Top 5 Must See Sessions at Affiliate Summit West 2010

I attend a lot of conferences. Affiliate Summit, due to co-founders Shawn Collins and Missy Ward’s efforts, is one of the few shows on the conference circuit that improves every year. This year there seems to be even more in-depth sessions than ever. If there is something missing it is the lack of the one controversial session. Initially I had thought it would be the Killer Facebook Advertising session, but BlitzLocal Founder Dennis Yu a recent lightning rod for controversy has stepped down from the panel. So this year at Affiliate Summit West don’t expect any fireworks, at least in the panels.  You can, however expect to learn a lot about the affiliate industry.

So before the inevitable mixers and Vegas chaos distract you completely, here is my pick for the top five sessions you can’t afford to miss:

1) Oprah, Flogs and FTC: Hot Topics 2010
tied with
Law Enforcement Risks for Advertisers, Affiliates, Networks

Along with the ongoing battle against the so-called Amazon tax, there were so many legal changes in 2009 that it is crucial for advertisers and affiliates to be aware of how those changes impact them. Thus despite the better title of the first session I felt it necessary to include them both.

Panelists for the Oprah, Flogs and FTC: Hot Topics 2010 session include:

• Bennet Kelley, Founder, Internet Law Center
• Pete Wellborn, Managing Member, Wellborn, Wallace & Woodard, LLC

Panelists for the Law Enforcement Risks for Advertisers, Affiliates, Networks session include:

• Thomas A. Cohn, Of Counsel, Venable LLP (Moderator)
• Dean Graybill, Assistant Regional Director, Western Region, Federal Trade Commission
• David Katz, VP Corporate Development and General Counsel, Cyberplex Inc.

2) Killer Facebook Advertising Tactics

As hinted in the introduction, even without Dennis Yu this is sure to be an interesting session. Simply put Facebook is the social media community closest to becoming a viable market space for advertisers. Now is a good time to learn what these early adopters have done to make their programs work. Plus Facebook is represented on the panel and will hopefully provide insight on how to best engage with their audience.

Panelists the session include:

• Jim Kukral, CEO, JimKukral.com (Moderator)
• Mark Colacioppo, President, Globalizer, LLC
• Markus Frind, CEO, Plentyoffish
• Dr. David Klein (dk), CEO, Purpose Inc
• Jeremy Schoemaker, President, ShoeMoney Media Group, Inc
• Alex Schultz, Manager, Internet Marketing, Facebook

3) Creating Lasting Publisher and Advertiser Relationships

This panel represents a powerhouse group with three of the largest affiliates in our industry engaging with two of the largest advertisers, Target and Overstock. Affiliate marketing is relationship based, but building lasting relationships with large corporate advertisers provides many challenges. It will be interesting to hear their take on methods of affiliate outreach and activation.

Panelists the session include:

• Steve Schaffer, Founder & CEO, Offers.com (Moderator)
• Eva Klein, Director of Business Development, FatWallet
• Jillian McGary, Affiliate Manager, Target.com
• Stephen Siphron, Señor Marketer, Cashbaq
• Ryan Sorensen, Affiliate Program Manager, Overstock.com

4) MommyBloggers: Changing the Face of Affiliate Marketing?

So called “MommyBloggers” swept through the social media space in 2009 and even started their own conference BlogHer. It makes perfect sense that as their blogs grow in popularity “Mommy bloggers” will want to ad variety and depth to the way they monetize their content. With the flexibility affiliate programs allow, get ready for the MommyBlogger revolution to hit the affiliate channel as well.

Panelists the session include:

• Deborah Carney, CEO, Team Loxly (Moderator)
• Wendy Limauge, Blogger, Sweeties Swag
• Carrie Rocha, President, Pocket Your Dollars
• Kim Rowley, President, Key Internet Marketing, Inc.
• Heather Sokol, Proprietor, Inexpensively

5) CPA Affiliate Marketing Opportunities in Europe

It is important not to assume that what works a particular way in one country will work the same every where. Consumer habits, affiliate expectations very from country to country. There are both opportunities and challenges in expanding your affiliate program to Europe. With Matthew Wood, the founder of A4UExpo which can be thought of as Affiliate Summit’s counterpart, there should be a lot of insight on how to make your affiliate program multi-national.

Panelists this session include:

• Dush Ramachandran, Vice President, Sales Marketing & Business Development, ClickBank (Moderator)
• Jim Banks, CEO, Unanimis
• James Little, Head of Affiliates, AffiliateFuture
• Matthew Wood, Managing Director & Founder,  a4uexpo

Special Mention

Although not officially an Affiliate Summit session, the Performance Marketing Alliance will be will have an open meeting covering the topics of current legislation and regulation challenges, fraud issues, and developing an industry code of conduct. Definitely worth attending.

That’s the rundown of my picks for Affiliate Summit West 2010 in Las Vegas. What sessions are you looking forward to?