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Beyond blanket discounts: Five incentive campaigns that convert

Patience Kibblewhite — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:16:19 +0000

While offering discounts has traditionally been the go-to strategy for driving conversions, there is a hidden cost. This approach can damage margins and condition customers to only purchase when an offer is available.

As consumer behaviour shifts toward value-led decision-making, brands are increasingly seeking smarter ways to engage high-intent traffic without relying on price cuts. In this guide, we explore five incentive campaign alternatives to blanket discounting that deliver strong performance while maintaining brand value.

High-Performing Alternative Campaigns:

1. Gift With Purchase (GWP)

Popular with premium brands, GWP campaigns offer complimentary gifts to shoppers to incentivise a high-price purchase, often as a reward for spending more.

Adds perceived value without lowering price
Great for AOV growth + product discovery
Works well with thresholds (“Spend £X, unlock Y”)
Can be used to shift excess stock

2. Free Shipping Incentives

One of the most effective ways to reduce friction, free shipping incentives work as a final motivation for conversion and often encourage customers to increase their order value to qualify.

Removes a key barrier to purchase
Encourages higher AOV
Simple, effective & widely applicable

3. Product Bundling & Multi-Buy Offers (BOGOF)

Ideal for beauty, fashion, and DTC brands, product bundling encourages consumers to purchase more by grouping complementary items. By increasing perceived value rather than reducing price, this strategy boosts basket size while efficiently guiding purchase decisions.

Drives volume without traditional discounting
Can be framed as a reward rather than a reduction
Encourages bulk orders

4. Stretch & Save Campaigns

Stretch & save campaigns encourage shoppers to increase their basket value by unlocking incremental rewards at different spend thresholds, creating a clear motivation to spend a little more to gain more value.

Drives higher AOV
Creates a sense of progression & achievement
Encourages upselling without heavy discounting

5. Gift Card Reward Campaigns

A powerful loyalty tool, gift card reward campaigns drive repeat visits and loyalty. They provoke immediate spending by offering a future-value reward (e.g. “Spend £X, get £Y gift card”).

Boosts conversions with added future value
Encourages repeat purchases & customer retention
Protects margin by deferring the reward to a later purchase

Ultimately, sustainable growth requires a shift from deeper discounts to smarter incentives. By prioritising precision, brands can protect their bottom line while still meeting the high expectations of today’s shoppers. It’s time to convert with precision, not just price cuts.

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Learn more about the GWP strategy in our intent.ly insights webinar: Beyond the Discount – Incentive Campaigns that Convert.

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The power of onsite segmentation

Katy Scott — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:35:53 +0000

Segmentation has become a fundamental part of modern digital marketing. Brands invest in understanding their audiences and dividing them into meaningful groups through CRM data, lifecycle marketing, and paid media targeting.

Users are routinely segmented according to factors such as demographics, purchase history, engagement levels, product interests and lifecycle stage. These insights allow marketers to deliver personalised messaging across channels.

Yet there is one critical place where this segmentation frequently disappears: the website itself.

Despite sophisticated off-site targeting, many brands still deliver a largely generic on-site experience where every visitor sees the same messaging regardless of how they arrived or the behaviour they display. This disconnect represents one of the most significant missed opportunities in conversion optimisation.

Why Segmentation Matters Even More On-Site

The opportunity lies in extending segmentation into the on-site journey, where purchase decisions actually take place.

By the time a shopper reaches your website, they are already demonstrating a higher level of intent than earlier in the funnel, having already clicked an ad, opened an email, or searched for a product.

At this stage, the signals available to marketers become even more powerful. Behavioural indicators such as time spent on page, product views, basket activity and exit intent help to build a clearer picture of where the user sits in their individual purchase journey.

Moving Beyond Static Segments

Most marketing teams already operate detailed segmentation frameworks across their wider marketing stack. For example, users might be categorised as:

New vs returning customers
High-value vs low-value customers
Category-specific audiences
Abandoned basket users
Lapsed customers

These segments typically shape how users are targeted through CRM campaigns and paid media with personalised messaging, long before they reach the website. However, once that user finally lands on- site, the experience often becomes generic.

This is where on-site behavioural targeting becomes powerful. By activating prompts, overlays or personalised messaging based on real-time behaviour, segmentation can continue throughout the browsing experience. The website becomes a continuation of the shopper journey, rather than a total reset.

While traditional segmentation focuses on who a user is, behavioural segmentation focuses on what they are doing in real time. These signals allow brands to move beyond static audience segments and respond to intent.

For example, someone who previously clicked a category promotion in a paid ad should see that promotion reinforced on-site. A returning user who abandoned their basket could be reminded of the items they were considering, or someone browsing multiple similar products might need recommendations or social proof to convert.

When messaging aligns with a visitor’s past interactions and their real-time behaviour, the journey feels more natural and intuitive.

Identifying High Intent Behavioural Signals

In practice, the segments that deliver the strongest impact on conversion are rarely broad demographic groups, but high-intent behavioural segments. For example:

Returning visitors who previously abandoned a purchase
Users who have added items to their basket but not checked out
Users comparing multiple products
Users revisiting specific categories

These audiences are already engaged and close to converting. In many cases they simply require a small prompt, reassurance or reminder to complete their purchase. These small behavioural interventions at the critical moment can significantly improve performance.

Targeting Key Moments to Reduce Friction

Segmentation becomes even more effective when it focuses on moments of friction within the customer journey. Different stages naturally require different messaging.

Someone at the early research stage may benefit from guidance towards relevant categories or product discovery support. Visitors comparing products might respond better to messaging that highlights product reviews, key differentiators or recommendations. At the basket stage, reinforcing value through delivery information, guarantees or urgency can help maintain momentum. During checkout, reassurance messaging can address hesitation and reduce abandonment.

Recognising these different stages allows marketers to intervene at the exact moment where hesitation occurs, rather than delivering the same message to every visitor regardless of intent.

Testing and Optimising Segments

The most effective segmentation strategies are refined over time based on behaviour and campaign performance, and A/B testing plays a critical role.

Through experimentation, teams can validate which segments respond best to different messaging, determine whether interventions drive genuine incremental conversions, and refine the creative used to engage different audiences.

Over time this testing process helps identify the segments most responsive to prompts, nudges or personalised messaging, allowing teams to scale what works and discard what doesn’t.

Segmentation at the Point of Conversion

Segmentation has long been recognised as a powerful marketing tactic, but brands often focus on the traffic acquisition stage. The next evolution is ensuring segmentation continues throughout the on-site experience.

When off-site targeting, CRM messaging and on-site behavioural triggers are aligned, the customer journey becomes significantly more cohesive. Visitors encounter messaging that reflects their previous interactions and their current behaviour, creating a smoother and more intuitive path to conversion.

For brands looking to maximise the value of their segmentation strategies, the opportunity is clear: extend segmentation to the point where purchase decisions are actually made.
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Curious about implementing segmentation tactics? Contact our team to learn more.

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Convert More Customers This Gifting Season 2026

Patience Kibblewhite — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:21:57 +0000

Gifting season is where good onsite journeys prove their worth – bringing high intent traffic, but often with high abandonment and limited patience from busy shoppers. As we approach some of the most competitive and lucrative dates in the retail calendar, from Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day*, let’s explore how to use strategic on-site placements to capture high-intent shoppers during this period.

In a recent report, Phoenix Strategy Group marks how the online retail landscape has shifted: “between 2023 and 2025, Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) jumped by 40-60%” for ecommerce brands. This makes a highly effective on site journey more valuable than ever, with over one-third of consumers planning to shop online for gifts leading up to Valentine’s Day.

Brands should aim to create personalised buyer journeys that improve the user experience. intent.ly tech can help elevate every gifting moment by showing smart, data-driven incentives to shoppers; ensuring the right offer reaches the right customer, exactly when it matters most.

