1. ´
The Insider´s Guide to Affiliate
Marketing in Europe
a4uexpo 2008
Nicky Iapino, Vincent Pelilo, Auke Boersma,
Peter Rowe, Sabine Haase
successful together

2. Agenda
• Market Size
• Understanding Local Markets
- UK
- Germany
- France
- Netherlands
• Best Practice Account Management
• Affiliates – Expanding to Europe
• Summary
• Questions & Answers
Page 2

3. AdLINK Group
AdLINK Group is Europe's leading
independent Online Marketeer with
revenue of £185m in 2007. The
Group comprises the following
Business units:
• Affiliate Marketing with affilinet
• Display Marketing with AdLINK Media
• Direct Marketing with net:dialogs
• Email Marketing with composite
• Domain Marketing with Sedo
Page 3

4. affilinet
• Founded October 1997, 100+ employees
• Networks in Germany, France, UK,
Netherlands, Spain, Austria &
Switzerland
• 1,500 Affiliate Programs
• Averaging 2.6m transactions per month
• Serving over 6bn impressions per month
• 35,000+ active (clicks) Affiliates
• Multi-lingual, multi-currency platform
Page 4

5. European Market Size - £m
In Europe, the total
350 value of the Online
Market reached £8.5
300 billion in 2007
250
200
150
100
50
0
2005 2006 2007 2008
NL ES FR DE UK
Page 5

6. Online Users across Europe
Y-o-Y
Germany 47.4 -1%
35.9 +6%
UK
30.4 +14%
France
29.6 +6%
Italy
21.8 +23%
Spain
12 +12%
Netherlands
5.3 Almost 50% of Online +18%
Switzerland
Users in Europe are
from UK & Germany
Page 6

7. European Market Specifics – UK Advertisers
• Retail, Travel & Finance are
the key revenue drivers
• Automotive & FMCG are
growing and beginning to
explore Affiliate
Marketing/CPA Advertising
• Quality of traffic and
understanding of Affiliates is
key
• De-duplication of Sales is
becoming more prevalent with
better technologies
• Provision of widgets & tools is
growing rapidly
Page 7

8. European Market Specifics – UK Affiliates
• Most valuable Affiliates are
SEO and Content
• Paid Search continues to be
a key source of traffic
• Voucher Code Sites have
grown rapidly over the last 12
months but issues over terms
• Advertisers are looking to
expand reach to non-
traditional Affiliates that
historically worked on CPM
basis
• General diversification of
Affiliate types as more varied
Advertisers enter the market
Page 8

9. European Market Specifics – Germany Advertisers
• Online transaction-oriented businesses
strongest
• Automotive & FMCG emerging sectors
• Agency business accounts for approx.
40%. Specialist Agencies with major
share
• Majority of Programs still self-serviced
• Affiliate Campaign business increasing
• Requirements of Platforms high due to
high level of self-service Programs
• Key Product reqs:
- Flexibility & variety of creative
- Detailed range of security features
- Abundant statistics offering
Page 9

10. European Market Specifics – Germany Affiliates
• SEM prevailing business model;
openness of Advertisers to
controlled SEM increasing
• Content/SEO/Comparison sites
almost equally important
• eMail and Cashback publishers
developing
• Big bonus Programs offering high
reach
• Split of portfolio: Top Publishers &
Longtail across all Networks
• Publisher scene heavily connected
Page 10

11. European Market Specifics – France Advertisers
• Increasing varied industry segments:
- historic Advertisers (Travel, Retail &
eMerchants)
- new segments (Banking/Finance,
Automotive & FMCG)
• Lead Generation business is strongly
increasing & co-registration also
developing
• Rough Media Agencies positioning
since more Advertisers deciding to
directly manage their Programs
• Affiliate Campaign business is
strenghtening; Short-term Online
Marketing actions increasingly
developing
• Double-tracking Technology;
Advertisers wanting to optimise the de-
duplication in Online Marketing mix
Page 11

12. European Market Specifics – France Affiliates
• Top Publishers now big companies
´
• Top 3 Publishers´ business models
Email/SEM/Feed-user (Price Comparison,
Cashback)/Network (site-under)
• Email model growing, especially Lead
Generation (high reach + accurate targeting)
• Performance/SEM model still high, but at
same pace
• Strong connections among Publishers
• Concentrated amongst 5-10 big Publishers
for each Program
•The 3-part relationship (Publisher-Advertiser-
Platform) has to be re-invented, with the
Platform as the trusted 3rd party
• High quality Publishers key for Platforms,
rather than getting more Advertisers
Page 12

13. European Market Specifics – Netherlands Advertisers
• Strong in CPC campaigns
• Several strong financial A-brands
with ongoing Programs
• Upcoming FMCG – NEW
BUSINESS!
• Growth of high potential Gambling
Industry slowed down due to laws
• Massive amount of Leads delivered
via CSV files
• Enabling Media Agencies to regain
lost business
Page 13

14. European Market Specifics – Netherlands Affiliates
• Strong in Loyalty/Voucher
• Email Marketing has extensive
reach
• Display plays minimal role
• SEM: a unique combination of
trusted local SEM players &
international SEM companies
• 9-95 rule instead of 20-80
Page 14

15. Market Similarities & Differences
• Retail features strongly across most markets, slightly smaller in
Netherlands
• Gaming features highly in France, less so in other Euro markets
• Automotive & FMCG growing as Advertisers explore new
Marketing avenues and Affiliate Marketing becomes more
sophisticated channel
• SEM still the main driver of traffic, directly and indirectly
• Loyalty very strong in the UK, less strong across Europe
Page 15

16. Best Practice Euro Management
• Vital to understand the local markets you wish to operate in:
- Affiliate nuances across sectors
- Benchmark your activity against local competitors
- Strategy may vary by country depending on your market position
• Commissions may vary significantly by country so its important to
retain flexibility
• Work with your local Network and/or Agency to develop tiers &
incentives which satisfy the local market
• Understanding the Affiliates by market allows you to tailor
communication accordingly
• Important to select a Network that suits your goals & aspirations
Page 16

17. Best Practice Euro Management
• Local or Central Management
• Local
- Mainly dependant on resource & skill sets
- Local input allows a higher degree of involvement & bespoke deals
- Create better local relationships with key Affiliates
- Example = eBay
• Central
- Allows a better overview of the whole market
- Brand message must retain consistency across the markets
- Communication is key both internally & externally
- Example = Dating Direct/Meetic
Page 17

18. Expanding into Europe - Affiliates
• Crucial to liaise closely with your Affiliate Network
representative
• Leverage their understanding of the local marketplace
• Understanding who the local Advertisers are can be time
consuming
• A single point of contact who is supportive can help establish
you more quickly than going it alone
• Double check T&Cs to avoid issues in the long run
Page 18

19. Future of European Affiliate Marketing
• Increase of cross-border business
• Increased number of Affiliates operating across markets
• Establishment of mega-publishers across markets
• SEM will remain a key driver of sales, directly or indirectly
• Borders will blur between Media & Affiliation, de-duplication will
become more important
• Monetisation via Video will come…sooner or later
• Security and Quality will become more important
Page 19

20. Questions & Answers
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