affiliate Archives - intent.ly

From clicks to clarity: Media Mix Modelling Q&A with the AAB & T.A.M.A

Patience Kibblewhite — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 08:49:14 +0000

As affiliate marketing continues to expand beyond traditional last-click models, the conversation is shifting towards greater transparency, richer insights, and a clearer understanding of the channel’s role across the entire customer journey. From the growing importance of full-funnel visibility to the need to better communicate affiliate’s impact in the language of senior marketers, the industry is increasingly focused on proving value in ways that resonate beyond performance teams.

In this fourth instalment of our Q&A series, taken from our latest ebook From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing, we hear from Jessica Smith, Co-Founder of the Agency Advisory Board, and affiliate marketing consultant Elliot Myers. Together, they share their perspectives on evolving measurement practices, the importance of transparency and human insight, and what affiliate marketing must do to earn greater credibility in senior-level marketing and budget discussions.

Q&A: Jessica Smith
Co-Founder of Agency Advisory Board

How is the way your agency members measure marketing performance evolving beyond last-click attribution?

“AAB Agency members are starting to blur the lines of how the CPA model can operate across the full customer journey – from influencer content, CSS, and CLO discovery, to traditional affiliates, including brand partnerships, re-marketing, retail media, and beyond.

“The visibility of the full funnel and what part each publisher type plays will become an essential part of how agencies and their clients strategically work on a CPA model going forward.”

Where does affiliate marketing currently sit within your member’s wider marketing measurement framework?

“Having met with a wide range of agencies, from micro-consultants to large global media partners, we know where affiliate marketing sits can vary in terms of channel measurement, whether in a wider paid context, PR and performance grouping, or standalone where the agency specialises solely in affiliate.

“The effectiveness of affiliate measurement can also depend on whether an agency is logging into and using affiliate platforms as a source of truth or comparing how affiliate fairs in the likes of GA4, TripleWhale or custom CRM agency systems.”

What data or insights would help you and your members better understand affiliate’s true influence and incremental impact across the shopper journey?

“The most requested AAB response to this question from our agency members is better transparency from affiliate partners. Which links are driving sales and where are they coming from? The lack of transparency, particularly from sub-networks, is an issue and if we can report on a more granular level the agencies will be able to sign-off on greater budgets and align with the transparency that wider paid channels share (i.e. Meta and Google). “

“This comes up without fail at every AAB meeting and is something that we want to work with publishers to overcome. The APMA has shared some great resources for sub-networks in their code of conduct.”

How are privacy changes, AI search, and zero-click behaviour affecting the ability to measure marketing performance?

“Listening to agency feedback, we know it is essential that traditional tracking platforms evolve to include full-funnel visibility for our AAB agency partners. Tracking platforms are racing to include AEO solutions, publisher tagging integrations and CDN tracking to increase AI visibility and offer multi-touch attribution tools as standard.”

What would make affiliate marketing more credible in senior-level marketing budget discussions?

“A key focus of the AAB is to make affiliate budget discussions easier for agencies to have with their CMOs, clients and wider competition from paid performance departments. To do that we need a collective industry voice and credible, proven performance results in the form of joint case studies, advanced reporting and partner diversity testing – and to celebrate the channel more widely outside of the affiliate bubble.

“Including affiliate in wider marketing events, awards and publications as well as telling a positive story of the power of a performance-based CPA model is going to be the next step.”

Q&A: Elliot Myers
Affiliate Marketing Consultant at The Affiliate Marketing Advisor

How is the way your clients measure marketing performance evolving beyond last-click attribution?

“Last-click attribution was always limited because it showed only the end of the story, not the whole thing. AI overlays and the emergence of zero-click journeys should place greater emphasis on measuring early consumer intentions that eventually build up to a purchase.”

What data or insights would help you and your clients better understand affiliate’s true influence and incremental impact across the shopper journey?

“1st party insight through consumer interviews to understand the human factor behind online behaviour. Affiliates can learn from offline channels that use such insights to get a fuller picture of added value.”

How are privacy changes, AI search, and zero-click behaviour affecting the ability to measure marketing performance?

“Negatively. Hence, human insights should be utilised. Online tracking can show how, but it can’t show why.”

What would make affiliate marketing more credible in senior-level marketing budget discussions?

“Speaking their language. Often, these people have an offline, PPC, Social or Display background and may harbour negative sentiment toward affiliates. Discussing the channel’s ability to influence every stage of the consumer journey, from discovery to lifetime value can help to disarm misconceptions and build trust.”

These conversations form part of our latest ebook, From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing – a practical guide you can download for free to help you get started. Last week we published the third instalment of this Q&A series with Gen3 Marketing – look out for the final one with Hughes Electrical coming soon.

Patience Kibblewhite

Patience is intent.ly’s marketing executive, with a passion for creative content marketing and social media strategies.

