Many affiliate programmes saw high double and occasional treble digit growth in 2020, according to a new report from the IAB Affiliates & Partnerships Group.
With almost one in five brands and agencies spending more than £250k per month on their affiliate campaigns, the organisation says it’s clear that it’s a serious route to market.
However, Kevin Edwards, Global Strategy Director at AWIN and Chair at the IAB Affiliates & Partnerships Group, says growth has to be weighed against those brands who reduced their spend.
The travel sector remains an important one for the affiliate channel and the IAB remains hopeful that it will fire back in the second half of 2021, taking advantage of pent up consumer demand. It expects the most favoured affiliate business models – cashback and content sites – will be ready to support brands when that time comes.
Edwards says that digital marketing in general faces challenges in tackling the ability to track campaigns in the future, so offering clarity on the current state of play within the channel is vital: “Alongside demonstrating the value of affiliate marketing and ensuring transparency and trust are at the heart of what we do, this survey sets out a blueprint for future projects.
“The affiliate industry has a proud heritage of demonstrating its value to brands and agencies, and this survey helps guide our future strategy in proving why we should be front and centre of advertisers’ future marketing plans.”