As one of the leading established brands in the iGaming market, Parimatch is no stranger to using innovation to make a mark in the betting market and 2019 saw them drive their brand in the affiliate sector. As the company pushes further into this new territory its Chief Marketing Officer, Ivan Liashenko and Head of Affiliates, Maxim Makovetskyi, explain why with their new commission-based program and Tik Tok growing swiftly, it’s time for affiliate marketing to shine…

“With our expertise and proficiency in the iGaming industry, demonstrating affiliate value comes naturally,” explained Liashenko.  “Despite Parimatch’s affiliate program only being launched recently, we are already receiving promising results. From a short-term perspective, the current period of active work will bring us additional business uplift. As for our ongoing success, we believe that a high-quality product that truly stands out from alternatives in tandem with a strong marketing team is the key. In line with this ethos, Parimatch successfully launched a somewhat aggressive international advertising campaign in 2019, capturing the attention and attracting the interest of potential partners.”

Parimatch is set for a crucial year ahead across its international gambling network with major new partnerships and key sporting events set to drive the brand further into the industry’s spotlight. In addition to sports betting and eSports sector growth, Makovetskyi is also excited by the possibilities for affiliates too.  “2020 will bring even more spikes to the affiliate marketing industry,” he said.  “For instance, rapid push traffic spiked over the last two years and TikTok has grown significantly in popularity as a traffic source recently. As for future trends, it is worth focusing on the emerging high-demand Tier 3 markets in 2020. From a global perspective, another trend we are going to see is native ads strengthening their position in the market.

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In addition, due to major sporting events such as the Summer Olympic Games and Euro 2020, we expect a massive surge of affiliate attention to be attracted by the betting vertical and we will certainly see an increased interest in eSports.”

Affiliate marketing can be a very convenient tool for introducing a product to new markets and its adoption by the betting industry has grown unabated in recent years. With a relatively low cost of marketing, a company can receive maximum uplift in a short period of time. The advantage of this type of marketing in global gaming is its ability to drive new development in new regions with new audiences according to Makovetskyi.  “Since local affiliates know the intricacies of the local market, they are, therefore, able to get the best and most suitable traffic efficiently. Besides, affiliate marketing allows collecting feedback on the product and promotional campaigns from the partners, which helps to improve both the funnel and the product itself.

Parimatch’s Head of Affiliates, Maxim Makovetskyi

He added: “There aren’t too many drawbacks to this type of marketing, even in terms of day-to-day running such as compliance, customer service, etc.  These are realities that every affiliate program has to face daily. However, with a proper management approach and a decent level of technology, the process of interaction can turn into the most comfortable and automated operation for both parties.”

Affiliate marketing is often seen as a much quicker ROI compared to traditional business models but there is concern over how long the sector can maintain this without saturation. Parimatch entering the field with its robust affiliate program highlights how far the sector has come over the years, something which Liashenko is keen to point out won’t lead to an overload.  “Affiliate marketing has been evolving and becoming one of the most efficient tools for monetization and promotion for years now,” he added.  “However, oversaturation does not occur for several reasons. To begin with, new traffic sources regularly emerge, making the entry threshold lower for small affiliates, who manage to catch the trend.

“At the same time, competition is growing on proven well-performing traffic sources, engaging large affiliate teams with massive budgets that are already in the business. Therefore, this segment of the market is focused on the most effective monetization of each impression. As for advertisers, they are not lagging behind. On the contrary, they regularly come up with new appealing products and business models.”

Some experts predict tech tracking will impact the future of affiliate marketing forcing companies to review their current software. Going into the first quarter of 2020, Parimatch is keen to highlight how it is not merely future-proofing its platform from a technical aspect, but also preparing to wow the market with its affiliate-focused strategy. Liashenko confirmed: “The technical aspect of affiliate marketing has always been a key factor in this business. The amount of ready-made technical solutions keeps growing, and many large companies focus on developing their in-house solutions. The Parimatch affiliate program also follows the market trends, and by the end of Q1, we plan to fully utilize our platform.  In a nutshell, the platform will allow processing all the incoming traffic with even greater efficiency and, as a result, draw the attention of affiliates. Our company’s aim is always to offer the best quality betting products to a growing global community of risk-takers, but with our affiliate program, there is no risk. Affiliates find customers, and we reward them generously, there’s absolutely zero risks and everyone is a winner!”

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