After months of behind the scenes planning and tinkering, finally we can announce that our brand new publication Hello Partner is live!

Hello Partner is your helping hand for building profitable partnerships. As the industry continues to grow and evolve, we aim to provide you with the essential hub for navigating the interconnecting worlds of performance marketing, affiliate marketing, influencer marketing and the creator economy.

These four categories will form the basis for all of our content, which will consist of even more juicy deep dives, insightful interviews with industry leaders, and breaking news. You can also look forward to new features, such as our ‘Movers and Shakers’ revamp ‘The Top Line’, which will focus more on new and exciting job positions, as well as key partnerships.

Our live events are all about connecting the industry and strengthening the sense of community across channels, and Hello Partner will function as a digital extension of this space. There will be more opportunity to voice your thoughts, opinions, and questions about the industry via features like ‘Overheard in the Partnerships Lounge’, where members of our Guild group can make submissions.

You can also look forward to more webinars, reports, podcasts, and round tables.

Explore our membership tiers to get the best experience possible out of Hello Partner. Paid members will receive access to not only the best content but also upcoming business intelligence reports, recorded sessions from PI LIVE and the Influencer Marketing Show, our exclusive networking event, and much more. Members also receive access to recorded speaker sessions from PI LIVE and the Influencer Marketing Show.

Sign up to our new newsletter for all the best content of the week, as well as the new section ‘Partnership of the Week’, keeping you up to date with trailblazing partnerships. Paid members will also receive three exclusive features in their newsletter: ‘Top Tip for Next Week’, ‘Top Three LinkedIn Posts of the Week’, and an agony aunt-style section titled ‘What’s Your Problem?’

To be clear, this isn’t the complete end of PerformanceIN. The site will remain active, and will evolve in the coming months. Keep watching this space, as there are exciting plans in the pipeline. But to keep up to date with the latest news and features, head over to Hello Partner.

So, come join us on this exciting new publication, and sign up to Hello Partner now!

The post Goodbye PerformanceIN, Hello Partner appeared first on PerformanceIN.

The acquisition comes on the heels of Incubeta’s recent big win at the Global Performance Marketing Awards, where the team took home the trophy for Best Performance Marketing Agency. Judges’ comments commended the “powerhouse” agency of over 800 employees for “supporting employees across all factors, driving business growth and maintaining client relationships.”   

The Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”) platform will support Incubeta in accelerating its international growth plan through the development of its existing suite of services and acquisitions, as well as investing in the company’s commercial operations and proprietary technology. CETP has extensive experience in scaling technology and marketing services businesses through its partnerships with leaders in their respective markets, including companies such as DEPT, Work & Co, The Mill, and HSO.

Lars Lehne, CEO of Incubeta, said:

“We are very proud of the significant growth that Incubeta has achieved, having completed five acquisitions over the past two years and becoming a key partner in the Google ecosystem. We strongly believe Carlyle is the perfect partner as we take the next step in our growth journey, given its global presence, deep understanding of our sector, and extensive experience in scaling technology and marketing services businesses.”

Andrew Tan, Director in the CETP investment advisory team, said:

“Incubeta has all the hallmarks we look for in our investments – exposure to a market benefiting from strong tailwinds, partnership with an experienced and driven management team, and multiple levers for growth, including international expansion and service line extension. We look forward to partnering with Incubeta’s management team under the leadership of CEO Lars Lehne to help accelerate the next phase of the company’s growth as it seeks to become the leading global partner of choice in the fast-growing GMP ecosystem.”

The post Global Investment Firm Carlyle to Acquire International Marketing Agency Incubeta appeared first on PerformanceIN.

With a focus on Central and Eastern Europe, VIVnetworks helps e-commerce brands scale their performance marketing efforts and unlock growth in the regional market, as well as globally. The agency currently possesses a client portfolio of 900 merchants across 27 countries.

The integration of VIVnetworks with CJ will open up new opportunities for global brands and publishers to activate and grow within Central and Eastern European markets whilst also supporting those within the region to expand internationally.

VIVnetworks will be integrated into CJ’s continental European offering and operate under the leadership of Tobias Allgeyer, Senior Vice President EMEA, based in Munich. VIVnetworks’ founders, Vladan Hejnic, CEO, and Robert Studený, COO will join CJ’s executive management for Central and Eastern Europe.

