By now you’ve likely heard that Google announced that they intend to sell the search division of Performics. In addition to the proposed sale of the SEM division of Performics Google also announced that 300 employees from parent company DoubleClick will be laid off and that the other 1/2 of Performics (the Affiliate Network) will be integrated into Google.

I’m not entirely sure how Google intends to integrate the Performics Affiliate Marketing business into “existing Google operations,” but it’s my guess that there is major disappointment from many Performics clients who were sold on a “full-service,” “integrated” (i.e. search / affiliate) online marketing service that Performics will no longer be able to deliver.

Some of you will remember that I predicted right after the initial announcement of the Google / DoubleClick acquisition, that Google would likely dissolve or sell Performics.

Aside from the disappointment that is likely being registered by existing Performics clients, another potential outcome from Google’s announcement is that ValueClick (VCLK, parent company of affiliate network Commission Junction) becomes the likely suitor (acquirer) of the SEM division of Performics. In fact, according to ClickZ ValueClick has already expressed an interest in acquiring Performics.

To me it would make sense for VCLK to make this acquisition, especially because (no surprise here) I believe a full-service, integrated approach to online marketing is the most efficent approach - the full-service model is what we’ve pioneered and have been providing to clients at Pepperjam for years. In fact, aside from Performics and without the acquistion of Performics by Commission Junction, Pepperjam is the only other major full-service, integrated online marketing agency with an affiliate network option. I like how this sounds, but knowing CJ as well as I do, this is not likely to last long.

Think about it. In light of the recent fallout between Pepperjam and Commission because we launched a competing affiliate network technology, I don’t think CJ is gonna want Pepperjam to be the only real alternative (i.e. full service model with a network) to Performics. I imagine the stage would be set for some fierce competition between Commission Junction and Pepperjam if indeed ValueClick purchases Performics.

Either way, it’s my guess that Pepperjam stands to benefit significantly from the break-up of Performics since currently we remain the last man standing.

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OK. Let me start by saying that I’m a fan of Performics. I’ve enjoyed working with Performics over the years and I’ve had the honor of speaking at numerous conferences with Chris Henger (Performics’ VP of Affiliate Marketing) who I consider an industry leader and friend.

Let me also say that I think that Performics has been more aggressive acquiring new advertisers over the last 6-12 months than any other major affiliate network. In fact, I think for the most part they’ve stayed low on the radar screen and have been watching merchant after merchant hop from Linkshare to Commission Junction and from Commission Junction to Linkshare and visa versa. At the same time, Performics has methodically and carefully grown the loyalty of their advertiser base.

Kudos to Performics for being smart and offering a full-service model that is quite impressive, while not getting involved in the CJ / Linkshare game of advertiser hopscotch.

The point of this post, however, isn’t so much to celebrate Performics…it’s to call out the Chief Blogger over at the Performics Blog - Larry Adams - for attempting to generate some buzz by using one of the slogans from the recent launch of Pepperjam Network.

As many of the readers of this blog know, Pepperjam recently launched Pepperjam Network.

Based on all accounts, including hundreds of reviews and unprecedented industry support, the launch of Pepperjam Network has shaken up the affiliate marketing industry.

Since launching Pepperjam Network one thing has become clear.

The major networks have taken notice.

Stay tuned.

In this case, I was notified by a Pepperjam Network affiliate and later by members of the Pepperjam Team that Performics put out a blog post with the title, “Publishers Spoke. We Listened.” The post was picked up by a couple of industry blogs, including Revenews.com. My guess is that the publishers they are referring to are Performics Publishers and the “We” refers to Performics. BTW - the blog post was about how Performics is starting to open up publisher contact info to advertisers, along with some other advances to the Performics UI.

Great. I’m super happy for Performics taking some initiative to open up lines of communication for affiliates and affiliate managers. Really, I’m pumped. This is long overdue and is not something that is done by Linkshare or Commission Junction.

My bone with Performics is the “Publishers Spoke. We Listened” slogan. This is confusingly similar to one of Pepperjam Network’s primary advertising campaigns: “Affiliates Have Spoken. Pepperjam Listened.”

We’ve generated hundreds of thousands of impressions as part of a banner campaign we’ve been running since January with that specific campaign.

Several of us were wearing t-shirts at Affiliate Summit last week with that very slogan.

Sounds petty - right?

Not really.

But I will admit, I am trying to have a bit of fun here since Performics opened the door. I mean Pepperjam is a little ole company here in Pennsylvania and Performics is a multi-hundred million dollar company in the process of being acquired by Google.

When I called out Performics for selecting the blog post title I got a tongue and cheek response from Larry Adams:

“I was at the Summit, although I can’t say that I remember any of your t-shirts; Vegas can be a distracting place. I’m not saying I never saw it but let’s just say that neither of us are going to get a trademark on the “[You] spoke, [we] listened” motto”

Here is a summary of the dialogue between Larry Adams from Performics and myself at the Revenews Blog and the Performics Blog.

In short, Larry sort of, kind of admits that he was simply making a play on our slogan. We both say nice things about each other and then he takes a stab at me on his blog that I took the liberty to respond back with a stab. No question - I won that pissing match and I think we both have had a bit of fun in the process.

It’s be fun watching these huge companies take notice of Pepperjam Network.

Join the Affiliate Revolution - www.pepperjamnetwork.com.

More to come.

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QUESTION: Has the time finally come for a real alternative to the big three traditional affiliate networks?

That’s a question for everyone in the affiliate marketing industry to carefully ponder.

