With entries open for October’s inaugural International Performance Marketing Awards (IPMAs), this Q&A series looks back at the winners of the Awards’ ceremony last year, gathering insight into the some of the past winners and inspiration behind the industry’s newly-decorated campaigns and companies.
Today we’re speaking with Alexandra Forsch, VP of Awin US who won the award for Best Managed Affiliate Programme.
Tell us about winning an International Performance Marketing Award?
AF: It’s fantastic to be recognised by the industry at such an esteemed forum as the International Performance Marketing Awards. We are especially thrilled because it allows us to publicly highlight a great client relationship and showcase our strategic account management using Awin’s powerful technology to deliver best practices against a stand out program across international markets.
Where does the value lie in winning North America – Best Managed Affiliate Programme?
AF: Winning this award reiterates our commitment to our advertisers and publishers, and underscores our intention to move the affiliate industry forward, delivering successful affiliate programs in a fully transparent and ethical manner. It also highlights our aggressive growth of Awin in North America, that is fuelled by excellent service to our clients, and ongoing partner development to drive innovation and ultimately help advertisers and publishers find success in the affiliate channel.
Has anything changed for your company since winning the award?
AF: Yes, we have released The Awin Report, a one of a kind, global assessment of the performance marketing industry that highlights the opportunity of the channel by informing on total investment tallied at around $13 billion, global trends, as well as local market stats and topics.
Additional regional markets, languages and currencies have been added to our UI for a seamless global program management. Further technology releases include accelerated publisher payments and cookie-less coupon tracking to further round out our suite of influencer tools.
New partnership opportunities for advertisers include influencer networks, Monotote, an integrated Buy Now publisher solution, as well as new and highly desired mass media houses. Additionally, brands like Viator, Gymshark, Emirates, G2A and ideal brands are now partnered with Awin exclusively on a global scale.
Our international reach expanded to Australia and Singapore, while our US footprint now spans the East Coast (Baltimore, MD), Mid-West (Chicago, IL) and West Coast (Los Angeles, CA) to further accommodate our growing client needs. We have also moved our headquarters in Baltimore, MD to a newly renovated and expanded space.
In your opinion, what kind of attributes stand out in succeeding in such regions as North America?
AF: Our core values translate to all of our markets: Transparency, Ethics, Service, Technology, Innovation.
In North America, a greater degree of self-regulation and collaboration across key players is necessary to protect our industry that sees a growing attention from regulators given the strength, now estimated to see advertiser investments around $7 billion by 2020 in the US.
What’s your take on the IPMAs as a vital aspect of driving the industry forward on a global scale?
AF: The IPMA’s give the industry a fantastic global platform to honour and recognise the hard work of individuals and teams within the affiliate marketing space. The recognition not only educates the industry on the latest tactics and technology but inspires the collective whole to continue innovating and pushing the boundaries of what is expected in the channel.