Founded in 1892, Liverpool FC is recognised as iconic in worldwide sporting history, with Anfield being home to some of the biggest names and most coveted wins in footballing history, including 18 League Championships and 5 European Cups.

Liverpool FC will use Webgains’ publisher base to promote its retail site which sells a wide range of official merchandise. They join a growing list of Webgains clients that are forerunners in the sporting industry.

For publishers, this selection of globally recognised sports clients presents significant scope to continue specialist activity. Liverpool FC brings with it an established and significant level of pre-existing brand awareness that will benefit both the network and the affiliate channel as a whole.

Liverpool FC’s E-Commerce Leader David Gorman said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Webgains and progressing with our online retail strategy. It is through this instrumental relationship with the network that we hope to achieve greater brand awareness and grow online revenue’.

‘The high level of experienced account management at Webgains combined with their extensive network of publishers has encouraged us to join several other leading top tier sporting brands that are already running successful programs with the network’.

Managing Director of Webgains UK, Stephen Kerin said: ‘It’s exciting to have such an iconic brand join us at a time when our sports vertical is expanding and a growing number of leading sporting brands are moving into the affiliate channel. I am confident that Liverpool FC Retail are ideally positioned to benefit from our specialist knowledge and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with them.’

With the rapid march of eCommerce and the need for a dynamic online approach, harnessing the power of a network of publishers promoting on a cost-per-sale payment model, is proving lucrative for a number of brands.

It’s important however to get the basics right. There are rules of publisher engagement, optimal means of incentivising them, and the need for policies to protect brands in the hands of third party marketers. The good news is, with the right approach, an affiliate program is highly rewarding. Here’s our quick-fire guide to best practice in the world of performance marketing.

1. It’s good to talk

Communication is key if an affiliate program is to secure incremental sales. Advertiser, publisher and network need to form a triangle of communication where information and expertise can be exchanged. You know your brand better than anyone so make sure you share relevant information with your publishers; keep publishers posted which products are converting well. This helps them to promote your range more effectively and keeps them motivated to promote on your behalf.

2. Be transparent

Performance marketing is measurable, with complete visibility over where your sales originate. You should be able to expect complete transparency from your network and from your publishers, but likewise, you too should be transparent. Keep up to date with industry best practice such as the IAB’s Ethical Merchant Charter, and avoid unfair depuping and late payments, both of which deter publishers. High quality affiliates should be valued as working in collaboration generates robust results.

3. Be open minded

The performance marketing channel is a fast paced, exciting landscape which is constantly developing. Be open-minded about working with different types of publishers and don’t underestimate the power of creative engagement and innovation; jumping on current market trends, developing tailored campaigns, offers, discounts and publisher competitions will all help your program perform even more effectively.

4. Keep asking questions

Reviewing activity regularly will enable you to understand what is working well. Your network should be providing you with regular reports and reviews with your account manager, helping to identify which avenues are the most profitable. By incorporating this insight into future activity, you can keep you program moving forward.

An affiliate program is a long term strategy but by communicating effectively, exercising transparency, utilising content imaginatively, adding creativity and constantly reviewing activity, it has the power to grow revenue consistently and cumulatively.

Written for Drapers Online | February 2013

They’ve put us in touch with some great companies who have enabled us to also manage retargeting and basket abandonment programmes through both CPC and CPA models under the umbrella of the Webgains system.

We’ve always had a dedicated account manager who works behind the scenes to drive interest in our brands and recruit new affiliate members, while the rest of the affiliate team work to strengthen and support our efforts.”

The relentless growth of online retailing has brought with it significant changes in the marketing terrain. The constant expansion and diversification of the digital landscape has created a somewhat unpredictable environment leaving retailers with a baffling array of options, all with their own benefits and challenges. While SEO, display and paid search all have significant value, it can be hard to quantify their effectiveness and to measure ROI.

This is where performance marketing comes in. Performance marketing employs what’s known as a CPA payment model which means Cost per Acquisition. Rather than making an up-front investment and then struggling to calculate its worth, you only pay for sales which have actually occurred.

