The Inside Scoop on the Latest and Greatest Affiliate Trends

DMi’s Senior Client Account Managers Expand on their Best Practices to Ensure Success for our Brands.

DMi’s brands have relied heavily on the expertise of our client account managers to provide insight on emerging trends and give a perspective on ways to navigate this unpredictable year. Here are a few of the most popular trends DMi’s very talented account team are seeing in 2021:

Finding Value in Coupon Partnerships

While typically advertisers show hesitation amongst coupon partners, Sydney Garofolo noted that there has been a sizable shift with brands finding value in testing environments and showing eagerness to scale beyond initial tests given the positive results. “One of the most common trends I have seen in the last year is the mindset shift from brands as it pertains to the value of coupon and deal sites. Often we come across partners who are hesitant to explore a traditional coupon or deal site due to the misconception surrounding incrementality. With DMi as a guide, we strategically test the impact partnering with select coupon and deal sites has on eCommerce businesses as a whole. Throughout this process, DMi has been able to demonstrate the savviness of the consumer and prove these partners are a critical part of the conversion funnel whether it be to increase AOV or generate stronger conversion rates. Consumers, in general, want to feel good about their purchases and sharing even the slightest discount may be the difference between a brand and its competitor. On the adverse, even if a brand is not particularly promotional, we showed partnering with coupon and deal sites allows for accurate information to be displayed on storage pages, allowing the consumer to have more confidence in their purchasing decision with the knowledge that what’s currently displayed is the best they’re going to get”

Focusing on Publishers Who Align with Women-Owned & BIPOC Owned Brands

Top-media publications shifted their content throughout 2020. At the start of the year with the pandemic, content ranged from where to buy toilet paper (or toilet paper alternatives) to the best face masks and hand sanitizer. Things shifted in June, where content focused more on education and information regarding the Black Lives Matter Movement. Since then, publications have continued to highlight BIPOC-owned brands. More than they ever have before shopping guides like the best BIPOC-owned beauty brands and similar round-ups have become frequent. Ellen Hoffman stated, “I thought the exposure of BIPOC-owned brands would be a temporary trend, but fortunately many publications have continued to support these brands into the New Year which is fantastic and a strategy DMi completely endorses”. Even brands are helping to support their fellow brands of BIPOC ownership. Follain, a clean beauty retailer, made a commitment to dedicate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned and Black-founded brands. Their hope is to try to eventually even the beauty industry playing field. In addition to content focused on BIPOC-owned brands, as we entered International Women’s Month in March, publications highlighted women-owned brands. Only a few days into the month we saw headlines like Female-Founded Brands to Support in 2021, 26 Women-Owned Brands for All Your Everyday Essentials and Brands Founded by Women to Shop for Women’s History Month and Beyond. Continue supporting these brands in 2021 by shopping women-owned and BIPOC-owned brands on DMi’s roster.

Here are a few!

-Upgrade your skincare routine with products from Follain -owned by Tara Foley or KORA Organics founded by Miranda Ker. -Pick up baby essentials from ezpz -owned by Lindsey Laurain or Lovevery -founded by Jessica Rolph and Rod Rolph. -Swap toilet paper for a bidet from TUSHY - Founded by Miki Agrawal.

Bridging the Partnership Gap with Co-Branded Opportunities

Roughly 75% of the brands in DMi’s portfolio have asked if there are opportunities to engage and connect with other brands with a similar target demographic to leverage each other to help tap into new audience segments. Kalie Cedre commented “Collaborations are a really fun way to increase brand awareness, target new customer segments, and drive incrementality. These opportunities are also simple to initiate as an agency that has relationships with a lot of different brands. With some creative thinking on our end and brand introductions, the possibilities are endless. A few of our top recommendations for collaborations include a co-branded giveaway or promoting each brand via a newsletter sent to each other’s email subscribers.”