The power of affiliates in the marketing mix

Affiliate marketing certainly has the potential to drive sales and generate significant revenue, but more than that, it is a highly cost-effective lead generation tactic where brands and companies pay solely for performance.

The statistics from BloggingX reveal that the industry is currently estimated to be worth USD12 billion and is responsible for over 16 percent of online orders. Also, Statistics from Fetch Profits indicate that affiliate marketing is responsible for 16 percent of global e-commerce sales globally and breaking down this stat shows that almost 2 out of 5 e-commerce sales in the world happen because of successful affiliate marketers.

To give our listeners a better understanding of affiliate marketing and why it is such an important part of the marketing mix for advertisers, we spoke to Stuart McLennan, Senior Vice President of APAC, from Rakuten Advertising.

Formerly known as Rakuten Marketing, Rakuten Advertising is a global affiliate marketing service provider, established in 2005. The company claims to be the largest pay-for-performance affiliate marketing network on the Internet, whose services also include digital marketing and advertising.

During the interview, Stuart also shared insights on:

Rakuten Advertising and its history, including how affiliate marketing has evolved over the years.
Ways in which brands and marketers can effectively use affiliate marketing.
How brands have gained rapid growth as a result of successful affiliate marketing programmes.
How the pandemic has shifted the purchasing landscape and how this has impacted or changed customer experiences.
Key trends and predictions for the affiliate marketing industry in Southeast Asia in 2022.