In the first of a series, we hear from the 18 founder member companies who have formed The APMA. First up is Thoughtmix. We spoke to MD Steve Bryant about his business, why he chose to join The APMA and what trends he thinks will be important in 2024.
Tell us a little bit about Thoughtmix
Thoughtmix is a digital partnerships manager: we support brands and retailers to grow their relationships with affiliates, affinity brands and influencers.
What do you feel you bring to the (excuse the pun) affiliate mix?
We focus on supporting the purchase funnel with partnerships, utilising content and display partners to build awareness, all the way through to conversion-enhancing tools to build revenue.
When you speak to your clients, what is their general feeling towards the affiliate and partner marketing channels?
Often when joining our management service, clients feel like the industry is all voucher and cashback publishers. When they realise the whole ecosystem is much broader and includes content, influence, social and all of the other promotional methods, you see brands investing more into the channel.
Why did you want to become a founding member of The APMA?
As an industry we’re unregulated, but with so many voices it’s important to have an industry body to promote common standards and be a voice for the community with a solid agenda for real change. For Thoughtmix, being part of that movement is crucial as we enter a new era of technology and attribution.
What could The APMA be doing to help build closer relationships with them and secure bigger budgets?
As a collective voice for the industry, demonstrating the power of the channel through conversation and insights, while underpinning that by enforcing standards gives the channel more weight to justifying that increased spend.
Are there any specific APMA projects that you want Thoughtmix to lead on?
We’d love to support publisher accreditation and auditing – this part of the industry is so important to ensuring quality advertising that meets standards, and how rogue publishers aren’t able to thrive. By promoting quality, accredited publishers that follow a code of conduct provides confidence in the delivery of transactions to the merchants that pay for them.
What is the number one topic you think the industry should be tackling in 2024?
Attribution – with GA4 devaluing sales delivered from the affiliate channel (as well as their search update), it’s a vital time for The APMA and the weight of its members to campaign for more accurate reporting in analytics tools.
What other trends are you anticipating will be front of mind?
As with other industries, the development of AI in affiliate will need to be closely monitored. More widely, with all businesses under pressure, maintaining and enforcing those standards to remain a quality channel to invest in must be a top priority.
Thanks to Steve, if you want to find out more about Thoughtmix or drop them an email to discover more about their services, why not visit their APMA profile.
