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Traditional Affiliate Network Embraces Web 2.0

Oct 19, 2007
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While the traditional US networks like Commission Junction, LinkShare and Performics are changing slowly to adapt new technologies and other trends on the internet, such as social media, blogging, video etc., does a major European player who also operates in the United States embrace those new things and uses it for their advantage.

The Network I am referring to is the Germany based affiliate network Zanox, which unveiled today their complete redesigned website. If you visit their US website at Zanox.com, you will notice the nice and friendly pastel colors and the clean and not too crowded homepage. The change is more than just a mere overhaul or painting of the facade. The changes also incorporate the websites content and functionality.

The first thing you will notice is the big video right on the homepage. There are actually four videos, which you can select to watch from the homepage. Each of the four videos introduces is easy to understand English (with foreign accent) what the four main areas of business of Zanox are.

  1. Search Engine Marketing (PPC marketing tools and solutions for advertisers and affiliates)
  2. Global Alliance Partner (introduction of the Zanox network and platform to advertisers and merchants)
  3. Portal & Content Sites (traditional affiliate marketing)
  4. EMail & Incentivized Offers (offers for email list affiliates and incentive/cash-back sites like eBates, Fat Wallet or uPromise ).

This is the default homepage and Zanox calls it their “Professional Homepage“. Right at the top can you see two tabs, “Professionals“, which is highlighted and “Beginners“. If you select “Beginners”, the alternative homepage of Zanox.com comes up. It has only one video, which is kind of an affiliate marketing 101 tutorial and a simple description what the site is about and what the steps are when you decide to create a new account.

NO COST

  1. Register for your Zanox online shop
  2. Recommend or order your chosen products
  3. Earn a percentage with every sale

It is very simple and straight forward, is it not? You have two choices either go ahead and create an account or select to find out more about what each of the three steps means. There is also information available to find out more are not text packed pages with mumbo jumbo, but easy to follow step-by-step guides. Zanox issued a press release about the design update today, which you might want to check out.

Regarding technology adaptation is Zanox also way ahead of the crowd. It offers easy and free access to traditional product datafeeds via their web interface and easy to follow instructions to how to access the feeds via automated mechanisms.

The information about which advertiser has product data feeds available and how much products are included in the feeds, is visible to the public without the need to create a Zanox account first. You can see this information right here.

The Zanox Developer Kit (ZDK) is a comprehensive collection of SOAP/WSDL based web services that allow access to advertiser, product and reporting data via a XML-based API. The documentation is available here, but requires a Zanox account in order to access it.

Zanox US got a new CEO less than a month ago. His name is Michael Hines and he has no background in affiliate marketing, but a strong background in direct marketing and experience in aggressively, and so far successfully, breaking into new markets and grow the business rapidly in that new market as well.
Here is the Zanox press release about the appointment of the new CEO from end of September.

I had the chance to talk to Michael in person on the phone a few weeks ago and will talk next week with the product manager at Zanox in Germany about some details of the Zanox network that makes them standing out from their American counterparts.

I will write about those two conversations in much more detail later. For now have a look at the new Zanox site and learn a few things.

Cheers!
Carsten

Filed under: Affiliate Marketing + Performance Marketing + Search Engine Marketing + Social Media
  • http://www.stephanmiller.com Stephan Miller

    Thanks for the breakdown. I caught their press release and meant to go back and check out what they have to offer, but got sidetracked.

  • http://www.jeffmolander.com Jeff Molander

    Great summary, Carsten.

    Yet Zaonx and PopShops remain challenged by companies like Shopster and Bravisa.com. So far, few affiliates (as Beth and others have commented on) have made the leap from "traffic/visitor shuttler" to "destination site."

    Connie Berg, Tim Storm (FatWallet) and a handful of others that are either being acquired or targeted for acquisition by larger entities HAVE bonded with customers in a way that has earned their loyalty… but I ask readers to consider what that loyalty is that rooted in? Cash back? Coupons? Mostly, yes.

    As marketers become more active in search themselves they are looking for affiliates to offer them something more — something they cannot access. Survival of affiliates means providing increased value to the end user — even beyond a coupon or a slick product search tool.

    IMO, it's time for affiliates to consider becoming a retailer. Why? They're getting squeezed out — not only of search as a means to acquire customers but also commissions. As a retailer they can set (control) their own profit margins. In fact, many are going beyond considering and actually becoming the retailer.

    For a great comparison of the 2 models I interviewed Angel of PopShops and Peter of Shopster here.

  • http://www.cumbrowski.com/ Carsten Cumbrowski

    Thanks for the comment Jeff.

    Search is one place that will grow. The SEM/PPC industry landscape is also changing and more and more agencies are getting paid on performance basis rather than based on spend. With more sophisticated web analytics and tracking is that possible and the right way to go. There is no affiliate network as middle man in most cases, but it is essence affiliate marketing.

    The compensation via CPA in display advertising will exceed this year for the first time the compensation based on CPM. You could argue that this is also affiliate marketing in a sense.

    The social web space or “Web 2.0″ world is still untapped for the most part. What is needed there are open platforms that provide open APIs and the platform to do what we call affiliate marketing. Some of the existing networks are more ready for this than others and the ones that will not make the shift will be in a competetive disadvantage.

    They can keep their cash-back and coupon affiliates (no offence Connie hehe), but that is for the most part not real affiliate marketing IMO to begin with. I saw some nice skewed statistics created by incentive sites that show the amount of revenue they produce, but it did not break down this number by new and existing customers.

    I would say (and that is a guess, due the lack of figures to back it up) that incentive and coupon sites generate a lot more sales from existing customers than they bring new customers, compared to any other type of affiliate or marketing channel (display ads, search, 3rd party email list etc.). They are IMO an important customer retention tool, but not the right one for customer aquisition. Proof me wrong by providing numbers that show it, but that is what I think today based on the little information I have available to me today.