GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 7 - January 2009

and bubble bath) to industrial heat- ing systems and e-mail marketing so- lutions in Germany, South Africa, and the U.K. Right from the start, I was keen to ex- plore as many different communica- tion channels as I could possibly find to deliver my messages – from classic PR and direct mailings, print advertis- ing, exhibitions and seminars, catalogs, POS-marketing, … over to email and Web sites. Addressing the right people in the right manner at the right time and place is the key – whether on- or off-line. A lesson I learned and apply now to both on- and off-line marketing is: Gut-feel and a creative mind are great to stimulate new ideas, and you need to allow yourself to think big, but: test small. Knowledge is power, so constant- ly learn about new ways to grow your business and don’t be afraid of change. The metrics that only online marketing can provide you with can give you deep insights into customer behavior and will answer the questions onwhatworks andwhat does not. So a very important lesson I’ve learned, es- pecially in online marketing, is: If you can’t measure it, don’t do it. Besides trust, what are the keys to building successful relationships between affiliates and affiliate pro- grams? Relationships to me start with being accessible and listening to new ideas with an open mind. A relationship starts when the interest is reciprocated. Working together on finding solutions that work for both parties ensures that these relation- ships can prevail over a long period of time. To this end, communication is a key ele- ment and we do this via phone, MSN, Sky- pe, email, forums, trade publications, and of course face to face. Different methods work for different people, and relationships take time to build. ReferBack has been in this space since 1999 and has a fantastic reputation, which obviously helps! In the forums, you mentioned you were “German by right of succes- sion, South African by choice.” What does that mean? What it means is that in Germany you acquire your citizenship if a parent is a German citizen, irrespective of place of birth. Well, I was born in Germany to my German parents – which makes me (you guessed it) German. However, my own self-definition has moved beyond na- tionality: when I met my boyfriend in Cape Town a few years back and started finding new ‘cousins’ on this side of the world, this motivated me to emigrate to be together with them. My new social identity is now based on an “extended family perception” and I am proud to call myself a ”truly South African Alien” whilst still remaining Ger- man at heart. South Africa is an emerging consumer mar- ket with a vast diversity of people. It’s a great place to be for anyone who embraces change as I do. And last but not least: Cape Town must be one of the most beautiful places in the world – so the choice to move here was easy. You’ve mentioned that you like painting pictures. What do you like to paint? Could we see a sample? You might not call my “art” very sophisticated and I myself rather call it “spacefiller pro- ductions” but it’s out there primarily be- cause I enjoy the process of using a brush and mixing colors much more than the actual results. Since I discovered photog- raphy as another hobby, I stay away from trying to copy anything in a naturalistic way. I enjoy bold colors and structures – lately mixed up with a bit of 70s afro pop art – and I usually try to get my friends in- volved in “filling out the patches”. This way, I’m the proud owner of a whole collection of diverse art pieces which grows year after year, and one fine day I might openmy own “spacefiller productions gallery.” What’s your favorite movie and why? My favorite movie ever must be Drei Nüsse für Aschenbrödel (Three Nuts for Cinder- ella) – or at least it’s the movie that I have watched most times in my life. It’s a beauti- ful Czechoslovakian-DDRmovie production based on a quite emancipated version of the Cinderella story by the Brothers Grimm. As a more current movie, I’d say Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who – I love this sort of mind-boggling premise and the moral of “a person is a person no matter how small.” What was your favorite subject in school? I think it was rhetoric (presenta- tion techniques) because I could freely ar- guewith anyone about any point – and I was pretty good at it. Whatarethreethingsthatnooneknows about you? I’m funny, actually. I own a big mansion, two townhouses, and continu- ously develop more of my LEGO properties, and lastly: I have three sisters, which equals a black belt in psychological warfare. 57 Affiliate Manager Interview Series | GPWA Times