In the seventh episode of the Partner Marketing Podcast, our host, Matthias, is joined by Helen Southgate, Chief Strategy Officer at Acceleration Partners. Helen is a seasoned expert in the affiliate and Partner Marketing industry, with over twenty years of experience. This episode provides a deep dive into her insights on global Partner Marketing, the challenges and opportunities for Brands operating in multiple markets, and the future of the industry.
Throughout the conversation, Helen shares valuable perspectives on how Acceleration Partners, a leading global Partner Marketing agency, supports Brands in executing localized marketing strategies while maintaining global consistency. She also discusses key industry trends such as the convergence of influencer marketing with performance marketing, the increasing demand for data-driven decision-making, and the need for more strategic partnerships with Publishers.
Getting to know Helen and Acceleration Partners
Matthias: "Hello everybody, warm welcome to the Partner Marketing Podcast. In today's episode, I will speak with Helen Southgate from Acceleration Partners. Helen is looking back at her experience of over 20 years in partner marketing, so it will be super interesting for us to speak with her, take some learnings, and get her view on partner marketing. Hello Helen, very warm welcome to the Partner Marketing Podcast."
Helen: "Hello, thank you for having me. I'm very excited to talk to you today. So, I'm the Chief Strategy Officer at Acceleration Partners. We're a partner marketing agency. We work all across the world. And what we really want to do is help brands, particularly sort of big, global, complex brands, create excellent partner marketing strategies that's you know really our DNA and what we do."
The discussion moves towards a deeper exploration of Acceleration Partners, with Matthias asking Helen to describe the company’s operations and structure. Helen confirms that Acceleration Partners is one of the only truly global Partner Marketing agencies, emphasizing that they have a strong presence across multiple regions, including North America, South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. She highlights that the company operates remotely, with employees based in over twelve different countries.
Helen explains that the company has embraced remote work since its inception, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and has never had physical office locations. While this approach presented challenges during the company's initial expansion, it has ultimately proven to be an advantage. The flexibility of a remote structure allows Acceleration Partners to place employees in key markets where they are needed most. Given the relationship-driven nature of the affiliate marketing industry, having local experts in different markets enables the company to foster strong partnerships and engage effectively with advertisers, Publishers, and other stakeholders.
She further elaborates on the company’s expertise in handling global, multi-market, multi-product clients. Many Brands work with different networks and platforms in various countries, which requires strategic oversight and a cohesive approach to execution. Acceleration Partners helps Brands shape their strategies, set targets, and execute Partner Marketing initiatives in a way that ensures consistency across different regions while also adapting to local market conditions.
A global strategy with local adaptation
Helen explains that a core differentiator of Acceleration Partners is its ability to execute a global strategy while ensuring localized execution. She elaborates that while the fundamental principles of Partner Marketing remain consistent worldwide, execution can vary greatly depending on factors such as market maturity, consumer behavior, language, culture, and regulatory environments.
To illustrate this, Helen provides an example of a high-street jewelry retailer that Acceleration Partners supports across thirty different markets. While the overarching strategy focuses on driving incremental revenue, acquiring new customers, and diversifying partnerships, the execution in each market differs significantly. She highlights that the affiliate landscape in the United States and the United Kingdom differs substantially from countries like South Korea, Germany, or Spain. Factors such as Brand awareness, pricing, and even product offerings can vary from one market to another.
Helen: "You'd always think that the US and UK would be quite similar, but really not. There are so many differences. We speak the same language, but in a very different way sometimes. Like some of the nuances of how we speak and sort of talk to each other. Customers or talk to publishers are very different, and also, the size is different, like the US is just such a huge market. There's so much opportunity there. In contrast, the UK and also Germany are very similar, right? There is a tighter market; everybody knows everyone, fewer publishers to work with but lots of bigger publishers. When you go into other markets, particularly in Asia, like China, Korea, and Japan, it is really interesting to see completely different ways that consumers buy; it's much more around social media. Like chat apps, lots of people buy more from chats, and you have to think, the whole traffic mix is completely different."
Helen emphasizes that having local experts embedded within these markets allows Acceleration Partners to navigate these complexities effectively. She underscores the importance of a localized approach in ensuring success, particularly in markets where consumer behaviors, marketing channels, and preferred engagement methods differ significantly.
