GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 11 - January 2010

EMMA Lewis | RoyalApolloAffiliates This time around we’d like to introduce you to a pair of thoughtful, no-nonsense, down-to-earthaffiliatemanagerswho reallyget it: Emma fromRoyal ApolloAffiliates and John from ChanceAffiliates. They truly understand how important it is to cultivate the best relationship possible with affiliates, and work tirelessly to give both large and small affiliates a 100 percent effort. And with that said, wegive you Emmaand John! Due to spaceconstraints,wecouldnotprint the interviews in their entirety. Thecomplete textwill bepostedatgpwa.org. MEET THE AFFILIATE MANAGERS OnyourWebsite,yousay thatbe- fore launchingRoyalApolloAffili- ates you“surveyed all the top af- filiateprograms in the industry to giveyou thebest termspossible.” What were the key findings from that survey, andhowhas that af- fectedwhat you’re offering affili- ates? WhenwebuiltRoyal Apollo Affiliateswe lookedat topaffiliate programs and read throughaffili- ate forums to see what is impor- tant to affiliates.We learned that weneed toofferacompetitive life- timecommission,nonegativecar- ryover and fast payments. How- ever, themost important thing is the relationshipwith the affiliate. We understand that it is a very competitivemarket and affiliates have to work hard to stay on top or to climb up in search engines. We assist affiliates in writing unique content for their sites, provid- ing help with SEO and preparing unique bo- nuses and marketing materials. We put a lot of emphasis on helping small affiliates grow. It is really rewarding to see a small affiliate succeed and knowing you were part of the process. We also work constantlyat newoffers. Royal Apollo Casino is a Rival li- censee that is targeting theEuro- pean market.What special steps have you taken to entice Euro- pean players to Royal Apollo? We did take on a challenge by targeting the European market as Rival’s software is less known inEurope thanother big software brands.We found thatweneed to offer playersmoredetailed expla- nations onhow to claim their bo- nuses, and tooffermoreexclusive bonuses. Just as it is for affiliates I think it is important for affiliate programs to get to know players and understand what they are looking for, so our casinomanag- er Linda Thompson gets updated through her talks with players and players’ forums on what is important to them, and we work on implementing that. Whatarethemostpopulargames at Royal Apollo so far? Our most popular games are the i-Slots, ProgressiveSlots andVideoSlots. In the i-Slots category there are games likeA Switch InTime, Spy Game and Reel Crime. The great thing about these i-Slots is that there is a storyline and you can affect theoutcomeof the gameby the choices you make along the way. If you love video games the way I do then it’s the best of both worlds . . . playing a video game andgambling. What are three things everyone needs toknowabout Royal Apol- lo? One is that we put our affili- ates and players first. This isn’t a slogan.We believe that this is the onlyway forward.Wearehere for the longhaul, sowe invest time in small affiliates and big affiliates alike. Second,wearealwaysworkingon newbonuses, promotions and re- tention.Ouraim is to improveour players’ experience, so we value affiliates’ and players’ opinions and comments. It’s important for us tohear from everyone. Andwe do change thingswhennecessary. Third, being a small company we work fast, and unlike bigger af- filiate programs we are able to address any issue with players or affiliateson the spot. Most of the affiliate managers we talk to saybuilding trustwith theiraffiliates iscriticaltosuccess. How do you go about building trust with your affiliates? I think themain thing is being honest. If I’vemadeamistake I admit it and workquickly to fix it. If I’veprom- isedanaffiliate something I stand behind it. Since we are a small company I can work fast and I have a lot of freedom in finalizing affiliate deals. An important key in building trust is sharing infor- mation. I tend to sharewithaffili- ates my thought process behind things and ask for their input, so they take an active role in our de- cision-makingprocess. How long have you been in the online gambling industry? Why didyoudecide toenter the field? I have been in the gambling in- dustry over five years now. It al- ways amazesme how time passes so quickly. At university I had a friend who started working as a customer support representa- tive and I joined her. A year later I was a VIP manager. After two years of work I took a year to travel theworld, andwhen I came “If I’vemadea mistakeIadmit itandwork quickly tofix it. If I’vepromised anaffiliate somethingI standbehind it.” 66 AffiliateManager Interview Series