GPWA Times Magaine - Issue 23 - February 2013

Affiliate Manager Interview Series MARIT von STEDINGK Affiliate REPUBLIK Affiliate REPUBLIK launched at the Barcelona Affiliate Confer- ence in October. What made you decide to make the leap to the new program, and what has the experience of building an affiliate program from scratch been like? It’s been a rollercoaster ride of an experience, with everything moving incredibly fast, but all the more ex- citing for it. It helps that our team members have known each other for a while (I’ve know Alex and Charles for almost four years and Adnan for two), so I had the confi- dence that together we could build something great. If you think about it, there is the perfect balance of expertise – Charles and Alex have been successful affiliates, and then operators, for years so they know the business inside out, Adnan has the marketing expertise and expe- rience of building a successful af- filiate program and I’ve got the con- tacts, PR and marketing know-how to market to affiliates. All in all it’s been a very smooth process, even if at times it feels like I am constantly running to catch up with the fast growth and development we have experienced in only a few months. Many people in the industry know you well from the five years you spent at iGaming Business.What prompted you to make the deci- sion to change roles and become an affiliate manager for Affiliate REPUBLIK? There is nothing quite as exciting as being part of some- thing new right at the beginning of it all and watching and helping it grow. I suspect it’s the same feeling most affiliates get when they start their first website and watch it be- come successful. Nothing beats that feeling of “I did that, I was there, I helped make it happen.” It wasn’t a decision made overnight; I wanted to be sure that any program that was created and that I would help promote would meet the highest industry standards. After all, af- ter five years, I don’t see many of these affiliates as “clients” but as my friends, and it was important for me to make sure that I would not just be happy, but proud to put my name on the program. It was a chance of a lifetime, and to be honest, the hard- est decision wasn’t the job role, but moving to Barcelona! I love this city, always have from past events and holiday visits, but leaving friends and family behind was the hardest decision to make. However, living here has been incredible and I’ve got a schedule full of people coming to visit, so I haven’t had a chance to miss anyone yet! While you’re still in the same in- dustry, your role is a new one. How is being an affiliate manager different from being a marketing executive? I think there are a lot more similarities than differences. After all, every affiliate out there, in one way or another, is a marketer. The job of an affiliate manager is making sure that affiliates have all the best tools, offers and promo- tions to market their casino bet- ter than anyone else’s! This means thinking about the best landing pages, e-mail, banners, offers, etc., and communicating with the af- filiates often and well enough that they want to keep pushing your brand. One of the things I’ve en- joyed the most is being able to cre- ate and communicate marketing campaigns, one to one, with our affiliates. Sitting down, figuring out what works for them, how we can become a household brand for their players and their audience, has been a lot of fun. I guess that’s the main difference, really – instead of work- ing on your own marketing cam- paigns and communicating with 40,000 people at once, you talk to one person and together you cre- ate something to reach their 4,000 players. Every affiliate is slightly different, and I love that – there is just a huge amount of variety. What did you learn in your time with iGaming Business that has helped you make the transition to being an affiliate manager in your first few months with Affiliate RE- PUBLIK? iGaming Business was a great place to launch into the world of online gambling. As a publishing and events company it taught me all about a new industry from the out- side looking in. This meant that I had a great overview as a whole and a fantastic network of people who’ve known me for years. This, I think, was my biggest advantage – the support and positive feedback I’ve received from the industry on my move to becoming an operator. It’s been great getting so many affiliates and operators helping me out and being genuinely interested in what we are doing at Affiliate REPUBLIK. Affiliate REPUBLIK represents Casino Solera, which has been in business since 2004, and Tro- pezia Palace, which launched in 2010. Did these programs run their own affiliate program prior to the launch of Affiliate REPUBLIK? Yes, they did; the programs were completely separate and primar- ily focused on their target market. Now that the casinos have moved on to the international scene, it was the right time to get the brands to- gether and look at the casinos as an ecosystem in which we could recycle players from one different casino to another, giving a greater choice and variety. Also bear in mind that prior to Affiliate REPUBLIK, both casinos had four software platforms between them, and we’ve signed four more in the last few months to integrate to the different web- sites, giving an even greater choice of games. These are exciting times. Slots Million, which is set for launch soon, will also be joining Affiliate REPUBLIK. What can you tell affiliates about the newcasino? Who owns the casino, and what software will it be using?Will com- missions be the same for Slots Million as they are at your other brands? First of all, SlotsMillionwill be run by the same team as Trope- zia and Solera. It will integrate easily and quickly into Affiliate REPUBLIK and have the same great commis- sion structure and marketing materi- als available – including free games, mailers, banners, welcome offers, etc. Affiliate Manager Interview Series