Technology and Transparency: Challenges, Insights and Innovations in the UK Affiliate Market

Technology and Transparency: challenges, insights and innovations in the UK affiliate marketOwen Hewitson, Client Strategist, Digital WindowGeorge Fletcher, Product Manager, Digital Window

Overview of the current state of the UK affiliate marketing industry: vital stats and future trends

Overview of the current state of the UK affiliate marketing industry: vital stats and future trends

Overview of the current state of the UK affiliate marketing industry: vital stats and future trends

Germany€2.67bn

UK€5.3bn

France€1.18bn

Spain€663m

Italy€832m

Netherlands€855m

Source: zanox DE

Content

PPCLoyalty/RewardVoucher codes?

1995

2003

2011

2008

2006

Overview of the current state of the UK affiliate marketing industry: vital stats and future trends

Inside the customer’s path to purchase: why the UK is moving beyond the multi-attribution debate

Price Comparison

PPC

Vouchers/ Content

Loyalty/Cashback

Price comparison and generic paid search likely to be sales initiatorsLoyalty and cashback stand alone

Inside the customer’s path to purchase: why the UK is moving beyond the multi-attribution debate

• Misconception: There are many different affiliates involved in the customer’s path to purchase

• The vast majority of transactions through the affiliate channel have only one referrer

• Misconception: Incentive sites overwrite the cookies of other types of affiliates

• Incentive sites are most likely to overwrite the cookies of other incentive sites

• Misconception: Voucher code sites ‘steal’ the sales of true content sites• Voucher code sites overwrite other voucher code sites far more often than

those of true content sites. Often, true content sites overwrite voucher code sites

Number of referrers - Electricals

Single Referrer Two Referrers Other Referrers0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0 Merchant 1

Merchant 2

Merchant 3

Number of referrers - Gifts

Single Referrer Two Referrers Other Referrers0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0 Merchant 1

Merchant 2

Merchant 3

Number of referrers - Mobiles

Single Referrer Two Referrers Other Referrers0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0 Merchant 1

Merchant 2

Merchant 3

When a fashion advertiser offered an exclusive code to a voucher code publisher

When a health & beauty retailer offered an exclusive code to a cashback publisher

When an electrical retailer ran an exclusive reward promotion with a loyalty site

Inside the customer’s path to purchase: why the UK is moving beyond the multi-attribution debate

1. Impossible to implement with publishers who depend on being recognised as last referrer

2. Looks at clicks rather than activity or value3. How do you apportion the commission?

What are the problems with multi-attribution models?

So how do we fairly recognise and reward publishers for their activity?

Where’s the Value?

Value

Average Order Value

New Customer Acquisition

Contribution in the sales journey

Customer persistency

LatencyRate

Intelligent commission setting

Inside the customer’s path to purchase: why the UK is moving beyond the multi-attribution debate

Inside the customer’s path to purchase: why the UK is moving beyond the multi-attribution debate

Merging technologies and blurring boundaries: how serviceable are existing methods of publisher categorisation?

Merging technologies and blurring boundaries: how serviceable are existing methods of publisher categorisation?

1. They obscure the differences between affiliates, encourages advertisers to ‘stereotype’ publishers

2. But publishers are successful when they incorporate many different promotional methods

3. Influx of new actors into performance channel, with new methods of promoting

4. This contributes to a blurring of the boundaries between different promotional methods

An over-reliance on current models of affiliate categorisation suits neither advertisers nor publishers

Does how networks represent publishers help or hinder relationship building?

Merging technologies and blurring boundaries: how serviceable are existing methods of publisher categorisation?

Merging technologies and blurring boundaries: how serviceable are existing methods of publisher categorisation?

Merging technologies and blurring boundaries: how serviceable are existing methods of publisher categorisation?

Merging technologies and blurring boundaries: how serviceable are existing methods of publisher categorisation?

Creating communities and connections in the UK affiliate marketplace

Creating communities and connections in the UK affiliate marketplace

Creating communities and connections in the UK affiliate marketplace

Creating communities and connections in the UK affiliate marketplace

AWin apps

Creating communities and connections in the UK affiliate marketplace

Creating communities and connections in the UK affiliate marketplace

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Directory• AWin Index

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Directory• AWin Index• Refine bys

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Directory• AWin Index• Refine bys• Detailed View

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Directory• AWin Index• Refine bys• Detailed View• Membership

Status

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Profiles• Profile Overview• AWin Index

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Profiles• Profile Overview• AWin Index • CAVE data

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Profiles• Profile Overview• AWin Index • CAVE data• IAB Ethical

Merchant Charter

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Advertiser Profiles• Profile Overview• AWin Index • CAVE data• IAB Ethical

Merchant Charter

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Directory• Detailed publisher

categorisation

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Directory• Detailed publisher

categorisation• Refine bys

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Directory• Detailed publisher

categorisation• Refine bys• AWin Sector Rank

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Directory• Detailed publisher

categorisation• Refine bys• AWin Sector Rank

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Profiles• Profile Overview

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Profiles• Profile Overview• Promotional details

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Profiles• Profile Overview• Promotional details• Site Verification

The importance of building transparency into advertiser-publisher relationships

Publisher Profiles• Profile Overview• Promotional details• Site Verification• AWin Sector Rank

Towards affinity partnerships: anticipating the challenges of the future

Towards affinity partnerships: anticipating the challenges of the future

• Blurring of boundaries in how publishers promote challenges existing models of categorisation

• All online activity can be brought back to a CPA • Publishers can be used as a branding tool as much as a sales

channel

Publishers are Changing

CPM

BRAND SALES

CPACPC

Display Paid Search Affiliate

Towards affinity partnerships: anticipating the challenges of the future

Towards affinity partnerships: anticipating the challenges of the future

• It’s not just about volume anymore. It’s about value. Advertisers want to know what they are paying for.

• They want their programmes to become less reliant on few affiliates

• “Bring me one new good publisher a week.”

Advertisers are Changing

Towards affinity partnerships: anticipating the challenges of the future

• Network can be more than just platform providers, tracking sales and handling payments

• They can be place that publishers and advertisers go when they want to showcase themselves to each other

Networks Need to Change

Owen Hewitson – Client Strategist, Digital WindowOwen.Hewitson@digitalwindow.com

George Fletcher – Product Manager, Digital WindowGeorge.Fletcher@digitalwindow.com

Thank you