Mayuresh Kshetramade, CEO at CJ, says of the acquisition:

“A decade ago, CJ started partnering with VIVnetworks to harness the agency’s vast expertise in affiliate marketing within Central and Eastern Europe. I’m pleased to say that continues to be a huge success. VIVnetworks have not only operated and developed expertise in the region, they’ve matured the affiliate industry. Now, under CJ’s unified umbrella, VIVnetworks and CJ will fully combine to help our clients—advertisers, publishers, and agencies—win in commerce with unparalleled regional and global performance marketing expertise supported by our internationally renowned capabilities in data, technology, and partnerships.”

Vladan Hejnic, Founder and CEO at VIVnetworks, comments:

“The integration of VIVnetworks within CJ marks a merging of expertise. CJ is a global performance network and technology platform with local expertise worldwide. By joining CJ, the VIVnetworks team will enhance that expertise, becoming a core strength in Central and Eastern Europe to benefit VIV, CJ, and Publicis Groupe’s global clients. In addition to CJ’s ability to offer our advertising brands action-based insight on trends, best practices, and local-level knowledge around the world, our brands will gain greater access to Publicis Groupe’s commerce transformation through CJ’s expert teams—data science, product, engineering, publisher development, and fraud prevention to name a few.”

We look forward to seeing how this acquisition will benefit clients of both companies.

The post Publicis Groupe Announces Acquisition of VIVnetworks – To Be Integrated with Performance Platform CJ appeared first on PerformanceIN.

Matthew Wood, Founder of the awards, gives advice: “The vibrancy and atmosphere at this year’s awards were one of the best I’ve seen – the incredible teamwork mostly during the pandemic was rightfully celebrated and rewarded. For next year, we have refined many of the categories and added new ones to the mix. The entry deadline is fast approaching so now is the time to get heads together, speak to your team and clients and put your best foot forward!”

Celebrate at Grosvenor House

We’ll be gathering once again at the glorious Grosvenor House venue for an elating evening of networking, dinner, and awards. You can look forward to being back surrounded by your peers, celebrating all the hard work and efforts that have gone into making this channel so effective and durable.

Study the entry kit for steps-to-enter, judge’s advice, mistakes-to-avoid and more.

Save the Dates!

• Earlybird Entry Deadline – 25/01/2023
• Regular Entry Deadline – 01/02/2023
• Last Chance Entry Deadline – 15/02/2023
• Shortlist Announced – 06/04/2023
• The Awards – 11/05/2023

For full details of the entry criteria, categories and deadlines download the entry kit.

The post Performance Marketing Awards 2023: Entry Kit Ready For The Performance Industry’s Oscars appeared first on PerformanceIN.

The post Movers and Shakers: October 2022 appeared first on PerformanceIN.

It was the perfect opportunity to acknowledge and applaud the industry’s key players, brightest minds, and strongest teams – those providing inspiration and innovation to the rapidly evolving performance sphere. And what a spectacular round of winners we saw this year!

Who took home the trophies?

Rakuten racked up the most trophies of the evening, earning a staggering seven awards. Their five-party super partnership – involving MyAmexShopping, Shinhan Bank, luxury retailer 24S, and K-pop band, BTS – won two trophies alone. Judges commended the “creative and out of the box thinking” of this multifaceted partnership.

Rakuten also wooed judges in their entry for Best Innovation, with one judge commenting, “This is one of the most innovative entries I’ve seen.” And they proved able to connect with the younger generation, winning Best Social Commerce Campaign and Best Loyalty Partnership for their authentic partnerships with K-pop stars and Student Beans that tapped into the Gen Z market.

impact.com were also prominent champions, taking home three awards across multiple categories. Judges praised their technological innovation, and they stood victorious for the Best Performance Marketing Technology award.

Who came out best in brand new categories?

This year’s ceremony presented nine new, exciting awards up for grabs. Etsy and TikTok seized the trophy for Most Creative Partnership and judges admired their effort to “keep human connection at the heart of commerce.”

TopCashback won the award for Performance Marketing Team of the Year for their fair, egalitarian and communicative approach to teamwork.

And UpSellit took home the trophy for Best Tech Publisher – their excellent service “impressed judges in a competitive category.”

The Book of the Night is available for you to download and peruse at your own leisure, featuring an extensive list of the night’s champions, their winning projects, and the judge’s comments. It’s an inspiring and necessary read as we head towards a new year of progression and innovation.

Save the date

We are thrilled to announce our 2023 US Partnership Awards, where we’ll be heading to Miami for April 3rd to recognise and reward the best work within the Partner, Affiliate and Influencer Marketing industry. Download the Entry Kit now to find out steps-to-enter, judge’s advice, mistakes to avoid, and entry criteria to score top marks and earn yourself a win like last night’s top dogs.

