Tradedoubler : "Move your Affiliate budget to Search"

[Matthew Wood]

We had an obviously disgruntled merchant add a 'press release' this morning, now although we did not approve it, I think the content of the email sent by TradeDoubler to this merchant is worthy of discussion.

Whilst I do agree that many merchants need a kick in the rear every now and then for the benefit of all parties I'm really not sure about one of the suggestions:

'Invest your affiliate marketing budget into Search marketing, we can recommend I Spy' - What the hell is that about?

RE: YOUR Affiliate Programme with TradeDoubler UK

TradeDoubler have undertaken a review of all active programs on the UK network to ascertain their viability as an affiliate marketing program in 2008.

Key areas of performance that we monitored included sales revenue and volumes achieved and levels of publisher commission. Looking at the historical performance of your program we see there are a number of factors inhibiting the growth of your program, they include:

· Lack of affiliates that are actually performing on the programme

· Low take up of your program by affiliates due to either poor brand awareness of your company or uncompetitive commissions

· No engagement with your affiliates through updated creative and offer information

· Lack of client side resource to manage an affiliate program

On reflection of the above, we recommend that you consider closing your program with TradeDoubler and action one of the following:

· Use your affiliate budget to run tactical brand or performance related campaign activity to build awareness with consumers or attribute sales to a specific media spend. This can be arranged through TD Campaigns

· Open a private affiliate network to manage your affiliate program in house using TD Toolbox

· Invest your affiliate marketing budget into Search marketing, we can recommend I Spy

· Run your Affiliate program through a specialist Affiliate agency, we can recommend R.O.Eye

I am very keen to hear back from you about your preferred course of action and how you wish to manage this transition with TradeDoubler.

Please contact me by email if you wish to discuss further; if there is no contact from you by 4th April 2008, I will assume that you wish to close your program with TradeDoubler and take the 4th April 2008 as the start of your notice period.

Best wishes,

YOUR Account Director

[Julie H]

Is this for real? I did hear about it yesterday but I didn't take it very seriously. Is this TD's version of 'doing a Ratner'? I'll post more later when my head allows me to grasp this more thoroughly.

Jules

[morleymouse]

They are for real.

[aotagain]

Is it possible that TD have employed some of the early losers from the last series of the Apprentice, who are now in the process of compensating their egos by throwing a bit of power around to make them feel better ?


Pretty serious really though - more 'corporateness' by the look of it. Very much sounds like the finance men have looked over the individual accounts and worked out that the admin. cost is not worth the revenue. Isn't that the sort of thing that happens when you're the size of a major bank ?

If it was intended to be helpful, it wouldn't threaten automatic removal from TD's aff. programs.

My reccommendation is a TD call-centre in India, that would save loads ;-)

[aotagain]

PS
I'd expect that sort of communication to come from a named person, not YOUR account director - or has that been replaced for the post ?

Perhaps the account directors have been given revenue-per-merchant financial performance targets, so the low ones bring their averages down.

Cynical ? who me ? in a capitalist world ? surely not.

[Shane]

"if there is no contact from you by 4th April 2008, I will assume that you wish to close your program with TradeDoubler and take the 4th April 2008 as the start of your notice period."

nice .. not even worth a phone call ?.. imagine if you wake up and suddenly don't have an affiliate scheme in place anymore as you missed the email.

sure it might not be doing much volume by TD's standards so they wish to bin it but could be a decent wage to that merchant even if only a small one, it still warrants a phone call at the very least rather than a "you are the weakest link and the clock is ticking" email

[3wdl]

Bejesus. Hoping this is not for real - suprised they look to close down accounts when they charge £600 a month or whatever it is for no-management!

[Brendon]

>> Invest your affiliate marketing budget into Search marketing, we can recommend I Spy

Ay, ay, ay... would that be the same Ispy who just sacked their best SEO, LOL?

[wwwb]

Slightly comforting to know it's not just affiliates who get these kind of emails -

Jude

[Red]

suprised they look to close down accounts when they charge £600 a month or whatever it is for no-management!

I was just thinking the same. I also can't believe they would close such a program without even a call to follow up such an email

I can't believe that organisation that should know better are getting this so horribly wrong at the moment!

[GettingPersonal]

I might be missing something here but.....

from an affiliates point of view isn't this a good thing? Surely you want to be able to go to a network such as TD and know that they are offering a range of merchants who are totally committed to their affiliate channel. Its all well and good setting up an affiliate program but if it isn't maintained and nurtured then you're soon going to get affiliates who get a bit peed off and move on to another merchant. If TD can remove that sort of merchant surely that will save everybody a lot of time and effort.

[GettingPersonal]

....might of been better to go through a bit more of a consultative process first tho'

[KirstyM]

Is it me, or does this employ the same logic used by merchants to make their affilate base more manageable?

I hope TD aren't going to bring out "allowing our resources to be allocated to better performing programmes" type reasons. That has an all-too-familiar sound to it!

To play devils advocate though, a lot of smaller programmes might well be able to find networks which would work better for them and cost less in terms of network fees... so although this would be a bit insulting... perhaps there are a fair few sites who would do better elsewhere?

[TD Sanj]

Over the last few months we have been consulting with publishers and reviewing the performance of all programmes on our UK network with a view to ensuring that we offer you programmes with the maximum earning potential for your traffic.

Following this review, we have written to and consulted with a number of our smaller affiliate programmes that they may benefit from alternate methods of promotion from their digital budgets and to agree on a mutual closure of the programme where appropriate.

Our aim through these conversations is to ensure our advertisers are getting the right brand exposure through the best means and that our publishers continue to enjoy access to wide choice of high quality, high return programmes.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you wish to discuss.

Best regards,
Sanj

02077985891

[Mogga]

One of the problems I have with TD and other networks is when they decide to make you wait to accept you.

When I sign up for a program it's normally because I'm working on time allocated to adding new merchants. I can either use a network that will instantly approve me and add a merchant straight away as I intend to do, or it'll go on backburner.

Whilst for big brands you might be happy to wait months to be approved (ok, not happy but you know what I mean), for smaller companies you might not want to wait.
The delay in being approved is best kept minimal.

By the time I've had an approval off some merchants I have lost the will to live, found a better merchant for that sector or just CBA anymore with the wait.

If TD doesn't assist new merchants - and to state they have
"· Low take up of your program by affiliates due to either poor brand awareness of your company or uncompetitive commissions"
then this reflects as much on TD as it does the merchant.

Low brand awareness should be countered with fast approval - and a good infobase from the merchant. This infobase should be part of a networks dealing with a company - what sells, what's hot and all the other info affiliates want.