Fiona Gandy, Key Account Manager at 7thingsmedia takes you through how a fashion brand should effectively be using Affiliate Marketing and fashion bloggers. From the outset, fashion merchants must strike a balance between retaining control of communications to consumers, and ensuring the right type of affiliates stay on board and on message to progress the brand and maximise sales

1. BALANCING BRAND VERSUS SALES
GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR
FASHION PUBLISHERS
Presented by
Fiona Gandy
Key Account Manager, 7thingsmedia
@FiGandy
@7thingsmedia
Hashtag: #A4UB7

2. 7thingsmedia
• Performance-based marketing agency, founded in 2009
• Offices in London and New York
• Clients include:
• Services include: Affiliate, Display, Lead Generation, SEO, PPC & Online PR
• Recent awards:
• “Best Affiliate Agency” - Winner, A4uAwards 2011
• “Best use of Affiliate Marketing” – Finalist, NMA Awards 2011

3. Affiliate marketing the growth
•UK affiliate market worth est. £4.62bn in 2010*
•Est. over £5bn by end 2011
•Est. £280m+ paid in affiliate commission
* Affiliate Marketing Econsultancy Buyer‟s Guide, 2010

4. Complex landscape
Needs to be managed effectively

5. Affiliate value
Brand Relevance
High Low
High
•Develop close relationships •Assess brand compatibility
•Improve conversion •Bespoke strategy for mutual
Potential
•Identify new opportunities benefit
•Tactical campaigns
Growth
•Maintain relationship •Automated approach
•Evolve the proposition •Minimal touch point
Low

6. Voucher and cashback…
•Getting the most out of your voucher and cashback affiliates
• Communication is key
• Share information and DATA
• What are your competitors doing?
• What are you looking to achieve?
• Higher AOV?
• Acquisition?
• Shift stock?

7. Voucher and cashback…
•Monitor
• Who‟s saying what and where?
• On brand messaging
• Agent Provocateur saw a 115% yearly revenue increase by applying this

8. Fashion aggregators
• Timescales
• Product feed
• Budget
• Commission

9. Bloggers
•Very brand loyal
• Traditionally a low converter
• Find ways to work with this – EPC
• Exclusive offers
•Put yourself out there

10. Events

11. Events

12. Who‟s who…

13. Get your house in order
•Review Terms & Conditions
• Use to assist in your screening process
•Welcome email – branded HTML, concise information, include current promotion /
banners
•Contact information
•Replace old banners / text links
•Ensure product feed is working
• Listen to requests

14. Commission
• What could you afford to pay?
• Think ahead to potential incentives
• What do your competitors pay?
• What do your re-sellers pay?
• Different commissions for new /returning customers?
• Tiered structures / category “item level” specific
• Is your affiliate budget structured for scale (fixed, semi-variable, variable)

15. Optimisation
EPC = CPA & CTR & OSC
•Compelling creative
•Deeplinking to specific
products
•Strong consumer
offers/ voucher codes
Pay affiliates more •Reducing the customer
journey
•Securing good
placements on the
•Easy site to use
affiliate site

16. Know your objectives

17. Planning and strategy
Seasonality
Promotional Strategy
Budget
Competitor Strategy
Granular
Targets / KPIs Activity Reflection &
Plans by React & tweak
Assigned to Measured Learning fed
Affiliate plans where
each Affiliate Against into next
Segmentation required
Channel Targets daily quarter plans
Types
Trading Plan

18. Recruitment
•Recruiting your fashion affiliates:
• Agencies
• Events – be creative
• Affiliate days
• Networks – newsletters / own events
• Gap analysis... (wait until you hear about Affiliate Manager Plus)
• Affiliates4u – banner / posts
• Google alerts
...segment

19. Segmented recruitment
Top affiliates
•Strong relationships
•Bespoke strategies
Content PPC Cashback Voucher
•Create better •Investigate the •Tactical Code
collateral to tactical use of approach as •Do we want to
allow affiliates affiliates on opposed to play?
to promote brand+generic “always on” •What are our
more effectively terms approach rules of
engagement?
Nursery Programme
•Engage inactive and lapsed affiliates
•Do they need an arm round the shoulder or a kick up the behind?

20. Communication
• One to one and one to many approach
• Segment by type of affiliate and therefore by type of content
• If you want control then you have to feed affiliates
• Work alongside PR team
• It‟s not just the fluffy stuff - trading style relationship with affiliates
• Create an army of affiliates
• Think outside the box ; look books, press day invites

21. Communication
• Step 1 • Step 2

22. Communication
• Step 1 • Step 2

23. Stand out

24. Incentives
• Identify your goals
• Segment – every affiliate is different
Cash; Commission on next month‟s sales; Tiered structure; Exclusive vouchercode; Products; Previews;
Champagne or chocolate; VIP events; Away days; Holidays
• Attractive, Achievable, Fun!
• Expectations
...It‟s not the lottery

25. Incentives

26. Innovations
• Content units
• Social widgets / linking – everyone becomes an affiliate
• Feed optimisation
• Mobile
• Rewarding check-ins
• Location based offers in-store and online
• Offline editorial / advertorial accountability

27. Innovations
• Re-targeting
• Re-marketing
• Facebook shop
• Innovative approach
• Absolute focus on value as well as volume
• Move away from the Affiliate Marketing „norm‟
• Not just “affiliates

28. Not impressed by coverage?

29. 7things…tomorrow
7 things to implement on your affiliate programme tomorrow:
1. Get your house in order
2. Identify your key objectives and plan
3. Segment your affiliates
- By volume and type
4. Review your EPC – how can you improve it?
5. Recruit, recruit, recruit
6. Strengthen relationships
7. Innovate (...and talking of innovation)

30. Introducing...

32. Thank you & questions
Thank you to my beautiful panel:
- Eve
- Sarah
- Alex