Here are four ways to use intent.ly solutions to deliver strategic offers, protect vital margins, and engage the 70% of shoppers who typically abandon their carts.

1. Gamification to Engage & Delight

For seasonal events like Valentine’s Day and Easter, standing out is key. Gamified overlays such as spinning wheels or inviting users to “shoot Cupid’s arrow” to unlock a reward, create more meaningful and memorable connections with users. It’s not just style over substance; research indicates that “gamified campaigns can increase customer engagement by nearly 48%.” – Rhapsody Media. Interactive campaigns add a moment of fun to an otherwise monotonous or stressful shopping journey.

2. Boosting AOV with Upsells & Gifts

Gifting season is the perfect time to recommend complementary products. Hotel Chocolat successfully boosted their Average Order Value (AOV) by implementing an overlay targeting users with basket values under £30, resulting in a 24% conversion rate and a 77% uplift in unit sales of their new alcohol product.

Alternatively, consider an In-page Gift With Purchase campaign. By using a dynamic progress bar to show how close a user is to a spend threshold, you can increase AOV while reducing cart abandonment. Gift With Purchase campaigns are a great way to reward shoppers for increasing spend, without discounting.

3. Preventing Cart Abandonment & Coupon Friction

High cart abandonment remains a major challenge, especially when savvy users leave to look for a discount code. Our Couponlytics data shows that 52% of code attempts are invalid, and only a fraction of those frustrated shoppers will ultimately convert.

By using real-time triggers such as exit intent or dwell time, you can surface the right offers at crucial moments to nudge hesitant buyers toward completion. Control your triggers based on basket value or user behaviour to ensure you are protecting your margins while providing value. For example, prompt high-intent users by triggering a discount campaign on exit intent, only at the checkout page.

Personalised email remarketing campaigns help close the loop by reminding shoppers to return and complete their purchase later too.

4. Driving Urgency with Countdown Timers

To motivate shoppers during a sale period, use countdown timers to create a sense of finality and add time pressure to an expiring offer. When implemented strategically, countdown timers are proven to increase conversions by 10-30%, GrowthSuite.

For an even stronger nudge, use a declining offer – where the discount dynamically decreases by 1% every hour – to generate urgency and encourage action. THG brand, Grow Gorgeous, used this intent.ly strategy to achieve a 34% increase in CVR and their highest number of sales in a single day.

Most successful gifting campaigns aren’t built at the last minute. They’re planned, tested, and optimised well ahead of peak traffic. Ready to dive deeper into these strategies? Contact us to start preparing your next high-performing campaign today.

*In the UK, Mother’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday 15th March 2026. Many other countries celebrate on the second Sunday in May (May 10th 2026) including the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, most of Europe, New Zealand and South Africa.

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From clicks to clarity – affiliate marketing’s most important era yet

Ceej Johnson — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:35:51 +0000

There’s been a lot of conversation recently about one thing affiliate marketing has never been particularly good at…

Storytelling.

It’s something I’ve personally been banging on about for a long time, even in 2019 during my time at Groupon I was referenced in an Awin report tackling the familiar “affiliate marketing is dead” narrative. Not because the channel was dying, but because it’s never really known how to talk about itself beyond spreadsheets and CPA charts.

Above, Awin article from 2019.

And here we are in 2026, still having the same conversation albeit it with slightly better alcohol-free lagers and slightly worse cookies.

I heard it came up as a focal point again last week at the Agency Advisory Board (AAB) inaugural meeting (congrats to Jess Smith and Kirsten Jayne Black on getting that off the ground – big moment, and seemingly long overdue).

But the theme was clear – affiliate is brilliant at delivering outcomes, yet seemingly still considerably rusty at backing itself whilst doing it. Which might explain why year after year we keep finding ourselves politely assigned the conference equivalent of the graveyard slot.

You know the one. The agenda reads:

Influencer Marketing (with mood lighting)
TikTok Creators (with a hype reel)
Brand Storytelling (with a founder doing barefoot keynote energy)
Affiliate Marketing’s Success Stories (Day 2 of 2, 4:45pm, in Room C next to the fire exit)

Not because the channel is less important, but because it’s historically been less well voiced.

And that’s starting to matter.

Storytelling now needs better data.

I’m going out on a (20+ career year) whim here – but from my perspective affiliate marketing doesn’t struggle with storytelling because we lack personality. If anything, this industry is full of smart, social, entrepreneurial people not exactly short of opinions, energy, or conference bar stamina.

The challenge is how we translate all that into a narrative the ‘outside-of-affiliate’ world buys in to. We struggle because for years we’ve largely only been able to describe ourselves through simple performance shorthand:

Last click
CPA
ROAS
“Revenue delivered”

And while those metrics are useful, they don’t create narrative. They don’t explain influence. They don’t capture decision-making. You can’t build a compelling industry story if the only chapter you ever read is the final line of the receipt.

If affiliate wants to be taken seriously as a strategic channel and not just a conversion mechanic, we need a more grown-up approach to measurement.

That means moving beyond CPA spreadsheets and into:

Behavioural insight
Intent signals
Contribution across the journey
Incrementality, not assumption
Understanding why something worked, not just that it worked

Better storytelling is inseparable from better data maturity. Because in today’s increasingly measurable world, the story has to be true.

2026 has to be the year of action for affiliate marketing.

I’ve sat on this post for about a month, partly because I wanted to properly reflect on what I heard at the first industry conference of the year, and also because the early tone coming out of affiliate in 2026 is noticeably different to previous years. AI is also the new asteroid heading toward the affiliate traffic model, forcing us to collaborate in ways we haven’t had to before.

That’s why a recent panel moderated by Moonpull’s Steven Brown at Affiliate Summit West stuck with me.

Above, panel at ASW26

It featured Adam Ross (CEO of Awin Global) and Santi Pierini (CEO of CJ), leaders from two of the industry’s most integral businesses. And if anyone has earned the right to comment on where this channel is going, it’s them.

That’s why it was worth highlighting some of the key discussions from that panel.

1. Affiliate marketing isn’t being disrupted. It’s maturing

The core takeaway from the panel discussion was quite straightforward, and I wholeheartedly agree in that affiliate marketing is not being disrupted, it is maturing.

For years, the channel has been judged by a familiar set of questions:

Did the click convert?
Did the sale track?
Did CPA deliver on our budget expectations?

And for a long time, that has been enough. But the panel made it clear that those comfort metrics are starting to show their age. Because brands are now asking harder questions. Better questions. More grown-up questions.

2. The end of comfort metrics

Clicks, impressions, last-click attribution. They’ve been affiliate marketing’s security blanket. Easy to report, to compare and to wave around in QBRs.

But brands are now asking things such as:

Why did the customer convert?
When did intent actually form?
Which partner influenced the decision, rather than simply converted it.

Because being present at the end of the journey isn’t the same as shaping it.

And in a world where budgets are tightening and scrutiny is rising, that distinction matters more than ever.

3. Intent is becoming the new currency

A central theme throughout the conversation was intent.

Not anonymous clicks moving through a funnel, but real behavioural signals:

What content did a shopper engage with?
How long did they spend considering options?
What actions suggest genuine purchase consideration?

These signals sit much closer to decision-making than traditional affiliate metrics ever have. And crucially this isn’t about invasive tracking.

It’s about first-party behavioural data, the information brands already own, but haven’t always known how to translate into insight.

4. Privacy isn’t killing affiliate, it’s forcing it to get smarter

Rather than treating privacy regulation and cookie deprecation as existential threats, the panel positioned them as catalysts.

A push toward better measurement. Better practice. Better trust.
The challenge now isn’t access to data. It’s interpretation.
It’s turning behaviour into understanding. And understanding into value.

5. Partner value is being redefined

The panel also explored how this evolution is reshaping relationships across the ecosystem.

Historically, partner value was often defined by scales of volume, conversion and revenue. But volume without context is losing its shine.

