Are Affiliates Not Inspired To Get Creative?
Posted under: Last week the mighty Mr Box of Prezzybox fame asked over on A4U Are we wasting our time doing creative for Affiliates?. Zak was lamenting the fact that his team had put in hours of time to generate Father’s Day banners and content units but as interest from affiliates seemed minimal he also questioned whether the time could be better used.
Zak’s comments resonated as in a blog comment about video creative here on OLD Matt Bailey said that this kind of creative hadn’t really taken off as “affiliate take-up of this has been pretty poor”!
Are affiliates not inspired to get creative?
Well it seems not but are there good reasons for this? On one hand we all want our merchants to provide us with new and up to date tools to promote them, but on the other when push comes to shove we’re not using them – isn’t that just a little strange? It is… but here are just a few possible reasons why!
1. Poor Promotion of New Creative
Login in to any network interface and tell me how an affiliate is supposed to know that a merchant is offering new creative? Ahhh haaaa! How would I know Platform A/Buy.at had just launched video creative? How could I locate Father’s Day banners via Affiliate Window? Would we ever know a merchant has new creative unless we logged into A4U or just stumbled across it? Perhaps networks need to look into better promotion of what’s new and up to date? For example all banners could be dated and tagged appropriately so that an affiliate can find new banners or banners relating to a specific subject.
Or perhaps it’s not worthwhile…
2. Banners/Creative = Poor Conversions & No Incentive
Banners just don’t convert as well as text links, product feeds etc. and it’s quite possible merchants, affiliates and networks aren’t that bothered by them! I still use banners and a good eye catching offer or promotion like a competition, discount, saving or sale, can still encourage clicks. However, there’s usually little incentive, for example extra commission or prizes, for an affiliate to use creative that perhaps is a branding exercise for a merchant.
Is it time merchants started to think differently…?
3. Lack of Dynamic Creative
Perhaps the way banners and creative appear needs to be reinvented? The internet is now running at the speed of Twitter with offers up and down quicker than a Newcastle supporter’s hopes of Premiership survival. Imagine having a 468×60 banner that can be adapted by a merchant at a drop of a hat or even an update on Twitter. This new creative from Crown Bingo is an interesting idea – and perhaps the first use of Twitter in such a way?
Instead of their latest Tweet a merchant could be showing their best seller, a new product, a discount code – anything! By having something more dynamic an affiliate needn’t worry about having to go and change a banner every time something new is uploaded, a merchant can adapt quickly to new market situations, and the consumer (hopefully) becomes less banner blind because the message is changing. Of course dynamic banners need development and perhaps affiliates are being inspired to get creative elsewhere…
4. The Rise of Easy Content Units
Big Idea Media’s Easy Content Units are a major step forward in content unit creative. John, Jason and the team have created a cross network plus Amazon system that allows affiliates and merchants to put together their own product filled banners and creative. Instead of one banner promoting one merchant, an affiliate can target products across a number of merchants. It’s unique, dynamic (cheapest prices) and highly targeted.
With a new Pro-version of the system ready to launch this week and endless opportunities for being creative in terms of the units ECU, merchants and agencies could devise – this is something well worth investigating.
How To Inspire Affiliates To Get Creative!
Networks need to improve ways for affiliates to find new creative!
Merchants could offer incentives for using creative (extra commission)
Dynamic creative through a network could be developed
Easy Content Units may hold the key for all concerned?
Cheers for the plug mate- the cheque’s in the post!
I think the Banner’s had its day – affiliates know that clickthroughs and conversions are what matters, and you get more of them by using text links and products feeds (and ECUs of course!), as well as ensuring that your page doesn’t look months out of date when you’re showing “Christmas” creative on a page that someone stumbles across in July (or worse, you’ve got a site all about Mothers Day, and the banners “update” to show valentines day creative).
Creative has become a little unloved and I think people largely assume it’s still a necessity for a programme but the real work goes on elsewhere.
I guess a more helpful approach would be to think of a blank space on an affiliate page and what would be the most creative way of filling it.
Our Affiliate Window content units have been particularly success – nearly 50,000 have been created and uploaded so far (both branded and general) but video content has been pretty much ignored.
We try and feature as much new creative through our merchant promotion blog as possible but a longer term look at how we promote banners via the interface is underway.
Cheers,
Kevin
@Lammo – no worries.. send it with the other one
@Kevin – thanks for the reply Kevin. Sorry I overlooked Awin’s content units (oops). Trying to find something that fits the space, that converts, but also doesn’t mean an affiliate is spending loads of time changing/updating is a tough one!
Jason – no probs.
I should have added that I think banner advertising is probably becoming more important than it ever has been as traditional adnetworks turn to CPA advertising to take account of the slump in CPM rates and unsold inventory.
It’s also not unusual for big campaigns to record in excess of 10m impressions a month via their affiliate programmes so the idea that ‘branding’ is not part of affiliate marketing is a bit of a misnomer.
think most of the creative chappies overlook the plain humble static banner, in varying sizes. I don’t want flashing, in your face creatives, and neither do my visitors – so I tend to make my own. Merchants are missing a huge branding opportunity with this ommission though (must remember to tell myself this when I’ve got my t’other hat on )
Point 2 says it all doesn’t it?
Banners = great free advertising for the merchant.
Thanks for featuring our banner Jason. Glad you liked it! As I said in the email I sent I imagined this to be something that supplements affiliates review of Crown Bingo rather than a “banner” in a traditional sense.
I’ve really been inspired by twitter; it’s helped me find new affiliates and also create a banner that’s a little bit different. If other affiliate managers are thinking of doing the same don’t forget that for affiliates to take it up there should be no URL’s in the feed just text.
We’ve developed some code which can pass any twitter feed into a banner so if you are interested just drop me a line.
Thanks again Jason,
Vikki x
Yes interesting point Jason that you picked up on Vicky’s twitter creative. I was thinking the same thing too when I received it. Its great to see affiliate managers trying to break the mould and offer something a bit more creative and exciting than the standard old banners, which as you mention often have bad click through rates and conversions. We’ll be putting it on our review page for Crown and some of our blogs and it will be interesting to see if it improves conversions and sign ups.
Hey Jason,
I’ve just noticed your comment about Newcastle Utd!! :’o(
We’ll show you this weekend! (I hope so, or I may never be able to speak to my Dad again!)
Vikki x
Thanks for this post Jason, some fantastic ideas in there, you’ve certainly got our creative juices flowing here at Red Letter Days!