GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

Sayhello to threevery talentedaffiliatemanagers.Oneof them, Adnan Masloof AffiliateRepublik,was interviewed inourMay2012 issue whenhewaswith theComeOn! affiliateprogram. This timearoundhe hasa lot tosayabout buildingaprogram from thegroundup. ChrisZelver of PrimeGaminggivesus valuable insight intowhat he thinksagoodaffiliateprogram shouldbedoing toencourage newplayers tobecome loyal, repeat players. AndHannahGreen, a performancemanager at bet365, outlines theduties that goalong withher job titleandexplainswhy she’sconvinced the industrywill continue togrowover thenext five years. MEET THE AFFILIATE MANAGERS Youareoneofaselect fewaffiliateman- agers to be interviewed twice in the GPWA TimesMagazine . The first time, in ourMay 2012 issue, weasked youabout your role in building the ComeOn! affili- ateprogram.Now, twoyears later,we're asking you about what it's been like to buildAffiliateRepublik from the ground up. What is it about starting a program from scratch that is so enticing to you? Thank you for the interview. I feel hon- oredmaking it here for the second time. So, I am not going to lie; starting a new program was tough. We were a small team and there was a lot to be done. We also rushed in the start to get the brand published, as well as the system up and running in under one month so that we would launch in time for the Barcelona Affiliate Conference 2012. Starting a pro- gram from scratch is challenging because it has to be done just right in order to make it. You have to introduce the right termsand conditions inorder tobeattrac- tive to affiliateswhile also taking into ac- count that theprogrammustbesuccessful long termwithout having to amend the terms and conditions every year thereaf- ter. Thenyou alsohave to attract affiliates with a good deal whilemaking sure you stay within your profit margins so the dealsdonot get compromisedover time. On the other hand, a new start gives you an opportunity to build things right from the beginning.Andwhen things are built right, theymove fast and in the right di- rection. I think this is why we got rec- ognized with an award early on. Since I could start a new affiliate programwith my eyes closed now, a newprogram also gave me more time to be involved with the rest of the operations and learn, as well as contribute to other departments in the company. Thiswas one of themain advantages I saw when Alexandre and Charles approached me with their great ideas and big plans for the future. My past experiences from numerous start- ups have taughtme a lot (all those previ- ous startups are still operational, by the way!) and by nature I am drawn to, and have been involved in, different areas of the business. I simply could not pass on theopportunity. You've worked in the online gambling industry for almost five years now, and you developed a lot of relationships prior to moving to Affiliate Republik. How importantwere those relationships in launching a new brand? Considering that so many programs come and go (or change their terms), affiliates have a tendency to see if a programwill stick around before they give it a go. This eas- ilybecomes thegroupmentality, andyou can end up with no one promoting the program, leaving it with very little room to grow. Having relationships and built- up trust inmypocketwas veryhelpful in launching Affiliate Republik. The people withwhom I had those relationships put faith and support in us from the very be- ginning,which reallygaveus ahead start andopenedupdoors for new affiliates as well. We reached 500 affiliate signups in no time, about half the time that I had al- lowed for in my optimistic scenario. We all know that it is not just the quantity of the affiliates, but the quality that matters more;we are lucky tohaveboth. Affiliate Republik was named the Best Newcomer Affiliate Program at the iGB Affiliate Awards in 2013, one year af- ter you helped ComeOn! earn the same award in 2012. More recently, you were named theBest AffiliateManager in the Casino and Overall categories at the 2014 awards. What did these awards mean to you? And how important are they in establishing what is still a rela- tivelynewprogram? Iwill not bemodest. The awards mean a lot. I work countless hours and am practically dating my job. Whendatingand in love,youusuallygive and love unconditionally, hoping for the best. Receiving these awards really felt personal and rewarding, as if the career returned the loveput into it. Receiving thefirst awardwasperfect tim- ing to help put ComeOn!’s program on themap, and that was the same scenario forAffiliateRepublik. Pluswe got a bit of extra buzz from those people who knew that I was part of the team and that I’d built a good program before. The second awardhelpedwith credibilityandmadea statement that Affiliate Republikwas not playing around. By theway,wehave also received an award fromCasinomeister as the Best Affiliate Program of 2013, which we were super excited about knowing just how rigorous the community there ADNANMASLO AffiliateRepublik AFFILIATEMANAGER INTERVIEW SERIES AffiliateManager Interview Series