Brands are prioritising partners who can demonstrate:

Quality over quantity
Insight beyond attribution shortcuts
Meaningful contribution to the journey

The ecosystem is shifting from transactional delivery to consultative partnership – and I like that. A lot.

6. Data continues to increase, but we’re short of narrative

One of the biggest points that stuck with me is that brands aren’t short of dashboards, they are short of clarity. Affiliate marketing has never lacked performance but it has lacked storytelling.

The positive in this from what I can see is that the better we get at mining intent, measuring contribution and understanding influence, the easier the storytelling becomes.

Because suddenly affiliate isn’t just a channel that “drives sales”, it’s a channel that helps explain how customers decide. And that’s a much bigger story.

An industry growing up. Now it needs to speak like one

The tone of the panel was overall optimistic and it was a great way to kickstart the year. To reassure anyone that’s still reading, affiliate marketing isn’t declining, it is however evolving into a more intelligent, intent-led era where clarity matters more than clicks, and because agentic commerce is growing and driving clicks down, contribution will begin to matter more than convenience.

But if we want to increase our seats at the “grown-up marketing table” and not the fire exit breakout room, we need better voices, better narratives and better storytelling around what this industry actually does.

It’s one of the most commercially accountable engines in digital marketing. Now we just need to start talking about it like that.

Follow Ceej on LinkedIn.

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The discount code dilemma

Sam Brodie — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:02:36 +0000

Discount codes have become a permanent fixture in the e-commerce industry. For many shoppers, the journey to checkout is no longer complete without at least a quick pause to search for a voucher code. What began as a tactical conversion lever has, for some brands, turned into an always-on expectation.

As we move through Q1, brands are reassessing this reality against a backdrop of tighter margins, fluctuating demand, and growing scrutiny around how discounts are surfaced and attributed. The question is no longer whether to offer incentives, but how, when, and to whom they should be shown.

The Cost of Blanket Discounts

One of the biggest challenges in today’s discount-code landscape is overexposure. When codes are visible too early, too often, or to the wrong audience, they can do more harm than good. Showing a discount unnecessarily can:

Condition customers to expect a reduction every time they shop
Cannibalise full-price purchases that would have converted anyway
Erode margin without delivering incremental value
Inflate the perceived importance of vouchers in the decision-making process

In many cases, the incentive is not driving conversion at all. It is simply subsidising it. Removing blanket discounts and uncontrolled code exposure gives brands a clearer insight into performance and attribution. Through this, incentives become a strategic lever, not a default cost of doing business.

Why Shopper Intent Is Crucial

Not every customer arrives with the same level of intent. Some are ready to buy, others are price-sensitive, and some are simply browsing. Treating all of these shoppers the same is where inefficiency begins; effective incentive strategies recognise that timing is as important as value.

A high-intent customer with items already in their basket may only need reassurance or a subtle nudge. A hesitant shopper showing exit intent may need a stronger incentive to complete their purchase. Meanwhile, displaying a discount too early in the journey can interrupt natural buying behaviour and train customers to wait for a deal.

The Right Code at the Right Moment

The most effective discount strategies are not blanket offers, but targeted interventions. Brands should align incentives with clear behavioural signals in the shopper journey, such as exit intent at checkout, basket value thresholds, product views, and new vs returning customer behaviour.

Triggering offers only when they are likely to influence conversion preserves margin while still unlocking incremental revenue. At intent.ly, the focus is on enabling this level of control. Rather than relying on third parties to surface voucher codes at the last click, brands can decide exactly where, when, and why an incentive appears.

Beyond the Voucher Box

Another overlooked aspect of discount strategy is where offers appear. The traditional voucher field at checkout has become a distraction point, encouraging shoppers to leave the site in search of codes, often returning via a third-party channel that claims attribution. More intentional approaches include:

High-impact overlays that appear only when exit intent is detected
In-page messaging that integrates seamlessly across product pages or checkout
Contextual offers tied to basket composition or order value

When incentives are embedded naturally into the onsite experience, they feel purposeful rather than promotional.

The Future of Discounts

Discount codes are not going away, but the way they are used must evolve. In an environment where every percentage point of margin matters, showing the right incentive at the right time is no longer a benefit; it’s a commercial necessity.

Brands that succeed moving forward will be those that stop asking “What discount should we offer?” and start asking “Does this customer actually need one?” When incentives are intentional, data-driven, and aligned with real shopper intent, they stop eroding value and start delivering it.

Read our Top event success tips for 2026 on how to turn events from a box-ticking exercise into a long-term growth engine.

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Top event success tips for 2026

Luke Matthews — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:45:28 +0000

After attending hundreds of ecommerce, affiliate and performance marketing events over the past few years, one thing is clear: events don’t generate ROI by accident. They reward preparation, intention, and follow-up. As we head into 2026, here are my top tips to make every event count next year.

1. Define your “why” before you book.
Are you hunting new partners, closing deals, or learning industry trends and insights? Perhaps you’re looking to elevate your brand, or even your personal brand for career development. Clear goals shape every decision – from sessions to meetings, and how you will measure success.

2. Book meetings before you arrive.
Your calendar should be at least 70% full before you land, to account for any last minute drop-outs while still leaving space for those adhoc meetings too.

Use the official event app, LinkedIn, and warm intros to lock in time with priority contacts. If the event presents an opportunity to strengthen existing partnerships, then consider planning a group dinner or side event while these key contacts are in town.

3. Use social media as a pre-event warm-up.
Post that you’re attending, comment on speakers’ content, and DM attendees. Familiarity breeds conversations on-site. This is also a great channel to promote any speaking sessions or side-events you might be involved in over the course of the main event.

4. Quality beats quantity in networking.
Ten meaningful conversations outperform fifty rushed ones. But don’t go in with half a tank – you still need some volume to hedge your success. Have an agenda, ask smart questions, be curious and listen more than you pitch. Remember, you have a short space of time that you need to maximise.

5. Anchor yourself with a hub.
Whether it’s your booth, a partner stand, or just a nearby café, having a “home base” makes follow-ups and drop-ins easier to manage.

6. Attend with intent, not FOMO.
You don’t need to attend every party. Choose the events where your audience actually shows up – and where conversations can happen. Being smart about planning your time will keep you fresh for those meetings that really matter.
Take notes immediately.

7. Capture context after each meeting.
“Great chat” won’t help you three weeks later. Note down their title, likely influence and the pain points you know you can help with.

8. Follow up within 48 hours.
Reference the conversation, add value, and propose a clear next step. Speed signals seriousness.

9. Finally, measure what matters – and be patient.
Event success isn’t about how busy you felt or what a good time you had – it’s about outcomes. Track ROI against the goals you set upfront: meetings booked, qualified leads generated, deals influenced, partnerships launched, and pipeline value created.

Just as importantly, remember that event-driven growth often lives in a long deal cycle. Some of the most valuable partnerships and revenue wins surface months after the event. Monitor progress over time, attribute influence across the pipeline, and review what genuinely moved the needle.

When you consistently measure, refine, and stay patient, events evolve from a short-term expense into a long-term growth engine.

See where intent.ly will be in 2026 (with plenty more still to be confirmed) – see you at an event soon!

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Key dates for your 2026 marketing calendar

Patience Kibblewhite — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 09:00:00 +0000

As we look toward 2026, here are some of the key dates for your marketing calendar to help you plan ahead and set your campaigns up for success. Targeted, relevant, and timely campaigns continue to be the key to maximising shopper engagement and driving conversions helping you hit your KPIs with confidence.

Whether your goal is to attract new customers, increase conversions and AOVs, reduce cart abandonment, manage inventory, or shape traffic, thoughtful campaign planning will set you up for a strong year ahead.

