The sold-out event filled a bright and welcoming space in the heart of London at 22 Bishopsgate with a record-number attendees. Awin-hosted panels brought industry topics to life, from unlocking untapped value in brand-to-brand partnerships, to harnessing AI. We’ve come away from the event more inspired than ever. Here are our top takeaways from the day.
Let’s redefine the traditional marketing funnel
Awin’s CCO David Lloyd gave an inspiring opening keynote. This lit the touchpaper for a day filled with fast-paced problem-solving; the kind that can only take place when industry experts put heads together to share to-the-minute industry news.
David kicked things off publicising our ‘Grow your own way’ initiative, expanding on nine major feature releases from Awin. This jam-packed session addressed the need for our industry to break free from a constrained, linear customer journey and instead, think about the affiliate journey as a circular clock face with multiple touchpoints and endless opportunities.
Just like the cogs of this clock should bring partners, advertisers and suppliers together, the well-executed ThinkTank facilitated high-value connections throughout the day. Over 600 in-app scheduled meetings (plus a few enticing arcade games) were responsible for the lively hubbub between sessions in the networking spaces.
David’s opening discussion set the bar high, and our well-attended sessions continued to deliver. One of the most popular being on brand partnerships.
Now is the time to harness the power of brand-to-brand partnerships
Lee Metters, our Client Partner for Brand Partnerships, ran an insightful session on the topic of brand-to-brand partnerships, a key component to ongoing future success within the affiliate channel. Drawing on Awin’s success over the past 12-months, Lee ran through the ways our brand partnerships platform gives brands the opportunity to track and reward brand collaborations, plus discover 1000s of brands to work with.
Impressive data honed in on why brand-to-brand is an exciting area to watch. Take the 80,000 sales, or £3.5m in advertiser revenue, all generated through brand partnerships facilitated by Awin.
AI is here to stay, but it’s got a way to go
As we enter a new transformative era, AI has become more than just a buzz word. Awin’s UK Strategy Director James Bentley delivered an in-depth analysis of AI trends, drawing out the impact on the affiliate channel as a whole.
The key takeaway from this session? While AI serves up over-confident hallucinations as fact, we can’t say with a broad brush that AI will replace all online copy. Rather, it’s being used as a time-saving tool. For example, to generate the likes of Amazon product pages.
Taking a closer look at the ways AI is being used in digital publishing, James made the point that this is nothing new. Rather, its use is simply growing and we are attributing more under the umbrella term AI. For the industry, AI looks set to feed a new generation of start-ups as it becomes quicker and cheaper to build, market, and promote products and services. Overall, AI is seen as having a positive impact we can feel optimistic about.
Get to know the new gatekeepers
Benedict Evans delivered an energetic and information-packed closing keynote, sharing insights into broader digital trends. One overriding message; we’re in the middle of an intense period of change and those who are able to see opportunity are reaping the rewards. Those who are slow on the uptake (Google’s lacklustre launch of AI assistant ‘Bard’, for example), less so.
With new channels, we see new winners on the field; Anker, based in Shenzhen, build a $2bn phone accessory business using Amazon Marketplace. Fast-fashion brand Shien has an online business model that bypasses the need for brick-and-mortar stores. This frees up ad spend and they’re now rivalling the likes of fellow fast fashion retailer, Zara.
Benedict also called out the decline in TV viewing and rise in ad-free viewing signalling a big change for those previously reliant on the medium as a space to advertise. Rather he felt a new definition of TV is needed to encompass other video platforms such as YouTube, where (if you’re MrBeast) your net worth can rival the top series on Netflix! His closing comments were on being patient when predicting the future. Every 15 years the tech industry gets a new centre and, as he says, “The future can take a long time”. Our key takeaway from this session? It’s an exciting and unpredictable time to be a performance marketeer.
Closing thoughts from ThinkTank 2023
It’s been wonderful to look back on the day and hear feedback from attendees who have commented on the relaxed running of the day, engaging sessions and excellent networking opportunities:
“Awin ThinkTank brings together the best content and industry players for one day of pure networking. It's one of the key events in our calendar, we look forward to 2024!”
Daniel Harding, Commercial Director, Envolve Technology
“Awin ThinkTank 2023 was an extremely well-planned and executed event. We met with exciting new prospects, partners and existing clients in one location, we left with fantastic insights and quality connections.”
Marc Shepherd, Head of UK Revenue & SaleCycle
“One of the best events of the year, great location, impressive content and a great way to catch up with our partners. Can't wait to attend again next year.”
Immy Hussain Head of Affiliates Summit Media.
This was without doubt the best UK ThinkTank, with connections and partnerships being made everywhere, in booths, over coffee, even between panellists on stage. Thank you to everyone who joined us in central London who helped cement our reputation for holding the most noteworthy events on the UK’s affiliate events calendar. We look forward to seeing you at ThinkTank 2024!
The Awin Team.
Relive the magic of the day, download the event photos here.
