GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 43 - February 2019

EVOLVE PERISH or Faced with marketing to a digitally savvy audience that doesn’t remember a world before the internet, affiliates must adjust to the times or face the consequences. I ndustry veterans like to reminisce about the good old days, when you could throw up a page with a bunch of banners and watch the online casino revenue roll in. But the industry evolved – as did we. Affiliates began mastering SEO, conversion funnels and content, and the revenue kept coming in. Sure, we had to work harder. But easy money never lasts. Then the industry changed again. Competi- tion increased. Regulation increased. Operator costs increased. We went from a global market to a series of individual ones. Some op- erators stopped working with smaller affiliates. And once again, we adapted. Affiliates became better at tar- geting players by geography, language and game. They made sure that their content was unique, valuable and cre- ative. The best ones created a sense of community. As we begin 2019, we’re fac- ing another sea change. But this time, it’s not just the industry that’s changing. It’s the world. Our youngest generations don’t remember a world before the inter- net. Many of them don’t remember a world before smartphones.They’re dig- ital natives — and digitally savvy (though that doesn’t quite explain why Kim Kar- dashian is still an “influencer”). They learned to consume the world through their phones and social media. And they don’t respond to the same types of marketing that previ- ous generations did. They’re skeptical of sky-high bonuses. They need to know play-through requirements. They want value – but they don’t respond to hype. You want proof? Look no further than the advertising compliance departments set up by Google, Facebook and the numerous digital ad platforms. These companies BY VIN NARAYANAN Illustrations by Nadia Snopek/Shutterstock G P W A t i m e s . o r g 44 AFFILIATE SURVIVAL GUIDE A F F I L I A T E S U R V I V A L G U I D E • G P W A T I M E S •