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A couple weeks ago our team boarded a plane from LAX to JFK to attend the OG affiliate marketing conference, Affiliate Summit East. ASE, and its west coast counterpart, ASW are the two events we look forward to most throughout the year and it’s not just because we get to cut loose with our team for a long weekend and make a trip out of a business conference – although that doesn’t suck either! But after more than a decade of attending ASE and other affiliate industry conferences we’ve had our fair share of fun and inside jokes to bring back to the office but what keeps us going back is what we learn and how our service improves every time we come home.
The world of marketing, especially affiliate marketing, is constantly evolving into something new. It keeps us on our toes which is exciting. But with skin in the game we need to take every opportunity we can to dive deeper into the industry and make ourselves a household name at these conferences because if you’re not always learning and adapting to the changing landscape and trends, there’s a good chance you aren’t going to sustain growth. Luck runs out. But success can always be chased if you put in the effort.
This year’s event had several interesting workshops and sessions about how AI is impacting the creation of digital content and what that will mean for affiliate marketing in the near future. Speakers also discussed the socioeconomic climate and how consumers are reacting in terms of purchasing habits and how brands and affiliates can work together to keep generating value even in these trying times. Immersing ourselves in these discussions about the current state and future of the affiliate industry lets us bring back actionable insights and conversations to have with our brands about how we can strategize to stay ahead of the curve and not just preserve our profit margins but continually generate high growth for our clients.
Our head of content partnerships, Becca Norr attended the event this year and said that “the value of attending ASE and other affiliate conferences in general is the networking. By being able to show face and reconnect with our affiliate contacts in person we build stronger relationships and in turn are able to negotiate better packages/placements for our clients. Publishers are more likely to offer discounts and incentives for our clients when they know and trust us.”
With over 3,500 forward thinking affiliate marketing networks, advertisers, and publishers all in one place for a weekend dedicated to growth and making key connections, ASE is always a pivotal event. We’ve met some of our strongest allies here and we always hope that the people we meet and the conversations we have plant a seed that down the line can grow into an incredible partnership.
The conference welcomes companies of all shapes and sizes which is great because we get to learn from them all. The first time we went to ASE we had about 40 clients under our belt. Flash forward to our most recent trip across the country and we’re at over 4,000 clients served and have won several industry accolades including being named Agency of the Year by Rakuten and 6 consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list, a feat unmatched in our space..
We know the potential of small businesses to take it to the top so part of what we seek out at these conferences are those smaller less well-known brands and affiliates who are doing really unique and interesting things. That’s what makes these events so exciting is the possibility of surprising ourselves whether it’s through a connection or something we heard during a roundtable.
The only thing better than Affiliate Summit East is Affiliate Summit West. Everything is bigger and better in Las Vegas. But that’s a story for January… We’ll be back at the Affiliate Summit before we know it but for now it’s back to work.
