In this case study, we’ll explore how we helped Ondecor, a brand in the Home and Decor industry offering stylish and customizable wallpapers, build and scale their influencer marketing program.
Through a combination of gifting and affiliate campaigns, we successfully facilitated over 250 influencer collaborations, enabling Ondecor to identify over 30 high-performing influencers within six months, and establish long-term, valuable partnerships.
The brand’s objective was to build and scale an influencer program while increasing brand awareness and visibility on social media—all within a limited budget and without fixed payments for influencers.
We launched a low-cost seeding campaign—referred to as the “testing phase”—to gain exposure and assess influencer performance before building long-term partnerships.
Ondecor wanted to increase brand awareness and boost their social media exposure, by finding influencers who aligned with their values and target audience, could promote their products in a genuine way to potentially drive conversions.
In addition to this, Ondecor sought influencers who could generate aesthetic, authentic UGC that could be repurposed organically across their own social media channels.
The main challenge was working within a limited budget and with minimal in-house resources to manage the campaign, making it difficult to scale the influencer program effectively.
Therefore, they handed over the work to us, so we could entirely manage influencer outreach and build valuable partnerships for them through our influencer management platform: Influencer Hero.
Our main objective was to identify high-performing influencers aligned with the brand, within the specific target audience, and to negotiate for social media content in exchange for just gifting and affiliate arrangements, without fixed payments.
To achieve the client's objective while addressing the challenges, we divided the work into two recurring and successive phases.
The first phase, known as the testing phase, involved running continuous gifting and affiliate campaigns over several months. We reached out to more than 20,000 influencers with the goal of testing their performance through trial posts, identifying those who created high-quality content and drove sales. This effort resulted in over 360 posts within six months, ensuring consistent social media exposure.
Although our initial request for gifting and affiliate campaigns focused on Instagram Stories, most influencers went above and beyond by posting Reels, Feed posts and sharing multiple updates. They highlighted their full home transformation process using the wallpapers, creating relatable and engaging content.
If you want to learn more about how to execute a successful gifting and affiliate campaign, you can check out our full guide on product seeding campaigns.
Here are some useful tips on how we successfully executed the gifting and affiliate campaign:
From experience, we knew that to quickly and effectively identify high-performing influencers for Ondecor in the long term, we needed to conduct a large-scale outreach and distribute hundreds of products—specifically wallpapers—over time.
To streamline this process, we automated our outreach through our platform, implementing a four-email sequence and contacting up to 50 new influencers per day.
As part of our outreach email flow, we offered influencers a voucher code valued between $350 and $500 (determined during negotiation and based on factors like follower count and engagement rate) to select their favorite wallpapers from our website. In exchange, we asked them to create social media content showcasing their home transformations with our wallpapers. Additionally, we provided a 10% discount code for their followers (stackable with our ongoing 50% sitewide promotion) and a 10% affiliate commission on referral sales.
Targeting the right influencers is essential and this was one of our first steps.
It was important not only to engage with influencers who could reach Ondecor’s target audience and align with the brand’s values but also to avoid wasting time on those unlikely to accept our offer. Some influencers may not be interested in our home & décor products or may not be open to gifting collaborations—especially those with larger audiences—potentially leading to wasted effort and resources.
ONDECOR focuses on wallpapers for home decoration, so we focused on the following influencer niches or categories:
By using our Influencer Finder tool, which offers over 20 advanced filters, we were able to select the right influencers to reach out to. We successfully onboard high-quality profiles, such as:
@Our.Nohai.home:A home decor, DIY, and interior design influencer with around 100k followers. She generated over $4,000 in sales, with 5 posts.
@TheTarahShow:A lifestyle and home influencer who created multiple pieces of content for the brand, including 5 feed posts and achieving over 2 million views and more than 20 referrals.
@TheFigHome:A lifestyle and interior design influencer who achieved over 20 referrals with several feed posts, such as the one below.
We focused mostly on nano and micro-influencers (up to 100 K followers), as they are generally more receptive to gifting and affiliate partnerships, leading to a higher onboarding rate. We achieved a 32% response rate and a 15% onboarding rate during that time.
