2022 IAB Affiliate and Partnership Industry Review – A Wrap-Up

The 2022 Affiliate and Partnership Marketing Australian Industry Review is out, a market first that brings advertisers and affiliate partner experiences together in one report.

The nature of affiliate and partnership marketing is constantly evolving, with new discoveries and trends sweeping the industry every day. As such, insightful reports like the IAB Affiliate and Partnership Industry Review are crucial in helping industry players better understand their environment, and make plans for the year ahead.

This year, IAB released its most compelling industry review yet. The Affiliate and Partnership Industry Review surveyed 140 advertisers and 60 publishers across Australia who are actively involved in affiliate marketing programs.

As constant knowledge-seekers in the industry, Commission Factory has rounded up a list of key points and highlights for advertisers and publishers in their affiliate marketing journey. Here's our wrap-up of IAB's 2022 Affiliate and Partnership Marketing Industry Review.

Affiliate Marketing is as strong as ever, even during the pandemic

While the pandemic has left a trail of uncertainties, affiliate marketing remains a constant marketing tool for most businesses. This sentiment is echoed by affiliate partners, who also show no signs of slowing down their efforts to promote products and services.  

The revenue increase isn't the only important objective for publishers

Interestingly, publishers' goals have extended to more than just the usual bottom line metrics. While revenue remains a top business objective for affiliate partners, we see the growing importance of building more meaningful relationships with advertisers and their followers.

Affiliate marketing is strong across all industries

It's a testament to the importance of affiliate marketing that this tool remains a channel used by advertisers and affiliate partners across various industries. The retail and fashion sector remains the top industries that engage heavily in affiliate marketing. However, reports show growth in the cosmetics and home appliance sectors as well.  

Content is king

Generating engaging and quality content remains the primary method used in an affiliate marketing program. In the report, both advertisers and publishers rate content as valuable in getting their promotional message across effectively, beating even reward models and discounts.

Brands and publishers opt for varying payment models

Payment models such as cost-per-action (CPA) and placement fees remain important to both advertisers and affiliate partners. But it's also common to use different models together when deciding on a payment method. The IAB report shows that advertisers and affiliate partners are keen to explore other payment methods when working together.

Retiring third-party cookies

Third-party cookies are slowly becoming a thing of the past due to privacy concerns and changes made by browsers. Both affiliate partners and advertisers are aware that they need to look at alternatives to track conversions and site visits. In the IAB study, we see improvements in businesses moving away from third-party cookies, but there's still a long way to go.

More affiliate and partnership marketing training is needed

As the value of affiliate and partnership marketing grows, so will the need for constant education and knowledge-building. Both advertisers and affiliate partners agree that training is crucial. The IAB report highlights a few training topics that could be addressed, such as the best practices for advertisers and affiliate partners.  

The IAB 2022 Affiliate and Partnership Industry Review helps advertisers and affiliate partners navigate the year ahead and build fruitful partnerships by better understanding each other. To read the full report, visit IAB's website, or click on the download button below.

 About the IAB

IAB Australia is the peak trade association for online advertising in Australia. As an independent industry association with more than 160 members of media owners, publishers, technology companies, agencies, and advertisers, IAB works to align industry stakeholders to develop solutions and build standards that are integral to the operation of digital advertising. The role of the IAB is to support sustainable and diverse investment in digital advertising across all platforms in Australia. Together with partners, they aim to shape the rules of play around measurement, training, global tech and policy work, Tech Lab standards, and standardising terminology to support the broad media and marketing community.

Download the IAB Affiliate and Partnership Industry Review report.