JANUARY	FEBRUARY	MARCH
New Year's Day (1)	Super Bowl Final (8, US)	St. David's Day (1, Wales)
Martin Luther King Jr Day (19, US)	Valentine's Day (14)	Holi Festival (4, India)
Blue Monday (19)	Presidents' Day (16, US)	Ash Wednesday (18)
Burns Night (25, Scotland)	Family Day (16, Canada)	World Book Day (6)
Australia Day (26)	Chinese New Year (17)	International Women's Day (8)
	Ramadan starts (17)	Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day (17)
	Fairtrade Fortnight starts (23)	St. Patrick's Day (17)
		Mothering Sunday (15, UK)
		Eid (19-20)

APRIL	MAY	JUNE
Good Friday (3)	Labour Day/May Day (1)	Pride Month
Qingming Festival (5, China)	Bank Holiday (4, UK)	Republic Day (2, Italy)
Easter Sunday (5)	Cinco De Mayo (5, Mexico)	Flag Day (14, US)
Easter Monday (6)	WWII Victory Day (8, France)	Father's Day (21)
St. George's Day (23, England)	Mother's Day (10, US, Australia)	Wimbledon Championships (29)
Anzac Day (25)	Hot Sales (14 TBC, Mexico)
	FA Cup Final (16)
	Victoria Day (18, Canada)
	RHS Chelsea Flower Show (20)
	Bank Holiday (25, UK)
	Memorial Day (25, US)
	Whit Monday (25)
	Gloucester Cheese Rolling (25, UK)
	Mother's Day (31, France)

JULY	AUGUST	SEPTEMBER
Canada Day (1)	Assumption of Mary (15, Italy)	Back to School (1, UK)
Independence Day (4, US)	Qixi Festival / Valentine's Day (10, China)	Father's Day (6, Australia)
Independence Day (9, Argentina)	Bank Holiday (31, UK)	Labor Day (7, US)
Bastille Day (14, France)		Independence Day (16, Mexico)
Independence Day (20, Colombia)		Oktoberfest starts (19, Germany)
Amazon Prime Day (TBC)		Fairtrade Fortnight starts (22)
		Mid-Autumn Festival (25, China)

OCTOBER	NOVEMBER	DECEMBER
Black History Month	World Vegan Day (1)	Green Monday (14, US)
Golden Week (1-7, China)	Day of the Dead (2)	Couple's Day / Double 12 (12, China)
National Day of Spain (12)	Melbourne Cup Day (3, Australia)	Super Saturday (19)
Thanksgiving (12, Canada)	Remembrance Sunday (9)	Last Next Day Delivery (23)
Thanksgiving (13, Canada)	Singles' Day (11, China)	Christmas Eve (24)
Halloween (31)	Remembrance Day (UK) / Veterans Day (US) Armistice Day (France) (11)	Christmas Day (25)
	Diwali (20)	Boxing Day (26)
	El Buen Fin (13-16, Mexico)	New Year's Eve (31)
	Thanksgiving (26, US)
	Black Friday (27)
	Small Business Saturday (28)
	St. Andrew's Day (30, Scotland)
	Cyber Monday (30)

Contact your intent.ly Client Success Manager to discuss your campaigns, or request a demo to learn more about how we can help you to engage and convert more shoppers, achieving a wide range of KPIs.

Back to journal to read more

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Supermarket Christmas adverts of 2025: unwrapped!

Patience Kibblewhite — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 15:15:31 +0000

It’s that time of year again – the 2025 Christmas ads have arrived. UK retailers are leaning on nostalgia, emotion, and smart heuristics to spread festive cheer and drive connection. From heartfelt storytelling to humour and heritage, these campaigns show how powerful psychology makes marketing memorable.

1. Waitrose

Waitrose’s advert, which centres on a wish coming true through the meeting of character Joe (played by comedian Joe Wilkinson) and Kiera (Knightley, playing herself), connecting love and joy to their food, taps into several key psychological drivers:

Affect Heuristic: By linking the act of shopping at Waitrose to the emotional reward of wishes coming true and amplified love, the ad encourages a decision based on positive emotion rather than just rational product comparison.
Aspiration Bias/Wish Fulfilment: The narrative of Joe’s ‘wish’ being granted by a seemingly miraculous event (the romantic meeting) plays on the deep-seated human desire for hope and wonder during the holidays, associating the brand with achieving a better, happier reality.
Celebrity Endorsement & Cultural Anchoring: The use of a well-known actress like Keira Knightley (who is known for festive romance films like Love Actually) instantly gives the brand a borrowed sense of warmth, trust, and glamour. Playing on Love Actually’s iconic cue card scene, Waitrose leverages a beloved, familiar movie moment by replacing the romantic declarations with an “I love You” message on a Waitrose pie. This cultural anchoring associates the brand’s food directly with the feeling of heartfelt Christmas romance and tradition.

2. M&S

M&S Food’s campaign, which stars Dawn French as a commuter whose food fairy-alter ego conjures a party in an M&S food truck, subtly positions its food as the ultimate Christmas gift and a catalyst for togetherness.

Framing Effect: By suggesting M&S food is the “best gift anyone can receive,” the brand frames its product not just as a consumable, but a meaningful, high-value present that brings people together and elevates the celebration.
Celebrity Endorsement & Authority Bias: The inclusion of a celebrity chef like Tom Kerridge, who collaborated on their food range, reinforces the quality and expert authority behind their festive offerings. Celebrity endorsement is a powerful, year-round tool. Think George Clooney for Nespresso (linking luxury and sophistication) or Lebron James for Nike (linking performance and aspirational success). These campaigns leverage the celebrity’s established credibility and positive image to instantly enhance brand value.
Social Proof/Bias: The ad’s focus on bringing a community (the stranded commuters) together for an impromptu festive feast reinforces the idea that M&S is central to shared holiday experiences.

3. Aldi

Aldi’s return of Kevin the Carrot in a two-part, Love, Actually-inspired, light-hearted adventure (culminating in an engagement) leans heavily on familiarity and humour.

Mere Exposure Effect & Familiarity Bias: Bringing back Kevin, a character now celebrating his 10th year, leverages the mere exposure effect. His established presence and storyline build on years of audience fondness and predictable cheer. The familiarity heuristic is used to drive loyalty; campaigns that consistently feature the same well-known jingle, like the GoCompare opera singer, or long-running characters, like the Compare the Market Meerkats, successfully build enduring trust through predictable, repeated exposure.
Humour as a Memory Cue: The ad’s use of silly puns and innuendos increases the memorable and shareable nature of the campaign, which often translates to higher recall and positive brand association.
Anticipation & Suspense: The episodic, two-part release structure creates a suspense/curiosity gap, encouraging viewers to actively seek out and watch the second part, thereby increasing total engagement time with the brand.

4. Asda

Asda’s use of The Grinch to tell a familiar story of a family Christmas feast subtly addresses current economic anxieties.

Nostalgia Heuristic: Featuring an iconic, well-known character like The Grinch immediately evokes a sense of childhood nostalgia and familiarity associated with the classic story.
Anchoring/Price Salience: By featuring The Grinch initially grumbling about “spenny gifts” and “frightful prices” until he encounters the value at Asda, the ad anchors the idea of high Christmas costs before immediately offering Asda as the cost-friendly alternative, making their lower prices feel compelling.
Transformation/Hope: The Grinch’s transformation from cynic to convert parallels the shopper’s journey from anxiety over costs to joyful acceptance – suggesting that shopping at Asda is the way to achieve a happier Christmas despite financial pressures.

5. Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s continues its partnership with Roald Dahl’s BFG and a real colleague to save Christmas dinner from a giant, emphasising community and value.

