Affiliate manager Nate Griffin gives reaction to the statement and question:

"Commission Junction's Link Management Initiative will inevitably alienate a large number of affiliates in the network. Is anyone still fighting for the little guy?" (small affiliates)

Griffin suggests that this question raises a number of interesting issues, especially for affiliate managers that work dilligently at building niche vertical partnerships in their affiliate programs.

He asks, "Does CJ need the little people? Or is it the little people that need CJ?"

To Griffin, integrating new technology (CJ's in this case) is a natural cost of doing business that all online businesses need to accommodate on occasion.

He goes on to point out that CJ is part of a publicly traded company (Valueclick, NASDAQ: VCLK) and suggests he's confident that a change of this size is part of a larger strategy that their finance team believes will boost stock value.

Griffin astutely points out that affiliates and affiliate managers are just "along for the ride" and will simply need to buck up and do whatever work needs to be done to transition into the new link formats. He believes that any platform switching costs (assuming advertisers might reject CJ's new scheme) are too scary for advertisers.

Griffin gives pause when considering some AM's/advertisers may consider jumping ship since CJ is, in effect, irritating (if not telling "go away!") a certain flavor of affiliates. He suggests CJ leads the affiliate marketing industry due to some amount of internal savvy. Although affiliate managers may not understand the full reasoning behind this change there is one. He questions if this change is a good reason to jump ship.

Griffin plainly states that affiliates will likely follow the money and that affiliates threats to leave will be "empty and/or meaningless" given that in ditching advertisers they forfeit the ability to generate cash.

He wonders how valuable (to the advertiser) an affiliate may be who is unwilling to invest time and effort in the relationship.

"The fact that 'Affiliate Manager' is even a job title is a testament to the power of networks," he says.

Griffen believes that affiliates and publishers who have the most to lose will do whatever it takes to stay a part of the network in which they are most deeply entrenched.

Posted by Editor on May 26, 2006 11:04 AM

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