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From clicks to clarity: Media Mix Modelling Q&A with Gen3 Marketing

Patience Kibblewhite — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:33:52 +0000

As brands look for a clearer “true north” view of performance, a familiar challenge has emerged: affiliate marketing still struggles to demonstrate its full impact within modern measurement frameworks. While marketers increasingly turn to Media Mix Modelling (MMM) to understand what is driving business growth, affiliate is often underrepresented – a challenge compounded by tracking gaps on Apple devices and GA4 data thresholds that tend to favour paid search and social.

To close this gap, the channel needs to evolve how it measures and communicates value to attract investment – moving beyond last-click signals and conversion metrics to show its full influence on customer journeys and revenue growth.

In this third instalment of our Q&A series, drawn from our latest ebook From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing, Greg shares his perspective on why affiliate tracking is missing the mark in default analytics, the challenges of proving incrementality, and how the channel can finally claim its rightful place in the modern media mix.

Q&A: Greg Baines
Senior Vice President at Gen3 Marketing

How is the way your clients measure marketing performance evolving beyond last-click attribution?

“Clients are increasingly wanting to measure incrementality, without fully grasping what they are asking for. They see different results in their internal (usually default GA4) analytics and feel voucher code driven sales would “happen anyway”. “When it comes to on-site optimisation like intent.ly, they often don’t see the sale tracked internally as they are looking at the wrong reporting set-up in GA that doesn’t track these on-site conversions, attributing the sale to the original traffic source instead.”

Where does affiliate marketing currently sit within your client’s wider marketing measurement framework?

“Affiliate is reported on a last click basis and therefore is at odds with a client’s “true north” reporting, which aims to look at more of an DDA/MTA model. As the data is not there to support the sale, it is not seen as incremental and easy to reject as a sale.”

What data or insights would help you and your clients better understand affiliate’s true influence and incremental impact across the shopper journey?

“If you look at GA4, it needs something like 400 instances of the same user journey to become relevant enough in DDA to be properly attributed. This is fine for Paid Search or Paid Social where the Source/Medium/ Channel remain constant.

“In affiliates, we have a far more disjointed set-up and therefore there is a far greater risk of our sales paths missing the mark with many smaller clients. Establishing an industry-wide nomenclature is likely to help here, but is probably too hard to implement. This would make it a lot easier for affiliate sales to be tracked and to also show its place in the path to purchase – and not just as the last click.”

How are privacy changes, AI search, and zero-click behaviour affecting the ability to measure marketing performance?

“Seeing cashback being tracked unconditionally has helped, but we see issues where cashback is tracked on Apple devices (usually using Safari as the default) and while this is tracked in Awin, it’s not tracked in the brands default analytics and this creates questions around incrementality again. I believe this is something TopCashback are looking to address shortly, so that will hopefully make a bigger impact.

“AI searches are on the increase and we do see evidence of zero click sales or codes being used without an affiliate click being registered and are likely to see more brands looking to adopt coupon code tracking.”

What would make affiliate marketing more credible in senior-level marketing budget discussions?

“Affiliate needs to start aligning with CMO-speak and talk more about target audience, reach, frequency, dwell time – rather than just clicks and conversion. To show the value of affiliate in a more upper-funnel framing, we need to use the marketing language used by Paid Search, Paid Social and even OOH / TV. Focus on user journey metrics more and less on last click.”

This conversation forms part of our latest ebook, From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing – a practical guide you can download for free to help you get started. Last week we published the second instalment of this Q&A series with dentsu – look out for the next one with the Agency Advisory Board coming soon.

Patience Kibblewhite

Patience is intent.ly’s marketing executive, with a passion for creative content marketing and social media strategies.

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From clicks to clarity: Media Mix Modelling Q&A with dentsu

Amy Jordan — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:05:59 +0000

As customer journeys become more complex and traditional attribution models face increasing limitations, marketers are looking for better ways to understand the true impact of the affiliate channel. Media Mix Modelling (MMM) is gaining momentum as a way to measure marketing effectiveness more holistically, helping brands move beyond last-click metrics and uncover full-funnel value.

As part of our latest ebook, From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing, we spoke with leading agency experts about the evolving measurement landscape.

In this second instalment of our Q&A series from the ebook, we hear from Andrew Denny, Director – Addressable Solutions at dentsu, who shares his perspective on the growing role of MMM, the challenges brands face in proving true impact, and how affiliate can strengthen its position within the wider media mix.

Q&A: Andrew Denny
Director – Addressable Solutions at dentsu

How is the way your clients measure marketing performance evolving beyond last-click attribution?

“At dentsu, we approach the affiliate channel by focusing on the value publishers drive across the entire customer journey rather than relying solely on last‑click attribution. We utilise path‑to‑conversion reporting within affiliate networks to understand which partners have been involved throughout the purchase journey, not just those delivering the final click, whilst recognising that this view is limited to affiliate contributions rather than the full marketing mix, we feel it is still useful.

“To ensure fair partner compensation, we recommend implementing dynamic commission rates aligned to client KPIs, such as paying higher rates for new customer acquisition than for existing customers, and offering higher commissions, tenancy, or CPC models for upper‑funnel partners, as a flat CPA model may undervalue their contribution. For content partners, we have tools available that identify AI citation inclusions which some clients see as a measure of success, helping us evaluate historically hard‑to‑measure exposures that typically generate low last‑click revenue.