Nostalgia & Familiarity Heuristics: The reunion with the BFG character builds on the success and positive associations established in the previous year, solidifying the brand’s long-term connection to this beloved cultural icon.
Reciprocity Norm/Altruism: The storyline of BFG and the Sainsbury’s colleague protecting the public’s dinners, combined with the brand’s partnership with Comic Relief to donate meals, activates the social norm of altruism and selflessness during the holidays, positioning Sainsbury’s as a responsible, caring brand.
Social Proof (Colleague Sophie): Featuring a real-life colleague in a heroic role adds authenticity and subtly uses social proof. It depicts the dedication of their staff to ensure a good Christmas for all. Social proof is a well-used heuristic since it validates the prodcut through the testimony of real people. L’Oréal embodies the concept of social proof in their “Because I’m Worth It” campaign featuring successful, glamorous spokespeople who represent the brand’s ideal. It suggests that by using the product, you are associating yourself with this ‘worth it’ group of people.

6. Lidl

Lidl’s advert, narrated by a child, focuses on emotional connection and promoting its value while highlighting its charitable Toy Bank initiative.

Emotional Appeal (Innocence/Purity Heuristic): The child’s narration creates a strong emotional appeal and sense of innocence, highlighting the genuine, simple desire for connection over material excess. Using a child’s voice or perspective increases the emotional weight and sincerity of the brand’s proposition. Haribo uses this technique in their iconic Kids’ Voices campaign, linking the product directly to the pure, uninhibited joy of childhood.
Value & Affordability Heuristic: By directly highlighting their lower price point, Lidl addresses the Cost of Living Crisis and reassures value-conscious shoppers.
Integrity/Commitment Cue: Promoting their Toy Bank not only fosters a sense of community but also acts as an integrity cue, validating the ad’s touching, selfless message by demonstrating concrete, charitable action.

7. Tesco

Tesco’s campaign is a series of short vignettes focusing on the relatable, perfectly imperfect family dynamics of Christmas, rather than just the food.

Relatability Bias/In-Group Association: By showcasing the humorous, often chaotic, but utterly familiar family dynamics (like competitive games or awkward conversations), the campaign creates a powerful sense of relatability, making the viewer feel like Tesco truly ‘gets’ their Christmas experience. Brands like Just Eat heavily leverage the relatability bias by showing busy, overwhelmed families ordering takeaway instead of cooking – positioning their service as an easy, stress-free solution to the “What’s for dinner?” question.
Source Credibility & Reassurance: The use of John Bishop’s narration acts as a recognisable and non-judgemental voice. His presence reminds us that the imperfections are “what make Christmas Christmas,” validating the viewer’s own experiences. This reassurance reduces the pressure of achieving an ‘ideal’ Christmas, linking Tesco to comfort and acceptance.
Humour as a Memory Cue: The reliance on humour in these short, punchy clips makes the content highly digestible and memorable, reinforcing the positive association with the Tesco brand through laughter.

Moving beyond simple product showcases, these Christmas campaigns reveal a sophisticated understanding of consumer psychology. Through strategically deploying the Familiarity Heuristic (Kevin the Carrot, BFG, The Grinch), leveraging the Affect Heuristic through aspiration and humour, and strongly activating the Norm of Altruism (Sainsbury’s, Lidl), retailers are expertly building deeper, emotional brand loyalty. Crucially, in a financially sensitive year, the effective use of Anchoring and Value Heuristics (Asda, Lidl) reassures shoppers that both magic and affordability can coexist. These ads prove that the true art of festive marketing lies in connecting a product to a cherished memory, shared value, or a relatable truth; ensuring that the brand is not just seen, but felt, throughout the festive season.

Back to journal to read more

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The Truth About Affiliate Payments: Key Takeaways from the APMA Webinar

Patience Kibblewhite — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 16:28:05 +0000

On the 14th October, intent.ly CIO David Ayre joined a panel session on “The Truth About Affiliate Payments,” – a webinar that brought together publishers, networks, brands, and agencies to discuss one of the industry’s biggest challenges: slow and inconsistent payments. Hosted by the Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association (APMA), the session tackled not just why payment delays persist, but also how the ecosystem can take practical steps towards real resolutions.

This summary was originally published in full by The APMA here.

Why Payments Matter

Julia Stent, Consultant Strategy Advisor & APMA Board Member opened with the headline findings from APMA’s research. “Over half of publishers in our study said payments impact their commercial progress and growth,” she said. She reminded attendees that the affiliate channel drives about £19 billion of revenue for UK brands. “If cash moved within 30 days, over half of businesses told us they would invest that cash flow in growth. Nearly one in five said they could create more jobs.”

The session is part of APMA’s Payments Project. The APMA has published a payments guide, Everything you need to know about publisher payments, that compares processes across 12 networks. It has run two publisher roundtables over the summer. The next step is a voluntary code of conduct for advertisers that sets clear standards. Julia’s message was simple: “This is not just an admin task. It is a fundamental growth task.”

What Publishers Are Facing

The panel painted a clear picture of the problem: months-long validation cycles, inconsistent rejection rates, and unpredictable reconciliation timelines. Warrick Lambert, CEO at Genie Shopping, described payment delays as “the biggest bottleneck in the channel.”

David Ayre, intent.ly CIO, focused on the day-to-day. “The first of every month is an administrative nightmare,” he said. “We were paid this year for transactions from 2019. It is good to be paid, but six years later is not a system you can plan around.” For David, transparency is as important as speed. “It is not always about cancellations. It is about knowing where the money is across multiple networks and invoices.”

The Network & Accelerator Perspectives

Carla Arrindell of Optimise emphasised that validation and payment are separate challenges, calling for better communication when schedules slip. Tools like “transactions-by-payment” reports are helping close the transparency gap, but consistency remains key.

Meanwhile, Rich Lane of Revving shared that the average affiliate payment (outside of travel) still takes around 100 days, far longer than what’s sustainable for many partners. He shared “Creators have ways to nudge brands on late payments. Affiliates don’t. We need a collective voice.”

When Faster Payments Unlock Growth

The panel shared real-world examples of how faster payments drive tangible business impact:

Genie Shopping, working with Revving, doubled growth for retailers with accelerated payment terms.
Optimise’s express pay model pre-pays high-quality partners, leading to stronger performance and trust.
intent.ly’s own experience shows that strong network relationships and clear communication can resolve blockers and speed up outcomes.

David commented, “We have improved outcomes by working with our network and agency contacts. Sometimes the blocker is on the advertiser side, such as POs or finance workflows. You need someone who can help resolve it.”

Final tips from the panel

Carla Arrindell, Optimise: “Get closer to contacts who can help, including finance. Build relationships so you get insight and support when things go wrong.”
David Ayre, intent.ly: “Talk to each other and be transparent, especially through peak. Get involved in the APMA.”
Rich Lane, Revving: “Share plans. If partners show what faster payments unlock next quarter, everyone understands the value.”
Warrick Lambert, Genie Shopping: “Leverage peak. Audit commissions, payment terms and rejection rates. Negotiate on timing and approvals, not only on CPA.”

The message across the board was consistent. Faster, predictable payments increase partner investment, reduce waste, and grow programmes. The fixes are known. The work is to apply them, communicate clearly, and measure the results.

Read the APMA’s full webinar summary for actions we can all take now and what’s next from the APMA.

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intent.ly Live! 2025: Enhancing Shopper Journeys With A.I.

Patience Kibblewhite — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 14:14:26 +0000

A.I. is everywhere. Everyone is using it. Everyone is asking what is next and wanting to be involved in competing for the best implementation. A.I.’s expansion into the marketing scene, and brands’ race to the top is creating questions around how human collaboration compares. “A lot of the conversation is about replacing people’s jobs.” People are afraid something sacred or sincere, about our own abilities, is being actively threatened.

At this year’s intent.ly Live!, Al Ryrie, Founder of HelpMeChoose A.I., explored a fresh take on how brands can use A.I. as an enabler, not a replacement. As he explained, “A.I helps humans do more – not less.” His session, “Enhancing Shopper Journeys With A.I.,” focused on how marketers can combine human creativity and intelligent automation to improve decision-making, customer experiences, and ultimately conversions.

