SET Active Hit $3.5 Million in 24 Hours by Sending PR Boxes to Customers, Not Influencers

Quick Facts

SET Active’s Coastline drop generated $3.5 million in 24 hours using a customer-first marketing model.
The brand sends PR packages to its most engaged customers alongside traditional influencers, giving both equal standing.
Nearly 50% of a recent $1 million drop was sold within a 15-minute early access window for loyalty members.

SET Active founder Lindsey Carter built a seven-year-old activewear brand into an eight-figure business without celebrity deals or traditional ad spend. Her Coastline collection drop proved the model again, moving $3.5 million in product within 24 hours.

The strategy is straightforward. Carter stopped treating influencer marketing as a celebrity-only channel. Instead, she routes PR packages to the brand’s most engaged customers, the same boxes that go to creators with large followings.

Carter has said: “The more you engage with Set and our content, the more recognizable your Instagram handle becomes to me.” She also DMs followers at random to send packages, regardless of follower count.

The Drop Engine

SET Active runs its loyalty program through TYB, a gamified rewards platform. Members earn 5% back in SET Coins on purchases and unlock early product access, free shipping on drop days, and tiered perks.

The brand currently has roughly 40,000 rewards members on TYB, 475,000 Instagram followers, and 8,000 followers across its brand and founder broadcast channels.

Early access is the revenue driver. On a recent $1 million drop, loyalty members and broadcast channel followers got a 10-to-15-minute head start before the public. Nearly 50% of total sales came during that window. Seventy-two percent of buyers had purchased from the brand in the prior 12 months.

The Numbers Behind the Model

SET Active’s drop performance has accelerated throughout 2026. The brand’s first drop of the year, called No Service, hit $1 million in 40 minutes. The City of Valentine drop followed and hit $1 million in four minutes, entirely within the early access window before public launch.

The Coastline collection, which includes track jackets, leggings, sweatpants, bras, and accessories in Hammock shades and gingham and stripe prints, extended that streak with the $3.5 million 24-hour result.

Why Carter Shifted the Model

Carter noticed several years ago that consumers were publicly criticizing brands for sending PR packages to bloggers who received 50 boxes a day. She saw an opening.

“The customer feels included,” Carter said. “They feel on an equal playing field with an influencer.”

Carter launched SET Active in 2018 with $20,000 and no fashion background. She had studied elementary education before moving into social media marketing and eventually running her own agency. She built the brand after noticing that most activewear companies targeted runners and yogis. “I didn’t feel like there was a company that was marketing to the everyday girl,” she said.

Community as Infrastructure

SET Active grew its TYB community from roughly 3,000 members to more than 170,000 by consistently delivering on early access promises. The brand polls followers on colorways, new product ideas, and feedback before finalizing collections.

Carter also extended the brand’s Black Friday sale across the full month of November. Before each drop, the brand goes live on Instagram and runs a virtual Spin the Wheel game where customers can win free product, store credit, or loyalty points.

The drop model now functions as the brand’s primary customer acquisition and retention channel, with existing buyers driving the bulk of launch-day volume. For operators evaluating loyalty and community investment, SET Active’s numbers offer a direct case for early access as a revenue strategy rather than a promotional afterthought.