“We are also supported by internal data teams who run campaign‑level testing to assess incremental impact, although these tests generally need to operate at scale – such as card‑linked campaigns, rather than small‑level changes like adjusting CPA for a single publisher. Finally, we can complement these approaches with marketing mix modelling (MMM) to inform how budgets should be allocated across marketing channels.”

Where does affiliate marketing currently sit within your wider marketing measurement framework?

“Affiliate marketing typically sits alongside other performance channels within the broader measurement framework and is most often assessed using last‑click metrics. Our clients generally measure affiliate performance in two main ways: through analytics platforms such as GA4, where contributions from all channels are considered, and through affiliate network reporting, where last‑click performance is usually more prominent and therefore appears stronger than in other dashboards.

“In addition, affiliate data can be fed into marketing mix modelling (MMM) to evaluate incremental impact, with the insights used to help inform and optimise future budget allocation.”

What data or insights would help you and your clients better understand affiliate’s true influence and incremental impact across the shopper journey?

“Incrementality is a term frequently referenced within the affiliate industry, but its meaning can vary significantly between businesses, so we would need clients to clearly define what incrementality looks like for them. We do request client data to support internal analysis of the long‑term value driven by affiliate‑acquired customers; however, this information is not commonly available.

“We recognise that certain publisher types tend to attract higher‑quality customers than others, and access to customer lifetime value data broken down by affiliate would enable more informed and effective budget allocation decisions.”

How are privacy changes, AI search, and zero-click behaviour affecting the ability to measure marketing performance?

“Over the past few years, there have been instances where we’ve seen orders/revenue volumes drop off which correlate to privacy changes, but we have put best‑practice measures in place to minimise the impact as much as possible. We’ve recommended and implemented server‑to‑server (S2S) affiliate tracking as a priority whilst we have strongly recommended the use of “strictly essential” cookies for brands running cashback, loyalty, and reward programmes.

“While we also have access to a tool that highlights when affiliate content is surfaced within LLM results for specific search queries (helping to demonstrate the incremental value of content exposure), we currently struggle to measure the downstream impact of zero click/AI search results including traffic, conversions or revenue.”

What would make affiliate marketing more credible in senior-level marketing budget discussions?

“A shared understanding is needed that affiliate marketing functions as a full‑funnel channel, rather than being viewed purely as a lower‑funnel tactic that captures or diverts conversions. Affiliates are also uniquely positioned to reach customer segments that other channels often struggle to access, including students, emergency service workers, influencers at scale, and closed or gated user groups.

“As A/B testing within affiliate marketing is relatively rare, robust case studies from affiliate teams are particularly valuable to demonstrate incremental impact from tactics such as spend‑and‑save cashback or voucher offers, new‑customer commission rates, category or product‑specific incentives, and promotional messaging during key trading periods.

“This should be complemented by follow‑up analysis from internal client teams assessing the lifetime value and repeat‑purchase behaviour of affiliate‑acquired customers, alongside clear case studies from a wide range of partner types explaining how and why they are able to drive incremental performance against core KPIs.”

This conversation forms part of our latest ebook, From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing – a practical guide you can download for free to help you get started. Last week we published the first instalment of this Q&A series with Acquire – look out for the next one with Gen3 Marketing coming soon.

Amy Jordan

Amy is intent.ly’s marketing manager, and she has 15 years’ experience working in marketing for global events and technology.

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From clicks to clarity: Media Mix Modelling Q&A with Acquire

Amy Jordan — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:13:37 +0000

The affiliate channel has always been valued for driving measurable conversions, often judged through the simplicity of last-click attribution. But today’s fragmented customer journeys, privacy shifts, and AI-driven searches are creating blind spots – particularly when it comes to understanding how channels influence discovery, consideration and long-term growth.

That shift is driving growing interest in Media Mix Modelling (MMM) and more advanced frameworks that evaluate marketing impact holistically, rather than through a single conversion event.

To explore what this means for the channel, we spoke with some leading agencies about how measurement is evolving for their clients, and the opportunity affiliate now has to reposition itself as a strategic, full-funnel driver of growth.

In this first instalment, we hear from Acquire’s Laura Dodes, Head of Strategy & Innovation. The conversation forms part of our latest ebook, From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing.

Q&A: Laura Dodes
Head of Strategy & Innovation at Acquire

How is the way your clients measure marketing performance evolving beyond last-click attribution?

“Last-click attribution is still useful day to day – it gives teams something concrete to act on. But it has a real blind spot: it rewards whoever was closest to the sale, not necessarily whoever earned it.

“In some cases, click-based measurement is missing up to 90%+ of the impact from channels like TikTok, Meta and Demand Gen. So investment naturally gets skewed towards what’s easiest to measure, not what actually drives growth.

“At Acquire, we’ve seen clients shift towards full-funnel measurement – particularly MMM – which looks at the entire journey from impressions through to conversion, capturing incrementality and halo effects that last-click simply can’t see. Brands doing this well are seeing over 200% higher blended ROAS.

