Affiliate marketing

Paying partners a commission for the customers they send - publishers, creators and comparison sites carry the offer and earn on results. Attractive because the cost is contractually tied to outcomes; the catch is that affiliates gravitate to harvesting demand that already existed, so incrementality checks matter more here than anywhere.

Evidence from the library

Performance advertising mostly directs people to brands they have already chosenPrinciple 35%Click-based attribution sends a third of spend to sales that would have happened anywayWarning Creators match other channels on short-term ROI but carry the highest long-term brand-building multiplier of any channel.Stat A pre-purchase 'how did you hear about us' survey is the cheapest brand attribution toolPrinciple 27%Nearly three quarters of creator content fails to link back to the brand paying for itWarning

Source

Marketing Definitions

standard digital marketing practice