Relaxium: +$3M Incremental Annual Revenue From Klaviyo, Pete as Head of Retention Marketing
Head of Retention Marketing (Email & SMS) · October 2022 · Ongoing (22+ months)
— Verified results
RESULT.01
+$3M
Extra annual revenue from email & SMS
RESULT.02
INC 5000 #461
2021 ranking
RESULT.03
22+ months
Ongoing engagement
RESULT.04
$100-120M
Brand annual revenue at scale
— The challenge
What Relaxium was up against.
Relaxium is a $100-120M annual revenue supplement brand, ranked #461 on the 2021 INC 5000 with 1,040% growth over three years. By any reasonable measure, the brand was already a success. But email and SMS were not generating revenue proportionate to their list size or brand momentum, particularly given the strength of the underlying customer base and the natural fit between supplement consumption cycles and email automation. The opportunity was clear; what was missing was senior operator capability inside the marketing function. Rather than engaging an external agency, Relaxium chose to bring Pete on as an embedded senior leader.
— Our approach
How we engaged.
Pete joined Relaxium as Head of Retention Marketing (Email & SMS) for what became a 22+ month engagement. Unlike a typical agency relationship, this was full ownership of the program from inside the brand. Strategy was primarily campaign-driven rather than automation-heavy, given Relaxium's existing flow infrastructure was reasonably built; the gap was in the campaign cadence, segmentation depth, and high-frequency send strategy to engaged subscribers. Pete took ownership of the campaign calendar, segment architecture, and reporting cadence. Daily decision-making, weekly executive reporting, monthly strategic reviews. The relationship is ongoing as of the current period.
— The outcome, unpacked
Why Operator-Grade Engagement Beats Agency-Grade Engagement at This Scale
For brands at $100M+ revenue, the typical agency model has limits. Agencies operate from outside the business, with limited access to the broader marketing context (paid acquisition trends, retail partnerships, brand initiatives). They optimise the email program in isolation, which produces good email programs that aren't necessarily aligned with the brand's full revenue trajectory.
The embedded operator model addresses this: full strategic alignment with the marketing leadership, real-time visibility into the broader business context, and decision authority within the function. For Relaxium, this meant the email and SMS program wasn't just running well technically, it was running in coordination with paid acquisition, retail, and brand campaigns in a way external agencies typically can't replicate.
The results reflect this: +$3M in incremental annual revenue isn't coming from a single optimisation, it's coming from cumulative compounding of monthly campaign decisions, ongoing segment refinement, and synchronisation with the broader business calendar. The program has continued growing through what is now 22+ months, with continued engagement.
For agencies considering this engagement model: it's not a fit for most brands. Brands at $5-30M typically benefit more from a strong agency relationship than from a single embedded operator. The embedded model fits at scale where the role justifies senior in-house leadership and the compensation reflects that.
"Awesome! I'm going to start calling you Mr. Director of Marketing (though you're completely over qualified)"
— Relaxium operates in the Supplements category
See our Supplements email playbookWant results like Relaxium?
Free Klaviyo audit. We measure your lift, thrust, drag, and weight, then send you a written 90-day rebuild plan within 24 hours.