As the Performance Industry matures, we see the number of new channels to reach consumers grow – but how do we take advantage of it? The session will explore some of the new channels in 2014 as well as how a new entrant can get their voice heard within networks, agencies and direct client relationships. The session will focus on Tradedoubler’s findings from their UK network as well as hearing from LUX FIX, a new entrant in 2014 and resident of The Zoo Project – Tradedoubler’s incubator that helps publishers enter the Performance Market.
4. Introduction
Affiliate Marketing has changed
A simple commission-based, outsourced sales channel has become
• An ideal test environment and hotbed of innovation
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But also….
• An established market dominated by a few top players
What does this mean for publishers and advertisers?
This presentation will take you on a journey through the evolving
landscape of affiliate marketing channels and try to answer some
of these questions.
5. Affiliate Marketing perspective
The ‘sandbox’ for new approaches
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• Term borrowed from IT security: a
restricted environment for testing
unverified code
• The ideal incubator platform
• Lets advertisers try new marketing
approaches until proven and ready to
scale up
6. Affiliate Marketing perspective
Dominance of the big brands
• The rise of the Affiliate Brand
• Household names with big ad budgets
• Generate the most sales and revenue
Customers are buying your products… but are they
buying your brand?
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7. Top challenges facing industry in 2015
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• Reliance on ‘the last click’ for commission and reward
– Customer journeys not linear
– Growing role as influencer
– Challenge of attribution
• Reliance on the Affiliate Brand
• Reliance on Business As Usual for sales and revenue –
loyalty, vouchers and discounts
• Reliance on traffic from a small number of players
Where is the innovation coming from?
8. New sand in the sandbox
investing in innovation
Social commerce
• Benefits include:
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– Measurable value
– Significant traffic volume
– Increases repeat purchases
– Enhance customer loyalty
• Examples include:
Hyperlocal
• Benefits include:
– Localised messaging
– Interest based prospecting
– High conversion
– Value exchange
• Examples include:
9. New sand in the sandbox
investing in innovation
In-store activity
• Benefits include:
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– Measurable value
– In-store up-sell
– Stock management
– Localised activity
• Examples include:
Programmatic buying
• Benefits include:
– Pre-, re- and post-targeting
– Dynamic adverts
– Scalable
– Immediate
• Examples include:
10. New sand in the sandbox
investing in innovation
On-site conversion
• Benefits include:
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– Increased conversion
– Increase engagement
– Customisation
– Targeting
• Examples include:
Search retargeting
• Benefits include:
– New Customer Acquisition
– Targeted
– Dynamic adverts
– Scalable
• Examples include:
11. New sand in the sandbox
investing in innovation
Video networks
• Benefits include:
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– Guaranteed engagement
– Creative
– Social
– Mobile
• Examples include:
Native advertising
• Benefits include:
– Traffic
– Engaged audience
– Collaboration
– Education
• Examples include:
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How can innovative publishers in these fields make
their voice heard?
How can advertisers invest in innovation?
Some top tips for success
13. Top tips for publishers
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• Find yourself a ‘mentor’ and learn from your peers
• Develop a ‘media pack’ – think of it as the CV for your ideas
• Communicate effectively
• Turn the tables: think of the network as your outsourced
commission-only sales people – and make sure they have the
tools they need
• Create a compelling pitch
14. Top tips for publishers
• Do the maths: understand the potential ROI you offer:
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– Predicted audience x potential CTR x Advertisers
OSC x Advertisers AOV = Revenue potential
– Revenue potential/total cost = ROI
• Remember: everyone likes cool stuff
– Advertisers may like business as usual, but they also
want to innovate and win awards!
15. Top tips for advertisers
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• Give your affiliates everything they need to be creative
– Product feeds
– Social space
• Be responsive
• Always be thinking of - and open to - new ways of
reaching potential customers
• Test new ideas
– Its not a mistake to fail – but try to fail fast
– Learn from every experience
16. Top tips for advertisers
• Challenge your network to focus on affiliates that
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deliver the mid and long tail
• Invest in innovation
– Any budget you can set aside will reap immense
benefits
• Issue RFPs to publishers to inspire creative thinking
– Seasonal campaigns
17. What we do to foster innovation:
The Zoo Project
• Started in 2012 – now in 3rd phase
• Incubator for entrepreneurial publishers with great ideas
• Dragons’ Den-style selection process
• Office infrastructure provided
• Business and affiliate mentors
• Access to clients
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19. Who is LUX FIX?
LUX FIX unites the UK’s best independent designers in
one easy-to-shop website
What makes LUX FIX unique?
• Exclusivity
• Expertise
• Affordability
• Age Appropriateness
The challenge: To build our fledgling business and
reach the right audience
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20. Who is our customer?
Our aim is to become the first destination for 30–65 year
old, AB demographic women looking for an alternative to
mass-market brands
Where does this customer get her fashion inspiration?
• Fashion magazines
• Fashion websites
• Personal recommendations
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21. Using performance to find her
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We have a permanent home on the
Telegraph Fashion’s homepage that leads
to a co-branded version of the site
Relationships with
22. The Zoo effect
We wanted to find the right mentor and support system to grow our business
• Technology
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– Tradedoubler allowed us to plug into robust, well financed tech and also get
advice straight from the brains that built it
• The network
– Once we had established our audience, we used Tradedoubler's connections to
help us access them via publishers - from best practice in showing our product
to negotiating terms
• The human network
– The Zoo brought us together with other start-ups
– Opportunities to share knowledge and swap skills.
– From media coverage to the developer who built our first responsive site
24. Interested in joining the Zoo?
• The next round of our incubator programme gets underway in 2015
• We encourage and welcome all applications
• If you have a good idea and we can help to make it happen - please get in touch today!
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http://bit.ly/TradedoublerZooProject
25. If you remember nothing else…
• Publishers
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1. Build a wish list of your ideal clients
2. Get in front of them
3. Sell them the figures
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until complete
• Advertisers
1. Be flexible
2. Encourage innovation
3. Complement business-as-usual with cool stuff and awards
4. Get an innovation budget – and spend it