The Results Are In: Affiliate Marketing Will Soon Be A $4.5B Industry

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This Monday, June 25th, Rakuten LinkShare hosted their biggest event of the year: the Rakuten LinkShare Symposium New York 2012.

Earlier this year, RingRevenue had the opportunity to interview Russ Peachman, VP of Lead Generation at Rakuten LinkShare, about how pay-per-call fits into their strategy and the success they have seen with their pay-per-call platform.

“Calls are becoming an increasingly important part of the channel mix for us. It’s now a part of the conversation with almost every new client on the lead gen side,” said Peachman. “For the most part, advertisers see it as a way to capture a higher rate of conversions. But it’s also been a hook for some advertisers who are weary of the same old lead-selling sources, and are looking to expand their distribution to something new and, hopefully higher-quality.”

Staying true to their New York roots, Rakuten LinkShare hosted their two-day networking event at the iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Here, advertisers, publishers and agencies gathered to  discuss the future of affiliate marketing. Representatives from hundreds of companies across a wide range of product categories attended the event, including our very own VP of Customer Development, Eva Klein.  

At the event, Rakuten LinkShare unveiled the results of a Forrester Consulting  study on the direct and indirect value of affiliate marketing. The June 2012 study, “Affiliate Marketing – The Direct and Indirect Value that Affiliates Deliver to Advertisers” explores how affiliate marketing sites meet the needs of today’s online shoppers while simultaneously driving sales for online retailers. The report yielded the following results:

·       Affiliate marketing spend is on the rise and will keep pace with other areas of digital spend through 2016
·       The affiliate channel produces new-to-file customers and generates incremental customer acquisition
·       The affiliate channel attracts consumers who spend more than the average online shopper and are profitable for advertisers
·       Affiliate marketing helps trigger brand reconsideration and often closes the sale for online shoppers
·       Promotions in the affiliate channel have a positive impact on an advertiser's brand reputation and loyalty

Scott Allan, senior VP of Global Marketing at Rakuten LinkShare, responded to the report stating, "The study reflects how the affiliate marketing industry is strongly aligned with today's value-driven, always connected consumer who typically visits multiple sites before making a purchase. As interactive marketing budgets grow and evolve, affiliate marketing will continue to be a key, measurable tactic for brands and retailers to attract and acquire new customers."

Additionally, Forrester’s report predicts that by 2016, U.S. affiliate marketing spending will increase by a compounded annual growth rate of nearly 17 percent, growing to a $4.5 billion industry.

RingRevenue is a proud partner of Rakuten LinkShare, and was glad to be apart of Rakuten Linkshare’s Symposium 2012. Access the full report on affiliate marketing by visiting their website.