🧐 You're Overlooking Google's Second Page

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another Affiliate Pulse!

This week, I returned to Hello Partner HQ after a jam-packed week of events and workshops. I've come back from these conversations with a treasure trove of insights and a ton of questions to unpack. The ones I’ve been ruminating on the most:

• How does the affiliate industry truly surface the consumer journey iceberg?
• What does a probabilistic future really look like? 
• Is this industry equipped for the challenges ahead?

I dug into some of these topics on-camera with Rakuten Advertising’s Nick Fletcher and Meytal Markman, Fospha’s Rory Sale on MMMs, and Essencemediacom’s Kirsten Black — keep your eyes peeled for those. 

Meanwhile, in sunny Bristol (yes, I’m shocked, too), industry experts and icons came together to provide practical frameworks and advice on how to level up their skills — please pardon the pun. 

If you’re looking for tips on how to negotiate with confidence and build strong relationships in a digital-first environment, we’ve got you covered with some soon-to-launch interviews, where I pick the brains of Simon Hares and Maira Genovese. 

Elsewhere on Hello Partner, we’ve got a media underdog deep-dive with ScaleVisible CEO, Ewen Finser, and Adtraction’s CEO and Co-Founder, Simon Gustafson, breaks down how the industry frees itself from enshittified monopolies.

Now, let’s get on with the good stuff.

In today's newsletter:

• Pick of the day:  “Affiliate Has the Opportunity to be the Hero of the Journey”: Ewen Finser on the Rise of the Media Underdog
• Trending: Useless Piles of Sh*t and a Celebration of Partner Marketing
• Industry Insight: Think Beyond Last Click

Pick of the day

“Affiliate Has the Opportunity to be the Hero of the Journey”: Ewen Finser on the Rise of the Media Underdog

With traditional media at an inflexion point, I spoke to Ewen Finser, Founder and CEO of ScaleVisible, about the rise of the media underdog, affiliate’s opportunity to save the day and evolving economic models. 

According to Finser, affiliate could play a pivotal role in the industry’s AI conversation, but so far, it’s been slow to move.

“Affiliate has the opportunity to be the hero of the journey and create this economic model that is the plumbing for how this whole tragedy of the commons gets figured out,” says Finser.

Trending

What's hot on Hello Partner right now

PI LIVE Level Up: Embrace the Weird and Connect with Confidence

In the heart of Bristol, the industry came together to build the soft skills that uplift the industry. Here’s what we learned. 

Industry in Flux: DealMaker Shines Spotlight on Affiliate Transformation

Times are certainly changing, but DealMaker demonstrated that the industry is readying its defences. 

Useless Piles of Sh*t and a Celebration of Partner Marketing

It’s time to break free from enshittified monopolies, says Adtraction CEO Simon Gustafson.

Beyond the Click Marketing Attribution for the AI Age

The era of GenAI is here, fundamentally changing how consumers discover and buy products.

Industry Insight

Stay at the top of your game

Jani Gysels, Founder of JAYGER MEDIA, argues that last-click attribution is the “most dangerous metric” in affiliate.

But perhaps not for the reason you’d think: it’s not useless, but it looks useful.

He explains that while it tells you which affiliate secured the final click…that’s it.

“It says nothing about who introduced the customer to your brand, who influenced the decision, or whether that sale would have happened without any affiliate involvement at all.”

The ramifications? You reward whoever was last in line. More often than not, Jani says that’s a coupon site, which he said is claiming credit for a customer who was already convinced and committed to purchase.

Meanwhile, the affiliates who actually drove discovery get the same flat rate.

So eventually, they stop pushing.

“You're not measuring performance,” says Jani. “You're measuring coincidence.”

Amusing Affiliates

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Until next time,

Madaline Dunn Community Editor Email me Connect with me on LinkedIn