Blake Cantrell Joins TUNE as Vice President of Partnerships

In the present day I’m happy to announce Blake Cantrell has joined TUNE as our new Vice President of Partnerships. Blake is an trade veteran, working at a number of the most well-known firms within the area and interfacing instantly with manufacturers, publishers, and businesses alike. As a part of his welcome to the crew, I requested Blake a number of questions on his new position and his outlook on the trade.

Are you able to give us a rundown of your expertise within the affiliate trade?

I’ve been lively within the affiliate area since 2006 once I started my profession at CJ Affiliate. Whereas at CJ I managed a big crew and high-revenue portfolio spanning a number of strains of enterprise.

From there I jumped to Affect.com the place I used to be a founding member and chief of the Channel Partnerships crew. At Affect I created mutually useful, income producing partnerships with company and tech companions alike. I used to be additionally in a position to construct inner alignment throughout GTM groups, CS, Assist, and extra so as to create a frictionless accomplice path for all events.

What led you to resolve to affix the TUNE crew?

All through my interviews with the TUNE crew it was clear that everybody I spoke to is raring to develop the enterprise with a excessive degree of integrity and a spirit of collaboration. This can be very necessary to me on a private {and professional} degree that any work be executed in a considerate method whereas treating each inner and exterior companions with transparency, consistency, and equality. I consider that this method aligns with the TUNE method as properly. Merely put … the willingness to be accomplice.

What is going to you be doing at TUNE?

In my position at TUNE I might be scaling up the community providing. This can embody product enhancements, recruiting and onboarding companions of all kinds in addition to serving to to facilitate partnership development. It’s going to even be important to work intently with all inner groups to assemble suggestions, set up joint processes so as to serve our companions and have a shared understanding of the place we’re robust and the place we are able to enhance. It is a giant endeavor however very thrilling as TUNE is nimble sufficient to create a really distinctive community.

What are the largest learnings you’re bringing to TUNE out of your earlier roles?

Hearken to companions. They’re at all times completely happy to inform you what they need and want. There isn’t a must guess or to have probably the most superior tech or construct AI in to each operate. Whereas extremely superior options are at all times thrilling nearly all of the gamers are depending on straightforward to navigate and reliable monitoring, reporting and payouts so as to construct excessive development partnerships.

How has affiliate marketing online developed because you began out?

After I started, affiliate was the Wild West. Trademark bidding guidelines weren’t in existence, cookie stuffing was rampant, and in some ways the complete trade was nonetheless figuring itself out. It’s now 18 years since I began and the extent of sophistication in know-how and partnership sorts has superior by gentle years. Model to model partnerships, the rise of influencers, refined monitoring and attribution have all modified the sport for the higher. That mentioned, the core stays the identical in that solely mutually useful partnerships brokered by considerate gamers on all sides will have the ability to proceed to push the trade ahead.

How do you see the expansion of influencers and creators altering the trade?

Content material creators have been pegged as “the subsequent large factor” in our area for the final 5 plus years however are only recently beginning to make a big affect throughout the trade as each the know-how and understanding of find out how to work with this new accomplice sort has developed. Transferring ahead, I count on that there might be a day of reckoning as giant manufacturers see diminishing returns on huge influencer spends with comparatively restricted reporting outputs. Strong monitoring and cost primarily based on worth is on the core of affiliate, and when utilized to the influencer class may assist present further insights, management, and worth to manufacturers whereas serving to to broaden attain and affect.

What’s the subsequent large factor in affiliate marketing online?

For higher or worse, AI would be the subsequent large factor in all of digital advertising and marketing. From content material creation, analytics, advertising and marketing, and even creating firm mission statements … AI will quickly be pervasive. For even the informal observer who has performed with ChatGPT it’s straightforward to know how AI may assist shorten analysis instances, automate numerous features, and level-up the affiliate trade throughout the board. That mentioned,  it’s regarding that the clear and inventive partnerships which can be presently brokered at the moment by considerate gamers within the area may start to look extra like programmatic advert buys or different campaign-based methods which can be pay to play. Why is that this regarding? As a result of it can stifle innovation. A few of the strongest partnerships on this trade have and can proceed to be caused by clever folks talking to one another one-to-one. If AI can assist these conversations with out eliminating them, then I’m all for it.

What’s the highest problem you see in affiliate marketing online at the moment?

The largest problem I proceed to see is setting appropriate expectations for advertisers each large and small about how affiliate can add worth. Many small and/or new-to-market applications with little model fairness count on to launch high-revenue applications by solely utilizing influencers. On the flip facet, bigger established manufacturers are seeing the worth of the affiliate channel being chiseled away by inner attribution instruments. The last-click attribution mannequin primarily based on gross sales income solely won’t ever enable for a real learn of the contribution of affiliate. Not solely is a full funnel technique a requirement (each within the associates program and coordinated throughout all digital advertising and marketing groups), however so is a versatile, collaborative attribution technique. Affiliate partnerships contribute in so many extra methods than bottom-of-funnel gross sales that have to be tracked, acknowledged, and rewarded to ensure that manufacturers to see the total worth of the channel.

How can TUNE assist the trade tackle this problem?

TUNE is in a singular place to assist information manufacturers on one of the simplest ways to create significant partnerships primarily based on their enterprise wants. TUNE isn’t a large, one-size-fits-all resolution for partnerships like lots of the gamers on the market. Relatively, TUNE is a nimble group that’s eagerly soliciting buyer/accomplice suggestions and persevering with to iterate their product, course of, and folks practices so as to service ever-changing consumer wants

What are a few of your instant targets as you be part of the TUNE crew?

I’m extraordinarily desperate to do a deep dive on the product and current partnerships as this can assist me to know the place to focus my efforts first. Whereas I’ve some robust concepts about the place to start, I’m keen to listen to from the TUNE crew and our companions instantly about what they really feel is required to assist elevate the TUNE Community.

What will get you probably the most enthusiastic about the way forward for accomplice/affiliate marketing online?

There may be at all times one thing new across the nook that you would be able to by no means predict, which retains the trade thrilling. A brand new advertiser vertical, a brand new promotional technique, or perhaps a small change from Google that utterly upends all earlier greatest practices. The problem now could be to not solely navigate these exterior adjustments however do the very best we are able to to attempt to drive the trade towards new greatest practices so that every one gamers can profit.

I’m excited to see how Blake can assist supercharge TUNE’s partnership efforts within the coming months. His first alternative to signify TUNE out there might be at PI Stay in Miami from April sixteenth by the 18th. You may attain out to Blake at [email protected] to schedule time to satisfy with him and the TUNE crew!