BuzzFeed Commerce
Powering affiliate revenue across BuzzFeed Inc.
The commerce engine behind a multi-brand media company.
BuzzFeed Commerce, branded as BuzzFeed Shopping, manages affiliate partnerships and large-scale brand activations across BuzzFeed Inc., including BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Complex Networks, etc. By aligning audience insight with editorial and creative strategy, Commerce turns cultural relevance into measurable business results.
ROLE
Commerce Project Manager
Cross-Functional Program Management,
Affiliate Revenue Operations, Editorial-Commerce Integration, Vendor & Partner Management, Workflow Automation, KPI Reporting
SKILLS
Shopify, Google Analytics, Affiliate Network Platforms, Looker / BI Dashboards, Jira, Figma, Notion, Excel / Google Sheets, Google Slides, Slack
TOOLS
ROLE BREAKDOWN
At BuzzFeed Commerce, I coordinated teams, timelines, and priorities to bring large commerce initiatives to life.
As a Project Manager for BuzzFeed Commerce, I defined cross-team priorities, roadmaps, and workflow optimizations for the Affiliate organization, supporting a half-billion-dollar annual affiliate portfolio across 1,500+ partners. I collaborated with 14 cross-functional teams — spanning Tech, Editorial, Strategy, Partnerships, Account Management, Newsletter, Social, and Animation — to execute 50+ high-impact initiatives. I also independently spearheaded BuzzFeed’s first curated commerce marketplace in partnership with Shopify, managing end-to-end storefront launch execution.
MY PROCESS
My goal was always to stay proactive and organized so the team
could focus on executing great ideas.
BuzzFeed Commerce operated at a rapid pace, with many partnerships and initiatives running simultaneously. My role as a project manager was to help different teams stay aligned, including analytics, partnerships, affiliate managers, and strategy. I approached the work by learning as much as possible about the business and asking questions until I understood how the pieces connected. From there, I focused on building tools and documentation that helped the team operate more smoothly. This included creating one-sheet briefs, decks, internal reports on industry trends, interactive roadmaps, and systems for tracking potential affiliate deals. I also worked on experiments and tooling that supported our data team and contributed to initiatives like BuzzFeed’s creator program. My goal was always to stay proactive and organized so the team could focus on executing great ideas.
INSIGHTS
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BuzzFeed Commerce functioned as a high-performance revenue engine embedded within a global media company. The team supported a vast affiliate portfolio across thousands of partners while navigating constant shifts in traffic, platform algorithms, and retail cycles. Working within this ecosystem meant balancing editorial voice, data intelligence, and commercial performance simultaneously.
The commerce organization operated with approximately 30 specialists across affiliate strategy, partnerships, editorial, analytics, and social. In my role, I worked across these teams to support campaign launches, partnerships, and operational workflows that helped translate strategy into deliverable projects. The pace and complexity mirrored that of a mid-sized agency, with multiple concurrent initiatives, rapid turnaround timelines, and measurable revenue impact attached to nearly every project.
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Commerce was central to tentpole retail events including Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday season. These moments required coordinated planning across editorial calendars, social amplification, partner negotiations, inventory awareness, and performance tracking. Within this ecosystem, I helped support the operational coordination that allowed campaigns to move smoothly across teams and timelines.
Execution during these periods resembled campaign-level operations. Roadmaps were built months in advance, forecasts were aligned across stakeholders, and performance was monitored in real time. Working in this environment strengthened my ability to plan for scale, adapt under pressure, and deliver within high-stakes commercial windows.
Project Showcase: Curated Commerce with Shopify
THE OPPORTUNITY
RODEO
In 2021, market research within BuzzFeed Shopping revealed that audiences were increasingly interested in diversifying their retailer share of wallet and discovering emerging direct-to-consumer brands in a more intentional way. Rodeo was developed as a first-of-its-kind Shopify collaboration designed to aggregate high-quality DTC products under a single curated storefront.
When the project resurfaced after its initial groundwork had been laid, I was brought in to help move the initiative into execution. I worked with teams across editorial, partnerships, and operations to translate the concept into a functioning storefront, aligning stakeholders and coordinating the steps needed to launch the platform.
MARKETPLACE APPROACH
Clarified scope, value proposition, success metrics, and ownership. Authored project documentation and roadmap.
01 BRIEF
02 PARTNERSHIP
Secured Shopify collaboration. Defined multi-brand marketplace architecture and technical constraints.
Identified and onboarded 50+ small and DTC brands. Established merchandising standards and collection logic.
03 CURATION
Led visual positioning, wireframes, and storefront structure. Aligned creative with marketplace strategy.
04 DESIGN
Built and configured the Shopify storefront. Implemented collections, tagging systems, navigation, and analytics.
05 BUILD
Coordinated Editorial, Legal, Social, Affiliate, and Strategy teams to align launch assets and operational readiness.
06 ALIGN
Shipped live storefront. Monitored analytics and vendor communications. Documented next-phase roadmap.
07 LAUNCH
LANDING & PDP MOCK UPS
PROJECT LEAD
RODEO
As Storefront Owner, I led Rodeo from concept through launch and was responsible for delivering the live marketplace.
I defined the project scope, secured and managed the Shopify partnership, and established the roadmap and execution milestones across Affiliate Strategy, Editorial, Legal, Social, Design, and external creative teams. I directed brand development, including mood boards, wireframes, visual systems, and seasonal merchandising strategy. I also oversaw product curation workflows, legal policy alignment, analytics implementation, and launch marketing assets.
STRATEGIC IMPACT
RODEO
Rodeo expanded BuzzFeed’s commerce model beyond traditional affiliate publishing and into owned marketplace experimentation. It created a controlled environment where data-informed merchandising strategies and trend hypotheses could be tested through curated product collections.
The project demonstrated how editorial insight and commerce intelligence could be unified into a tangible retail experience. Being part of this initiative gave me a deeper appreciation for how thoughtful, audience-first commerce can be designed. It sparked a lasting interest in how media companies can build retail ecosystems that respect both creative storytelling and consumer trust.
“Nadia brings so much positive energy, warmth, and authenticity to every interaction, and it creates a ripple effect across the entire team. Beyond her strong work ethic, she has a natural ability to make people feel comfortable, supported, and motivated. She’s one of those rare people who not only gets the job done but also makes the workplace brighter and more enjoyable for everyone around her.”
Georgie Omelda, Affiliate Manager at BuzzFeed