Performance marketing utilises a range of publishers or affiliates, who promote your brand or products on your behalf. Publishers come in many forms, from voucher and loyalty sites or shopping directories, to content sites and fashion bloggers. When a user clicks through from a publisher’s site to yours and makes a purchase, the sale is tracked and the affiliate is awarded a small commission.

Publishers understand the behaviour and demographics of their traffic, so select the brands and products they think will be most appropriate to their users. Fashion bloggers in particular often spend time creating original content and have a very engaged user base, which is not only effective in driving sales but also adds the value of rich content. The nature of affiliate marketing also means advertisers can launch a campaign with no up-front investment or financial risk, with commission only paid on confirmed sales.

The majority and biggest affiliate programmes run through networks. The network takes responsibility for tracking sales and for facilitating payment to the relevant publishers. The network will also act as a mediator, helping brands to foster relationships with affiliates, who in turn, buy into their program. If a publisher decides to promote a program, they will do so using a number of approaches from writing articles and reviews, to running email campaigns, to harnessing user generated content via social media.

For a fashion brand wanting to gain more traction and visibility online, an affiliate program can be an ideal means of doing so. With affiliates offering a range of solutions, performance marketing is incredibly flexible and can be tailored to work with your existing strategies. In an unpredictable economic climate, it offers a low risk way of furthering your reach and securing a guaranteed ROI.

Written for Drapers Online | February 2013

With consumer online awareness on the rise, brands and agencies are facing new challenges when planning and executing digital campaigns. At the moment, cookies are still effective, as consumers are not rejecting them in full force, but future-proofing the way we track conversions in the performance marketing space is paramount.

In order to ensure performance marketing is really performing at its best, the technology net needs to be cast wider than just cookies. The good news is that there are other effective tools out there. It is important to note firstly that performance marketers, unlike advertisers, are less concerned about user profiling and more interested in tracking the device that made the final purchase.

Ultimately, we want to know if a conversion was prompted by an affiliate. Therefore, we have invested in device tracking technology, which works without cookies and has allowed us to see a tracking uplift of 10% from mobile devices.

So what exactly is device tracking? Unlike a cookie, which now needs a user’s consent before it is stored on an individual’s computer or smartphone, device tracking does not collect user profiles. In fact, it is not interested in the user at all.

What device tracking does is analyse the computer or device the final purchase was made from and compares similarities with the device that clicked through from the affiliate banner.

When analysing multiple different parameters to recognise devices, such as the browser, if enough similarities are detected, the affiliate receives a commission.

In terms of the benefits, brands that are concerned about compliance with the EU directive, while still looking to maintain conversions among affiliates, can be assured device tracking technology meets both criteria.

It can work alongside or without cookies, and also ensures programs attract high quality affiliates, that see the value in promoting their brand. By running a more future-proof and technologically advanced program, both affiliates and brands can work together to get those all-important conversions.

Peter Dunham for NMA

NIKE.com welcomes more than 7m visitors each month, with the aim of being the most distinctive, authentic and connected retailer in sportswear. The program provides a unique opportunity to partner with one of the world’s leading sports brands as they strive to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.

*If you have a body, you are an athlete.

The NIKE program offers you the opportunity to promote an extensive range of NIKE footwear and clothing as well as NIKEiD which offers users the chance to customise their products.

Affiliates can earn 9-11% commission on all valid sales. As a launch incentive NIKEiD commissions are set at 14-16% until 29th September 2012.

The Unique Appeal of NIKEiD: The Custom Advantage

NIKEiD allows you to customise NIKE products, making them completely unique. NIKEiD orders are custom made to your specifications – you pick the colours and materials, and then add your very own iD tag. Different widths, soles and other sizes can be selected to make sure your NIKEiD products fit perfectly. Within a 4-6 week period your very own custom design will be delivered straight to your door.

Other key product categories for you to promote are running, football, basketball, action sports, training and young athletes. Additional categories are NIKE Golf, rugby, tennis, cycling and Jordan.

