1800DTC BFCM Playbook
[ Chapter 11 · Part 2 ] Affiliate, Influencer & Partnerships

Cariloha

Cariloha

An operator spotlight from a $20M DTC & retail brand running a full-funnel partnerships program. Everything from affiliate, influencer, gifting and ambassador campaigns were ran through the weekend and here's how they did it.

[ Brand contributor ]
Colby Saenz Cariloha Colby Saenz Director of Creator & Brand Partnerships
“The importance of partnerships, as a whole, is in leveraging the trust affiliates, influencers, and brands have with their audiences to communicate the quality and experience of our product.”

This brand is independent of the chapter’s sponsor and of every other brand in the playbook.

12%Of BFCM revenuefrom partnerships, all types combined
3:1Blended ROASacross the partnership program
15×#1 vs #10 partnerrevenue spread across the roster
[ The program & the terms ]

Four Partnership Types, One Program.

Affiliate Influencer Gifting Ambassador
10% → 15% Standard commission stepped up to a BFCM rate to earn priority placement from the roster.
[ The full-funnel model ]

Partners at Every Stage, Not Just the Close.

Top · Oct / early NovAwarenessActivate influencers to drive brand awareness heading into BFCM.
Middle · late Oct / NovConsiderationMove shoppers further down the funnel and show why the brand is different from everyone else.
Bottom · BFCM / DecConversionActivate influencers pre- and post-BFCM with a unique offer to convert shoppers who were looking elsewhere.
“The look is easy to display across channels now-a-days. Communicating the feel of the product is where partnerships shine.”
[ The timeline ]

Open Early, Then Taper.

Outreach opensJune / JulyPartner recruitment starts months ahead of the weekend. Don't wait till there's nobody left.
The calendarNever fully locks for usBut recruitment pulls back closer to BFCM.
[ The 2026 plan ]

Budget Is Going Up.

There is more opportunity to ramp the partnership budget for 2026, especially with the integration of more partnership ads and dynamic ad-campaign management. By turning creator content into paid media rather than leaving it on organic feeds alone there are more doors opened for how to use the content you're paying for.