PerformanceIN is delighted to announce the release of a new supplement covering the publisher’s verdict on the affiliate marketing industry.
Last month saw experts from the likes of Intu Digital, uSwitch, TopCashback, RetailMeNot, Shopstyle, Savoo, Incentive Networks, Voucherbox and NMPi joining PerformanceIN at Affiliate Window’s London headquarters for a very special roundtable event, which sparked conversation on all manner of debates.
“The affiliate industry can sometimes be guilty of being too advertiser focused at times, but it is the publishers who are inevitably the lifeblood of our channel,” comments Nick Caulfield, client services director at Affiliate Window.
“We therefore wanted to team up with PerformanceIN to host a roundtable discussion, that several high profiles publishers attended, in order to share their opinions on the current state of the industry and how they see it evolving in the future.”
True to form, PerformanceIN will be working with the attendees to create a supplement which summarises the publisher’s verdict on where the industry is heading and the key talking points of today.
Making the headlines
Among the big topics of discussion were data sharing, where the publishers argued for more access to advertisers’ information to help them meet specific objectives.
Also in the spotlight was the 0% commission debate which was covered off by PerformanceIN earlier this year. With some brands turning to offering ‘low or no’ commission on sales from people who have already bought with them, much conversation surrounded whether this was ethical, while the talk of a resolution fed into the discussion surrounding better practices with data sharing.
Despite plenty of talk around contentious subjects, there was an overriding sense of positivity surrounding the potential of affiliates at a time where the space they occupy is being tipped for a huge amount of change.
That said, being able to adapt to ‘new norms’ with regards to how publishers can service advertisers and the metrics they work off will be crucial to surviving and thriving in 2017 beyond.
“It was clear that the advances in tracking technology, namely cross device, and the advent of influencer payments have been key to the channel’s evolution,” Caufield added. “However, there are still several challenges that make the affiliate channel less viable for publishers, more so than any other digital channel, largely due to the industry’s inherent desire to remain true to its CPA roots.
“It feels like an epoch moment for our channel, and it would seem the industry’s leading publishers are acutely aware of this too, so it will be fascinating to see where we will be in a couple of years’ time.”
Produced in association with Affiliate Window, the Publisher Supplement will be made available to download exclusively at PerformanceIN next month.
