Tag: Travelstart

Online marketing network continues to do well amidst conservative economic outlook

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Lico

Press release

AdMarula-Performance-Marketing

 

Cape Town, 8th April 2013: AdMarula, the online performance marketing network that launched in South Africa in 2011, continues to grow despite a conservative and somewhat pessimistic economic outlook here and abroad.

According to SA’s leading economic consultants, Econometrix, the global downturn in GDP is set to continue in 2013 through to 2014 and is expected to ease in 2015. Furthermore, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) forecast growth for South Africa to be 3.6 percent between 2012 and 2016. All in all making 2013 a year where most companies and investors will be careful and selective where they spend their Rands/Dollars, while waiting for some sign of things ‘lightening up’.

“In light of this economic backdrop, it is very encouraging that AdMarula continues to grow at a healthy pace – in fact Q1 results already exceeded our expectations in terms of transaction volumes on the platform, having increased by 45% compared to Q4 last year. This is very good news for our clients and our publishers. We have also seen a spike (30% increase) in new publishers joining our network during the first few months of the year”, says Daniel Gross, CEO at AdMarula.

Despite stricter approval processes for consumer credit, the Financial sector is doing particularly well on the network with several new loan and insurance providers joining AdMarula as clients in recent months.

“With marketing budgets being one of the first cost centres to be scrutinized when the economy is slow, marketing managers are under pressure to find channels that are accountable and measurable – it is hard to find a channel that ticks these boxes better than performance-based affiliate marketing”, says Gross.

AdMarula’s current client base includes brands like 5Rooms, All4Women, FlightSite, Frank.net, Homechoice, Interflora, Travelstart, Wonga and more.

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Profile of the month – Stephan Ekbergh

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Lico

Stephan_EkberghOur July ‘profile of the month’ is Stephan Ekbergh, entrepreneur, investor and mould-breaker, perhaps best known in his role as CEO of successful online travel agency, Travelstart. He shares some of his valuable insights and experiences from having worked with affiliate marketing many years, what he thinks the challenges are for Social Media, and why Lake Como is the most beautiful place in the world.

Read the full interview

AdMarula growth confirms demand for performance-based marketing channel in SA

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Lico

Press Release

Daniel-GrossAdMarula, the online performance marketing network that launched in South Africa last year, continues to grow at an impressive rate – and more advertisers and merchants are joining on a weekly basis.

Percentage wise, the total number of clicks, online sales, and publisher commissions grew by more than 200% in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the previous quarter, while the number of publishers in the network has, again, more than doubled. The company has seen a raft of new clients join in the last few months, particularly in the e-commerce, fashion, financial services and travel segments.

“We are happy with the growth of the company so far, but it’s important to stay focused and continue to do what we do and do it well”, says Daniel Gross, CEO of AdMarula. “Seeing these numbers confirms that we are doing something right, and that there is a real need for a transparent, performance-based marketing channel in South Africa.”

According to a recent study released by MasterCard and World Wide Worx, South Africa’s e-commerce industry is expected to grow by 23% in the next six months to R2.6-billion, while the IAB (International Advertising Bureau) is predicting healthy growth estimates for affiliate marketing over the next year.

“There is a real lack of research and information about the affiliate marketing industry in South Africa. This is something AdMarula is hoping to change. Our database will soon be at a point where we can start to look at performance trends and online transaction volumes across various segments, and on a high-level this information can be very useful in providing insight into our industry and helping to advocate for the affiliate marketing channel. Of course the confidentiality of our clients and their individual performance will always be kept highly confidential”, says Gross.

AdMarula’s current client base includes brands like 36Boutiques, FlightSite, Interflora, Loansdirect, Travelstart, Wonga, Youinsure and more.

Interview with Odette Pretorius – Affiliate Marketing Manager at Travelstart

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Lico

Odette_Pretorius_TravelstartPlease tell us a bit about your background and experience, prior to joining Travelstart

Like many of my peers, I went to the UK after University and ended up taking an Affiliate Executive position at Dial-a-Phone in the telcomms industry. After a year I moved over to PKR, a 3-D poker site. I was soon promoted to Affiliate Manager and eventually to Head of Affiliates – in total I was there for four years. It was a great learning curve which allowed me to build up a thorough understanding of how to work with affiliates, manage the relationships and optimise affiliate generated revenue streams.  I decided to move back to South Africa with my fiancée earlier in the year and started my new role at Travelstart in August.

From your experience, how does the affiliate industry differ in South Africa from Europe?

I think some businesses and affiliates in South Africa haven’t yet fully realised the benefits and earning potential of the affiliate marketing model – there is a big need to educate the industry of the benefits and to increase understanding and awareness. There is also an ‘invisible trust barrier’ that needs to be broken i.e. some affiliates are still wary of driving traffic and results now but getting paid later.

Why should companies include affiliate marketing in their online strategy?

It’s the perfect marketing model! It’s essentially risk-free advertising where the advertiser makes the money before spending it.

What makes a good affiliate?

A good affiliate is one that puts time and effort into making sure their website is up to date and relevant to their audience. Of course it helps to be an SEO guru! But then a good affiliate also looks at ways to add extra value for the customer through price comparisons, good content, giveaways etc.

What are the benefits/key drivers for Travelstart to work with AdMarula?

Travelstart has been running an affiliate program for several years and it has been very successful. We have decided to work with Admarula in parallel to our own program for the following reasons: 1) to increase our reach and get exposure to new affiliates in industries other than necessarily travel, 2) it’s a one-stop-shop for affiliates where they can get all their reporting and manage their programs in one place, 3) the fact that we are able to approve affiliate applications ourselves so that we know who we are working with, and 4) the excellent tracking and reporting software reduces our admin burden, ensures transparency and makes life easier for us and the affiliates.

What is your view on the future of performance-based affiliate marketing in South Africa/Africa?

There are huge opportunities here. It’s fairly easy to enter the market in most industries, and soon companies will start to realise the potential and the benefits of this model. This in turn will create more affiliates, so the next few years will be very interesting.

Finally, what should merchants/advertisers think about before considering running an affiliate program?

Basically I think there is only one question they should ask themselves: will an affiliate program generate new sales that would not necessarily have happened through existing sales channels? If the answer is ‘yes’, then it’s an easy choice!