Despite their smaller audiences, micro-influencers have highly engaged and loyal followers who trust their recommendations, making them valuable if they align with our target audience.
While macro influencers tend to request fixed payments ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per post, we've successfully onboarded many without fixed fees through effective negotiation, which we’ll discuss further below. We also reached out to select macro influencers to gauge their interest in our offerings.
Ultimately, we aimed for a mix of influencer types, primarily targeting those with up to 500,000 to 700,000 followers, as influencers with over 1 million followers are more challenging to secure for unpaid partnerships.
You can find a breakdown of the types of influencers we have successfully onboarded below:
Ensuring that influencers' audiences aligned with the brand’s target demographic was a key factor in our search. The goal was to convert their followers into potential customers while spreading our message and showcasing our products in a way that resonated with their interests.
To achieve this, we used the Influencer Finder tool on Influencer Hero to easily analyze key audience metrics, including age distribution, gender, and interests. The criteria we aimed for were:
Negotiation was a key step in successfully onboarding influencers for our Gifting and Affiliate Campaigns. Around 80% of the influencers we reached out to either requested fixed payments, shared their rates, or declined our offer, stating they only participate in paid collaborations.
This was a crucial moment for us to negotiate and clearly explain our approach to gain their agreement. With our A/B-tested negotiation templates, we’ve been able to convert around 30% of influencers who initially rejected gifting offers.
One valuable strategy we implemented for this client was providing influencers with the option to receive samples of their favorite designs and materials to help them decide which wallpaper to choose. This approach works particularly well for customizable products like this.
By sending up to five small wallpaper samples, we also created an opportunity for additional and quicker content, as wallpaper installation can take a bit of time. We encouraged influencers to share their full transformation journey with their audience, starting with the sample selection as a sneak peek of the collaboration.
Many influencers posted about receiving the samples, building anticipation around the upcoming makeover. Some also engaged their audience by asking for input on their preferred designs, using polls or question stickers to encourage interaction.
Following up with influencers at every stage of the collaboration—whether during negotiation or while awaiting a post after sending products—was a crucial factor in our success. Since we didn't use formal contracts, there was always a risk of non-posting, which could range from 10% to 30%.
To minimize this risk, we sent follow-ups every 4 to 7 days, genuinely asking if they had received the product or samples, tested it or decided on their favourite one, and when we could expect their post. However, we were careful not to be too pushy. Instead, we adjusted our messaging to be friendly and considerate, focusing on their feedback about the product rather than directly asking when they would post.
These follow-ups helped increase our response rates by up to 35%.
Once the influencers onboarded for this first stage posted their content, we assessed their performance to see if they were indeed profiles which we wanted to continue working with and invite to our next stage.
The next stage of our strategy is then to nurture relationships with high-performing influencers identified during the testing phase to maximize ROI.
Overall, OnDecor established over 270 relationships with highly relevant creators over six months, ready to be activated at any time. Among them, more than 30 stand out as high performers, whom we re-engage on a continued basis for seasonal campaigns and other collaborations, transforming them into brand advocates.
We invited past influencers to seasonal campaigns, such as Spring Cleaning, Interior Designer’s Day, or any active sale the brand is planning on their website.
Since these creators have already engaged with the brand and products, they may be open to collaborating again through an affiliate-based payment model, especially if they previously earned good commissions.
Others may request a fixed payment, but this time, we can determine how much we’re willing to offer based on their past performance—rather than making blind decisions without knowing what to expect. This approach allows Ondecor to allocate their budget strategically and with more confidence.
Another option is to explore different types of collaborations with them, such as whitelisting, paid ads by getting usage rights for their valuable UGC, or giveaways for their followers. We are currently considering all these options on a case by case basis, since we are working on strengthening these long-term relationships!
This strategy helps foster long-term, meaningful relationships with influencers, driving conversions and maximizing ROI.
Let’s dive into each of the strategies we recently applied for the brand!
An influencer-led giveaway is a powerful strategy for boosting brand awareness, as it leverages the influencer’s audience to drive engagement and expand reach.
However, for maximum impact, we complement this strategy with other campaigns or partnerships focused on driving sales. Therefore, we provided the influencer with a discount code to share in the giveaway post, along with an affiliate commission to incentivize conversions.
