Netimperative Affiliate Round Table Event June 2006

The UK affiliate marketing sector is booming, but a lack of standards and unethical practices among ‘rogue’ individuals still blight the industry.

This week I was invited along with several other key members in the affiliate industry to discuss the burning issues in affiliate marketing and to look at trends that could shape it’s future. The full attendees list was as follows:

Robin Caller Goallover
Paul Wright Blue Barracuda
Nick Chapman Leadpoint
Stephen Pratley ipoints
Chris Tradgett Buy.at
Tyson Pearcey AffiliateMarketing.co.uk (AM.co.uk)
David King Apco Worldwide
Felicia Jackson New Energy Finance
Sarah Escott TradeDoubler
Natalie Luthra Price Advertising.com
Michael Peralta Advertising.com
James Rothwell Advertising.com
Nichola Halford Advertising.com
Alex Holm Advertising.com
Naomi Lay Advertising.com
Brendan Condon Advertising.com
Mukhtar Hudda Netimperative
Robin Langford Netimperative
Omar Shah Netimperative

Dan Brewer, head of the UK Select Network at Advertising.com, began the debate with a brief overview of the affiliate sector. He said affiliate campaigns generated sales for merchants of some £1.3bn in 2005, up from £600m the previous year. This in turn lead to £83m in commission being paid out to affiliates during 2005, up from £46m in 2004. Despite this growth, Brewer added that significant issues and challenges remain in the sector.

The following podcasts cover both sessions in the debate. To hear both sessions for free, click on the attached WAV files below. Appologies for the poor sound quality, this was recorded on a dictaphone in a large echoy room, urgh!

Topics Discussed:

Session 1 (50 mins) – Click here to listen

* Policing the industry
* The negative perception of affiliates among merchants
* ‘Rogue’ affiliates and merchants
* How can you block ‘rogue’ affiliates?
* Is it possible to produce an affiliate ‘blacklist’
* Should affiliates be allowed to bid on Brand terms?
* Open and closed networks

Session 2 (30 mins) Click here to listen

* Cookies-What is the best payment model?
* Should the industry even be using cookies in the future?
* Payment on a lifetime basis?
* Is affiliate marketing a viable option in the B2B world?
* What sectors will we see most growth from affiliate marketing in the near future?
* Coupon redemptions and offline affiliate campaigns
* Can affiliate marketing cater for brand awareness campaigns?
* Frequency capping
* Is more research needed?
* The value of auditing standards
* Difficulty in getting merchant information
* Future trends
* Cost Per Call