October 2020 saw the return of PI LIVE Global, and although we may have been sitting in front of our laptop screens rather than in the audience together, we still had the opportunity to learn from some amazing speakers.
Sean Sewell, the Co-Founder and VP of Revenue at Partnerize, opened the show with his keynote: ‘Beyond Last Click in Affiliate’, during which he discussed the shifting affiliate landscape – watch the session here.
In what was the most attended session at PI LIVE Global, Sean acknowledged the effect implications the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the channel. With more consumers shopping online, ecommerce has been accelerated far beyond the predictions for 2020 growth. As a result, the operating leverage the affiliate channel can afford has never been clearer, and savvy marketers are paying more attention to the pay-for-performance model, the scale it grants and the elevation it deserves as a true profit centre for brands.
Sean leveraged benchmark data from the Partnerize platform to highlight partner category trends and demonstrated just how much the affiliate landscape has developed. What Sean made clear during his session is that we must now consider an approach beyond last click attribution and instead endeavour to create a partner ecosystem in which both brands and partners can thrive.
Some key takeaways from Sean’s sessions were:
- Publisher category performance and trends
- The rise of content publisher contributions and how these will evolve
- Actionable ways to onboard, engage and reward content partners to align with your wider affiliate strategy
If you weren’t able to attend Sean’s session, or would like to revisit and remind yourself of some of his points, you can view it in its entirety here.