The post Bold, Brave, Innovative: The Winners of the 2022 Global Performance Marketing Awards appeared first on PerformanceIN.

The session will be hosted by the programme’s co-founder, Tina Judic, alongside a panel of judges, featuring Stevie Johnson, managing director at Disrupt, and Simon Hofmeister, Industry Head eCom at TikTok. They will be judging the four finalists of this year’s Digital Disruptors, all of whom are around 15 years old, who will be pitching their ideas for a brand new network or app. The winner will be crowned the McShane Young Digital Disruptor of the year.

So, why should you care about Digital Disruptors, and why should the final feature on your agenda? This week, I spoke to Tina Judic to found out more about this inspiring initiative, and how it’s shaping the future of our industry.

What is Digital Disruptors?

Digital Disruptors is a programme that’s on a mission to encourage young people to investigate digital marketing, the options it can provide as a career choice, and to think dynamically about the opportunities it can bring to our everyday lives.

It’s all about young people harnessing their amazing array of creativity and innovation and letting them loose with it, while working with some of the smartest individuals and businesses.

It was set up in the memory of Nicky McShane, one of the UK’s most exuberant and progessive digital marketers. She was always keen on supporting the underdog, so it felt like a really beautiful thing we could bring together.

We asked: How can we champion digital, whilst supporting younger people coming up, and see what their potential is in the space? And thanks to our partnership with The Hebe Foundation – a charity that helps young people discover and use their talents – Digital Disruptors was born.

Who should get involved, and why?

Everybody! Everybody should get involved. To any young person who wants to get involved, we’re here for you. We’re very keen for you to apply to join the programme. There’s a real potential to grow. The bigger we can make it, the better.

We would love more businesses to get involved. Whether it be a donation of funds, prizes, or time – all is appreciated.

Once young people are working on their responses, it’s great to have mentors. What we’ve seen with mentors over the years is they get quite competitive! (Laughs) And they’re working really closely with the young people to deliver the best they can possibly deliver.

What are some of your proudest achievements with Digital Disruptors?

First and foremost, it’s the enthusiasm of the young people who participate in the programme. They choose to do this in their summer holidays; they’re coming together after school to work on their response to brief. They want to be the best they can be.

When I get email after email: “What do you think of this, Tina?”, “Can I do this?”, “Can we run through our presentation with you?” Just showing that they care is utterly fantastic.

On top of that, I’ll never forget the first year we took them to PI LIVE. As an aside, big shout out to PI LIVE, which has supported us from the very first year. It’s so phenomenal that Matt and the team do this.

But, the mainstage – it’s quite a daunting thing. I think it’s quite a daunting place to go for any polished practitioner, let alone a 15 year old. It’s fascinating because you see some of them kind of go, “Oh my god!” (Recoils in terror) And then others are going, “Bring it on! This is where I was meant to be.” It’s just so wonderful to see.

Beyond that, I think we’re now starting to get into a few success story potentials. So, one of our first Disruptors, an amazing human being, is now at university. She came along to the Digital Disruptors programme this year as a youth support worker. She just volunteered her time.

I said, “Oh hello, Simbie! What are you doing here?”

“Yeah, well, I’m at university and I chose to do marketing because of Digital Disruptors. And by the way, I really want to have a conversation with you about work experience and getting a job when I’m done.”

I thought, ‘Brilliant’. She’s got ambition, drive, the knowhow; everything about her was so good. I told her to let me know when she’s done and we’ll have a talk.

It’s inspiring because there’s a whole 360 journey, from not really thinking about digital, to studying it at university, to speaking with me about working in the field.

Another chap, Francis, came to Digital Disruptors a couple of years ago. He’s now in college, just 16, and he’s set up a little side hustle as a design agency. We’re now speaking to him about getting some work experience with us and paying him to do some design work for the business. So again, we’re starting to see some of these young people now coming through and that makes it all the more rewarding.

The proudest achievement is being in a position where you’re inspiring young people and seeing their potential. At the moment, we’re living in a society that can often stunt creativity. Digital Disruptors enables young people to imagine, dream, create. It lets them put their unique stamp on things, on what matters to them. So, to give them that moment is amazing.

Even if they just take away something for their CV, or the confidence to express themselves, or the confidence to go on stage – and they can think back, “Wow, I did that at 15 years old!” – then that’s got to be a resounding success in its own right.

What can we expect from this year’s Digital Disruptors finals?

