Rob Berrisford.com

Malcolm Cowley is one of the legends of the UK affiliate world, if you havent been on an all nighter with Malcolm you haven’t lived. He is now building Buy.at US having set up there over the last couple of months. Mal has gone a long way to making buy.at the company it is today and has convinced some massivle blue chip compainies to get involved in affiliate marketing.

Hello mate. How are things going in the states?

Very well indeed with some huge clients signed already in a short space of time and a fantastic reception from the US affiliate community.

Have you got a roll out strategy?

Yes I plan to build a strong on the ground team to support the new business we are bringing on board from our base in New York.

Will you be trying to encourage the affiliates you know from the UK to do more out there?

Once we merge the UK and the US network tunnels opportunities will present themselves and the “ first mover “ affiliates will maximize this on both sides of the pond

The Americans have always been seen to be 1-2 years ahead of us in affiliate marketing, in the last few months working closely with the Americans have you found this?

The markets have matured in different ways. There are certainly some very clued up affiliates in both geographies but I think that technology has advanced quicker in the UK and that puts buy at, Inc in a strong position

How is affiliate marketing different in the US to the UK?

The US affiliate market is not driven to be as accountable next to other forms of online media as yet and large agency involvement in the channel is pretty much unheard of with most large advertiser relationships being held directly with the leading affiliate networks.

How do you think Affiliate Marketing will change in the next year and a half?

The affiliate channel will continue to mature and as it does it will receive a significantly higher percentage of the online budget. Innovative technology enabling an increase in reach for advertisers and experienced pro-active account management will remain as important as ever.

Which stakeholders do you think will force the change?

Advertisers will force the change as they are beginning to understand online in much more detail – they realize that affiliate marketing is a sales channel and that other marketing such as TV sets up a potential sale and affiliate marketers are there ready to convert those advertising dollars for them. As budget shifts then tools or strategies that enable affiliates to improve their ROI and better monetize that new budget effectively for merchants will win out. I am quietly confident that buy.at will be one of the companies that is able to deliver this to affiliate marketers in both the US and the UK.

Do you think Google will ever listen to affiliates?

Google’s agenda always seems the same to me – to provide the most relevant search results to the end user in order to maximize their user base. If they move the goalposts for affiliates then everyone needs to adapt to this but I don’t believe there is a deep rooted dislike for affiliate marketers in general. I think if affiliates read between the lines then they can carry on the relationship with Google for plenty of time to come whether Google directly listens or not.

Obviously you will leave a massive hole at buy.at in the UK, do you think they will cope?

I have been planning the US expansion behind the scenes for some time now and during this time we have significantly strengthened the management team in order to soften the impact of any senior member of staff leaving.

We have a lot of strength in depth throughout buy.at with some real rising stars in all departments from Account management, Marketing/Events , Affiliate Development through to our awesome technical team!

Kevin Cornils our CEO is doing a great job at leading the team and judging by all the business we have been winning lately 2007/8 is going to be a great year for our UK growth.

We are going to be making sure we are working closely with the community as we keep growing to ensure we don’t get ahead of ourselves , a good affiliate network has balance between its two sets of customers and this must remain an important element in our growth strategy regardless of the country.

Do you think Tyson will cope?

Tyson has been a great addition to the team, he gives us a real advantage in a competitive marketplace due to his experience and relationships.

I am sure he will continue to keep the competition well and truly on their toes.

In terms of coping with my absence he will have all the drinks in London to himself so I think he will do just fine as long as his kidneys can take it!!

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