EASY-M X DOUGLAS GROUP
How DOUGLAS runs its affiliate program on its own network
CASE STUDY EASY.AFFILIATE
A partner program
owned by the brand
Affiliate marketing in beauty retail means many partners, several countries and a commission model that can look different in every market. Normally, every new country adds more work: separate publisher lists, separate ad materials and separate reports.
DOUGLAS, Europe’s leading omnichannel provider of premium beauty, has run its partner program on EASY-M since 2011. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Poland don’t run as five separate programs but as client accounts within a single installation. Publishers, ad materials and reporting sit in one system, while the countries stay cleanly separated.
DOUGLAS, Europe’s leading omnichannel provider of premium beauty, has run its partner program on EASY-M since 2011. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Poland don’t run as five separate programs but as client accounts within a single installation. Publishers, ad materials and reporting sit in one system, while the countries stay cleanly separated.
One system for five country programs
The DOUGLAS partner program in numbers
Partnership
15 years
The first transaction ran through the system in June 2011. DOUGLAS has relied on EASY-M’s technical infrastructure for 15 years.
Markets
5
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Poland run as separate client accounts within one easy.AFFILIATE installation.
Level of automation
99,85 %
The program’s day-to-day business runs without manual input. The team only steps in for exceptions.
FROM THE SYSTEM
From master data to billing
Ad materials, vouchers, product data, tracking and billing sit in the same interface as the program settings.
The affiliate team works in one place instead of spreading tasks across separate tools.
The affiliate team works in one place instead of spreading tasks across separate tools.
DEEP DIVE
Quality and resilience
Two key figures from twelve months of running the DOUGLAS program
What never makes it into reporting
Not every click comes from a human. Bots, crawlers and double-counted visits distort any affiliate reporting. Since commissions are paid out on this basis, filtering isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation of billing.
easy.AFFILIATE checks every incoming click before it enters reporting. Anything that fails the check never shows up in reporting at all.
easy.AFFILIATE checks every incoming click before it enters reporting. Anything that fails the check never shows up in reporting at all.
November as a stress test
In beauty retail, a significant share of annual business happens within just a few weeks. When Black Friday and the Christmas season coincide, the infrastructure has to handle many times the volume of a normal day.
Peak loads are when you find out whether a tracking infrastructure holds up. Whatever isn’t captured during those hours can’t be reconstructed later: a lost click is a commission a publisher doesn’t receive and a sale that can’t be attributed to any partner.
Peak loads are when you find out whether a tracking infrastructure holds up. Whatever isn’t captured during those hours can’t be reconstructed later: a lost click is a commission a publisher doesn’t receive and a sale that can’t be attributed to any partner.
The foundation for digital growth
How DOUGLAS turned a technology decision into a structural advantage
Direct publisher relationships
Contracts, terms and communication run directly between DOUGLAS and its partners.
Predictable cost structure
The license is a fixed price. DOUGLAS can grow revenue through the partner program without the fees growing with it.
International scaling
A new market is an additional portal in the existing installation, not a new set of contracts.
Custom commission logic
Models by country, publisher type, campaign, product group or product.
Full data ownership
Click, transaction and publisher data stay with DOUGLAS. EU-hosted, GDPR-audited.
Resilient under peak loads
Black Friday volume runs on the same configuration as day-to-day business.
“The DOUGLAS partner program has grown over 15 years, and many of our publishers have worked with us for years. With our own network, we are the contracting party, the point of contact and the sender all in one. That way, we decide for ourselves which terms apply in which market. EASY-M provides the technology, while the program strategy stays entirely with us.”
Alicia Schmidt, Affiliate Manager,
DOUGLAS Group
DOUGLAS Group
/ HOW TO GET STARTED WITH EASY-M
Your own network in just a few steps
We make switching to EASY-M simple, secure and fast. Our team of experts supports you with the integration, so you can focus on your business without any friction.
/ 01 - Introduction & analysis
Free initial consultation
Review of your current program: publisher structure, commission models and your actual network costs.
/ 02 - Deep dive & strategy
Personalized platform tour & free demo
Access to the demo platform, plus design of the portal structure, commission logic and migration path for your existing partners.
/ 03 - Full-service integration
Setup & launch
Setup, connection to shop and ERP systems, publisher migration and launch under your own domain.
/ 04 - Ongoing support
Service support & optimization
A dedicated contact for operations, billing cycles and expansion into further markets.