A research study conducted by the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) reported that the online fashion retail industry demonstrated exponential growth – an astonishing 2,000% – from 2001 to 2011. Additionally, Forrester published statistics indicating that US online retail sales grew 12.6% in 2010 to reach $176.2 billion, with the ecommerce market expected to reach $278.9 billion in 2015. As more consumers shop online, performance marketing is becoming an increasingly attractive channel for fashion advertisers, where a broad range of online partnership opportunities exist, each providing clear and measureable results.

Global affiliate network, buy.at has seen a steady increase in the number of fashion retailers integrating affiliate campaigns into their online marketing strategies, with an aim to increase brand awareness, acquire new customers, and generate additional revenue. These include well-known global brands such as Accessorize, Lindsay Phillips, and T.M. Lewin. There are several factors that continue to drive double-digit growth for clothing retailers, including the emergence of new online shopping models such as flash sales and group-buying websites, both of which have displayed rapid growth and continue to drive consumer interest. (more…)

Klickthru.com is pleased to announce the release of AdPad – an innovative advertisement and content syndication widget that generates incremental revenue for content publishers. AdPad combines relevant content with targeted advertising to create a new and modern means of delivering breaking news while allowing partners to monetize their daily website traffic.

Klickthru has partnered with global performance marketing network buy.at, for the launch of its affiliate marketing solution; enabling publishers to integrate AdPad into their websites through a simple widget.

AdPad utilizes a CPC (cost-per-click) payment model, from which online publishers may receive 70% commission* on all valid clicks that occur from their site visitors. The AdPad widget delivers premium cost-per-click ad feeds and high quality content from partners like the Associated Press, enabling publishers to monetize fresh, relevant and informative content from thousands of articles per day.

AdPad offers the ability to increase click-through-rates (CTR) and conversions. Publishers can choose relevant keywords to ensure all content and ads correspond with their marketing initiatives. Site visitors will be able to read the full articles, or ads, within the AdPad, without leaving the original website they intended to visit. Click here to view a demo. (more…)

GoldenCAN, a premier data feed solution provider, is pleased to announce the introduction of buy.at advertisers to their expanding catalog of products. Enabling affiliates to easily build a robust online store using only one line of HTML code, GoldenCAN’s inclusion of buy.at’s feed data also adds to the diversity of items available through their suite of affiliate tools. The collaboration of GoldenCAN’s leading technology and buy.at’s progressive global performance marketing network brings exceptional value, variety, and simplicity for affiliates.

GoldenCAN offers the most comprehensive data feed integration tools recognized by affiliate managers across the world. These include Store Integration™ Coupon Integration™ and Search Integration™ options that affiliates can use to showcase a variety of products in an attractive storefront style, to feature coupons, and to create a search solution across their site for multiple advertisers. (more…)

Demonstrating strong performance worldwide, the online ticketing industry continues to see exponential growth. Leading live entertainment and ecommerce company, Live Nation recently reported 2Q results above expectations and Ticketmaster reported $2.1B in ticket sales, up 15.7% from 2010. Seatwave, Europe’s fastest growing digital media company, reported revenue growth of 70% year over year in 2009 with a 155% increase in the number of fans selling tickets through their site. Similarly, the secondary ticketing market in the US saw immense growth over the past 5 years and is predicted to reach a value of $4.5B by 2012. A versatile and attractive category for affiliate marketers, new advertisers are entering the online ticketing industry and developing programs that are designed to succeed in the performance marketing industry.

Coinciding with its expansion into the US, global performance marketing network buy.at became fully invested in this industry with the exclusive launch of Ticketmaster’s affiliate program in November 2007. Now managing the affiliate marketing activity for several online ticket retailers, the company is seeing a variety of payment models designed to accommodate multiple publishers and promotion types.  (more…)

Digital Window is pleased to announce the launch of the Spend and Raise eStore platform available through leading performance marketing networks, Affiliate Window and buy.at.

