Tell us a bit about Savoo….
Savoo promotes savvy shopping, deals and discount codes and is the international arm of the US deals giant Savings.com.  Savoo.co.uk, launched in 2009, is dedicated to offering consumers the best user experience while working closely with merchants and agencies to promote deals in a controlled and transparent way.

Recent examples of consumer driven innovation from Savoo include launching Savoo Personalisation where consumers complete a short wizard about their shopping preferences, and in return get their own personalised deal feed offering deals on exactly what they like.  Other recent innovations include Savoo Local, which features local restaurant deals, and Savoo Compare offering mobile, broadband and, soon to be launched, holiday and flight comparison.

And what is your roll within the company?
I’m the GM which basically means I manage the UK P&L, recruit and retain staff.  I also work with HQ in LA to implement successful US products and innovations.  On a day to day basis I meet and work with networks and merchants to help them maximise their ability to reach and optimise; I also work with our marketing team to grow our UK consumer reach and ultimately become a savvy shopping destination site.

What do you think are the most important factors facing publishers in the affiliate marketing space at the moment?
The major one for me is Google rankings and SEO – PANDA – and attempting to build a web presence that does not rely solely on Google is the ultimate challenge.  We always want to prove the worth of our business models to merchants – working to increase merchant spend. As we are working on performance we want to become a higher % of their spend as we grow and move forward.  Innovation is key and we can’t rest on our laurels – as the market becomes more competitive we must ensure that we continue to innovate to stand out.  The other issue facing us is in the deal space, ensuring affiliates are mindful of deal overload and deal fatigue – guaranteeing consumers receive relevant and timely deals.

Are you investing in or pioneering any new technologies with Savoo?
New technology is always at the front of our minds at Savoo and Savings and we are currently working on a number of new products.  Right now though we are looking to continue the success of personalisation and refining e-mail communication.  We also want to build on our local service pushing restaurants and promoting regional merchants.  We are lucky in that we have started to build a great community of what we call DealPros and we want to expand on that and we also want to successfully launch our new holiday and flight comparison service.

I know Savoo has strong US heritage; do you think we’re developing into a global economy and does this help or hinder an affiliate site?  
Yes I think we are developing into more of a global economy – e.g depending on exchange rates consumers are buying from other countries and I think it helps.  As sites operating from different companies start to receive traffic from other countries it’s important to work with affiliate or ad networks to geo target offers to that consumer.  However, at the same time it can be challenging – if your site does not offer relevant content to that individual it affects site stats like bounce rates which can adversely affect SEO.

Do you notice any huge differences between the US market and the UK market?
Yes we do – the UK seems to be more regulated and merchants are more distributed across a wider number of networks.  In the UK it’s easier to meet and network due to less of a geographical divide whereas more deals done over the phone in the US.  One obvious detail is that the US is a much bigger market where the volumes are huge.  In the deal space the US is far more centric towards grocery deals – in the US consumers grew up on cutting out coupons from newspapers, therefore it’s a cultural norm in the US to save money using coupons – it’s growing in the UK, however.

You’re one of the big publishers in the UK, what advice do you cherish that helped Savoo make its way in the market?
There’s a lot!  But make sure whatever you do, you think about what your USP is of your product or service to both consumers and merchants.  How are you actually adding value?  As you are their sales person, get under the skin of merchants – find out what they want to sell more of, and where are their margins?  Help make them look good!  In the deal space – don’t constantly nag the merchant for an exclusive deal. Put yourself in their shoes and realise they are working with other deal sites too – what makes you special? Why do you deserve that exclusive code or CPA increase?

The new EU cookie legislation is slowly being implemented in the UK, what impact do you think this might have on the affiliate industry? 
It depends on the final ruling which I don’t think will be as vigilant as what was embraced by the Netherlands which was actual consent (quite intrusive web pop-ups where consumers confirm cookies from the website).  Assuming the UK adopts informed consent versus actual consent, then affiliates need to work with the guidance provided by the IAB/ AMC. Overall it shouldn’t be as significant an impact as we all initially thought.

