Affiliate Manager News - April 16, 2007

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Topics in this issue:

1. Google to Acquire Performics

Google will acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management, according to the press release issued by Google. Performics is a division of DoubleClick.

Stuart Frankel, President of Performics, sent out a message to affiliates Friday with the subject: DoubleClick to be Acquired by Google.

Dear Valued Publisher:
I am pleased to announce that DoubleClick has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Google. The transaction is expected to close later in 2007. To review the press release, please visit: www.doubleclick.net.
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with another industry leader and to provide significant added value to our customers. Joining forces with Google will accelerate our ability to bring innovations to market while maintaining our commitment to providing you with the high level of service to which you are accustomed.
You will retain the advantages you now receive from DoubleClick – including world-class service, leading solutions, deep expertise in and understanding of your business – which, upon closing, will be enhanced by Google's renowned research and development expertise and leadership in innovation. We look forward to leveraging this partnership to bring you even more effective ways to monetize your inventory.
I'm sure you will have many questions as to how this transaction may affect your current working relationship with DoubleClick and your current contracts. Let me assure you that a change in DoubleClick's ownership will not change the terms of your client contract. Most importantly, a change in ownership will not affect your ownership of your data. Your data remains your property and subject to the terms of your contract.
Between now and closing, nothing will change. As we work with the Google team to plan for the combination of our organizations, our top priorities will be to keep you as well informed as possible of the progress of the merger and to continue to provide you with the highest level of service.
We look forward to our continued collaboration and success. If you have any further questions, please contact your account representative.
Stuart Frankel
President, Performics

Bold above is by me, and it's got me thinking about what will change after closing?

Will the Performics brand stay in tact? Will Google revolutionize the way affiliate networks operate and the technology they use? Will Performics shift towards Javascript only affiliate creative like Google AdSense (let us not forget LMI and the backlash)?

Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google, stated in the press release that "the combination of the two companies will accelerate the adoption of Google's innovative advances in display advertising."

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Either way, I'm excited about this - I think Google is clearly serious about the dynamic trade of affiliate marketing.

There was a conference call on Friday, April 13 to discuss the acquisition. A replay of the call will be available until midnight, Friday, April 20, 2007 at 888-203-1112 domestically and 719-457-0820 internationally. Confirmation code for the replay is 8456893.

Read comments on the Google acquisition.

2. Questions on Video and Affiliate Marketing

I've been getting an increasing number of questions on video, how to do it, market it, monetize it, etc. Since there is such an interest in video, I've decided to create an offshoot of the Affiliate Tip blog that is dedicated to video.

My new blog on video is titled simply Make Video on the Internet, and it's a blog that will feature resources, information, tips, and advice on how to easily make video and publish it online.

Come on over to learn about video cameras, software, computers, communities, converters, and more.

If you have a question you'd like to know about working with video, go ahead and ask me and I'll answer it in the blog.

Visit Make Video on the Internet at MakeVideo.info.

3. Beer and T-shirts from Affiliate Summit

Visit the Affiliate Summit booth at Ad-Tech San Francisco

Posted to Affiliate Summit Videos on April 14, 2007

Click to Play | View Details

Affiliate Summit is going to have a booth at Ad-Tech in San Francisco - booth 6452.

We'd love for you to stop by the booth, and we've got a couple of cheap ploys to get you there.

On April 25 in the exhibit hall, I'll be tapping a keg and pouring beers to all booth visitors who are 21 or over.

Also, we've got a nice t-shirt to give out on both days of the exhibit hall: April 25-26. The shirts are compressed into a small, themed shape to easily fit in your luggage.

See you there.

4. Is Don Imus in Your Affiliate Program?

Don Imus has been in hot water since last week when he called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos.” People can’t distance themselves from him fast enough.

Many of his sponsors pulled their campaigns and Presidential candidates were calling for Imus’ ouster. CBS Radio suspended him for two weeks, and MSNBC announced Wednesday they will no longer simulcast the Don Imus radio show.

He’s a pariah. But for what? In reality, he has been saying ridiculous, offensive stuff for decades. He’s a shock jock after all.

Anyhow, this whole thing with hand wringing about a problem after the fact reminds me of affiliate marketing.

Continued at http://blog.affiliatetip.com/archives/is-don-imus-in-your-affiliate-program/

5. Affiliate Summit London: September 28

The Affiliate Summit London 2007 conference will be held September 28 at the Olympia Conference Centre (Hammersmith Road, Kensington, London).

Affiliate Summit has partnered with AffiliateProgramAdvice.com, an independent affiliate marketing consultancy agency and respected UK authority in affiliate marketing best practices, for the inaugural Affiliate Summit in London.

AffiliateProgramAdvice.com was set up by affiliate marketing luminary Jess Luthi in 2005 to offer consultancy, and provide affiliate marketing management with an emphasis upon research and development.

Continued at http://blog.affiliatetip.com/archives/affiliate-summit-london-september-28/

6. Affiliates Monetizing Web 2.0

There is a lot of fuss and discussion about how to leverage Web 2.0 as an affiliate. Some folks think it simply cannot be done.

Lloyd Dobler - Say Anything I’m inclined to disagree. When the method for generating affiliate cash from something is not abundantly obvious, that’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity.

Diane Court: Nobody thinks it will work, do they?
Lloyd Dobler: No. You just described every great success story.

Not so long ago, it was pretty common to think that affiliates couldn’t really do anything with video. Then applications like BubblePLY and Web Video Zone turned that pessimism upside down.

The early adopters of video as affiliate creative are making things happen.

Chris Sanderson of AMWSO posted a couple days ago about how he utilized LinkShare RSS to set up video coded with affiliate links.

Last week, Sam Harrelson wrote about Twitter and Tumblr on Cost Per News. The comments in that post include some back and forth with Jonathan (Trust) and Sam about whether these technologies can really be used by affiliates to make money.

In my opinion, these sites and many others with the Web 2.0 tag can be used easily as doorways into your revenue generating sites.

Continued at http://blog.affiliatetip.com/archives/affiliates-monetizing-web-20/

As always, I'd love to hear from you! Drop me a line and let me know if you have any suggestions or questions.

Take care,
Shawn Collins

scollins@affiliatemanager.net
http://www.affiliatemanager.net
908-771-5574