GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 37 - February 2017

David Brabson | Allegro Affiliates a family vacation is not something that people just do on a whim. They plan and save, sometimes for years, to take that special vacation and make that memory with their family, and while a need, request or even complaint may seem unreasonable to someone who works in the industry, it is important to remember that to that specific person it could make or break years’ worth of planning and saving. In the end, it was all about respecting the sacrifice. The same is true in affiliate marketing. It is easy to view an affiliate as an asset, or as another website, another mailing list, but when you respect the work and sacrifice that they have put into that product, then it’s easy to say “What can I do to help you?” Once you can honestly ask an affiliate that question, then they can do their part and everybody makes money. But it all starts by respecting the effort and sacrifice, whether it be a family on holiday or an affiliate trying to push your partner brands. Tell us a bit about Allegro’s customer base and marketing. What markets do you target primarily? Our goal is to go where the brands go. We are proud to work with groups like the GPWA that allow us to go out and say “We have a partner that is promoting here or there,” and be able to generate affiliate traffic for those partners because of our partnerships with our affiliate generation partners. Before joining Allegro, you held other affiliate marketing positions at other companies. How does your current job compare to your other affiliate mar- keting jobs? What lessons from your previous experiences have been the most valuable in your work at Allegro? This is a question I could spend hours answering. I got my real start as an affiliate manager when I started talking to a guy at a party while visiting family in England. He had recently signed a contract with MyAffiliates to utilize their software to launch an affiliate program for his casi- nos. He needed an affiliate manager and I was unemployed, so when he asked if I was interested, I jumped at the chance. I knew nothing. I didn’t write HTML, didn’t even know what PHP was, and was way out of my element. Everything was a learning experience. In that sense I was very fortunate because I learned more from the affiliates than anybody else. Having an affiliate viewpoint gave me a very unique perspective when launching Allegro Affiliates. Before joining the iGaming industry, you used to work at a tourist attraction in Florida. Tell us more about that job. Do you think the skills you developed in that industry have helped you in this one? Working in tourism is all about learn- ing to respect people’s sacrifices. Taking Allegro Affiliates represents three brands: Ballet Bingo, Megascratch and MrMega. Can you tell us a little about each of these brands? What dif- ferentiates them? What do they have in common? I have been working with Megascratch and MrMega for a long time now. They are sister sites, owned by the same people, and are virtually identical. Both are NeoGames products that offer the same games and offers. The differ- ence between them is just in how they are promoted. Megascratch does more promotion of the scratchcard and instant win products, while MrMega promotes the slot machine side of the casino. What I have always liked about them is their dedication to getting things done and success. If an af- filiate needs something— a custom offer, a unique banner, a bonus code — the Mega products are happy to provide it more often than not. It is not always immedi- ate, but they are almost always willing to provide. Ballet Bingo is new for me in many re- spects. They are a company that I have not done much with in the past, and bingo is a new niche for me. I tried to work with them a couple of years ago and while own- ership was always very responsive, the Gtech platformwas not. They have since This issue’s affiliate manager interviewees come from very different career paths, bringing unique perspectives to how they run their businesses. David Brabson of Allegro Affiliates found online gaming after a career in tourism, while Edward Ihre of Codetaff was a longtime iGaming veteran when he founded his own iGaming firms. Today, they both feel strongly that respect for affiliates is of the utmost importance. So if you see them at a conference, stop by and say hello! Meet the Affiliate Managers Affiliate Manager Interview Series 62 w w w . g p w a t i m e s . o r g