Facing the Problem

SmartChoice, a joint venture between intent.ly and HelpMeChoose A.I., is a generative AI-powered product recommendation guide, built to enhance the customer journey through intelligent interaction. Ryrie explained that SmartChoice uses A.I. to personalise experiences and turn consideration into confident conversion.

In a world where we often have “too much choice and too little time”, creating decision and choice paralysis, A.I. can assist us with deciding whether or not to make a purchase. Ryrie challenged brands to ask – how can A.I. help us make decisions more efficiently?

He highlights three key shopper expectations users are presenting, which A.I. tools have the power to solve:

Personalisation – “71 % of customers expect companies to deliver personalised interactions.”, McKinsey 2021
Speed and convenience – “72 % of consumers say they will remain loyal to companies that deliver faster service.”, Salesforce 2023
Guidance and recommendation – “67% of customers say they’d use A.I. to find the best prices, and 56% want help comparing products.”, YouGov 2025

How can A.I. Guide the Shopper?

Awareness – Intelligent targeting, A.I. lookalike modelling and dynamic creatives.
Discovery – Guided recommendations allow customers to discover new products.
Decision – Simplifies exception handling by answering crucial “does it do this one thing?” moments.
Conversion – Harnesses massive amounts of data to reveal opportunities and guide smarter improvements.

“Product quizzes have been around for a really long time”. However, Ryrie explained how A.I. has drastically improved them as it allows for greater levels of flexibility: “We can work with any number of product feeds and any number of customers”. Not only is the reach better in terms of business size, but it generates a substantial level of detail. Ryrie states “The personalisation is on a one-to-one level in a way that we couldn’t do prior to generative A.I..” Additionally, the speed of solutions like SmartChoice’s configurability is unmatched – it can easily be tailored and built out in different areas or facets of a customer experience.

Data Beyond What We’ve Seen Before

A.I. in ecommerce is a valuable data tool, providing insights that may not have previously been discovered. He states “It is very powerful in terms of data generation which wasn’t possible before and which can be fed back into everything else.” When gathering data through targeting different audiences, the behaviour of each segment produces amazing results as it is personalised at each stage. For example, SmartChoice answers questions that improve future business decisions and informs strategy. Ryrie exemplifies these as “Are we recommending the right things? Are we in the right place? Are they looking for something else? What does that tell us about the journey, that we can do better?”

How Relevance Rules

A.I. as a mechanism has always been about relevance. Ryrie explained that “You don’t get performance if the journey isn’t relevant to the customer.” People are under pressure to utilise A.I. because it is widespread and competitive. However, it is a futile addition unless thoroughly considered and relevant in implementation. Brands should consider using A.I. for its proven, unique qualities such as compatibility, intelligent bundling and prediction. It doesn’t have to be something radically new, but addressing a known issue – executed in a way that is relevant and flexible.

Why Segmentation Makes Strategy

Segments are a crucial part of building a guided journey with A.I., as they connect channels and tools back together. Existing segments must be prioritised as a foundation to build questions and answers upon, in the journey. This ensures “we’re feeding into existing activity so the data and customer profiles that are generated, can be taken back and used to power other areas.” This first-party data empowers companies to produce long-term strategies, in which users are creatively re-engaged. It’s not just a stand-alone tool – A.I. has the power to fundamentally improve a brand’s customer lifetime value.

Starting Isn’t Scary

Starting with A.I. might feel intimidating, but Ryrie’s advice is to “Start really small. A single campaign can be a great touchpoint to explore and see what comes back.” Ultimately, his message lies in the fact that blending A.I. technology with creativity and knowledge is the most effective approach. He follows with “A.I. doesn’t replace the thinking process of a business. There is a lot of historical knowledge there, about what works.” It doesn’t have everything – human originality and experience need to be fed in. Finally, reinstating that “it’s not a substitute for anything, it is a super-power that enables all of those things that we do already.”

Interested in how intent.ly SmartChoice might work for you? Book a demo with our team here.

Thanks again to Al and all our clients and partners for joining us at intent.ly Live! – you can read more insights from the day on our journal, including:

The post intent.ly Live! 2025: Enhancing Shopper Journeys With A.I. appeared first on intent.ly.

intent.ly Live! 2025: Building a career that transcends affiliate marketing

Amy Jordan — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:53:06 +0000

Our third edition of intent.ly Live! included an insightful panel session packed full of practical advice on how to build a career beyond affiliate marketing. intent.ly’s Client Success Director Katy Scott was joined by two seasoned ecommerce pros who started out in affiliate marketing – Nicholas Caulfield, Senior Director of Growth & Operations at Expedia and Michelle Corp, Ecommerce Director at Lily’s Kitchen. Here’s a round-up of some of their top tips.

1. Start Where You Are and Stay Curious

While it often seems that few people start their careers with affiliate marketing in mind, those who find themselves in the industry discover a space full of opportunity and creativity. For many, it can become a launchpad for broader growth and lasting success.

Whether you come from journalism, advertising, or data, affiliate marketing gives you a crash course in how digital ecosystems work. What matters most is curiosity – seeing affiliate not just as a job, but as a training ground for commercial thinking, partnership building, and problem-solving.

2. Transferable Skills That Transcend Affiliate

Affiliate marketing is a microcosm of modern marketing: fast-paced, data-driven, and relentlessly collaborative. The panelists highlighted key skills that continue to serve them well in their senior ecommerce roles today:

Adaptability and resilience: Every quarter brings new tools, rules, and partners. Learning to stay calm under change builds long-term career stamina.
Relationship management and influence: Negotiating with partners teaches empathy, communication, and persuasion – critical in any senior leadership or cross-functional role.
Commercial thinking: Understanding how revenue flows, what drives ROI, and how incentives align gives affiliate professionals a rare strategic edge.
Data storytelling: Turning metrics into meaning is a skill honed in client presentations – and essential when talking to executives.
Preparation and research: Whether writing a partner brief or pitching internally, those who do their homework build trust and credibility.

“Account Managers have the pressure of maintaining relationships. As you develop, you learn how to influence people and your relationships.” – Nicholas

3. Future-Proofing Your Skillset

The digital landscape shifts fast, but so can you. The panelists shared practical ways to stay sharp:

Stay connected to industry news: Follow key publications like Hello Partner, The Drum, Econsultancy and eMarketer, as well as category-specific outlets like Skift, for the travel sector.
Learn from others’ work: Save great slide decks or campaign ideas you see and revisit them for inspiration.
Audit your own learning gaps: Build skills in data analysis, AI, or strategic storytelling – areas that bridge creativity and technology.
Keep asking “so what?” Data alone doesn’t impress a CMO – insight does. Always link your work to impact. Nicholas suggests always asking yourself, “How do I show insights that they are not already aware of?”
Utilise useful toolbar add-ons: Enhance your output and insights with tools such as BuiltWith, Datalayer, Hunter, Meta and Similarweb.

4. Taking the Leap: Pivoting Beyond Affiliate

If you’re ready to take on a new challenge in strategy, trading, brand marketing, or other leadership roles, the same principles apply:

Prepare – and pitch your value: Nicholas moved into strategy by spotting a gap and building a business case for the new role.
Expect resistance: People may question your move – use that as fuel, not discouragement.
Be ready to fail and learn fast: You won’t know everything in a new discipline, and that’s okay. Growth comes from discomfort.
Communicate expectations: When you do land that new role, set out a 90-day plan for how you’ll add value and make it visible to your peers and leaders.

5. Re-define Success Beyond Titles

Career growth isn’t just about salary or job titles. The panelists underlined the importance of aligning work with personal values – integrity, kindness, teamwork, and continuous learning.

“I have my personal goals which are layered on top of my core values. These are the main concepts that drive how I feel about myself and other people.” For Michelle, these guiding values serve as key markers that help her define what success truly means, where she wants to go in her career, and what she hopes to achieve.

Similarly, Nicholas urged us to reflect on our personal ‘lifelines’. “What are the three to five things that have shaped your career? I think people go through different measures of success as you progress through your career and as you progress through life.” He emphasised how our motivations are never static: “You go through ‘S’ curves – you complete one, adapt, and then begin another.”

