The Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association is delighted to announce our first two core partners for 2026.
We have six core sponsor partners for this year and we’re thrilled to announce our first two core partners: Webgains and intent.ly
Our core partners help us to fund our exciting and ambitious roadmap for 2026, ensuring we’re continuing to drive the affiliate UK market forward. Expect to see a series of thought leadership webinars from our core partners and some brand new APMA co-branded mini reports launching later this year.
They are also the reason we’ll be able to produce our Voice of the Affiliate Nation report in 2026. The Voice of the Affiliate Nation is the sister report to our flagship State of the Affiliate Nation report, and focuses on a qualitative view of how affiliate marketing is perceived in the UK. You can find our Voice of the Affiliate Nation 2025 report here.
Webgains is a founding member of the APMA and leading affiliate network in the UK and beyond. They became the world’s first B Corp certified affiliate network in 2023 and are focused on delivering the highest standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.
Paul Southgate, Director of International Marketing at Webgains, commented:
“Webgains is delighted to be supporting the APMA again this year. They have become an important part of the affiliate landscape, and we’re excited to see how their initiatives continue to strengthen and improve our industry.”
intent.ly, a founding member of the APMA , is a an award-winning shopper journey optimisation platform, empowering online retailers to engage and convert shoppers. They are committed to driving value for brands and proving the effectiveness of the channel with their evolving tech solutions and data insights.
Chris Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer at intent.ly said this about the partnership:
“As a founding member of the APMA, we’re proud to continue our support this year. The APMA plays a vital role in driving transparency and best practice across the affiliate marketing industry, and we’re excited to further our collaboration on initiatives that support sustainable growth for brands, publishers, and partners alike.”
Kevin Edwards, Founder & Director at APMA explained the importance of our core partners:
“The APMA has an ambitious roadmap to deliver in 2026, and we can only do so with the generous support of our core partners. intent.ly and Webgains are two vital members who have shown their commitment to our longer-term vision for the channel: advocacy and promotion, with a focus on best practice. It’s no exaggeration to say we couldn’t do it without them”.
The APMA 2026 roadmap focuses on the following key themes:
Standards, compliance & best practice
- Unified compliance framework, reporting and enforcement
- Clear market standards (attribution, payments, subnetwork transparency)
- Regulatory alignment and sector-specific guidance
Research & insight
- State of the Nation (April) as the core industry dataset
- Verified data collection and analysis
- Structured rollout of insights through events, webinars and content
Education & capability
- Affiliate 101 and core training programme
- Ongoing modules on compliance, attribution and AI
- Practical guidance to support implementation, not theory
Representation & Reputation
- Clear industry narrative and positioning
- Proactive reputation management and incident response
- Greater visibility with senior stakeholders, events and policy bodies
Attribution
- Unified Attribution Framework with clear rules and decision logic
- Alignment with MMM, incrementality and senior measurement expectations
- Evidence through pilots, data and advertiser education
Artificial Intelligence
- Industry position on AI-driven discovery and zero-click journeys
- Standards for responsible AI use and publisher visibility
- Ongoing research, member briefings and policy engagement.
