Today sees the launch of the brand new Affiliate Marketing Council Ethical Merchant Charter.

 The Charter was first launched in 2009 as a guide for advertisers looking to run affiliate programmes according to industry wide best practice. It included advice on notice periods, de-duplication and transparency on types of affiliates.


Since then the affiliate channel has developed and therefore the Charter has been revised to take account of these changes.


Each section has been expanded to provide greater clarity on a range of factors that, if handled incorrectly, can seriously damage an advertiser’s chances of optimising their programme. There are also additional references to the growth of mobile, social media and behavioural retargeting all of which can be conducted via the affiliate channel.


In addition to the changes, each member affiliate network has committed to distributing the document to their advertisers prior to launching their campaigns. The advertiser will be required to sign this as an indication of intention to run an ethical affiliate programme.


Chair of the AMC Helen Southgate commented, “The affiliate marketing industry moves very quickly so it is important that we are regularly reviewing best practice and take into account new factors that may affect how a programme is run.


“The AMC best practice council have done a great job in reviewing this and producing an updated document that all stakeholders within the sector should find valuable”.


To find out more about the Ethical Merchant Charter click here or here.


If you’re an advertiser please speak to your affiliate network to ensure you are providing the appropriate amount of transparency in accordance with the Charter.


A special thanks to Pete Berry from Affilinet for his efforts in creation of the latest version of the Charter.