Finally, Michelle noted, “Good things don’t come from your comfort zone.” Measure progress not just by promotions, but by mastery, autonomy, and purpose – and allow those priorities to evolve over time.

6. Mentorship and Continuous Learning

Mentorship doesn’t have to be formal. Seek out people who challenge you, inspire you, or have the job you aspire to next. The panel offered these tips for finding and making the most of mentors:

Look beyond your line manager – choose someone two steps ahead of you if you can.
Be specific about what you want to learn and how often you’d like to meet.
Treat every interaction – from interviews to networking chats – as a learning opportunity.
Remember feedback is a gift: Ask for it, apply it, and grow from it.

7. Final Advice: Take Risks, Prepare, and Stay Human

When asked for their final words on building a successful career in affiliate marketing and beyond, Nicholas and Michelle agreed on these key actions:

Take smart risks: The best career moves often look risky from the outside.
Do the prep: Know your audience, do your research, and show your thinking.
Stay authentic: Bring your personality and values into every conversation.
Keep learning: The most successful marketers stay endlessly curious.

Affiliate marketing builds commercially minded, adaptable, relationship-driven professionals – skills that translate far beyond the channel. Whether you stay in the space or step into new territories, those foundations will carry you forward.

Thanks again to Nick, Michelle and all our clients and partners for joining us at intent.ly Live! – you can read more insights from the day on our journal, including:

The post intent.ly Live! 2025: Building a career that transcends affiliate marketing appeared first on intent.ly.

intent.ly Live! 2025: Connection, creativity and performance

Patience Kibblewhite — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:25:37 +0000

Looking back at our third intent.ly Live!, held in London’s Canary Wharf on 1st October, we explored what truly makes advertising effective in today’s landscape. From iconic campaigns of the past to the rise of AI-driven optimisation, the event examined the delicate balance between creativity, human insight, and data.

Bringing together brands, agencies, and networks from across the performance and affiliate marketing ecosystem, we explored why heuristics shape memorability, why Gen Z demand storytelling over selling, and how imagination and artificial intelligence can work hand in hand. Here’s a look back at some of the key lessons and inspiring speaker highlights.

Setting the Theme: Selling the Spectacle

Opening with an energising keynote, Orlando Wood, Chief Innovation Officer at System1, brought history, science and art together under the theme of “Selling the Spectacle.” Taking us back to 19th-century Paris and the high-kicking can-can dancers of the Moulin Rouge, Orlando detailed the symbolic nature of those who captured pure showmanship. “When you look back at the history of mass-reach advertising, you realise that the show and art were at its origins, and also the heart of its effectiveness.” Captured in brightly coloured posters by artists of the time, their performances and the artworks that followed, boosted the Moulin Rouge and it’s dancers into fame. “These artists, these performers were the influencers of their day and the advertising poster was their TikTok.”

From here, advertising grew from artful expression into measurable performance. Early 20th-century manufacturers began testing which versions of their mail-order ads drove the most responses, in the first form of A/B testing. This marked the beginning of two schools of advertising:

Showmanship: The emotionally rich, attention-capturing style that draws people in.
Salesmanship: The rational, message-driven approach that nudges consumers toward action.

The emotional connection created by performance-based advertising drives long-term engagement. As Orlando put it, “Showmanship makes your salesmanship work harder.” This is no simple hypothesis – neuroscience backs this up; while the right hemisphere of the brain responds to stories, characters and emotion, the left hemisphere focuses narrowly on information and direct messaging. Great marketing speaks to both, but it’s the showmanship – the creativity, humanity and story – that sparks attention in the first place.

In an age of data, efficiency and automation, marketers can’t afford to lose their sense of spectacle. Emotion and imagination remain central to how marketing connects and endures.

State of the Industry: The Great Affiliate Reset

Kevin Edwards, founder of The Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association (APMA), shared insights from their latest Publisher and Advertiser surveys, proving how the channel thrives on collaboration, trust, and adaptability. But, as he noted, “to tackle 2026 with confidence, the channel needs a reset – one that turns our fragmented ecosystem into a focused machine.”

While publishers and brands may have different priorities, both are ultimately striving for the same goals. Edwards identified three key “gaps” the industry must address:

The Perception Gap: Lack of recognition from senior brand marketers

Affiliate marketing has outgrown its “niche” status, yet many senior marketers still view it as a tactical or secondary channel rather than a strategic growth driver. Advertisers admit that C-level teams often misunderstand its value, while publishers note that affiliate success rarely gets celebrated alongside flashier channels like TV or retail media. Both sides agree: it’s time to amplify the data – budgets, growth, and optimism – to secure affiliate’s rightful place in the boardroom.

The Measurement Gap: Shared measurement & storytelling are critical

Advertisers and publishers alike want clearer and more defined data on the positive impact of affiliate marketing – and a shift from justification to confident storytelling around the ROI it delivers. “Our historic way of measuring and reporting is not fit for purpose anymore – we need to be more three-dimensional in how we talk about performance.” The industry’s reliance on last-click CPA overlooks affiliate’s wider influence across the funnel; shared measurement and storytelling are now critical to proving its brand-building power and inspiring broader market adoption.

The Investment Gap: Affiliate isn’t getting the investment it deserves

Advertisers see affiliate as a full-funnel channel, and publishers recognise that C-suite engagement is vital to unlock bigger budgets. Despite driving around £1 in every £10 of retail revenue – rising to £1 in £8 during Black Friday – affiliate remains underfunded. Closing this gap relies on trust and transparency, from compliance and timely payments to stronger codes of conduct, to build the confidence brands need to invest at the level this high-performing channel deserves.

Hear more results from the APMA surveys live at PI Live Europe, 21-22 October.

Brand Innovation in Action

Our brand partners took the stage to showcase how creativity, data and intent.ly’s smart technology come together in practice:

Dr. Barbara Sturm revealed how an embedded gift with purchase campaign helped lift AOV by 73% and reduced cart abandonment by 4%, using seamless incentives to enhance loyalty without discounting.
OPI demonstrated its generative AI-powered SmartChoice campaign, delivering playful, personalised recommendations with a 91% completion rate.
Hunter Boots shared how a dynamic basket overlay cut abandonment and increased conversions by 35% – a simple reminder of how relevance drives results.
Hughes Electrical showcased an in-page bundle upsell campaign that increased engagement, AOVs, and streamlined the buying experience for customers.

Each brand credited not just the results, but the partnership and innovation behind them. Equipped with real examples, they demonstrated how collaboration is what fuels performance.

Looking Ahead

intent.ly CMO, Chris Johnson, closed the event by bringing these threads together: creativity, connection and cohesion – and encouraged us to challenge the cult of measurement. His message reminded us that while tools and channels evolve, marketing’s real power lies in understanding people. After all, people buy people.

Thanks again to all our clients and partners for joining us and making the day so memorable – we’ll be sharing more insights from the sessions soon, including how to enhance shopper journeys with A.I. and how to build a career that transcends affiliate marketing.

Read Chris’s blog on “Advertising’s Beige Decade and the Return of Storytelling”.

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Key Marketing dates to help boost conversions this Q4

Patience Kibblewhite — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 14:17:39 +0000

As we enter Q4 and peak season, every click and onsite experience matters. With shoppers hunting for deals, now’s the time to optimise your site and convert every visit. Using intent.ly’s data-driven incentives, brands can deliver the right offer to the right customer at the right moment – and the final months bring major opportunities to boost AOVs, reduce cart abandonment, and drive revenue.

Here’s your guide to key shopping dates and moments to win this Q4:

October

Diwali (20 Oct, India): Diwali festival marks new beginnings and the start of the new year for many. Use limited-time offers, personalised discounts, and festive-themed product bundles to help drive revenue.
Halloween (31 Oct): Make the most of Halloween by running playful, themed campaigns that tap into the excitement of the season. Limited-edition products, time-sensitive discounts, and interactive experiences like mystery deals or “treat or trick” offers can drive engagement, boost conversions, and attract new customers.

