The second panel of the day at this year’s Summer Showcase was dedicated to affiliate marketing – the occasionally mysterious art where brands compensate third-party publishers to generate traffic and leads through internal analytics, then convert them into sales. Who better to talk us through the pros and the cons of that than our expert panel: Richard Chatley, marketing and communications manager at Marshall; Rob Leedham, senior e-commerce editor at GQ; Sally Newall, acting editor at Eliza, Harriet Flook senior e-commerce writer at News UK and Tabby Grove, account director at Little Red Rooster.
It’s a new spin on an old idea
“I do think this is all new to a degree,” said Rob Leedham. “But it’s also fundamentally really old in terms of journalism. I used to be the editor of Stuff magazine. We had Top Ten lists at the back, which was the most popular thing in the magazine – much to my frustration! – but people used to buy those product recommendations and then go buy those products. That same information now exists online, with some links in it.”
In other words, there will always be an audience for recommendations – as you’re getting your recommendations from a trusted source.
Unlike traditional advertising, you can tweak it on the fly
The immediacy and intimacy of the data now gives both publishers and brands the ability to see exactly who is buying what, and where. For brands, that means they can react quickly.
“As we are running campaigns and we’re placing that in different areas with different products we can look at that and within minutes know how it’s performing. Are we converting? It’s super-dynamic,” said Richard Chatley.
It also gives you a huge amount of insight.
“It’s so instantaneous. With traditional marketing, we had a feel for what would work – a strong review in a good publication on a Thursday afternoon and we would see our sales pick up over the weekend. Now you can see it switch on instantaneously and make an on-the-fly decision. Do we want to do more of this?”
Publishers need to be dynamic, too
People change their minds on a whim – nowhere is that more apparent than in the fashion and beauty market. That is, after all, what that market is built on.
So journalists and publishers have to have a feel for how quickly trends can change – and how something can go from hot to not.
“Obviously you’re researching what you do, but all of a sudden the tide can turn,” said Harriet Flook. “All people don’t want that product anymore, they want another one. So you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Who they link to can make a big difference to publishers
“If someone goes to buy their lipstick from Bobbi Brown,” said Sally Newall. “We’d rather link to Lookfantastic than Bobbi Brown because then they can go on to buy 10 other things from Lookfantastic, then we get the revenue from that, too.”
While recommending good product will always be the priority, it’s in the interests of everyone concerned in the equation to maximise profit. And that’s not something to be lost sight of.
“If we can link to somewhere where we can make more money,” said Sally, “we’re probably going to do that.”
There’s still some education to be done
“Clients know about affiliate marketing, it gets thrown around, they’ve been told they should be doing it but don’t really understand the full potential,” said Tabby Grove. “It’s quite often an unknown territory.” With affiliate marketing being worth a staggering £6.5bn last year, it’s something brands can’t afford to ignore. Unlike advertising, affiliate marketing is completely transparent. It’s also the simplest way to see how and where you’re reaching an audience.
To catch up on the session in full, you can check out the full video here.
