GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 26 - October 2013

this tool will help affiliates understand the traffic they are sending to Affiliate Edge and how best to optimize it. What distinguishes the brands we pro- mote? Although a lot of RTG platforms have the same games, we do try to make ourselves unique; our customized lob- bies are all designed in house to give that authentic feel when the player logs in. We run a variety of special promotions and freerolls, and I would say the loyalty scheme is hard to rival. In addition to all of this we run our daily promotions to keep regular players coming back for more. A lot of emphasis goes in to making the player’s experience an easy one, from the log-in screen to claiming a bonus to reviewing terms and conditions, which are clearly displayed in the cashier section to avoid having to scour the website. What markets are Affiliate Edge brands’ primary target audiences? Where do you make most of your rev- enue? Any emerging markets affiliates should know about? We’re mainly fo- cused on the U.S. market; however, we do have an influence on the European and South African markets, too. We do accept players from all over the world, so if you’re an affiliate with non-U.S. traffic that doesn’t mean we can’t do some business together. It’s one thing to bring in new people to a site. It’s another thing entirely to get them to stick around. What does Affiliate Edge do to retain players sent by affiliates? Our promotion and reten- tion team is currently the largest in the office. A lot of emphasis is put on not only converting players, but retaining them, too. We are located in the same office as the promo/retention guys; I see this as a positive. Being able to liaise with them in real time helps us maintain a competitive advantage, as not all gaming companies are set up in this way. Describe the office culture at Affiliate Edge. If there were a fly on the wall, what are some of the topics of conver- sation it would hear about at the water cooler? Seriously, the less I say about this the better. Let’s just say you would need a certain type of personality to cope in our office at times. If you think Martyn is out there then you should see the staff we keep locked up in the bike shed on their days off. No, really – it’s a quite laid back atmo- sphere. We all understand that as long as our work is done, targets are met and customers/affiliates are happy then we can have our fun while maintaining a level of professionalism. I’ve worked in a few office environments and this has been the best one by far, hence why I’ve stuck around so long. Props to management for getting the bal- ance right. Also the big boss is very hands on, which I see as an advantage. With him around we all know in which direction the com- pany should be heading, and each depart- ment works hard to achieve that, which I believe has been recognized with the vari- ous awards that the company has won, as a whole, over the years. Let’s get to the most important ques- tion in this interview. What’s it like to work for Martyn Beacon? Be honest – he’s never going to see this, right? I can imagine it being a challenge to the uniniti- Stephen with his newborn nephew . 71 Affiliate Manager Interview Series