While you’re thinking about the above question here’s something to consider:

As part of the launch of Pepperjam Network here is what Shawn Collins, Founder of Affiliate Summit, had to say:

“Even after all these years using Commission Junction on the merchant and affiliate side, I still find it terribly clumsy to find what I want. With Pepperjam Network it is quick and easy. Pepperjam Network is what an affiliate network would look like if it were built from a wish list from both the affiliate and merchant perspective.”

Shawn Collins
Co-Founder,
Affiliate Summit

Note that prior to Shawn providing Pepperjam with a testimonial for Pepperjam Network he spent a considerable amount of time comparing and contrasting his experiences on other networks and asking the question: Does Pepperjam Network address many of the concerns I (and others) have about the other major networks?

Shawn’s quote speaks for itself. So do the dozen+ other testimonials we received from affiliate marketing experts.

Apparently, on the day of the Pepperjam Network launch (1/15/08) Shawn got a phone call from Kerri Pollard, General Manager of Commission Junction, asking for details about why Shawn knocked Commission Junction (and presumably praised Pepperjam Network, at CJ’s expense.)

Shawn made a post today with details of his communication with Kerri Pollard, as well as Craig Battles, Principal Product Development Manager at Commission Junction.

While I am glad that the launch of Pepperjam Network instigated this call and temporary resolution, Shawn (and hundreds of others) have been complaining in private and in public about CJ’s old school, outdated interface for years.

I find Commission Junction’s (parent company ValueClick) interest / concern with Shawn’s sentiments very interesting and encouraging, especially to the viability of Pepperjam Network.

The truth is that the affiliate marketing industry was gasping for air in need of a next generation affiliate network. Our friends at Commission Junction, Linkshare, and Performics have been busy for the last several years competing with one another, leaving open the opportunity for CPA Networks like AzoogleAds and Hydra Network, and now a hybrid CPA / traditional network like Pepperjam Network, to come in and address real problems that have been plaguing the industry.

I will note that of the alternatives / supplements to the big three traditional affiliate networks, Pepperjam Network is the only Network that attempts to address what I believe are the two most significant issues plaguing the affiliate marketing industry - (1) poor, unreliable communication tools and (2) lack of affiliate transparency.

If you are an advertiser….how many times have you attempted to locate affiliate information on any of the major networks with little or no success? How many times have you spent 30 minutes or more drafting an e-mail, only to send the e-mail and have it returned to sender? When was the last time you became frustrated (and gave up?) and exhausted by a failed attempt to address an affiliate concern (or to proactively reach out to a performing affiliate)? Did the problem take days or weeks (or never got addressed) to address because of poor communication tools and unreliable contact information? Here’s the worst scenario, which according to many Pepperjam clients is most concerning…..Repeated attempts to contact a rogue affiliate fail because of inadequate contact information and a complete lack of transparency.

As an advertiser, you’ve been hungry for more information about your affiliates, not less. That’s why Pepperjam built Pepperjam Network - to put power back in the hands of affiliates and advertisers to build relationships that are not only built upon results, but also upon being open, honest, and trustworthy. We think this next generation approach is in the best interest of affiliates and advertisers alike.

While I went off on a bit of a tangent above, the truth is that the major networks have failed for years to provide affiliates and advertisers with adequate communication tools. At the same time, the networks have been reluctant to provide ALL advertisers with necessary information about the promotional methods affiliates use to generate transactions. As a result, the affiliate marketing industry has become less transparent, at the same time advertisers have been calling for more transparency. Advertisers want more affiliate transparency so that they have the power (not the Network) to control brand integrity and acceptable promotional methods.

In short, Pepperjam Network not only has a stylish Web 2.0 interface, but we successfully address and provide our advertisers and affiliates with a solution to the poor communication and inadequate transparency conundrum. If you don’t believe me, take Pepperjam Network for a spin and give me your feedback.

OK, back to the primary purpose of this post - kudos to Commission Junction for stepping up to the plate.

We have long considered (and still do) Commission Junction a strategic partner. As a leading outsourced affiliate program management agency we have been working with Commission Junction very closely to address advertiser and affiliate concerns.

Therefore, any progress on CJ’s part to address concerns is a positive sign of progress.

In Shawn’s post, he talks about how he expressed to CJ that his main gripe was having to drill down to get details on commissions earned. Shawn mentioned how he’d like to be able to see specific reporting data upon log-in.

Note that this type of reporting data is available upon log-in on Pepperjam Network.

CJ’s Response:

“Craig suggested that I create a desktop shortcut and browser favorite to the Performance Reports page on CJ. And if that page didn’t have all of the details I wanted, then I could create a Saved Report (”Saving a report actually saves the query, not the data, so you can create very complex customized queries that can be saved and run with one click.”) and save the actual report results page in my Favorites or a desktop shortcut.”

Hmmmmmmmmm. That’s a Web 1.0 solution. If I had to create a desktop shortcut for every Web 1.0 problem I had my desktop would be quite sloppy.

With all due respect, why not actually address the problem, instead of recommending a solution that is really a short-term fix at best?

By the way, I tend to agree with Shawn that the reporting (and most other parts) of the Commission Junction interface are clunky.

It’s not because Commission Junction doesn’t have the adequate resources to address the real problem - CJ has some incredibly talented and intelligent workers.

It’s that CJ is trying to fix an old system that is in need of a Web 2.0 update.

That’s just my two cents.

Shawn / Kerri - thanks for the opportunity for me to make the case why Pepperjam Network represents next generation affiliate marketing.

With Pepperjam Network, we’ve built the technology that others have been asking the major networks to build for years.

Take Pepperjam Network for a spin at www.pepperjamnetwork.com and tell us what you think.

Please also provide us with feedback so we can make it even better.

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