More Than Logo Slapping

Affiliate marketing panel highlights hybrid compensation and performance components and expectations.

Written by Brook Schaaf

Yesterday here in New York, concurrent with Affiliate Summit East, I attended a panel hosted by Martech Record dramatically titled “The Funnel is Dead!” The panel commentary didn’t quite live up to the hype, but it did provide examples of the current state of affiliate marketing. 

In particular, Julia Merritt from Expedia Group shared how they deepen engagement with media partners by including a performance expectation, citing their continued partnership with Liverpool FC. The idea is that if compensation might total $1,000,000 (to make up a number), 80% would be a flat fee and 20% would be anticipated affiliate commissions, which could, of course, exceed the minimum target. If it fell short of this minimum, it might signal that the flat fee itself was not worthwhile.

Hybrid compensation structures (part flat fee, part commission) are probably nowadays the norm for influencers, who might also provide brands with repurposable content. This stood out to me because the deal structure puts a performance pressure on the media partner that might otherwise not be there. It’s easy to imagine a marketing manager inside Liverpool FC giving a little extra TLC by increasing texts, emails, and other placements if performance is coming up short. 

Afterward, sitting underneath a gigantic Apple billboard, we discussed the value of impression-based advertising and I thought of the buyout advertising campaign I saw at JFK Airport for the Deadpool & Wolverine movie. I skipped the last couple iPhone releases and will probably never see the movie, but I’m aware of both, and lots of people will take action, even if the lift is hard to measure. Why not improve this with an accompanying, minority performance component? In other words, engage, as Merritt said, in more than “logo slapping.”