Navigating a Turbulent Market Through a Full Funnel Approach to Affiliates

Client: QVC

2023 was full of turbulent surprises for retailers: rising interest rates, rampant inflation, continued disruptions to supply chains... but where there’s a will, there is a way! And so, enter Starcom @ Performics and their full-funnel approach to affiliate marketing for QVC.

But to cut through the challenges of 2023, which saw direct competitors like Ideal World go into administration, we had to focus on content and influencer partnerships that would help us target new audiences without sacrificing growth. That’s why we set ourselves ambitious targets, among which to drive +14% growth YoY from audited publishers and sustain ROAS at £12. To achieve this, we had to take on a rigorous auditing process. Our team collaborated with QVC to build out an auditing framework to ensure transparency of traffic from partners and identify opportunities for growth within a varied publisher base. We shortlisted publishers with low or no conversions, removing partners that drove inefficient traffic. The results? Despite the tricky year for retailers, our audit helped QVC reach new and wider audiences, smashing all our campaign objectives. By leveraging content and influencer partners, we targeted consumers further up the funnel, reducing the reliance on Cashback, Loyalty, and Voucher publishers, for a more optimised, full-funnel affiliate approach.