximize returns.
Seasonality significantly influences profitable performance. Being well ahead of the seasonal curve in the affiliate channel drives growth and new customer acquisition. Affiliate marketing is a potent tool for outdoor brands, offering flexibility, targeted reach, and cost-effective performance-driven campaign management. By harnessing the capabilities of affiliate marketing and embracing seasonality, we help our clients navigate an increasingly competitive market to maximize their channel ROAS.
Please reach out to learn more about our management capabilities and growth strategies at partnerships@ikondigitalmedia.com. Thank you!