The Australian digital advertising and marketing ecosystem is growing and Affiliate Marketing is a key part of the value chain. Affiliate Marketing has outgrown its role as just another marketing channel and
become an objective in its own right. Affiliate Marketing uses many of the same tools as the more traditional digital marketers – such as email,search, social, SEO and retargeting – and now is an integral part of many integrated marketing campaigns.Well managed and executed affiliate campaigns will help brands thrive by driving efficient consumer acquisition. I know from my time at
lastminute.com just how valuable Affiliate Marketing can be in driving product sales. Yet it can do so much more for a brand: With the ubiquity
of mobile devices and the continued rise of programmatic trading, it candeliver valuable audience- and consumer-data insights across multiple platforms.Councils and Working Groups are the lifeblood of the IAB: With representation from some of the best minds in the industry, they are an
unmatched repository of knowledge on all things digital. The Affiliate Marketing Working Group will help define this flourishing marketing discipline going forward by setting standards and best practice
guidelines to benefit the entire industry. This Handbook has been complied by the best in the industry to provide an outline of the industry as it exists, the role of content and technology
and place of Affiliate Marketing in the modern digital marketplace.
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WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?
It’s a good question, and one with an everevolving answer. So let’s start at the beginning by trying to give it a simple definition: Affiliate Marketing is the practice whereby a digital publisher or website promotes an onlineretailer and earns a commission based on thesales or leads that the advertising generates
for that online retailer.We term this payment metric CPA – Cost PerAction. Typically an ‘Action’ is a sale of anonline good or service, but it can also be alead or registration, a call, a download or any other trackable action that is desired of theend customer. In recent years this has grownto even include offlinesales — provided theycan be tracked back by a coupon or barcode.There are two ways the CPA are set:Flat rate: For every action a fixed fee is paid.This is typically used for registration typections with nocost, such as a credit cardsign-up or for a fixed price product like amobile phone contract.Revenue Share: The price of the item purchased is tracked and a percentage ofthat price is then paid to the affiliate. This is generally favoured by advertisers selling arange of tangible goods at varying prices,
such as fashion retailers.
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HISTORY, KEY PLAYERS & CURRENT CHALLENGES.
Australia’s development of Affiliate Marketing was initially based around self-serve platforms that
affiliates could access and gather the links they needed. Over the past five years these platforms
have been usurped by the emergence of Affiliate Networks which were born in Australia, or
imported and served by local teams. This approach now mirrors their equivalents in other markets.
AFFILIATE TYPES
When we talk about Affiliate Marketing, it is important to note that there are different types of
affiliates. The method chosen by the affiliate to promote the advertisers’ products is the key
differentiation. Each affiliate type fulfills a different role in terms of value, volume and reach. By
understanding affiliates on an individual basis, advertisers will have the knowledge of who is best
positioned to deliver in certain industries or to promote particular products.
KEEPING CONTENT ALIVE IN THE AFFILIATE CHANNEL
In a digital discipline like Affiliate Marketing where remuneration is traditionally based on a
confirmed sale, it’s no surprise that publishers are constantly keeping an eye open for the next strong call to action. Discounts, offers and rewards are proven to generate a higher
click through and stronger conversion rate.