“It’s not just a measurement upgrade – it fundamentally changes how you scale.”

Where does affiliate marketing currently sit within your wider marketing measurement framework?

“Affiliate has changed enormously, and the way we measure it needs to keep pace. We’ve spent a lot of time helping brands move on from the idea that affiliate is simply a last-click conversion channel – because for most of our clients, it’s become much more than that.

“When you look at the modern search results page, affiliate is uniquely positioned across every major placement. At the top, Shopping – typically driven through CSS and affiliate partners. Within AI Overviews and organic results, content-led placements from publishers. And editorial and PR coverage influencing decision-making further up the funnel. Affiliate is the only channel that spans all of these placements – paid, organic, and content – and it does so on a CPA model, meaning brands can scale across all of those touchpoints in a performance-driven, low-risk way.

“Think about the range of partners now active in the space: creators, editorial publishers, closed-user-group communities, technology partners, content commerce platforms. Some are introducing brands to audiences they’ve never reached before. Others are nurturing consideration weeks before a purchase happens. Measuring all of them in the same way doesn’t make sense.

“The brands getting the most from affiliate are the ones treating it as a proper integrated media channel – sitting alongside paid social, search, CRM and PR – rather than a CPA line on a spreadsheet.”

What data or insights would help you and your clients better understand affiliate’s true influence and incremental impact across the shopper journey?

“One of the longstanding challenges in affiliate is that the industry has always been great at showing conversions, but less good at showing influence. We can see the sale – but not always everything that led to it.

“At Acquire, the insights we find most valuable are the ones that shed light on genuine incrementality: new versus returning customer data, cross-device journeys, time-to-conversion, and whether a partner actually created demand or just happened to be there when existing demand converted. As creator and content partnerships grow, there’s also a real need for better engagement data earlier in the funnel – before the click even happens.

“The question we always come back to is: what would have happened if that interaction had never taken place? The more clearly we can answer that, the more honest and useful measurement becomes.”

How are privacy changes, AI search, and zero-click behaviour affecting the ability to measure marketing performance?

“All three are making accurate measurement harder, and that trend isn’t reversing. The industry is moving from deterministic attribution towards something more probabilistic – and brands need to be comfortable with that.

“On AI specifically, only around 0.1% of users are shopping via AI alone right now, and identical queries return different results nearly 90% of the time – so consistency and measurement are still major challenges. What matters more is what we know – that AI visibility is driven by the same principles as strong SEO: authority, backlinks, and structured content. Publishers and editorial partners remain as important as ever.

“The zero-click shift is the more immediate measurement challenge. Affiliate can still drive influence across the SERP, but that value isn’t always captured through last-click. Which is exactly why moving towards blended approaches like MMM – alongside stronger first-party data – has become a priority for us and our clients.”

What would make affiliate marketing more credible in senior-level marketing budget discussions?

“The honest answer is that affiliate needs to get better at speaking the language of the boardroom. Senior leaders care about profitability, customer quality, market share, and sustainable growth – and for too long, our industry has led with efficiency metrics like ROAS and CPA that don’t always connect to those bigger priorities.

“At Acquire, we’ve always pushed for a more holistic view. That means being clear about where affiliate is genuinely driving incremental growth – and being equally honest about where it’s capturing demand that would have converted anyway. That kind of transparency is what builds real trust with senior stakeholders.

“Better incrementality testing, cleaner reporting, and a clearer story around full-funnel contribution would go a long way. The more affiliate can demonstrate actual business impact, not just revenue it happened to be attributed to, the more seriously it gets taken at the table.”

This conversation forms part of our latest ebook, From Clicks to Clarity: How Media Mix Modelling is Redefining Measurement in Affiliate Marketing – a practical guide you can download for free to help you get started. Look out for the next instalment of this Q&A series featuring dentsu.

Amy Jordan

Amy is intent.ly’s marketing manager, and she has 15 years’ experience working in marketing for global events and technology.

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State of the Affiliate Nation 2026: Highlights from APMA launch event

Amy Jordan — Fri, 08 May 2026 08:43:52 +0000

Attending the Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association’s annual State of the Affiliate Nation 2026 launch event last week at Everyman Broadgate offered a timely reminder of just how resilient, and increasingly sophisticated, the affiliate channel has become. We joined senior marketers from across the industry to get a first look at the numbers from the third edition of this report, which remains the only piece of UK research built directly from network and platform data.

A channel outperforming the market

The headline stats presented by APMA Founder & Director Kevin Edwards make a compelling case alone. UK brands invested £1.8bn into affiliate and partner marketing in 2025, driving £20.7bn in revenue – a 15:1 ROI. Even more striking is the growth: the channel expanded by 7.3%, outpacing the wider UK economy by a factor of five.

But beyond the top-line figures, what stood out in Kevin’s session was the depth and credibility of the data. Built directly from network and platform submissions, this isn’t modeled guesswork, it’s a reflection of real market activity. And that clarity is critical for brands and agencies looking to justify investment in an increasingly scrutinised media landscape.

