Welcome to performance marketing in 2015. You’re in the right place to keep your finger on the pulse of this rapidly developing industry and our world-class events over the next 12 months, so let’s begin with what might be in store for us over the next year.

The year ahead

Affiliate Window’s Kevin Edwards put things in motion this week with a top-ten list of trends expected in the affiliate marketing sector, pointing at how the role of networks could change, and how the UK could start to see some significant opportunities arising from overseas.

The key theme for digital advertising in 2015 will be programmatic video, according to the CEO of StickyADs.tv, Hervé Brunet, with the volume of online video advertising purchased via real-time bidding expected to grow by 92% in 2015.

However, with global digital ad spend predicted by emarketer to top $630 billion by 2016, there are myriad ways marketers are predicted to utilise their budgets. Adtruth MD EMEA James Collier predicts increased competition, acquisition, and consolidation, as well as a renewed focus on advanced audience identification in his feature on the 2015 ad tech landscape. Meanwhile, some conflicting views arose from Visual IQ’s Adit Abhyankar and his alternative predictions.

January jetsetting

We are keeping a close eye on the travel sector this month as the January sales boom becomes a key point of focus for many marketers, and Brits look set to try something new with their upcoming holiday plans, according to a yearly rundown of the top destinations to watch.

In a list of the top-ten ski holiday providers for paid-search visibility, crystalski.co.uk claimed the largest stake across November and December in new figures produced by Net Media Planet. The results also proved that December was a key month for winter websites looking to amp up their search budgets.

Also this week, Yieldr put together an all-encompassing infographic for PerformanceIN showing how airlines are using real-time ad bidding to increase revenue and overcome challenges over key holiday periods – one being the month of January.  

Events

PerformanceIN has a full year of events awaiting you. Performance Marketing Insights returns in its usual two-day format, packed with networking opportunities for new startups and industry stalwarts, sandwiched between a meticulously selected schedule of expert-led speaker sessions.

But before all this, the Performance Marketing Awards are getting ever closer as they return to Grosvenor House Hotel in London on April 28. Standard entries close at the end of the month so make sure you’ve entered to compete for the chance to be acknowledged as a true leader in your field. You can find out more about categories and how to enter here.