Digital Window becomes a 'Social Reward' Affiliate

[Matthew Wood]

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I am rather surprised nobody has commented on Digital Window's new 'social reward' facebook application.

It's a very neat application by the team at Digital Window, which does help their sales team bring more brands into the pay per performance space. So with my 'industry' hat on its great.

However with my 'affiliate' hat' on it effectively means Affiliate Window has just transformed itself into potentially a competing affiliate business. Then you could say so have ValueClick, POR, OMG, AF with their affiliate activities.

Perhaps sadly it shows the lack of innovation by affiliates for not developing something similar with ShopWindow (shame on us all) and Digital Window should be applauded, or could raise further questions?

i.e If this was purely an innovation for the affiliates benefit Affiliate Window would white label the application and allow affiliates to include their affiliate ID, creating a very powerful viral tool.

I'm a bit torn on it to be honest, what does everyone think?

**note thanks D-mac - no idea how I missed the thread in the AW forum! - still think it's worthy of more discussion though..**

[drivetowin]

From discussions with Affiliate Window, my understanding is that the Facebook app will not overwrite an existing affiliate cookie.

Hopefully, Affiliate Window will clarify this, but that is what I was told last week.

[D-Mac]

http://www.affiliates4u.com/forums/a...-facebook.html

[benfriedman]

Kate wrote a very good piece on this for our Blog

Facebook - The Final Frontier or Social Gaffe?! | R.O.EYE Blog

Definitely worth a read.

Cheers,

[chrisg]

Hi all

Wishlist turns every Facebook user into a potential affiliate. Enabling them to search for items from our 4.5 million product database and then share them with friends by tagging them as items they want or items they want to recommend. The Wishlist application users earn a Social Reward (commission) when their friends who they recommend the application or products to make a purchase through the application.

Overwriting of Affiliate cookies

The application overwrites affiliate cookies where Wishlist is the last referrer of the user to the merchant. Except in a certain scenario: Affiliate Window merchants can now put Facebook Wishlist links on their site encouraging customers to tag items into their Facebook Wishlist on their user profile. All that is required to do this is a simple link to the Facebook application next to product information on the merchant website.

If an affiliate sends a visitor to a merchant site that has Wishlist links and that user adds the Facebook application, if the user navigates back to that merchants’ site through the application Affiliate Window technology will check to see if a prior affiliate cookie is present. If there is a cookie present the Wishlist application will not overwrite any other AW affiliate cookie. If there is no cookie present then a cookie for Wishlist will be set. This functionality is in the next release of the application on Monday.

Wishlist is a tool for merchants. Merchants have shown a lot of interest in getting involved in Social Networks. Wishlist was developed as a tool to allow them to do this.

If the application is successful then the financial model could be changed and the application white labeled and used by affiliates. In its current model it wouldn’t be a revenue earner for affiliates. Unless an affiliate became a user of the application and started recommending lots of products to friends who then purchased. But if an affiliate was doing that then they should develop their own application.

Monetising Social Networks is an unknown. Providing tools for an unknown channel is risky (and costly) but dipping our toe in the water with Wishlist hopefully allows us to get a better understanding of this channel so we can develop it further in the future for all partners.

I really do welcome debate about this. Is it better for a network to develop a tool like this? A network is going to want to protect the business that affiliates are driving so is going to ensure that the application doesn’t take away money unfairly. If anyone else developed this application would that person be worried about taking some of the competitor affiliate pie?

Who should be driving innovation in affiliate marketing? I blogged about this the other day here: Affiliate Window | Blog » Blog Archive » It’s not just the networks that have to innovate

Regards

[Spreader]

Hello folks - hope you are all well.

I've been meaning to comment on this for a wee while now, but I've been snowed under organising our Christmas in July show (no pun intended!).

Anyway, we spoken to AWIN about pushing our products through the Facebook Wishlist but obviously want to do it with the "consent" of our affiliates.

I've looked at it with an "affiliate hat" on and I can't see that it can harm affiliates - especially as prior cookies won't be overwritten - but am I missing something? Or is it a good thing for us and other merchants to get involved?

Answers on a postcard please folks...


Zak.

[hpops]

Zak, I think its great mate, I would definitely explore further and I don't see the conflict in the least.