Online marketing has opened a new door for advertising, which has led to a thriving online advertising industry in South Africa. Predictions are that internet advertising,both wired and mobile, will increase to R1.6 billion in 2014.
The Online Retail in SA 2011 study shows that the total spend on online retail goods in South Africa passed the R2-billion mark in 2010 for the first time. As South African consumers follow the overseas revolution in online shopping, brands simply cannot afford not to advertise online.
The challenge for advertisers is that the world of online purchase and placement can sometimes be quite daunting to navigate and secure the best deals. Often, advertisers do not know where their money is going and how to evaluate their return on investment.
Performance-based affiliate marketing offers a solution to this challenge, and is starting to shake up traditional online advertising sales. Given the current economic state in South Africa, a performance based marketing model, where you only pay for results achieved and is more measurable, would be more appealing for advertisers.
Recently launched performance marketing network, AdMarula, believes that once advertisers have experienced the benefits of this model there is no going back.
The main benefit is complete transparency since all transactions and results are tracked in real-time.
The advertiser knows how much he is spending and on what, whilst publishers can follow exactly how much commission they have earned for each individual advertiser. This is arguably the most cost efficient and best ROI an advertiser can achieve on his ad spend.
AdMarula offers advertisers (merchants), publishers (affiliates) and agencies access to an affiliate network and the opportunity to increase revenue through CPA, CPC, CPM and hybrid campaigns.
The company was founded by Daniel Gross and Daniel Bernholc, a Swedish duo with backgrounds in system development and financing of early-stage tech businesses. After spending some time in
South Africa and speaking to various players in the industry, they identified a need for a new network in South Africa, where the online landscape is in a very exciting phase and advertisers need more flexible and transparent options.
“There is a gap in online affiliate marketing in South Africa – and AdMarula is here to fill it. South Africans are becoming more attracted to going online to find information, products and services, so advertisers need to do the same in order to reach their customers. Performance-based affiliate marketing is becoming the new form of media planning and placement”, says Daniel Gross, CEO and Co-Founder of AdMarula.
Affiliate marketing is using one website to drive traffic to another. It essentially offers online merchants access to a sales force that is not on their payroll. It is an ROI increasing exercise where the advertiser relies on affiliates to market for them and therefore they are able to reach a broader audience. Gross says it is not a new concept overseas where it has transformed the traditional online advertising sales model.
“Affiliate marketing is still in its infancy in South Africa; it is a working model which is only taking off now – and now is a good time. We are building skills in the country and creating jobs to help the industry grow. Internet is also becoming more accessible and faster, which means that more and more South Africans are going online”, adds Gross.
The fact that it’s a performance-based model, operating with highly advanced technology, fully transparent and can guarantee quality and fraud control, is what distinguishes AdMarula from other networks.
Daniel Gross, AdMarula CEO and Co-Founder