What changes would you like to see within the affiliate industry?
I think we need more transparency from affiliates and merchants alike. I’m a firm believer that the reason why merchants sometimes don’t hold the affiliate channel in high esteem (compared to other channels) is that affiliates aren’t being transparent enough with them. Affiliates need to work closely with merchants to share what’s happening on their landing pages to help to optimise the overall consumer journey.  More networks should be facilitating hybrid tenancy/ display deals – most merchants don’t take into consideration the power of all the millions/ billions of free impressions their affiliate channel drives them. Don’t dismiss this free exposure – work with key affiliates to encourage more brand building activities.

The performance marketing space is now a truly multi-channel discipline.

It has grown significantly, from once being considered just search and affiliate, to encompass all forms of online marketing.

This growth is so much so that the field has broadened from an online channel to a digital one.

The world of affiliate marketing is just one element of this digital mix, and it certainly has evolved over the last year.  There are many technology developments which have had an impact, namely the increased popularity of smart phones and tablets.

The captive audience that was once chained to its computer can now engage on multiple platforms and this is rapidly transforming the market.

The past two years has seen the dramatic rise of mobile which is now a well-established, major player in the market.  However, there are many other platforms that are set for a similar rise to fame.

Offline to online is becoming accessible with pay per call, and publisher businesses are developing into corporations and established businesses at a much faster rate.  We’re set to see more innovation from publishers, shopping comparison has evolved to vouchers and group buying, and these create forms of commerce will only grow over the next three years.

In addition, Social Media has provided another marketing platform within the affiliate channel having developed as a key affiliate business model in the past year.

There is one major issue that is going to transform the digital marketing space and that is the EU cookie legislation.  Commission Junction is heavily involved with the IAB and Affiliate Marketing Council in developing plans to ensure the affiliate community adhere to the derivative and it has as little impact on the industry as possible.

Of course, there needs to be substantial consumer education to ensure potential customers are aware of the impact of the ‘opt in’, but it’s a major development and one that publishers and advertisers will need to fully understand.

Today, the IAB’s Affiliate Marketing Council have released research into advertisers’ opinions of the affiliate marketing sector and it’s good news for the affiliate channel with results showing that the market is set to enjoy significant growth in 2012.
The IAB talked to 140 brands to evaluate the affiliate marketing channel and any issues that the new year may bring.  The stats are great: 77% said that marketing spend for affiliates had grown and 71% expected it to continue to grow in 2012.

However, the news does come with a shocking statistic as well. Half of respondents said that knowledge of affiliate marketing at CEO level was ‘little’ or ‘none at all’.  With affiliate programmes now accounting for around 15-20% of over-all sales for some of our key clients, it is worrying to hear that affiliates may not be getting the recognition they deserve at board level.  True, our channel moves at break-neck speed and the sheer volume of promotional methods that come under our umbrella can be baffling to the outsider, but the industry has evolved dramatically over the past five years and it is a shame that the professionalism and influence of our channel is not on the radar for key decision makers.  My hope is that Digital Britain and Race online 2012 will make some CEOs, who currently have their head stuck in the sand when it comes to the complex online world, stand up and listen.  One of our objectives for 2012 is to encourage brands to push for affiliate marketing to become fully integrated with more traditional marketing channels, especially as the industry continues to grow in the face of an increasingly gloomy economic outlook.

If you’re free on Thursday 24^th November make sure you register for the event and come along; there will be a chance to network and discuss industry issues with publishers, advertisers, agencies and networks from the affiliate industry at the final AMC meeting of the year at 3pm at the IAB’s Offices.  Then the party starts at 5pm as everyone gathers for catch ups and networking.  The guest list will have up to 300 affiliate marketers so if you have any questions about the industry it’s the place to be.

Commission Junction is sponsoring the event and we will be there in full spirits.  There will be food and refreshments to kick start the event as well.

If you want to attend you will find all the details and can register here: http://www.amiando.com/IAB_AMC_Drinks

We hope to see you there!

As you probably know, the IAB (www.iabuk.net) is the UK’s leading trade association for online and mobile advertising.  It represents the interests of its members, which includes Commission Junction, in developing best practice and promoting the growth of these channels. One of the ways that this occurs is through the management of councils for different disciplines which includes the Affiliate Marketing Council.

