For years, measurement in the affiliate channel has caused problems.
Sometimes these relate to attribution, sometimes they relate to incrementality and demonstrating wide value. Increasingly, however, the conversation has shifted towards Marketing Mix Models (MMMs) and the role they play in influencing how brands spend their budgets.
In many organisations, MMMs are no longer simply informing, now they are actively determining where marketing budgets are invested, increased or cut. And when this is done without due care and a broader understanding of the channel, it can mean affiliate marketing is shut out.
We’ve launched a brand and agency survey to understand how MMMs measure affiliate marketing.
How is affiliate marketing being measured?
One of the major challenges affiliate marketing faces is that it is viewed through a last acquisition lens. We know that affiliates and publishers influence across the funnel, so how is that being interpreted by MMMs?
We also know that historically, people have viewed affiliate marketing as a homogenous channel. Yet the difference between cashback, vouchers, social posts, email, CSS and every other affiliate type is vast. Assessing any two models side by side could be like comparing apples with oranges.
So, when the activity is not separated out in MMM models, the average can very often be unrepresentative of any affiliate model.
And where we have a major challenge is that very little is currently known about how affiliate marketing is represented within these models.
Is affiliate measured as a distinct channel? Is it grouped together with other media? Are different publisher types separated out? And perhaps most importantly, do advertisers believe that MMMs are accurately capturing the value that affiliate marketing creates?
We can’t say with confidence and that’s why the APMA has launched what we believe is the industry’s first dedicated study into affiliate marketing and Marketing Mix Modelling.
The survey is aimed specifically at brands, advertisers, retailers, agencies and consultancies running affiliate programmes.
What are we trying to achieve?
We want to understand how affiliate marketing is currently measured within MMMs, how those outputs are influencing investment decisions, and where the biggest challenges lie.
Our questions ask:
- How widely MMMs are being adopted.
- Which providers are being used.
- Whether affiliate is visible as a standalone channel.
- How affiliate’s contribution compares with other digital channels.
- Whether MMM findings have increased or reduced affiliate budgets.
- The extent to which advertisers trust the outputs they receive.
- The biggest measurement challenges currently facing the channel.
The findings will help inform a major MMM project aimed at improving our understanding of affiliate measurement, to ensure the channel is assessed in a way that properly reflects its diverse roles across the customer journey.
The results of this study will be aggregated and anonymised. No individual responses or company-level findings will be shared publicly, and all questions are optional. Respondents can also choose to complete the survey anonymously.
We need your support
As with many of the APMA’s research initiatives, the value of this work depends entirely on industry participation. The more responses we receive, the stronger the evidence base we can build and the more effectively we can represent the industry’s interests.
If you are a brand, advertiser, retailer, agency or consultancy running an affiliate programme, we’d encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the survey.
We’re here to ensure the affiliate marketing secures the investment it deserves. So if you’re unsure about how accurate your MMM data is, or you’re facing pushback from colleagues on how you’re allocating affiliate spend, we need to here from you.
Please note: this survey is intended only for brands, advertisers, retailers and agencies/consultancies running affiliate programmes.
