a4uexpo London hosted a roundtable of various performance marketing figureheads. The discussion was filmed and organised by affilinet and featured representatives from companies such as Nectar, Holiday Autos and uSwitch.
Mary Keane-Dawson was chief instigator of conversation. She incited discussion about the entrepreneurial aspect of the industry. Publishers are uncovering new technologies and business models, which will help advertisers test and trial new CPA activity, a big positive for the sector.
There was talk about the perception of publishers. They should be pushing to become viewed as brands, especially the more mature, premium publishers. There will likely be a shift in perception where customers become brand-loyal in the UK, much like consumerism in the USA.
Publishers should become brands
Evidence of publishers becoming brands is no more evident than in the spate of TV advertisements that have been aired recently. The traditional role of affiliates as being purely a mechanism for generating sales is becoming somewhat of a grey area. Their increased media activities show they create demand too.Big data’s still in its infancy according to the roundtable. You just have to look at the volume the industry has available and how little it’s capitalising on that volume. There was talk about pooling it together so publishers, networks and advertisers can create a bigger picture of future trends.
Talent is another issue that needs to be resolved. The roundtable felt so-called attractive digital channels like mobile and social were more appealing. Once affiliate business had recruited talent, they needed to be kept engaged. It’s a tricky prospect as new recruits look to broaden their marketing experience by hopping to other channel.
source: affiliates4u.com
