Puissante: an affiliate strategy that helps break taboos

Interview with Charles Thélu, Head of Digital at Puissante

Hi Charles, can you tell us more about Puissante and your role there?

Puissante was founded in 2019 by Marie Comacle, and later joined by Enguerrand Le Bigot. The story began after Marie watched an episode of Sex and the City. She tried a sex toy, loved the experience, and decided to help women break free from the taboo around masturbation. Puissante’s mission is to empower women by showing them that self-knowledge and confidence are essential. I had the pleasure of joining the team two years ago as Head of Digital. I’m in charge of the entire digital strategy for the brand.

What led you to create an affiliate program?

With several years of experience in digital marketing, I knew that affiliate marketing could help us take our customer acquisition efforts to the next level. Given the nature of our products, advertising through traditional channels can be quite tricky. An affiliate strategy allows us to reach a broad and engaged audience, whether through media articles or cashback platforms.

What are the benefits of working with a platform like Affilae?

The main advantage is having a dedicated account manager. We don’t always have the time to reach out to media outlets or partner platforms ourselves—but the account manager takes care of that for us. They understand our challenges, suggest solutions that align with our overall affiliate strategy, and handle everything from negotiations to invoice reconciliation and tracking setup. That makes it easier for us to choose the right partners and define fair compensation models.

How does using Affilae contribute to your productivity and competitiveness?

Affilae enables us to reach sectors that once felt out of reach. It opened up an entirely new side of our acquisition strategy and allowed us to connect with audiences we probably wouldn’t have reached otherwise.

Are you happy with the results?

Yes, we’re very satisfied with the results. That said, it did require some patience—profitability only started to show around the fourth month. But affiliate marketing is a long-term game. Since then, we’ve seen steady growth, which clearly shows we’re heading in the right direction.

Would you recommend Affilae?

Absolutely. Our collaboration with Affilae, and especially with Étienne, has been excellent. The feedback we’ve received has been very positive. There’s a genuine sense of care and understanding of our needs, without any pressure to push placements or campaigns that don’t make sense for us.

Puissante’s journey with Affilae demonstrates how a well-executed and well-supported affiliate strategy can truly transform a business. A big thank you to Charles Thélu for sharing his insights. We hope his experience will inspire other digital marketing and acquisition managers to explore new growth opportunities.

Want to learn more?

Check out our full case study on Puissante’s results