Tech-driven scale and evolving performance

The affiliate channel now drives around 1 million sales per day, with approximately 470 clicks every second, which Kevin pointed out equates to a staggering (almost) 15 billion clicks annually. These metrics highlight the infrastructure and tracking sophistication underpinning modern affiliate ecosystems.

The report demonstrates strong growth across tech partners which is up 18% year on year, with partners, CSS and influencer-led activity all contributing across the funnel – from discovery through to conversion. This reinforces a key shift: affiliate is no longer just a “last-click” channel.

In fact, one of the most important findings is the move beyond pure CPA models. Around 20% of spend now sits outside traditional last-click CPA, with tenancy, CPC and hybrid models gaining traction. For brands, this signals a more nuanced, tech-enabled approach to attribution and partner valuation, something we see increasingly in our own client strategies.

Sector trends and where to watch

The report also surfaced some standout vertical insights. While retail remains dominant, growth is being driven by sectors like travel and finance, both seeing double-digit increases. Meanwhile, health & beauty is a clear breakout category, with spend up 20% and revenue surging by 48% year-on-year – fuelled by trends like influencer-led brands and evolving consumer behaviours.

For agencies and brands, this kind of granular data is invaluable in shaping both partner strategy and budget allocation.

Full-funnel thinking and CRO alignment

In addition to unveiling the report highlights, the day’s panel session reinforced many of these themes, particularly the importance of full-funnel optimisation. Featuring leaders from Genie Shopping, Genie Goals and B&Q, the panel discussed how brands are increasingly diversifying partner mixes and investing earlier in the customer journey, from content and editorial through to conversion-driving partners and a focus beyond last-click metrics.

There was also a clear consensus that affiliate’s flexibility, especially in testing new models and partners, makes it a powerful channel in uncertain economic conditions.

Final thoughts

The event closed with a keynote from McDonald’s, offering a broader perspective on brand partnerships and the role of creativity in driving engagement – a fitting reminder that performance and brand don’t need to operate in silos.

Thanks to the APMA for hosting an insightful afternoon of content and perspectives. Members can download the State of the Affiliate Nation 2026 report to explore the full data set and insights in more detail.

intent.ly is a proud founding member of the APMA and we continue to support their work through our Gold membership. Learn more about joining 50 industry leaders and 130+ brands here.

Amy Jordan

Amy is intent.ly’s marketing manager, and she has 15 years’ experience working in marketing for global events and technology.

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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.

Ceej Johnson

Chris ‘Ceej’ Johnson is CMO at intent.ly. With over 15 years’ experience in digital, affiliate and performance marketing, he has a passion for all things consumer behaviour and innovative advertising.

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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!

Luke Matthews

Director of Sales & Partnerships

intent.ly/

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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.

Patience Kibblewhite

Patience is intent.ly’s marketing executive, with a passion for creative content marketing and social media strategies.

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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:

Amy Jordan

Amy is intent.ly’s marketing manager, and she has 15 years’ experience working in marketing for global events and technology.

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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”.

Patience Kibblewhite

Patience is intent.ly’s marketing executive, with a passion for creative content marketing and social media strategies.

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Affiliate marketing: 12 months into the AI crystal ball

Ceej Johnson — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 13:22:29 +0000

It has been a while since I’ve shared some musings from the Affiliate ecosystem. Whilst I can’t claim to be the all-encompassing artificial intelligence source of knowledge for said Affiliate market, there have been some clear noises made during recent travels and conversations that I do think need addressing. Let’s begin with a recent trip across the pond…

Affiliate Summit East. Bright lights, loud rooms, lots of calls for traffic and wide-ranging company merch (IYKYK). Amongst the noise, one theme cut through: AI. Not whether it’s coming, that ship’s long since sailed, but what it’s actually going to do to the affiliate market over the next year.

At the moment it feels like AI has arrived at the party, found the drinks cabinet, and is now standing in the corner chatting up everyone’s best clients. Brands are fascinated by it, want to be doing more with it, but seemingly don’t have the in-house talent or speed to develop much themselves. So what happens next?

AI’s role in search is exploding. Between January and May 2025, referral traffic from AI-generated answers grew by over 500% across a sample of sites. That’s not a gentle uptick; it’s proof that consumers are increasingly happy to let a machine do their Googling for them and in many cases, stop right there without ever clicking through.

Which brings us neatly to the big, ugly question: what happens when AI isn’t just pointing people to affiliates, but effectively is the affiliate? If an AI tool can recommend a hotel, a pair of trainers, or a SaaS platform with an affiliate link neatly tucked in, does it start competing with the very partners who’ve historically driven that traffic?

That’s the existential debate. Search affiliates, coupon sites and non-social content partners rely heavily on traditional search. And now, that search behaviour is being hijacked by AI overview boxes, zero-click results, and chat interfaces. To make it worse, nearly 60% of searches already end without a click. AI isn’t building you a funnel; it’s becoming the whole conveyor belt.

