Earlier this week, we hit Affiliate Summit in New York. As is always the case, the conference was informative, entertaining and fun. One day prior to Affiliate Summit, conference organizers Shawn Collins and Missy Ward along with Loren Feldman held The Audience Conference, a mashup between social media geeks and comedians. While that combination may sound strange, it was striking to realize just how much a comedian’s work process is similar to that of an online marketer.
Along with the likes of Chris Brogan, who humorously recalled the early days of bulletin board services…complete with motormouth imitations of modems connecting; C.C. Chapman who discussed the importance of “being human” online and Jason Calacanis who, well, gave us all the parts of Jason we love the most: fearlessness, fortitude and diligence, comedians took the stage and amused as well as educated.
After each comedian, MC Feldman queried each comedian on their process and related it back to the processes of an online marketer, affiliate marketer or social media geek. The nut? Experiment. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn’t work, try something different. Always change. Always fine tune. Always improve.
At Affiliate Summit during a panel that had brands discussing their affiliate programs, we learned the ins and the outs of the nuts and bolts of a well run affiliate program. We were hoping for more mapping back to results, sales and brand growth but we got too much “I spend a lot of time on the phone” silliness. That said, the audience was engrossed so clearly the panel was helpful.
The exhibit hall, as always, was informative and amusing at the same time. Plenty of Fish wanted you to catch their ass, BikiniBabesNetwork wanted you to ogle their bikini-clad spokesmodels (interview here) and another company gave away prizes for shooting darts at a target.
The first day keynote was given by Frank Luntz. A great speaker, Luntz offered up a demographic profile of the human race. From the fact men want more money to the fact women want more time to the fact brand integrity is the most important brand attribute, Luntz kept the audience in their seats (a feat unto itself at every conference) and gave them a dose of motivation for continued success.
In a panel given by Jeremy Shoemaker (aka ShoeMoney), the audience learned what we’ve known around here since Adrants was born, cleavage nets the highest response to advertising. Seriously. Studies prove this. Well, at least studies that focus on Facebook ads. Shoemaker found ads with boobs achieved a 61 percent higher response rate. Love when studies prove us right.
The Day Two keynote was given by Jim Kukral who, until this time, as Affiliate Summit’s MC. This year, it was Jim’s turn to take the stage and he gave one of the best keynotes we’ve ever heard. It was of the motivational variety and was sprinkled with many facts and figures audience members could take away and put to immediate use.
Oh, and he’s got a new book out, Attention. And it’s perfect for out attention-deficient mind. It’s a collection of short essays with one purpose; how to translate attention into making money.
For many marketers, affiliate marketing is that shady thing geeks do in their underwear from home. While there’s no shortage of that stereotype, more and more major brands are realizing affiliate marketing is an integral component of an overall marketing strategy. Many of them were represented at this conference. Sadly, not many agencies were there.
But let’s not end on a sad note. No. Let’s stay happy. And optimistic. And not forget the other very important element of any well-run conference: the parties. There were many and you can sift through pictures from those parties right here.
