Interview with Bogdan Arhip, Co-founder of VIARdigital, the company behind Cuponescu.ro and a growing family of coupon platforms across Europe.
Bogdan Arhip is the Co-founder of VIARdigital, the company behind Cuponescu.ro and coupon platforms in five European markets. With 15+ years in business development and partnerships behind him, he's on a mission to bring real coupons — and a bit of innovation — back to the discount space.
Tell us your story. How did your journey into affiliate begin?
We started almost two years ago with our first website in Romania, Cuponescu.ro. We wanted to build a business where people could find actual, working discount coupons for the products they care about. We saw a niche where innovation had stopped years ago, and we decided it was the right time to step in and do things differently: real coupons, a community where users can exchange information, ways to rate coupons, and many other interactive features that give visitors a completely new experience on a coupon website.
Was there a defining moment when you realized your website could become a business?
When we got our first commission. That was the moment the market confirmed our model. It took a while, we focus on organic traffic, so the results of our initial work only showed up a few months later. It wasn't easy. There were plenty of doubts and trial-and-error phases, but we pushed through, and we did it fully bootstrapped, with no outside investment.
If you had to describe your brand in three words, what would they be and why?
Verified discounts codes.
What's something people would be surprised to learn about your business?
We opened four new markets in the last year alone: Bulgaria, Greece, Poland, and France. And we're not done, we're just getting started. With VIARdigital we want to change the coupon market through innovation. We haven't published everything yet; we still have a few aces up our sleeves for later this year. Keep an eye on us.
Who is your ideal visitor?
A customer who is about to finish an online purchase and is looking for that extra discount, the code that convinces them they're getting the best possible price.
How do you build trust with your audience?
By offering real coupons and real discounts, and by keeping our content fresh and constantly updated. Trust in this business is earned one working code at a time.
What's the most rewarding feedback you've received from a final user?
We once helped a user save a significant amount of money, and he sent us a wonderful email about it. It's these little things that make the whole effort worth it.
Why did you decide to partner with Tradedoubler?
Initially, it was the geographic reach and the partner profile, those were the first two things that convinced us to start the partnership. After more than a year of working together, we can confidently add a third: the team. The support we get from TradeDoubler has been stellar, and honestly, we can't think of a better retention factor than that.
What makes a successful affiliate partnership in your opinion?
Communication and setting realistic expectations on both sides. Sometimes a partner expects huge increases in sales overnight, but that's not how it works. It takes time to build and persevere, like in any other business. Affiliate marketing is not a gimmick for instant results; you build a business and an audience over time.
Can you share a campaign that performed exceptionally well? What made it successful?
I'd love to say a campaign performed well because of us, but that's not the main ingredient. The main ingredient is a genuinely good deal for the customer. As long as the offer is strong and we promote it the right way, that's the recipe for success. We can push a campaign to our audience through many different channels, but in the end, the customer decides whether to buy, and what makes them buy is the offer itself. We can put it in front of their eyes, but if it's not the right one, they won't convert.
What advice would you give advertisers looking to work with publishers like you?
Always create fresh content and be proactive. Send your partners offers, flood them with offers. They won't mind.
How has affiliate marketing changed since you started?
I've been surprised more than once. Sometimes I was convinced an offer or deal would perform brilliantly, and it turned out the customer had completely different expectations. The same goes for channels, you'd expect a certain channel to work perfectly for an advertiser's offer, and it turns out their customers were somewhere else entirely.
Which trends are you most excited about right now?
Definitely AI. It has changed how we operate and how fast we can develop. We're planning to keep expanding at this rhythm precisely because of what AI makes possible.
What opportunities do you think publishers are overlooking?
That's top secret.
What skills do modern publishers need to stay competitive?
Always adapt, innovate, try new features, and test with your audience. Never stand still.
What's the biggest lesson you've learned as a publisher?
Your audience behaves differently than you'd expect. Don't assume, always test.
Tell us about a failure that ultimately made your business stronger.
At one point, a partnership that represented a major revenue stream was affected, and we had to quickly develop several other partnerships to replace it. In the end, that forced us to spread the risk across multiple partners, and it made our business far more resilient.
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