November

World Vegan Day (1 Nov)
Day of the Dead (2 Nov)
Melbourne Cup Day (4 Nov, Australia)
Remembrance Sunday (9 Nov)
Remembrance Day (UK)/Veterans Day (US)/Armistice Day (France) (11 Nov)
Singles’ Day (11 Nov, China): Capitalise on this special sales event where single individuals mark the occasion by spoiling themselves with gifts and presents. Singles’ Day has become one of the world’s largest online shopping days.
El Buen Fin (14 Nov, Mexico): This shopping holiday, offering discounts and deals for four days the weekend before Mexican Revolution Day, is expected to attract 82% of Mexican consumers for year-end purchases, with promotions as the main incentive.
Thanksgiving (27 Nov, US): This period sets the stage for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Launch teaser campaigns or early access events to build anticipation and engagement.
Black Friday (28 Nov): Black Friday remains one of the busiest shopping days. Focus on high-conversion offers, limited-time discounts, or bundle deals to maximise AOV and conversions.
Small Business Saturday (29 Nov)
St. Andrew’s Day (30 Nov, Scotland)

December

Cyber Monday (1 Dec): Many shoppers wait until Cyber Monday to make online purchases. Consider running digital exclusives, loyalty rewards, and cross-selling promotions to drive traffic and reduce cart abandonment.
Green Monday (8 Dec, US)
Couple’s Day / Double 12 (12 Dec, Asia): An opportunity to engage with Chinese shoppers following the Singles’ Day shopping frenzy and a second chance for brands to capitalise on the year-end shopping mood – with flash sales, loyalty rewards and targeted promotions.
Super Saturday (20)
Last delivery dates (last next day delivery for Christmas, 23 Dec)
Christmas Eve (24 Dec)
Christmas Day (25 Dec)
Boxing Day (26 Dec)
New Year’s Eve (31 Dec)

Back to journal to read more

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Building a promo codes strategy that converts and protects margins

Patience Kibblewhite — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 16:08:12 +0000

Promo codes are powerful conversion tools, but without a clear strategy they can quickly eat into profitability. The most effective retailers design campaigns that are not only goal-driven but also responsive to shopper behaviour – ensuring incentives are purposeful, targeted, and margin-conscious.

Read on to learn the top-tips to perfect your strategy in preparation for peak season.

1. Set Clear Objectives
Your promo code strategy should align with your goals, to avoid over-discounting that erodes margins or under-discounting that stifles conversions. For example:

For volume growth: Use broader, higher-value discounts to attract a large customer base.
For customer acquisition: Focus on first-time customer offers, perhaps with a minimum spend threshold.
For profitability: Implement tiered discounts, product-specific offers, or minimum purchase requirements to maintain healthy margins.

2. Leverage Intent Signals For Personalisation
Utilise behavioural cues such as idle browsing, high basket value, repeat visits, exit intent, or scroll depth, to reveal whether a shopper is ready to buy, hesitating, or just browsing. This approach – central to intent.ly’s technology – allows you to trigger the right type of incentive at the right moment, and only if necessary to convert.

High-intent shoppers: Offer a small nudge (free delivery, low-value incentive) to close the sale.
Low-intent shoppers: Use a larger, time-bound discount to create urgency and pull them over the line.
Returning customers: Reward with exclusive loyalty-based codes instead of generic discounts, reinforcing long-term value.

3. A/B Test Promo Delivery
To optimise both conversions and profitability, test not only what you offer but how and when you offer it.

Showing vs. hiding codes: Does surfacing codes early increase engagement, or is it more effective to reveal them later in the journey?
Timing of overlays: Compare triggers such as exit intent, inactivity, or basket thresholds to see where they drive the best results.
Audience splits: Run controlled experiments with different segments (new vs. returning customers, mobile vs. desktop) to refine your targeting.

This data-driven approach ensures you’re not relying on assumptions – but on measurable outcomes. Learn more about effective A/B testing.

4. Align Promo Codes Across Channels
Promo codes shouldn’t sit in isolation. For maximum impact, they need to work seamlessly with your affiliate marketing channels, email campaigns, paid media, CRM, and other onsite activity. Aligning incentives across channels avoids confusion, minimises discount leakage, and gives customers a consistent experience.

Using bespoke, trackable codes for top partners, you can measure true ROI, strengthen affiliate relationships, and ensure every discount serves a clear purpose in your overall strategy – especially during Black Friday.

To learn more about how to unlock the psychology, tactics, and tools behind
high-performing promo code strategies this peak season, download our free eBook.

Couponlytics, intent.ly’s promo code insights platform, gives retailers full visibility and control over all discount activity to track performance, fix invalid codes in real time, and measure true revenue impact. By turning promo data into actionable insights, it helps brands reduce cart abandonment, optimise budgets, and strengthen top-performing partners – turning discounts into a driver of growth. Book a demo and personalised code performance audit at intent.ly/contact.

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Advertising’s beige decade and the return of storytelling

Ceej Johnson — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 15:34:17 +0000

This week I had the chance to present at our own intent.ly Live! event, and the theme I kept hitting replay on was what I can only describe as the beige decade. Ten years where advertising slowly measured itself into blandness. Campaigns got safer than Rory McIlroy with a nine iron (EURRRROPE). Clean, polished, polite… and utterly forgettable.

Beige became the default. Not because marketers suddenly lost their spark, but because every idea now has to survive an assault course of metrics before anyone dares to sign it off. Will it shift brand intent by 2.3 per cent in Bristol? Does it align with the brand health tracker? Will the dashboard smile politely at it? By the time a campaign clears those hurdles, the life has been ironed out. What’s left is something that looks lovely on a PowerPoint slide but has all the charisma of a cancelled train at Swindon.

At intent.ly Live! I reminded everyone of the ads that did burn themselves into memory… and not one of them would make it past today’s measurement mafia. Smash robots. Peter Kay’s John Smith’s “Ave it.” Drumming Gorrillas and Cadbury’s eyebrows. None of them ticked the sensible boxes. All of them were gloriously ridiculous. And that’s exactly why they lasted. You can still hear the robots cackling. You can still shout “Ave it!” on a Sunday league pitch and get a laugh. You can still raise your eyebrows in the mirror and look like an idiot. That’s culture. Beige doesn’t get a look in.

Now here’s the twist. Storytelling isn’t dead. It’s been buffering on 1% for a decade, and Gen Z are finally hitting refresh for us. This is a generation raised on scroll speed. If your ad is beige, it’s gone before the logo even appears. They demand personality. They demand story. They’ll forgive clunky, they’ll forgive cringe, but they won’t forgive beige. What they love is when a brand has clearly tried.

Look at the brands thriving through them. Duolingo with its deranged TikTok owl. Ryanair with the sassiest social team since airlines learned how to tweet. Even Jet2 Holidays somehow going viral because people started taking the mick and then couldn’t stop watching. None of this is beige. It’s loud. It’s weird. It’s alive. And brands stepping into the Gen Z era have to accept they won’t control the whole narrative. It will live (and mutate) in consumer hands. Brands must accept loss of narrative control but gain cultural participation.

And that was my point on stage. Measurement still has its place (of course it does) but it should become more of the backstage crew, not the headline act. The star is the story. Always has been, always will be. When measurement hogs the spotlight, we get the beige decade. When we put story first, culture does the measurement for us.

So maybe Gen Z are the ones saving us from ourselves. Maybe they’re forcing us back into bold storytelling because they simply won’t tolerate corporate wallpaper and ‘salesmanship’. Maybe, just maybe, that’s exactly what we need.

Beige is out. Colour is in. Or the ‘Reawakening Era’ – as I like to call it!

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