For example, we offered one of Ondecor’s top-performing influencers the opportunity to host a giveaway for her followers, featuring a $350 gift card to choose a wallpaper of their choice from our website. She agreed, with no extra cost for the brand, as she was happy to provide a treat for her followers and potentially increase her commission earnings.
It's always a good idea to tie a giveaway to a specific holiday or promotional event, so in this case, we planned it around Christmas. This approach boosted brand awareness, generating over 1.5K engagements.
Check out the post here!
Tying influencer marketing efforts to key shopping periods—such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, or Valentine's Day—helps align with consumer buying habits and maximizes engagement. These campaigns are crucial for driving revenue, as shoppers actively seek gifts and special promotions.
With this strategy in mind, we decided to re-engage proven influencers for a “Spring Cleaning” campaign in March. The goal was to encourage them to continue posting about our products and inspire their audiences to transform their homes. To incentivize participation, we offered higher affiliate commissions and exclusive discount codes throughout the campaign period.
OnDecor’s wallpaper is a lasting product. Influencers can decorate rooms in their homes with the wallpaper, which they can continue to feature over time. This is different from a product like skincare, which is used up quickly and would require you to send a new item for continued promotion.
This is an advantage because you don’t need to send influencers new products repeatedly. They already have it available for long-term use and can create various types of content featuring the product in the background. For example, Fashion & Lifestyle influencer @thetarahshow made multiple posts for other brands showcasing her outfits in a room with the wallpaper as the backdrop.
Even if the influencer just tags the brand, with minimal effort to create specific content, they can still earn a commission, while your brand gets ongoing exposure. This approach works in your favor by offering influencers increased commissions during seasonal campaigns or special deals, encouraging them to create more content since they already have the product.
Therefore, OndeCor selects past creators who have previously collaborated with the brand to re-engage them for specific sales or website promotions, offering increased commissions or exclusive discount codes for their followers. Additionally, they provide opportunities for influencers to decorate another room in exchange for more products or to host giveaways for their audience.
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The main impact of our work has been sustained social media exposure and increased brand awareness through over 270 influencer collaborations, generating more than 1.3 million impressions and $37.6K Earned Media Value (EMV).
This effort also produced high-quality UGC, including over 360 posts (Reels, Feed Posts and stories), which the brand can leverage across its social media and marketing campaigns, such as paid ads on Meta.
Recent studies show that influencer-generated content often outperforms traditional branded content in paid advertising campaigns. For example, 36% of brands report that influencer content surpasses brand-created content in effectiveness.
Most importantly, we’ve built strong, long-term relationships with 35 high-performing influencers, who are now regularly invited to participate in seasonal campaigns, further boosting ROI.
As with any digital marketing strategy, some qualitative benefits of influencer marketing, such as authenticity and trust, cannot be directly measured but have a significant long-term impact. Influencer collaborations influence every stage of the consumer journey and can resonate far beyond the campaign period.
We must also emphasize the key qualitative benefits achieved during this time: sustained brand growth, high-quality UGC, and strong social proof.
Additionally, the campaign’s success is evident in its ongoing positive impact, including an increasing number of collaboration requests coming directly from influencers, further solidifying the brand’s reputation and reach- and potentially increasing our influencer program.
Want to achieve similar results? Contact Influencer Hero today for a free consultation!
Through a strategic and data-driven influencer marketing approach, Ondecor successfully scaled its influencer program to over 250 collaborations within six months, identifying 30+ high-performing influencers for long-term partnerships.
By leveraging gifting and affiliate campaigns, we maximized brand awareness and user-generated content (UGC) while maintaining a cost-efficient model. This structured, multi-phase strategy not only helped Ondecor reach a wide audience but also established a strong foundation for future influencer activations.
Automated outreach, careful influencer selection, and strategic negotiations were key in onboarding engaged creators without fixed payments. Additionally, maintaining relationships with high-performing influencers ensured sustained brand advocacy and recurring collaborations. By consistently optimizing the influencer selection process, testing different engagement models, and nurturing strong partnerships, Ondecor built a scalable and results-driven influencer program.
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