Thoughtful x ProfitPeak x Ksubi: Building a Full-Funnel Affiliate Channel

Affiliate marketing used to be Ksubi’s most overlooked channel. Here’s how it became one of their most efficient — and what it took to get the business to believe in it.

In this conversation, Carla Penn-Kahn (Co-founder and CEO, ProfitPeak), Rachael Ward (Head of Digital, Ksubi) and Chris Perkins (Head of Affiliates & Partnerships, Thoughtful) unpack how affiliate marketing evolved from an overlooked, “bottom-of-funnel” tactic into one of Ksubi’s most efficient growth channels — and what it took to get there. Rachael traces Ksubi’s affiliate program from an early, informal mix of cashback and coupon partners into a curated, full-funnel strategy now contributing around 7% of total revenue, with a stretch goal of 10%. Chris explains how Thoughtful manages that transformation day-to-day — from negotiating commission structures to building the always-on visibility a brand needs across regions, publishers and platforms — while Carla brings the data lens that turned early guesswork into provable, board-ready business cases. Together, they make the case that affiliate now belongs at the table alongside Meta and Google, provided a brand has the right partner, the right data, and the confidence to act on both.

Key takeaways

1. Affiliate has earned a seat next to Meta and Google. It’s no longer a discount-code afterthought — for brands doing it well, it’s a core, planned acquisition channel.
2. Full-funnel thinking changes the return. Top-of-funnel creators and PR introduce new customers; mid-funnel publishers build consideration; bottom-of-funnel search capture (like “brand name + discount code”) meets demand that’s happening whether a brand participates or not.
3. Data turned guesswork into a business case. Early incrementality testing was “finger in the air” — tools like ProfitPeak now let brands prove new-vs-returning customer value and AOV with real confidence.
4. Efficiency at scale is achievable. Ksubi’s affiliate program runs at a 5% blended commission while contributing meaningful revenue — a channel Chris notes can scale to 15% for heavily wholesaled brands.
5. The most common mistake is paying CPAs without knowing true order profitability. Factoring in delivery, packaging and markdown costs — not just “marketing dollars” — reshapes what a sustainable commission actually looks like.
6. Technology fees deserve as much scrutiny as agency fees. Commission overrides should be paid on commission, not net sales — on some accounts, tech fees alone can eat up half the channel’s cost.
7. Regional nuance matters. Purchase cycles, return rates and new-vs-returning customer splits vary significantly across AU, US and UK audiences, and strategy needs to reflect that.
8. Early-life customer acquisition compounds. Partnerships like Student Beans introduce a brand to customers at 18–19, building a relationship built to last an entire purchasing lifecycle.
9. Trust between brand and agency unlocks scale. Both Ksubi and Arms of Eve saw performance shift materially once the brand empowered its agency partner to lead the channel, backed by shared data.
10. Confidence — not more data — is usually the real gap. The biggest opportunity for most brands isn’t finding more insight, but building the conviction to act on the insight they already have.

A huge thank you to Carla Penn-Kahn (Profit Peak), and Rachael Ward (Ksubi) for joining us on this conversation.

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