This year, we challenged them to create a new social media app/network. The brief was: ‘something that means something to you’. Everything is open, we don’t want to dictate anything. What we do want to know is how strong your idea is, who your audience is; what’s the validation of your idea, what research you have done, how are you going to promote it; give us an example of what might feature on it.

Four teams are going through to the final, so I’ll give a sense of what they’ll be presenting. We’ve got one team presenting a professional network, which is designed to minimise the gender gap. There’s a network that’s all about educating and developing young people’s skills. There’s a fashion platform, focused on helping people overcome their fears of purchasing online, providing a judgement free space for users. And the final one is a co-moderated network, all about helping young people be who they are in a very safe, entertaining environment.

They’ve only got six minutes each to bring these ideas to life, but when you hear them speaking about it – you hear the ideas, see the videos they put together – it’s just so inspiring because you’re seeing what is bothering them on a day to day basis, the things that they think are important. We should engage much more with the younger generation.

What are your plans for the future of Digital Disruptors?

Ultimately, we want to do more with it. We need sponsorships and support. There’s costs putting it together, bringing in the youth workers to support it, sorting travel for young people; we’re always looking for any financial support we possibly can.

We’re always super grateful for clients offering prizes. It would be great if companies could open up their offices and give us time; we want to expand further and take them on a tour of what they could achieve. I’m really delighted that this year the winning team will get to do a tour of TikTok – which I think they might like! The future is encouraging more to get involved with the initiative. The further we can take it, the better.

The post Digital Disruptors Should Be On Your Radar appeared first on PerformanceIN.

The partnership has generated a “new industry standard platform” that will provide advertisers with accurate results by measuring individual consumers’ journeys to purchase. A selective group of TV viewers, representative of the UK population, will be incentivised to download ViewersLogic’s state-of-the-art panel-based app, which will then track individuals’ journeys from viewing ad to purchase. 

The app collects relevant data from user activity across “linear TV, mobile and tablets, as well as geographical location and offline purchases.” Brands can then use this data to accurately measure the uplift in their KPIs that have come about as a result of a TV campaign. 

This in turn allows brands to compare the performance of current campaigns with past ones, as well as those of their competitors.

The platform will initially be offered to selected clients who advertise on Channel 4.

Ewan Douglas, Head of Sales & Business Development at Channel 4, said he feels “incredibly proud” of the partnership’s developments, and believes the platform will “transform how the market can attribute the success of a TV campaign.” Douglas also commented that whilst the platform is currently exclusive to Channel 4 advertisers, he hopes to see the technology eventually spread throughout the sector.

Hassan Khan, VP Sales at ViewersLogic, states that the platform will be “driving the future of linear TV advertising”, as advertisers can “finally” be provided with an “accurate understanding of the actual effectiveness of their TV campaigns.”

The post New Channel 4 Partnership Provides Improved Performance Tracking for Advertisers appeared first on PerformanceIN.

For ticket holders, it’s now time to access the Event Hub, and plan your experience. You can use the Hub to review the delegate list, arrange meetings, check out networking opportunities, and create your own personalised agenda. This will guarantee you an optimised experience, better ROI, and a memorable time. Check your inbox to find the link to sign up.

And of course, there’s more to PI LIVE than just business. 

After a busy day of building your network and gaining key industry insight, we expect you’ll want to loosen up in the evening and let your hair down. We’ve got you covered. 

The PI LIVE Afterparty will be hosted at the striking, newly renovated cabaret club Proud in Embankment and is being sponsored by OTB-Algo. Join us to sip on cocktails and celebrate the bright future for performance, affiliate, and partnership marketing. Details on how to get tickets for the afterparty will be announced soon.

If you still don’t have a ticket, please purchase yours here, we’d love to see you there. But act fast, as there is limited availability.

The post The PI LIVE Event Hub is Live! appeared first on PerformanceIN.

Well, not exactly. 

Netflix with ads will reportedly exist as a cheaper subscription tier, launching in November, in a similar way to how Spotify comes free with ads. Nevertheless, this is still a radical U-turn for the streaming platform that built a brand identity out of being ad-free – “TV shows and movies without the commercial breaks” was a tagline to one of their own ads. 

Even as recent as 2020, CEO Reed Hastings showed disinterest in advertising, stating, “(It) looks easy until you get in it… There’s much more growth in the consumer market than there is in advertising, which is pretty flat”. However, Hastings did clarify that it was “definitely not a rule” to not include ads on the platform and was instead a “judgement call”. 