Calm down Ceej, I hear you saying. Let’s not panic just yet. Studies show that only a small fraction of AI answers are (currently) genuinely transactional. Most are still top-funnel snippets: quick definitions, instant answers, the sort of info that ends the session there and then. That means high-intent commercial content such as comparison pages, reviews and voucher codes (for example) still have a role. In fact, it’s often the very content AI cites when it does provide a source. So if you’re building for both humans and machines to pick up, you’re not out of the game.

Of course, there’s a catch. Being cited in AI answers doesn’t guarantee traffic. The challenge for affiliates is to create content strong enough that, when AI does scrape it, users still want to click through. That’s the new arms race: “Generative Engine Optimisation” or GEO if, like me, you’re collecting new buzzwords to confuse your friends and family who still don’t know what you do for a living, even more.

Comparison sites in particular will need to rethink. Will AI summarise your carefully-crafted Top 10 broadband deals page into a neat three-sentence box and leave you nothing but tumbleweed? Possibly. But if your data is solid and your page offers a reason to engage (interactive tools, live pricing, exclusive offers etc) then you’ve got a fighting chance.

And let’s not forget the other conversation still humming in the background: regulation. Last year it was data. This year it’s AI. Spoiler alert next year it’ll probably be data and AI, wrapped up in a compliance bow no one asked for. Tracking, consent, attribution models – they’re not going anywhere, and they’ll continue to shape what “performance” even means.

So, where will we be in 12 months?

Here’s my take from all our discussions at ASE and in recent months:

AI won’t replace affiliates entirely. It will chip away at the easy wins, but the performance model is resilient. Affiliate marketing has survived cookies crumbling, browsers sulking, and regulators sharpening their pencils. It will likely survive this too.

Traffic will shift. Expect fewer casual clicks and more filtered, higher-intent visits. That’s not necessarily bad news – it might even improve conversion rates.

Winners will adapt. Affiliates who treat AI as another distribution channel by optimising to be cited and building content that’s AI-friendly will continue to grow. The ones who bury their heads in the sand will end up writing LinkedIn posts about “the good old days of SEO.”

Brands will lean harder on partners. If AI innovation isn’t happening in-house, they’ll want affiliates and tech partners to fill the gap. That opens the door for anyone offering tools, integrations, and smarter tracking. (Yes I work at a tech partner business and it’s a shameless plug – but it’s a true and relevant statement).

So should you be worried? Only if you think doing nothing is a strategy. The affiliate market a year from now won’t look unrecognisable, but the centre of gravity I can see will have shifted. More AI in the mix, fewer lazy clicks and tougher competition for space in those AI-generated answers.

The trick will be treating AI as an amplifier, not an enemy. Work out how to be visible, how to be the source of truth, and how to add value beyond what a one-liner summary can deliver. Do that, and in 12 month’s time you can still be cashing in commissions even if the funnel looks a little different.

OpenAI to be 2026’s Super Affiliate? WDYT?

Ceej Johnson

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A conversation with Kevin Edwards, Director of The Affiliate and Partner Marketing Association (APMA)

Patience Kibblewhite — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:39:51 +0000

In a world where we’re all chronically online, affiliate marketers have turned scrolling into strategy and clicks into commissions. We’ve witnessed the affiliate industry expanding along with the ever-evolving landscape of tech and the digital space – and the APMA have published a report revealing record investment and exceptional performance from one of the UK’s most resilient marketing channels.

The State of the Affiliate Nation 2025 report found that affiliate marketing is growing faster than the UK economy – we sat down with Kevin Edwards, APMA Director to find out why.

When affiliate and partner marketing hit £1.7 billion in the UK last year, it wasn’t just a headline, it was a clear signal. Even in a tough economy, the industry isn’t just surviving. It’s growing. Across sectors, strategies, and tech types, affiliate is evolving fast – and Kevin’s take? “We haven’t lost market share. We’ve been able to hold our own.”

Let’s get into it…

Affiliate growth and where it’s coming from

Compared to the IAB’s latest report showing 13% digital growth overall, affiliate’s 9% might look modest. But digging deeper: “The IAB separates out what they call the big five (which includes Meta, Google, etc.) – and that group grew 15%. Everyone else? 9%. So actually, affiliate marketing is perfectly in line.”

What’s especially interesting is where the growth is coming from. Kevin and his team looked at revenue by affiliate type and found that tech partners (including businesses like intent.ly) are leading the charge. “The third biggest growth area was CSS at 14%, then sub-networks at 18%, and tech partners at 24%. That’s huge.”

Kevin attributes this to the model that tech partners bring to the table. “A business like intent.ly is a one-to-one relationship rather than one-to-many. You’re building individual strategic partnerships – and exponentially scaling them. It’s all new growth and there’s still a tonne of opportunity.”

Retail leads the way, but travel, telco & finance are catching up

With the progression of tech and social media prompting us to be more consumerist than ever, retail dominates the various verticals due to sheer transaction volume. However, Kevin was quick to point out that sectors like travel, telco, and finance are carving out powerful niches. “If you’re in finance or telco, you’re not buying weekly – it might be an annual contract. But that means they have to go out and find growth elsewhere. And actually, they’re more impactful within their categories.”

