The Quick Story

Unlock is a pioneer in the Home Equity Agreement (HEA) space, providing a new way for homeowners to obtain cash financing using the equity in their homes. Despite rising popularity, the unique value of HEAs was not fully understood by major finance publishers, often being lumped with debt-based home loans. Unlock needed a direct line of communication with these publishers to differentiate their offerings. They turned to Vibrant Performance, which had the necessary relationships to educate these publishers through affiliate marketing. The result was a 740% growth in qualified leads year-over-year.

How We Did It

1. Direct relationships with major finance publishers: Vibrant onboarded publishers into the affiliate program, educating them on HEAs and providing content to update existing articles and craft new ones.
2. Full lead attribution and visibility: Migrated the program to Everflow for comprehensive tracking and reporting on the full lead journey.
3. Tested and refined creatives: Used Vibrant’s financial website, The Money Manual, to experiment with messaging and find the highest converting creatives before rolling them out to affiliates.
4. Anti-fraud integration: Activated Anura’s anti-fraud solution to identify and deactivate low-quality traffic placements.
5. Network of influencers and media buyers: Scaled to thousands of influencers and media buyers with Aragon Premium, providing transparency and accountability.
6. Expanded to non-traditional offline affiliates: Utilized Everflow’s tracking capabilities to engage licensed real estate brokers and other unconventional affiliates.
7. Education and transparency: Conducted sessions with affiliates to ensure an understanding of the payout structure and provided transparent reporting on the user journey.

Results

Vibrant Performance and Unlock achieved a 740% growth in qualified leads year-over-year. Additionally, they saved over $100K in the first month through anti-fraud measures, while detailed reporting and regular communication with affiliates led to higher engagement and optimized traffic sources. This meticulous tracking and alignment of payout structures enhanced the quality and volume of leads flowing to Unlock, demonstrating the power of affiliate marketing for finance solutions.