A judgement call that Netflix was forced to make this year, after losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and its stock price plummeting by 35% in the second. Desperate times, as they say. 

Cracking the Gen Z cookie (it’s tough)

It’s been established that Gen Z and millennials don’t like ads and it’s unlikely any consumers will be enthusiastic about seeing adverts on the cheaper tier, more a pinch-the-nose-as-you-swallow perspective to cut down expenses for the incoming recession. But, this actually presents an opportunity for marketers to get creative and adapt to not only a new platform, but a new audience.

Despite the general consensus, Gen Z doesn’t mind being sold to – in fact, there’s a whole attention economy on TikTok and YouTube dedicated to recommendations of products to buy. The only catch is that Gen Z craves authenticity and honesty in marketing, which is why they prefer taking recommendations and discounts from influencers they trust rather than the brands themselves. According to Sprout Social, 79% of Gen Zs in the UK and Ireland say they would make a purchase after seeing an influencer’s recommendation.

Partnerships are king when it comes to engaging with this age group. And as marketers start to tackle the streaming behemoth, perhaps one of the more effective forms of partnership would be with the platform’s own content. 

The Rick and Morty Multiverse of Brand Partnerships

Adult Swim’s animated series Rick and Morty – reportedly the most popular TV show amongst millennials – has seen numerous successful brand partnerships over the years, with the likes of Old Spice, Pringles, PS5, and Instagram. The show has just entered into the third year of its partnership with Wendy’s, the most recent ads serving as both promotion for its new series and the fast food chain. What’s striking about Rick and Morty’s ads is not only how funny they are, or how authentic they feel to the show itself, but also how well they resonate with viewers.

A YouTube video that has collated many of the ads together has 1.1 million views. Some of the top comments: “Most of these ads are just actual scenes fit to look like they were ads, and Rick counting his money at the end is genius”; “only rick and morty can make people search for ads.[sic]”; “These ads work not because they’ll create conversions but because they elevate brand value”. Another user commended the ad for still feeling “true to the energy of the show”. 

These sentiments can also be found in the comments section of the Wendy’s ad video on YouTube, which has an astonishing 11 million views: “Now this is the type of ad that actually makes me wanna buy what they’re selling [sic]”; “If every ad was like this I feel like rates would go up by 70%”.

Brand integration and product placement often feels forced and awkward but the Rick and Morty partnerships work because they are unabashed and stay authentic to the show. Instead of trying to be discrete or beating about the bush, the Rick and Morty ads are well aware of their commercialisation and make a humorously ironic point to this, whilst also creating genuine ‘canon’ content for the fans. The ads work in a similar fashion to influencers; audiences trust these characters, and they can tell when they are acting authentically. 

Imagining the possibilities

Marketers paying for the premium rate ad slots on Netflix could learn a trick or two from the Rick and Morty partnership model. Netflix’s original series make up the majority of Gen Z’s favourite TV shows. Integrating Netflix’s own content in ads could make for a smoother, more effective marketing experience on the platform, similar to how podcast hosts advertise sponsor brands to their own audience. There’s an opportunity to get creative and create more content for the platform altogether.

For example, Jane the Virgin, an irreverent, meta take on a telenovela – and also one of Gen Z’s favourite shows – could easily advertise in the same self-aware manner as Rick and Morty. The same goes for teen comedy Sex Education, which couldn’t be more perfect for marketing sexual health products.

Or, You – another zoomer favourite – could seamlessly slot into an ad for a dating app like Hinge. The ad could show a painfully uncomfortable date between Joe Goldberg and a new love interest, who met each other in a bookstore, complete with his extensive and neurotic monologue. The love interest is visibly uneasy and so is the audience because we know that this character is a psychopath, whereas she doesn’t. Cut to a brighter scene, the love interest now has the Hinge app and is finding a more suitable date. The moral of the advert: Learn a bit about each other before you date with the help of Hinge.

The point is that marketers should take Netflix with ads as an opportunity to try to build partnerships with the platform itself, to integrate their brand into the platform’s own content, its own vernacular, as a means of better engaging with its audience, better securing those clicks. 

Time will tell how Netflix with ads turns out, it is likely to follow in the footsteps of other streaming platforms which include ads, playing them out in between shows and films with no relation whatsoever. But with integrated partnerships there is an opportunity to really connect with and satisfy an audience; an opportunity to make the ads go down easier for the generation supposedly allergic to marketing.

The post How Integrated Partnerships Can Make Netflix Ads Revolutionary appeared first on PerformanceIN.