An eStore is an online shopping directory featuring hundreds of retailers. Brands who have partnered with Spend and Raise include John Lewis, Debenhams, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, with Amazon and eBay joining in the next few months. Any UK based cause can create an eStore, whether a charity, sports group, school or religious organisation. The sign-up process is free and there are no ongoing fees associated with managing an eStore. (more…)

Following the resounding success of Digital Window’s 1st gifts, gadgets and toys event, Unwrapped 2010, Digital Window is pleased to announce that the affair is back, to promote the hottest new products for the 2011 festive season.

This year will see Caramel Quin, self-proclaimed ‘gadget girl’ and award-winning writer for publications including The Evening Standard and Grand Designs Magazine, present her favourite gifts and gadgets for Christmas 2011. Caramel has been a featured technology expert on GMTV and BBC Choice as well as conducting countless radio interviews, so her recommendations will no doubt join the ranks of top sellers. (more…)

Last month, global affiliate network buy.at announced the exclusive launch of the first British Airways affiliate program in the US market. This partnership showcases the continued incremental growth of the travel vertical within the performance channel as well as the expansion of buy.at’s portfolio of brands available to publishers within this industry.

According to travel research company PhoCus Wright, US online leisure travel booking sites are forecasted to see an 8% growth this year with an even higher forecast for 2012, making customer acquisition and retention a core focus for online travel businesses. Travel and tourism purchases are often high value and customers therefore tend to conduct extensive research prior to completing a sale. As a result, this industry remains highly competitive with several resellers vying for the same transaction. Advertisers within this sector accordingly need to ensure their branding and messaging is clear and engaging, their relationship with affiliate partners is strategic, and their programs are well structured to reward and attract strong performers.  (more…)

Award-winning performance marketing networks Affiliate Window and buy.at have joined forces with Freespee, leaders in Pay-Per-Call advertising solutions. Freespee’s platform allows the network to significantly improve their existing call tracking technology and fully integrate offline conversions with affiliate campaigns, creating new business opportunities for advertisers and publishers. The cross-territory partnership is exclusive to Affiliate Window and buy.at in the UK & US markets.

In many service industries, phone calls stand out as the preferred method for many consumers to connect with advertisers during the purchase process and while solutions existed, they were limited in their sophistication and flexibility. Recent innovations in advertising technology enable Freespee to open up new opportunities for publishers to generate traffic and sales, as the use of phone numbers have proven successful across all channels both on and off line.

“We are extremely proud to become the partner of choice for the Digital Window group”, says Carl Holmquist, Founder and CEO of Freespee, based in Sweden. “This partnership also heralds our sooner-than-anticipated expansion to the U.S. market – as we are seeing very rapidly increasing demand for call monetization solutions in Europe and beyond”. Holmquist continues ”Our partners appreciate our uncomplicated approach to adding phone calls as another key CPA method in order to fully monetize their traffic. It’s also about giving consumers freedom of choice to call the advertiser whenever the product is too complicated to buy just online.”

Paul Inman, Technical Solutions Director for Affiliate Window and buy.at adds: “Working with Freespee has been poetic, our business models and technologies slotted together seamlessly allowing us to quickly take the offering to market. The team at Freespee have been ever present to help us prepare for launch of the service to both our UK and US client bases, and we are all very excited about the potential of this new addition to our portfolio of performance based marketing tools.”

US based Outsourced Program Management Agency, eAccountable offers insight into the proposition of call tracking solutions. Durk Price, CEO and Founder of eAccountable OPM says: “We have had considerable success in the service portion of the affiliate industry with Pay-Per-Call solutions and absolutely think this will continue to grow. We believe that retailers will begin to build more ad types containing these interactive trackable numbers, adding another valuable source of income to the both retailers and the affiliate industry.”

This partnership will further develop the networks’ capabilities to monetize offline conversions for clients. Pay-Per-Call has seen a growing success rate across the finance, telecoms, travel, and insurance verticals where phone calls often prove most lucrative, as a large percentage of consumers prefer a personal telephone service. This solution, with its fast, flexible and simple integration process becomes increasingly more attractive for advertisers whose websites have lower conversion rates and are often overlooked by publishers.