Travel has bounced back since Covid, and still only accounts for around 15% of affiliate spend but: “We tracked about 10% of retail spend through affiliates, whereas one in every seven pounds in online travel is affiliate-driven. So even though it’s a smaller slice, it’s more meaningful.”

In telco? “You’ve got the big comparison sites – stuff you don’t really get in retail. Plus, the individual payouts are bigger. The proportion of spend going through affiliates in telco is probably higher than retail.”

Tech partners in the spotlight

“Three years ago, 80% of tech partner activity was through one network. But now other networks have invested in tech to allow partners to scale across hundreds of new advertisers.”

Networks are now investing in integrations and product development that make life easier for both tech partners and clients. It’s not just about access, it’s about specialisation. “Tech partners can position themselves as solving a brand’s problem without the brand needing to build their own tech. It’s plug-and-play, with the account management behind it. You’re specialists in the field and always innovating.”

Tech partners highlight the importance of strategic relationship-building and a tailored approach to advertising, as they’ve excelled at creating partnerships from the ground-up, rather than exhausting existing networks.

The most significant changes since the last report?

Voucher codes were a special mention. “I think people will be surprised by the investment in voucher codes. The classification is tricky – if a blogger promotes a code, is it a voucher or a blogger sale? We still see a big chunk of sales coming through voucher codes, but they’re not always accredited back to a voucher code site”.

A new question asked this year was around non-last-click CPA spend, like homepage takeovers and branded emails etc, which Teclo have a big heritage in. “We tracked about £1 in every £7.50 going through non-last click CPA. That’s about £200 million if you scale it up by 9%”. Trying to understand where that’s going will be really interesting to delve into in next year’s report.

What’s next?

Everyone aims to predict the next trend and be ahead of the curve, but Kevin’s not expecting a shake-up in the next 12 months. “People expect some massive new trend. But realistically, it’ll just be continued growth. If we hit 9% again, we’re doing a good job.”

He does expect further growth from tech partners – both in spend and new entrants. “Affiliates are becoming a very easy place for entrepreneurs to gain access to brands pretty quickly.” Kevin noted that CSS (Comparison Shopping Services) may also see more movement, unless Google changes something major, and that it will be interesting to see how the sub-networks evolve over the next 12 months.

We’re looking at a mature and confident affiliate industry. One that’s still innovating, growing, and providing value in a cost-conscious environment. ”Spend grew 9%, but active affiliates only grew about 1%. That means more money is going to existing players – which is good news if you’re one of them.”

______

The State of the Affiliate Nation report, the most comprehensive affiliate industry dataset ever compiled, shows UK brands invested £1.7 billion into affiliate and partner marketing in 2024, a 9% year-on-year increase, producing 360 million sales, and delivering £2.2 million in revenue every hour.

The full 56-page report is available free to APMA members or can be purchased for £550+VAT via The APMA Shop.

Patience Kibblewhite

Patience is intent.ly’s marketing executive, with a passion for creative content marketing and social media strategies.

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Surviving the privacy apocalypse: Key takeaways from ASW’s slightly terrifying keynote

Ceej Johnson — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:54:22 +0000

Another year, another Affiliate Summit West, where a global industry entourage descends upon Vegas to discuss the future of affiliate and performance marketing alongside, naturally, to see how long we can survive on nothing but coffee, networking and Vegas-priced cocktails. This year’s keynote was a sobering reminder that, much like my ill-advised blackjack strategy, tracking and attribution in affiliate marketing are under serious threat.

After a hyped-up, on-stage DJ attempted (and despite best efforts in my opinion, failed) to rally the morning troops from their jet-lag / late-night slumber / morning “Vegas” mood, Steve Brown, CEO at Moonpull was joined on stage by Santi Pierini, CEO at CJ, David Lloyd, Chief Customer Officer at Awin and Garth Harris, General Manager at CAKE, to discuss the ongoing impact of privacy regulations, the crumbling effectiveness of tracking, and how we, as an industry, can pivot before we all collectively crash into a compliance-shaped brick wall.

Here’s what went down – and why it matters.

1. Privacy regulations: digital marketing’s favourite nightmare

If you thought GDPR was just an annoying consent modal that users blindly accept, think again. Between Europe’s stringent data protection rules and the patchwork of US state regulations (CCPA, CPRA, VCDPA – you get the idea), marketers are facing stricter enforcement. Consent is king, and if your tracking strategy doesn’t align with new regulations, your legal team might start twitching uncontrollably.

2. The great traffic disappearance act

According to the panel, up to 50% of traffic (30% in the US, 50% in Europe) can be affected, depending on the consent mechanisms deployed. With browsers tightening privacy restrictions and ad-blockers on the rise, businesses are struggling to attribute revenue accurately. The message from the panel? Adapt or risk losing measurement entirely – leading to revenue loss, inaccurate attribution, and some very awkward performance reports.

