One OPM Firm to Rule Them All
Okay, that’s not entirely accurate. But it’s close. Today, Schaaf Consulting announced their acquisition today of PartnerCentric, perhaps the first OPM firm launched in 2004. This merger will bring some of the top affiliate programs in the industry under the management of one roof. The press release is pretty cut and dry, but I have to give them a lot of credit for having fun with it and including this quote from Schaaf Co. client Moosejaw’s Kate Runyon:
“I have been working with Schaaf Consulting since 2007, and I haven’t been this impressed since my best friend’s boyfriend tried to kiss me at prom,” said Kate Runyon, Internet Marketing Coordinator at Moosejaw. “Maybe that didn’t come out right but you probably get it.”
Awesome.
Does this signal a new dawn in the affiliate industry of Super OPM firms akin to the mega marketing firms running traditional marketing? Perhaps, and it’s definitely an intriguing concept. Our industry is definitely big enough for this kind of expansion, but with the 21st century flexibility that affiliate marketing is known for. This is definitely a bonus for affiliates, giving them less people to have to contact when they need assistance.
The new company will be known as Schaaf-PartnerCentric and will be lead by Brook Schaaf. PartnerCentric president Linda Woods will stay on as a strategic adviser. Let me congratulate Brook & Forrest Schaaf on this venture and wish them the best of luck. Don’t worry fellas, For Me To Coupon is in good hands with me on board 🙂
Read MoreUpcoming Speaking Engagements
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be speaking at two different affiliate marketing conferences this summer. One I applied to speak at with some dear colleagues of mine back in March after getting the idea in February, which has lead to a build up of excitement. The other came rather unexpectedly recently and I’m very happy to be speaking at both! So come hear me talk about cool stuff!
Affiliate Convention – June 18th & 19th – Denver, CO
Friday, June 19th. 10:15 – 11:15 am.
Super Affiliate Room I: Social Media Marketing
Do you Tweet? Have you found Facebook useful for fun and profit? Wade Sisson, David Snyder, and Trisha Lyn Fawver take this session through the various social media applications and teaches several ways to successfully harness the power of speaking to a massive audience of friends, followers and fellow social media users.
I’ll be speaking along side: Wade Sisson, Director of Marketing for PartnerCentric and David Snyder, Co-Founder of Search & Social
Affiliate Summit East 2009 – August 9th – 11th – New York, NY
Sunday, August 9th. 12:00 – 1:00 pm.
Classroom D: Getting Noticed FAST
Regardless what your role in the industry is, it’s important to be noticed within the industry. Learn the networking and social media techniques that make it possible.
Our panel will be moderated by Lisa Picarille, Online Marketing Consultant at LisaPicarille.com. I’ll be joined by Mike Buechele, Founder of Comic Book Fury, Jen Goode, Doodler-in-Charge of JGoode Designs, and Stephanie Lichtenstein, Affiliate Program Manager for Andy Rodriguez Consulting.
Some come on out! I’ll have plenty of good things to say and you’ll be able to meet me live and in person!
Read MoreMy ad:tech San Francisco Experience
So ad:tech has come and gone, and for my first experience at ad:tech is was pretty good. The first day I spent most of my time connecting with some industry friends in the very cool Affiliate Summit sponsored Beer Garden. I was surprised how much it looked like the conceptual drawing that Shawn Collins had posted on his blog when he first announced the beer garden.
For those faithful listeners of Affiliate Thing, you’ll be happy to know that there were no snuggies involved. Unfortunately that first day I didn’t make it to any sessions, but I did take a quick glance at the exhibit hall. I think this might be the first time I’ve seen two floors of exhibit hall. Can you tell I’m not an old hat at ad:tech?
That evening I joined some affiliate marketing folks at AT&T Park for a Giants vs. Padres game. Shawn was quite perturbed that he could not get a signal on his AT&T serviced cell phone at AT&T Park. I can’t say that I blame him. There were some great moments in the game, including the closest I’ve ever seen two runners together when rounding the bases. The Giants won and our seats were pretty good. Luckily it was a nice balmy night and I didn’t need a jacket, but I did get blisters on my feet walking from Moscone Center to the park in bad dress shoes. Nonetheless, I have to send a big thanks to Shawn for the game invite!
The second day I was able to attend some sessions, notes from which will appear here next week. They were hit and miss… I got a lot out of some of them and almost nothing from others, except for some entertainment value.
That evening I had a nice dinner with the folks from eBay, Linda Woods of PartnerCentric, Shawn Collins from Affiliate Summit, Peter Bordes of Media Trust, and a couple folks from Red Anchor Media. We had a nice discussion on quality in Affiliate Marketing. I was honored to be invited and had a terrific time. Any fellow creme brulee fans will be pleased to hear about the lovely Butterscotch variation at Anchor & Hope on Minna in San Francisco!
I didn’t make it over for the 3rd day of ad:tech, but overall it was a good experience and I’m looking forward to attending more in the future and getting some more done once I’m more firmly established with my new clients and with Paulson Management Group.
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