Headquartered in Sweden and a leading light in the European affiliate scene, performance marketing network Tradedoubler marks the first of our interviews with advocates of Performance Marketing Insights: London.
Arriving once again in the capital this year from October 25-26, PMI: London promises to be a focal point of open debate and learning around what it deems to be the industry’s two key groupings; affiliate marketing & lead generation, and biddable media.
Ahead of the two-day conference, we caught up with Tradedoubler’s UK country manager, Dan Cohen, to find out what’s piquing the interest of a leading affiliate network in 2016, how the company’s changed over the last year, and the unmissable sessions in October.
Why was it important for Tradedoubler to sponsor Performance Marketing Insights: London this year?
Dan Cohen: The Performance Marketing Insights event provides us with a networking opportunity and a chance to discover the latest trends from our industry peers. Identifying profitable sources of traffic has become more of a challenge since the affiliate industry reached maturity and we are always on the lookout for innovative companies that we can work with. The number of pioneering publishers and high profile advertisers attending means PMI is an important date in our event calendar.
What’s changed for the company since we last saw you at PMI?
DC: In the last year Tradedoubler has diversified significantly. In addition to our core affiliate offering we have developed a full service programmatic solution, TD ENGAGE, which allows us to serve programmatic display, video and mobile campaigns across Europe.
We have also strengthened our affiliate proposition with the introduction of market-leading European Cross Device Tracking, based on deterministic matching which makes a connection between users and their devices. Our Cross Device Tracking solution prevents clients paying for false sales that often occur when using probabilistic cross-device solutions. This technology means we can combine cross-channel and cross-device insights to provide clients with a complete view of their digital marketing activities.
How would you describe Tradedoubler’s position in the world of performance marketing?
DC: TD ENGAGE, our full service programmatic solution, has enhanced our position in the performance marketing sector. We can now work with clients to deliver KPI-driven brand and acquisition campaigns across affiliate, programmatic display, video and mobile ads. Our cross-channel tracking technology platform, TD CONNECT, puts us in a strong position to continue to diversify our traffic source inventory, which is all underpinned by world class tracking.
As a pioneer in affiliate marketing technology, what developments and challenges have this sector’s members been witness to within the last year?
DC: Cross-device tracking and user journey reporting have been key developments in the affiliate industry. These improved reporting and tracking capabilities are the driving force for future growth in our sector: providing accurate ROI measurement will encourage more investment in the affiliate channel. Layering cross-channel reporting on top of these insights is the next step. Marketers need to be able to compare their channels on a like-for-like basis so they can optimise their marketing budgets. This is something we already offer to clients that use our TD CONNECT platform to track all of their digital marketing activities.
Are there any particular sessions you think are vital to sit in on this year?
DC: New channels and publisher models are always of interest. The topic of influencer and content marketing plays a heavy role in this year’s sessions as marketers are grappling with measurement and remuneration of these channels, as well as their relationship and integration with the affiliate channel. I’ll also be attending Greg Shepard’s session about the role of content and micro-moments in affiliate marketing and how it will shape the affiliate channel going forward.
Any parting words before we see you in October?
DC: Ahead of the launch of our cross-device solution, we conducted a European wide study and discovered that while mobile is driving an increase in cross-device behaviour, 43% of British consumers claim they rarely or never make a purchase on this device. Advertisers are often too focused on the conversion, without an understanding of how the customer reached that point.
The role of the mobile as a research device shouldn’t be overlooked by publishers or advertisers. Harnessing our technologies, such as Cross Device Tracking, Cross Channel Tracking and User Journey Reporting, we are working with our clients to help them understand the role of each device in their purchase funnel so they can optimise their digital marketing activities and budget effectively and improve ROI.