3. Consent: no longer just a checkbox

The days of the default opt-in are over. Now, users need to actively say, “Yes, please track me” which, let’s be honest, most won’t. That means brands have to work harder to build trust and offer value in exchange for data. The key takeaway? Transparency isn’t optional – it’s survival.

4. EU vs. US: who’s got it worse?

The short answer? Everyone. The EU’s GDPR is ruthlessly strict but at least consistent. Meanwhile, the US has a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ approach to privacy laws, with different rules for different states, however the CCPA is generally seen as the ‘starting point’ for said adventures. The panel references the teams of people they’ve had to hire and departments they’ve had to create in order to deal with data compliance.

5. Affiliate marketing’s identity crisis

Without reliable tracking, how do we prove conversions? If no one gets credit for the sale, does the sale even exist? The industry is scrambling; refining tracking models to ensure sales are accurately credited, preventing lost revenue and maintaining confidence in performance marketing.

6. The first-party data land grab

With third-party cookies crumbling like my post-conference stamina, brands are racing to collect first-party data. The catch? Users are getting stingier with their personal info, so incentives need to be smarter. No, a 5% discount won’t cut the mustard – start thinking of VIP access, exclusive content, and rewards worth remembering.

7. AI: the rebel tool against the tracking crackdown?

There was growing chatter during the panel that AI and probabilistic tracking might be the industry’s secret weapon against the tightening of tracking capabilities. With traditional methods becoming increasingly restricted, AI-driven models and data science could offer ways to maintain attribution accuracy without breaking privacy laws. While some see AI as another overhyped buzzword, others believe it could be the key to keeping performance marketing measurable and profitable in a post-cookie world.

8. Industry unity: a rare but necessary concept

The panel stressed that tackling privacy challenges isn’t a solo mission. Ad networks, publishers, brands – everyone needs to work together. That means lobbying for fairer regulations, sharing best practices, and maybe even agreeing on some universal tracking standards (gasp).
There was a shout out at this point towards the significant work that Kevin Edwards has been putting in since founding the Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association (shameless plug – intent.ly is a founding member), unifying industry stakeholders in order to lobby with regulators and showcase the value that the affiliate and performance market drives.

9. eCommerce woes: conversions in crisis

Brands are feeling the sting, with conversion rates slipping thanks to tracking limitations. Without personalised targeting and retargeting, customers are slipping through the cracks, taking their wallets with them. Marketers need smarter, privacy-safe strategies to keep shoppers engaged.

10. Fines: the scary bit

Ignore privacy laws at your peril – regulators are handing out fines like conference swag. The stakes are high, with penalties reaching (unbeknownst to me) up to $7,500 per single violation in the US. In other words, make sure your legal team isn’t spending too much time at the ASW happy hours.

What next? 5 actionable steps for survival

So, what’s the playbook for the affiliate and performance marketing industry, and for those within that who are tasked with navigating this chaos?

1. Invest in first-party data
If you’re still relying on third-party cookies, stop. Build your own data strategy, find ways of rewarding and incentivising users to share information, and nurture those direct relationships.

2. Adapt your attribution models
Experiment with probabilistic attribution, AI-driven models, and new tracking solutions to bridge the tracking gaps. As an example – more info on Awin’s new conversion protection initiative (CPI) here.

3. Work with regulators, not against them
The industry needs to stop treating privacy laws as an enemy and start collaborating with policymakers to create practical solutions that work for everyone.

4. Educate customers on data transparency
Users aren’t anti-tracking; they’re anti-creepy-tracking. Be clear about what data you collect and how it benefits them, and you might just win them over.

5. Collaborate as an industry
Brands, publishers, and networks need to work together to create new standards, share data responsibly, and ensure performance marketing doesn’t become a relic of the past.

Final thoughts: no one’s safe, but we must adapt

Let’s be honest – tracking and data protection aren’t exactly the sexiest topics, especially not at 10am in Vegas when half the room is still clutching an espresso like a life raft. But credit where it’s due – this session was well-moderated, engaging, and genuinely insightful. Turns out, discussing the slow demise of traditional tracking can actually be interesting… provided you throw in a bit of existential dread and a lot of caffeine.

The days of frictionless tracking and free-flowing data are gone, but affiliate and performance marketing isn’t dead – far from it. If we innovate, adapt, lobby and maybe say a small prayer to the compliance gods, we can turn privacy challenges into opportunities.

Ceej Johnson

The post Surviving the privacy apocalypse: Key takeaways from ASW’s slightly terrifying keynote appeared first on intent.ly.

affiliate Archives - intent.ly

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Surviving the privacy apocalypse: Key takeaways from ASW’s slightly terrifying keynote

1. Privacy regulations: digital marketing’s favourite nightmare

2. The great traffic disappearance act

3. Consent: no longer just a checkbox

4. EU vs. US: who’s got it worse?

5. Affiliate marketing’s identity crisis

6. The first-party data land grab

7. AI: the rebel tool against the tracking crackdown?

8. Industry unity: a rare but necessary concept

9. eCommerce woes: conversions in crisis

10. Fines: the scary bit

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