Affiliate Summit--Las Vegas

Widgets are all the buzz in online marketing. Unfortunately, because new media changes so quickly, it's difficult for many online advertisers to capture the momentum of 2.0 trends (including widgets). Brands and agencies understand the need to use emerging media, but struggle to allocate the appropriate resources that would allow them to do so. For any business supplementing e-commerce with an affiliate program, this means that there are additional delays incorporating technology with third-party affiliate platforms (e.g., CJ, LinkShare, Performics, etc.).

After attending the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas (Feb 24-26) I realized how starved affiliate marketing is for innovation. While large brands and agencies benefit from relative agility, affiliates continue to be restricted by slow moving third-party programs. Some programs, like LinkShare's Flex Links are taking a step in the right direction... data feeds are not enough. Andrew Wee, a popular affiliate marketing evangelist, and I spent some time discussing the the pros and cons related to these industry trends... then he made fun of my mature mustache shortly after taking this picture.