Algenist: growing a premium skincare brand online without cheapening it
Affiliate, paid search and paid social
About one year
This work was done while Ralph was on the agency side, before he founded Connectwright. The agency team did the work and, as in every Connectwright story, isn't named.
At a glance: Premium skincare (clean, vegan formulas) · Affiliate, paid search and paid social (Meta and TikTok) · Full-service performance agency · About one year
Situation
Algenist's products had done well in retail for years. Online, the goal was to grow customer lifetime value, including through its subscription program, with offers that wouldn't compromise the brand's high-end appeal.
The problem
Paid social was only a few months old for the brand. Each channel needed a distinct job: affiliate to reach new audiences, search to explain the products' benefits, and paid social to build awareness, with "subscribe and save" messaging used where it could win first and repeat purchases.
Who did the work
A full-service performance agency's team covering affiliate, paid search and paid social.
What changed
Affiliate: more than 70 top-tier placements, including discount sites carrying subscribe-and-save messaging.
Paid search: used mainly at the top of the funnel to explain the products, with subscribe-and-save messaging for first-time buyers, and A/B tests across display, discovery, YouTube and Performance Max.
Paid social: a user-generated content approach, then expansion into TikTok ads.
Results
Paid social revenue up 466% after one year, and average order value from paid social up 12.5%
New users from Google Ads up 69% and Google Ads revenue up 22%; Google Ads became the site's top traffic source
Average monthly affiliate revenue up about 63%, with up to $100,000 in affiliate revenue in a single month
Product subscriptions up 47%
The lesson
A premium brand can use offers to grow, as long as each channel has a clear job and the message protects the brand.