2024 has arrived in all of its mathematical glory. You see, 2024 is a Harshad number, which means it can be divided evenly by the sum of its digits. It’s also the Year of the Dragon, which apparently brings growth and development, and it’s a leap year, which is widely considered lucky.
Growth, good fortune, and interesting numbers. This is music to the ears of affiliate and performance marketers.
What’s more, it fits neatly into the industry narrative that’s been building over the past few years. Partnership marketing saw tremendous growth in 2023 with the eruptive popularity of fintech publishers and content commerce; as well as new possibilities for the CTV and coupon spaces.
So what can we expect from the 12 months ahead? Well, readers, we gazed into our crystal ball, cast the runes, spread our tarot cards, and we learned the deepest secrets of the universe and the most ancient lessons humanity can know.
But we didn’t get much about affiliate marketing. So, instead, we reached out to some clever industry experts and we’ve gathered their predictions below.
Technology takeover
A big disruptor in the space last year, technology partnerships have proven to be an area of opportunity for many marketers. These partners diverge from the traditional publisher model insofar as they don’t always drive traffic to a brand’s site. They might focus on CRO (conversion rate optimisation) or AOV or a different metric.
These technologies have become very popular with consumers and retailers. For example, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) contributed to a record-breaking Cyber Week in 2023.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that our experts predict this area will see more growth this year.
Jade Mayberry, Head of Affiliate & Performance Partnerships Marketing, North America at dentsu international, says:
“Lower funnel is now mostly comprised of loyalty/financial tech partners, such as card-linked offers and BNPL, as brands are looking to increase access and affordability with payment options versus heavily discounting to win conversions. This will continue into 2024.”
Mark Andres, Director of Merchants at Finfare Connect, says:
“As we move into 2024, a notable trend in affiliate marketing will be the increased use of payment-linked offers by merchants, primarily driven by Open Banking technology. This will facilitate the creation of highly personalised offers based on accurate consumer data. More publishers are expected to adopt this technology, integrating it into their platforms to better align with user interests.”