Lisa Chaikin PR Manager – UK & US Digital Window (Affiliate Window & buy.at) e: lisa.chaikin@digitalwindow.com t: 020 7553 0333

For Freespee information, please contact:
Juhani Polkko
VP of Marketing, Freespee
e: juhani.polkko@freespee.com
t: +358 9 8860 2860

British Airways has announced the launch of their first performance marketing program in the US market, appointing global affiliate network buy.at as the sole partner. Working in collaboration with digital media agency, Neo@Ogilvy, the expansion of British Airways’ online offering in the US market echoes their global growth plans, with previous program launches in the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The partnership with buy.at in the US was a natural progression of the existing relationship with sister network, Affiliate Window, who has managed the British Airways program in the UK since 2009. Tactical campaigns that have been successful in other markets will be communicated to the US team to ensure parity and buy.at will look to mirror this success by developing an understanding of British Airways’ core strategy. This will include a consultative and measured approach to the performance channel with a focus on steady, incremental and natural program growth without cannibalizing existing marketing activities.

With the transatlantic business venture of British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia nearly a year old, consumers can now gain access to a worldwide network of over 400 destinations, presenting publishers with a wealth of new promotional opportunities. Elizabeth Chung, Manager Global Online Partnerships, said: “The joint venture between British Airways and American Airlines creates great opportunities for the existing program. This combined network provides the perfect time to start our North American Affiliate Program. Following the success of our other regional affiliates, the massive online market in the US will be an essential inclusion to the global program.”

Alex Forsch, Head of Account Management for buy.at US comments: “We are pleased that British Airways has chosen to work with buy.at exclusively in the US. Through close collaboration with the client and agency, our goal is to further build brand awareness for British Airways, as well as to introduce BA Vacations – the airline’s newly launched vacation program including full service offerings around hotel bookings, car rentals and attractions. Our affiliate education and recruitment efforts are centered on identifying key, quality publishers that will drive incremental value to the program on a long term basis. Ideal publishers include strong content sites, price comparison and meta search engines as well as social networking sites with a focus on geo-targeted promotions around major BA gateways in the US.”

British Airways’ US affiliate proposition currently operates as a private program, in an effort to precisely manage and measure the value of affiliates working across the campaign. British Airways aims to open the program publicly to more affiliates and expand their online offering into other channels to further drive revenue generation.

Lisa Chaikin PR Manager – UK & US Digital Window (Affiliate Window & buy.at) e: lisa.chaikin@digitalwindow.com t: 020 7553 0333

LateRooms.com, the UK’s leading online accommodation specialists, has consolidated their UK performance marketing activity to leading affiliate network, buy.at. Both brands have benefitted from a longstanding, successful relationship – the LateRooms.com programme initially launched on the buy.at platform back in January 2005.

LateRooms.com has made the decision to appoint buy.at as their UK network based on their consistent year-on-year performance growth. The buy.at Account Management team has provided reliable assistance on sector research and market analysis which has aided this high level of growth. The facilitation of partnerships with a top performing affiliate base has seen the programme go from strength to strength.

Leanne Caines, Key Affiliate Manager for LateRooms.com says: “We are consistently impressed with the level of dedication from the buy.at team on the LateRooms.com programme. They have gained an in-depth understanding of our product offering and the core values of the brand. Moving forward, the consolidation will allow for greater breadth of promotional activity while taking advantage of stronger publisher partnerships and incentives.”

Roz Fenwick, Head of Account Management for buy.at says: “The buy.at team has enjoyed a longstanding and fruitful relationship with LateRooms.com, and has been dedicated to growing the programme over the last six years. We are excited about the further opportunities the consolidation will allow, and look forward to working with LateRooms.com on global strategic campaigns as both businesses continue to expand.”

With an average order value of £130 and an average conversion rate of 5%, the LateRooms.com affiliate scheme has great potential for future growth within the performance channel.

Lisa Chaikin PR Manager – UK & US Digital Window (Affiliate Window & buy.at) e: lisa.chaikin@digitalwindow.com t: 020 7553 0333