GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 1 - May 2007

40 Affliate Program Manager Interview Series EFFECTIVE AFFILIATE MANAGEMENT: SOMETIMES IT TAKES A PYTHON Tell us how you got into the industry. I am a bit of an Outback Aussie sort of guy who spent most of his teenage years growing up in a small country town in rural Queensland. Playing golf was my passion then. And on my holidays, I used to work as a roustabout in sheep-shearing sheds to make a few dollars. After leaving school I spent four years working in a banking role but soon tired of the monotony of a very unexciting industry. So I resigned and moved to the Big Smoke (Brisbane, Australia) to become a barman in the hospitality industry. A new casino was being built in Brisbane at the time (the Conrad Treasury Casino) and I talked my way into one of the few Cellar person roles there. This gave me access to all the bars and I was able to frequent the gaming floors in my travels to fix beer taps at the bars. The glitz and excitement of the gaming floors soon sparked my interest and I applied for a croupier’s course in Blackjack Dealing. Soon I was dealing a variety of table games and having a ball. Later on, in 1999, I heard about a position on the start-up team of Australia’s and the world’s 1st government-licensed and regulated online casino (Lasseters online). Since then I have found myself immersed in the wonderful world of iGaming. Please tell us about the websites CasinoProfitShare promotes. We have 6 Microgaming casinos and one of the first full-language Japanese casinos Microgaming has released, which is pretty exciting. Our longest-running casino is Golden Reef, in operation since late 2001. Our brands have a good, solid name in the industry. I worked in the VIP Department for several years and constantly received great feedback from players with regards to what our casinos have to offer in the way of support, promotions and player loyalty rewards. The casinos deliver what they promise and players keep coming back, which is great for affiliates. Describe the CasinoProfitShare affiliate program. What is unique about it? What’s unique is that you get top-shelf support from hard-working, friendly Aussies! We believe that affiliates should be taken care of the way we expect to be taken care of when we deal with companies and that’s what we try to do. Also, we released our new stats package in November ’06, and it’s completely different from any otherMicrogaming affiliate program around. I have recently been fortunate enough to join Casino Profit Share after spending many years looking after the casino players. CPS has everything an affiliate needs and we can safely say, “It’s about time an affiliate program did what they said they’d do!” How do you approach working with portal webmasters? We promise “Free Beer” at industry gatherings and then talk shop! Seriously though, there’s a common goal for both parties, and apart from good service, I think listening is the key here also. If an affiliate has something to say with regards to the program and how it can be improved for the common good ,then they should be heard and action taken. What has been your favourite bonus or promotion while working with CasinoProfitShare? I have yet to do my first promotion with CasinoProfitShare due to just starting, but I understand that at one industry event, one of my colleagues walked around with a Burmese Python wrapped around her neck! I am looking forward to doing something equally cool for affiliates in the very near future. In 2008, where do you see this industry? Another year older and powering on! Powering on where? I think we all know the answer to that now. Overview CasinoProfitShare offers affiliates a one-stop approach to programadministration,accounting,marketing,andpromotion including a range of marketing material and a banner, text, and e-mail link generator, simplifying the process of adding casinos and poker rooms to a site. Casino Profit Share also offers detailed live reporting capabilities; monthly commission payments with potential to earn up to 35% commission with casino revenue sharing; and experienced Affiliate Managers. Negative balances are zeroed each month. Software Platform: Microgaming Earnings: Revenue Share, CPA, CPC Brands: Challenge Casino, Golden Reef Casino, iBig Casino, Music Hall Casino, Nostalgia Casino, UK Casino Club Jon Farrell “The Red Bull cans are firmly wedged, I am afraid; I struggle finding hats that fit these days!” “Kristy, Russell, and me.” Position: Affiliate Manager, CasinoProfitShare Preferred Pastimes: Lately my weekends involve home renovations, seeing the latest blockbuster movie with my fiancée, Kristy, playing ball with our crazy Jack Russell Terrier (appropriately named ‘Russell’), and preparing for the arrival of the new addition (baby girl) to our family, which will happen any moment now, I expect! Favourite TV Shows: “I am a sucker for reality TV (it started with ‘Survivor’ and is nowout of control). I realized I needed help the other night when the program I finally settled on was ‘American Wife Swap.’” Favourite Gambling Game: “Baccarat is my game of choice when I have a flutter. GPWA TIMES | CASINOPROFITSHARE | Jon Farrell