The International Performance Marketing Awards ceremony is now less than a month away, taking place on October 18, which means it is time for you to vote for the One to Watch award. This prestigious award aims to highlight an individual who is building the path that the future generation of performance marketers will follow. The shortlist has been narrowed down from a fantastic calibre of entries.

In this fast paced industry, the International Performance Marketing Awards recognise the importance of awarding those who have their finger on the pulse – performance marketing professionals who are in the early stages of their careers piloting natural talent, strong work ethic, enthusiasm, creativity and innovation. You can see some more examples of this in the full awards shortlist.

Tasked with interviewing the extremely high calibre of entries that have been shortlisted this year are four highly esteemed judges (dragons). The panel will deliberate over the coming weeks to decide on the winner.

“With the ever growing talent within the performance marketing industry, our dragons are faced with the challenging task of choosing this year’s One to Watch. The judges will be looking out for those individuals who continue to break through the barriers of the industry and who are not afraid to take risks.” Gerry Villiers, Awards Manager at PerformanceIN.

Here’s a chance to meet the One to Watch 2021 candidates, along with words from peers on their progression in the performance marketing industry.

We’re thrilled to announce our shortlisted candidates for this year’s IPMAs…

Nicholas Yates, Head of Global Affiliate Partnerships at Silverbean

Nic has been in the affiliate and partnership marketing space since 2013. His role as head of global affiliate partnerships positions him as an ally to today’s extremely busy and ROI-targeted multi-channel marketing manager by raising awareness of affiliate marketing as an untapped growth opportunity for e-commerce brands. 

As well as being a well-rounded digital marketing strategist, Nic always has one eye on the future of the channel supporting clients and Silverbean to grow within the partnership ecosystem. He launched and manages the Silverbean Open Brand to Brand Network, which has facilitated over 200 introductions between brands looking to partner with like-minded businesses. It has also driven the conversation around the publisher mix supporting app install and sign up campaigns and pushing for strategic utilisation of content partners alongside other digital marketing channels. His strategic view has supported Silverbean to expand globally, supporting the likes of Ralph Lauren, Virgin Australia, Revolut, John Lewis & Partners and many more.

Annabel Gray, Associate Director Australia at Silverbean

Annabel (Bella) Gray, Silverbean’s Associate Director, pioneered Silverbean’s entrance to the Australian market. From humble beginnings at Silverbean’s UK office in 2006, she has built her career on crafting results-driven digital strategy and affiliate partner marketing expertise. Her passion is empowering people with information, to help demystify affiliates and partnerships and make informed decisions on how they can better use the channel.

She has a strong belief that education and collaboration will help drive the channel forward. So much so, she founded Affiliate & Partner Marketing (APM) Connect, a cross-industry collaboration with Rakuten, Partnerize, Commission Factory, Impact and AWIN, which hosts bi-monthly events and has a thriving community of over 200 members.

Bella’s continued dedication to raising the profile of partnerships in the Australian space and helping clients to harness emerging partnership channels has led to her becoming a trusted advisor for Silverbean’s brands.

Kristina Nolan, Vice President of Affiliate Marketing at DMi Partners

Kristina has meteorically risen to the position of Vice President of Affiliate Marketing at DMi Partners on the merits of her ability to craft and execute transformational, holistic digital strategies. She understands the intricacies of the affiliate channel and addresses the opportunities and challenges within each programme, while simultaneously maintaining the 10,000 foot view required to ensure the proper strategy.            `

A technological determinist who believes that digital methods of communication allow us to be faster and more versatile, she is responsible for creating connections with key technology & service partners to drive efficiencies for DMi’s brands while also helping to solve for some of the industry’s greatest pain points. Additionally, Kristina leads one of the most ambitious forward-thinking affiliate marketing teams in the industry who have won numerous awards for their unique approach to the industry. Under her leadership, DMi represents some of the largest brands in advertising and has doubled their affiliate business year over year for the last three years.

Madison Trampleasure, Senior Customer Success Manager at RevLifter

Madison has had a wealth of experience within the performance marketing industry, working at AWIN, M&S, intu, and RevLifter. In her previous roles, she has worked with some of the UK’s top brands to deliver a diverse mix of campaigns within the affiliate channel. Whilst working full-time she completed a second MSc in Marketing, focusing her dissertation on the potential negative impact affiliate discounting can have on brand equity.

At RevLifter Madison works with global brands across three continents to hyper-personalise their deal offering using behavioural data. Clients can now control where, when, and to whom they display their promotional messaging on a granular level. Using RevLifters technology, Madison helps her clients to maximise their ROI whilst protecting that ever-important brand perception.

Gabby Schnaid, Sr. Client Development Manager at CJ

Despite only starting her affiliate career five years ago, Gabby has been able to rise through the ranks to become a Senior Client Development Manager through her passion and dedication to excellence. She has serviced and led advertiser programmes across numerous client verticals throughout her career, but recently she has developed an expertise in the travel vertical.

In late 2020 she was chosen to lead a key travel client through an unprecedented migration while delivering combined programme growth, even amidst a global pandemic that dramatically impacted the travel vertical overall. In managing this migration, she has built a team with an entirely new structure ensuring expertise not only in publisher verticals but also in technical, compliance, and strategic disciplines to best support the needs of her clients.

Not only does she deliver strategic recommendations to drive growth for her clients, she also advocates for them across multiple departments across the network (Product, Data Science, Publisher Development, Finance, etc.) to ensure their success in the channel. Gabby constantly pushes herself to think outside the box, be a mentor to her team, and deliver high quality results for clients in an ever-changing industry. She is looking forward to seeing what the next five years have in store!

Meghan Hogan, Enterprise Account Director at CJ

Meghan is an integral member of the Publisher Development Team at CJ, where she started her career in affiliate marketing seven years ago. Initially joining the team as a Publisher Development Representative, she advanced through multiple roles with expanding responsibilities while continuing to deliver exceptional guidance and advocacy for publishers. Her recent promotion to Enterprise Account Director recognises her passion and dedication to the success of her publishers and the affiliate channel. As an Enterprise Account Director, Meghan is responsible for the strategic growth of some of the most well-known and innovative publisher clients in the industry.

Meghan collaborates closely with multiple CJ teams, leveraging her knowledge and expertise cultivated over the years by a thirst to learn and develop a strong understanding of her clients and the affiliate channel. As a result, she has been instrumental in the development and launch of key solutions, tools, and resources for publishers that support and drive further growth for their business.

Who do you think should be crowned 2021’s One to Watch at the IPMAs? Vote now for your winner. Voting closes on Thursday September 23 at 5pm in your local timezone.