The IAB AMC, currently chaired by BskyB’s Helen Southgate, has been in existence for five years and has been responsible for promotion, self-regulation and education around affiliate marketing in the UK. Examples of work carried out and information about getting involved can be found here : http://www.iabaffiliatemarketing.com

The survey has been developed to understand and promote affiliate marketing in the UK, the IAB AMC need your help. The survey will only take five minutes to complete and is anonymous so there’s no need to worry about potential ramifications. In addition, we are looking for a small number of merchants to spend ten minutes talking face to face with a member of the IAB AMC at this year’s A4U Expo in London in October. This will just be a chance for us to ask some more qualitative questions to discuss the survey. If you’re keen to be involved then email Chris Probert on chris@iabuk.net.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY

You have some time as the survey will close on Monday 10^th October – but make sure you get involved.

If you’re keen to read more about the AMC and the survey then you can visit the IAB website here.

Last week saw the release of the updated Ethical Merchant Charter by the IAB’s Affiliate Marketing Council.  This makes advertisers aware of some of the pitfalls in the affiliate channel and ensures all networks, publishers and agencies adhere to the same set of ethical guidelines and are entirely transparent within their business.

These guidelines were first published in 2009, but as we all know, the online world is constantly developing new technology on a daily basis.  The advent of mobile, development of behavioural retargeting technology and the exponential growth of social media has spurred the industry to update the charter.

We’re wholly on board with these guidelines and have already made our advertisers and publishers fully aware of the regulations.  It’s great to see the industry headed in the right direction and it’s important for all networks to support the charter.

If you want to find out more about the regulations surrounding the new affiliate marketing guide, you can download a copy here: http://www.iabuk.net/en/1/ethicalmarketingcharter.html

The IAB is running a seminar on Affiliate Marketing on Wednesday 24th June at its offices near Holborn in London. The event is a quick look into affiliate marketing – an introduction by Matt Bailey (AMC Chair) covers what the industry is doing to standardise and self regulate. This is followed by two short case studies, one of which is with Daniel Powel from CJ and Lina Patel from lastminute.com who recently won the best use of affiliate marketing within the travel&leisure categories.

Daniel and Lina are also speaking as part of a panel which closes the event. Questions for the panel are submitted beforehand to dan@iabuk.net.

Full details of the agenda can be found on the IAB site here

The gathering together of affiliates, agencies, networks and merchants is old hand for the AMC. Although the faces around the table have changed over the years, the organisations represented have remained consistent. Through these collaborative efforts, excellent work such as the IAB Affiliate Marketing handbook has been delivered to a wider marketplace that does not always understand affiliates and their place in the online mix. The AMC has also allowed all its members and guests a voice in discussing issues. Such an open door policy allows discussed topics to flow freely back to the marketplace.

As any stakeholder in affiliate marketing knows well, the landscape is a quickly evolving one and requires not only nimble technology, but also nimble best practices. As a network we well know how working at the forefront of a fast-moving sector can provide challenges to match opportunities. Although there is a great overlap in network policy towards certain traffic models, there has rarely been a consensus on how to approach challlenges facing the industry – there can be winners and losers from any changes so agreement is difficult.

Against this backdrop, it became clear by  the middle of 2008 to the AMC that the proliferation of voucher sites and the myriad of ways in which these sites promoted merchants presented a tough question for the networks in the council. These sites drive revenue but are they completely right for the customer? Are they right for other affiliates? And are the merchants being displayed in the best light?

So we get to today, three months since the rollout of the AMC’s voucher code best practise guidelines which has been largely successful.  Across the participating networks, 24 out of 25 publishers who were warned are now compliant. The code, crafted by all parties in an open forum is a step forward for the industry. It represents a commitment from the member networks to put short-term revenue gains aside and think on behalf of the industry.

Whilst it was not a seamless process-the first time out with this sort of corroperation rarely comes off without a hitch-the AMC has a developed policy for the marketplace should be the first step in a consensus-building process.  The goal is have a more mainstream affiliate channel that is respected by its participants and coveted by media buyers. Having Matt Bailey as chairman will give us an objective viewpoint and help in concensus building. 

For all these reasons we feel that we are almost duty-bound to invest both time and money in the IAB and the AMC. If anyone wants any more information please drop me a line at admin@cjblog.co.uk.