Ideal NIKE affiliate partners

True content sites
Bloggers
Sports sites
Fashion/clothing/shoe sites
News sites
Shopping directories
Health and fitness sites

NIKE affiliate program signup process

Apply to the NIKE program on Webgains
Your application is reviewed
Once accepted, browse the extensive range of NIKE links and banners
Place links on your website, start sending traffic and generating sales

Benefits of the NIKE affiliate program

Earn up to 11% commission sales generated for the NIKE program. As a launch incentive NIKEiD commissions are set at 14-16% until 29th September 2012.
Average order value £55
30 day cookie period
Full range of category-specific affiliate banners
Specific NIKEiD promotional material
Automated product feed
Frequent affiliate communications regarding offers and new products
Gifts available for affiliate-run competitions and promotions

Consumer Offers

Free shipping on orders over £80/€100
Occasional sale periods
Periodic consumer promotions such as lower free shipping thresholds

Paid Search Policy: Closed

The NIKE program has a closed PPC policy. Affiliates are not permitted to use Store.Nike.com, NIKE.com or any other NIKE URL as a display URL in any paid search listings.

NIKE do not allow affiliates to bid on any brand name or terms including any misspellings, variations or derivatives. Affiliates are not permitted to bid on phrases which include both brand terms and generic keywords.

Affiliates are not permitted to include any brand terms, misspellings, variations or derivatives in any search string or display URL on any pay per click search engines (including, but not limited to, Google AdWords, Google Content Network, Yahoo, Overture, Miva, Mirago, Bing, AOL search, 7Search etc.). Examples of prohibited terms include but are not limited to:

• Nike
• Nikestore
• store.nike.com
• nike-store
• nikestore.com
• nike.com
• nike.co.uk
• nike store
• nike trainers
• nike clothing
• nike shoes
• nike football
• nike running
• nike iD
• nikeid
• nikeid.com
• nike-id
• nike+

The use of any of the above search terms as either a keyword or in the display URL of any PPC advert is prohibited.

To ensure that you do not appear for any search strings that include the NIKE brand name, please make sure the following terms are negatively matched in all PPC campaigns:

• nike
• nikestore
• store.nike.com
• nike.com
• nike.co.uk
• nikeid
• nike+

NIKE trademarks must not be used as a subdomain or subfolder on any display URL in paid search listings. For example:

www.nike.mywebsite.com
www.mywebsite.com/nike

Anyone found infringing these terms will be contacted by the NIKE Affiliate Team. Affiliates found to be breaching the program terms and conditions may have their commissions declined and will face suspension from the program. In extreme circumstances NIKE reserves the right to immediately suspend any affiliates found breaching these terms and conditions and declining any commissions accrued from the activity.

Commission

Log in to your account to sign up now!

Octopus Travel are part of the Kuoni group under the management of Kuoni Destination Management (KDM) with more than 4,800 employees globally and a turnover of approximately $3bn per annum.

Having been active in the affiliate marketing industry for numerous years primarily in the UK, Octopus Travel decided to expand the channel internationally, launching their initial affiliate programs in UK, Italy, Spain, USA, Germany and Sweden, to leverage on the opportunities available. Plans are in place to launch affiliate programs in additional countries to further increase the exposure for Octopus Travel.

Webgains was chosen as Octopus Travel’s exclusive network partner having proven their capabilities, coupled with international reach that offered Octopus Travel the ideal opportunity to consolidate all of their activity into a single, world class platform via a fully managed global programme.

Octopus Travel has released details on the new tools soon to be integrated into the programs. These tools include data feed and API connections, banner carousels, as well as in-banner search widgets, allowing affiliates to maximise the earning potential of their inventory.

Vijay Bhagani, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Octopus Travel, comments, ‘We chose Webgains after a review of a number of networks. Webgains exceeded our expectations in putting together an account management package which met our requirements on a viable commercial model. Having a senior account management contact in the UK, a flexible development team, access to international markets from a single platform and support from the Webgains marketing team really excited us. We aim to work very closely with Webgains over the coming months to tailor our affiliate program that would assist our affiliate base to promote us effectively.’