Mastering different partner networks and platforms
Helen shares that Acceleration Partners is platform-agnostic, meaning they work with a wide range of networks and platforms without favoring a single provider. This allows clients to choose the platform that best aligns with their needs based on vertical, regional presence, and technological capabilities. She estimates that Acceleration Partners works with over forty different affiliate networks and platforms worldwide. While the fundamental role of an affiliate network remains the same - tracking sales, reporting data, and facilitating payments - Helen acknowledges that different platforms have unique strengths. For instance, certain platforms specialize in verticals such as travel, while others excel in regions like North America or Asia.
Matthias: "So, you're managing global Brands that work with multiple networks and platforms in different countries. Do you have any own technology or how do you consolidate all the data you have to work seamlessly across all markets?"
Helen: "Yes, we created our own sort of proprietary internal technology several years ago. We call it AP Vision. And it does a few things. The first thing we really wanted to do is exactly what you said, be able to take data from the different networks and have one report, one view of what's happening on the affiliate program, because that was really important, and to be able to put it all in the same format and report back to our clients. So, it's able to digest data from all different platforms, networks, everything, and put it into one format, which is really good."
AP Vision aggregates data from different platforms, standardizes it into a single format, and provides clients with a unified view of their affiliate marketing performance. Beyond data consolidation, AP Vision also enables benchmarking, forecasting, and performance analysis across Acceleration Partners’ portfolio of over two hundred clients.
The importance of data, attribution, and ROI in Partner Marketing
Helen highlights that one of the recurring challenges in Partner Marketing is understanding customer journeys and attribution. While this topic has been discussed for years, she asserts that it remains highly relevant, especially in today’s economic climate where Brands are scrutinizing their marketing spend more than ever.
She explains that Partner Marketing is inherently diverse, encompassing a wide range of Publishers, including content creators, influencers, cashback sites, price comparison platforms, and search affiliates. Given this diversity, accurately attributing value to each partner’s contribution in the conversion funnel is essential. Helen stresses that advertisers are increasingly demanding deeper insights into their marketing spend to ensure they allocate budgets effectively.
Helen: "I think the Partner Marketing channel is a sales channel, right? That's what it's really good at. The partners we work with are really good at finding customers and converting them. That's why it works well, and the model works well. But I have found with a lot of clients that there's more interest to spend more, what I would call, sort of marketing higher funnel budget in the affiliate channel. Because I think they can see the value in it. I think one of the challenges we sort of have as a channel as well is our return on investment is so good. It's always one of the best marketing channels because it is a sales channel, and it tends to convert sales really well. I still think we sometimes can have better discussions about how to be a bit more flexible on that. And having a return on investment that's perhaps nearer to other channels, you can sort of broaden how they're spending their marketing budget in affiliate channels as well. And I think that's an important discussion to have with brands. And I'm seeing that more and more as well."
Matthias brings up the ongoing debate about whether Partner Marketing should be classified as a marketing or sales channel. Helen acknowledges that while Partner Marketing is traditionally performance-driven and focuses on sales, there has been a growing interest from Brands to allocate marketing budgets to the channel.
Helen explains that Brands show a growing interest in allocating marketing budgets to the Partner Marketing channel. This is largely due to the channel’s high return on investment (ROI), which surpasses other digital marketing channels such as paid search and social media. However, she warns that while the strong ROI of Partner Marketing is an advantage, it should not confine the channel to a purely cost-per-acquisition model. Instead, she advocates for Brands to recognize its broader potential in driving Brand awareness, upper-funnel engagement, and customer loyalty.
Conclusion: Future trends in Partner Marketing
As the discussion nears its conclusion, Helen shares her perspectives on the future of Partner Marketing. She predicts continued convergence between Partner Marketing and other digital marketing channels, particularly influencer marketing, performance PR, and retail media. She also emphasizes the growing role of content partnerships, as Brands seek to enhance their presence through high-quality editorial and influencer-driven content.
Helen concludes by reiterating the importance of data-driven decision-making, urging Brands to invest in advanced attribution models to optimize their marketing spend.
Listen to the entire episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, our website, and all other podcast platforms.
About The Partner Marketing Podcast
The podcast brings together thought leaders and professionals from across the globe. In each episode, our host, Matthias, sits down with guests to discuss the evolving world of Partner Marketing and share personal stories.
For more details, please visit www.tradedoubler.com/podcast