With 2017 coming to a close, we look back at some of the key articles on PerformanceIN in a series of top 10 ‘traffic drivers’.
Starting with affiliate marketing, here’s a roundup of some of the most impactful news stories and features on what has happened in the sector in 2017.
Affiliate Window Appoints Ian Charlesworth as UK Country Manager – January
One of the earliest stories of 2017 was on the departure of former UK country manager Anthony Clements who steered Awin towards disruptive, first-to-market technologies. Ian Charlesworth was appointed to the position, where he’s now tasked with migrating affilinet’s clients and operations in the UK following the groups’ merger.
How to Get Advertiser Buy-In For Big Affiliate Projects – February
Paul Tibbitt, head of business development at CJ Affiliate indicated a huge opportunity for advertisers to harness the power of affiliate in 2017 to enhance the overall performance of their marketing campaigns. He proposed three key processes for advertisers to make the most of buy-in for large affiliate initiatives and how programmes can better drive long-term business ambition.
For Affiliate Marketing to Thrive, We Need to Overcome These Five Obstacles – March
James Little from TopCashback highlighted one of the biggest issues faced by advertisers in affiliate space, “tracking”, suggesting issues with mobile, payments, creativity and perception were key obstacles for companies to overcome in order to achieve success.
Voucher Code Toolbar Extension Pouch to Target Affiliate Offers on Competitor Sites – May
On of the most controversial stories in UK affiliate marketing this year was the launch of Pouch’s cross-promotional browser extension to target competitive, real-time product offers with the aim of skimming sales from competitor sites. Taking criticism for its questionable ethics, the product was since featured on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, where it received a full house of offers.
The 2017 Affiliate Marketer’s Survival Guide – June
In the summer, founder of Affise Performance Marketing Platform, Dmitry Zotov, presented an affiliate marketing guide for both experienced marketers and newcomers with some vital points to survive the competitive industry, such as thinking like an advertiser, calculating your data, using automation and working with your audience.
Five Predictions for the Future of Affiliate Partnerships – July
CJ Affiliate by Conversant’s Scott Ginsberg shared his predictions on some forthcoming developments within affiliate partnerships, including global expansion, scaling new audiences for growth, understanding multi-device shopping behaviour and exploring new verticals to help affiliates grow.
Affiliate Networks Respond to Apple Safari Tracking Prevention – September
One of the talking points in 2017 was Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature for its Safari browser through its IOS 11 update – which meant first-party cookies that previously remained would expire within 24 hours while deleting a site’s cookies entirely if the user doesn’t visit the site for 30 days. This feature sparked controversy in the digital marketing space with comments from the IAB, Webgains and Tradetracker on the impact it had on tracking users’ behaviour.
SSENSE Partners with Performance Horizon to Grow Global Affiliate Programme – October
Performance Horizon and SSENSE joined forces in scaling their global affiliate marketing, utilising real-time insights, data and reporting capabilities to lead a more data-driven program and integration within other key channels.
Affiliate Marketing: How Can Publishers Increase Global Growth? – November
With the global market creating opportunities for affiliate marketers, Nele Sharp from CJ Affiliate by Conversant touched on a number of ways publishers could capitalise on their global presence – such as identifying local consumers and finding relevant advertisers to work with while also doing your research on the location/region you’re targeting, including any laws or privacy disclosures.
The Four Pillars to Successful Affiliate Marketing – November
Sponsored by Marin Software, the Dome Stage at this year’s PI LIVE was a buzzing hub for all things performance marketing. Looking into the most important elements to an affiliate marketing campaign, Visualsoft explored the growth of the industry in 2017 before touching on several methods for marketers to empower their commission and cookie structures to create a rewarding system for themselves and publishers.