Robert Glasgow, Managing Director of Webgains, said, ‘We are very proud to have Octopus Travel on the Webgains network. Octopus Travel provides a valuable service to consumers and their enthusiasm and dedication to delivering this service through the affiliate channel is very exciting indeed. The Webgains team is focused on doing all that we can to assist Octopus Travel with delivering against all of their objectives.’

“Webgains is uniquely positioned to provide iStock with immediate access to new customers through our localized expertise across our US and European platforms,” said Ryan Gilbert, managing director of Webgains USA. “Moreover, we’ve put enough resources behind this program to provide iStock affiliates with a model that facilitates long-term success.”

“Webgains has the perfect combination of international reach and sound infrastructure to give us confidence that they will effectively be able grow and manage the program simultaneously,” said Blair de Jong, affiliate marketing manager for iStockphoto. “Webgains has multi-lingual account management teams in every country, which allows us to communicate more effectively with our affiliate partners around the globe.”

To learn more about the iStockphoto Affiliate Program, visit: www.istockphoto.com/help/about-us/affiliates

To join the iStockphoto Affiliate Program at Webgains visit: www.webgains.com/signup.html?programid=5387

iStock at A4U London
iStockphoto, alongside Getty Images and ThinkStock, will be attending the upcoming A4U Expo London 2011 from October 18 – 19, 2011 in London, England. Potential affiliates can arrange an appointment with iStock representatives at the show by emailing affiliates@iStockphoto.com

About iStockphoto
iStockphoto offers easy, affordable inspiration with millions of vetted, royalty-free photos, illustrations, video, audio and Flash® files. Using the most advanced search in the business, customers download a file every second from a collection of more than nine million files for business, marketing and personal projects. iStockphoto started in 2000, pioneering the micropayment photography business model, and has become one of the most successful and profitable user-generated content sites in the world. iStockphoto pays out more than $1.9 million weekly in artist royalties. iStockphoto is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getty Images.

About Webgains
Founded in 2005, Webgains is one of the leading international affiliate marketing networks, providing a highly effective combination of user-friendly technology and world-class client account management. With fully-localized platforms in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Ireland and the USA, Webgains is the fastest growing affiliate network, facilitating trans-national transactions for the benefit of both affiliates and advertisers. Webgains is part of ad pepper media International N.V, the global online marketing specialist.

iStockphoto

Blair de Jong
Affiliate Marketing Manager
Tel#: +001 403-398-6872
Email: affiliates@istockphoto.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/iStockAffiliate

Webgains

Ryan Gilbert
Director Webgains, USA
Tel#: 212-391-7316
Email: info@webgains.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/webgainsusa

It’s interesting – though not unexpected – to see large brands like Virgin Atlantic, exploring multichannel attribution as a viable means of evaluating and rewarding the different marketing streams.

While the current model ‘last-click-wins’ is a somewhat crude model, it’s the best we have so far. It also has the advantage of simplicity – it’s easy to execute and everyone knows where they stand.

The major stumbling block to the successful adoption of multichannel attribution for affiliates will be the fixed costs associated with many forms of marketing. Whether utilised directly or indirectly, many forms of marketing employed by affiliates such as paid search, display or email, incur upfront costs regardless of results. The current remuneration model at least allows affiliates to calculate approximate revenue as a result of these activities and set their maximum spend thresholds to ensure a profit.

An attribution model would increase the difficulty of calculating these thresholds (and the resulting breakeven points) as affiliates will not know at what stage in the attribution process their efforts have been deemed to have added value, nor how much of the ‘pot’ they will be awarded. Naturally, this leads to uncertainty over projected earnings and a need to safeguard against over-expenditure.

This could lead to affiliates calculating breakeven points at minimum attribution levels. And ironically, this would mean merchants receivingless promotion from their affiliate partners as a result of implementing multichannel attribution – which, by its very nature, is designed to increase promotion.

Andrew Copeland