AGENDA

Beat the queues and pick up your badge on Sunday afternoon.

Start the conference as you mean to go on with a delegates-only session in Miami's Bayfront Park (just a 10 minute walk away from the hotel). Refresh your mind and body as you prepare for 2 fantastic days of networking. Open to all abilities. Don’t just namaste in your room…

Reserve your place here

Yoga mats will be provided but please remember to bring your towels, wear comfortable clothes and bring some water with you.

When: Sunday, April 2, 2023

2:30pm - 3:30pm

Where: Bayfront Park, Miami

Meeting point: by the Claude D. Pepper statue (find the exact location here)

Head down to South Beach's Upside bar to watch the spectacular sunset from the rooftop whilst chatting to partners new and old! For those of you who are brave enough, grab your bathing suits and plunge into the pool or grab a margarita and network over nibbles!

Sponsored by Matterkind

Open to delegates only. Please pick up your badge and wristband at the Hyatt prior to attending.

Reserve your place here

VIP ticket holders are welcome to join us for a private networking reception at a top secret location in South Beach.

Brought to you by Gen3 Marketing, Sponsored by Hello Partner, UpSellit and Siteplug, we are excited to gather the affiliate industry's leaders at Black Market Miami (168 SE 1st, Downtown Miami, FL 33131) for one exclusive event.

This PareshConnect.com event by Gen3Marketing.com is open to all PI LIVE MIAMI 2023 attendees however Agencies and OPMs that offer affiliate marketing management solutions will not be granted access to the event.

RSVP here

Please pick up your PI LIVE Badge and PI LIVE wristband at the Hyatt as it will be required to attend PareshConnect.com

Registration opens from 8am - head here to grab your badge before heading into the show.

Thank you to our Registration Partner Mobavenue

We are seeing the affiliate and influencer marketing industries converge rapidly. Teams realize they can create more outcome-driven influencer programs, making it easier to prove overall value for program investment. Join Coursera, Impact.com, and Acceleration Partners as they discuss these channel convergences and discover how high-performing partnership programs can drive growth as businesses reduce spend in other marketing channels.


3 Key Takeaways:

- How companies should be thinking about influencers as part of their affiliate approach
- The value of creating 1:1 relationships with partners in your program
- Why it’s essential to optimize bottom, mid, and top-of-funnel strategies

Like any relationship, partnerships can be challenging. As technology and data evolve and the convergence of media accelerates in our industry, it’s more critical than ever for brands to find and establish trusted partnerships that help them reach the right people at relevant moments in the buying journey to drive real, sustainable outcomes, reduce risk and make the CFO happy. Most successful partnerships start with clear and transparent alignment on objectives, responsibilities and desired outcomes; but brands and partners do not always find themselves on the same page.

In this session, we will take a look at how Sling TV works with two of its partners to align on objectives. We will also take a look at challenges faced on both sides of the partnerships, how each side approaches these challenges to work towards alignment – and ultimately how they are achieving desired outcomes and success together.

The stage is set, and the pieces are beginning to move: the shift towards outcome-based influencer marketing has begun.

With a growing number of performance-focused players making moves into this space, and ad spend dollars following suit, it’s clear that this is an aspect that will see a lot of growth within 2023. For brands who have used influencer marketing for upper funnel activities, this session will discuss the benefits and outcomes of this shift, and how to do it right.

• Can putting too much of an emphasis on data be detrimental to an influencer marketing campaign?
• How can brands work with a creator on a long-term outcome basis?
• How can you discover which influencers to work with to achieve different outcomes?

The affiliate channel is commonly understood to have been birthed from Wanamaker's immortal quote, which prompted the question about overarching marketing efficacy to be asked. In response, brands invested in the channel that delivers clarity, and understood for the first time what worked for them from an ROI perspective. Given the innovation that is constantly taking place in the channel, it is not possible to rest on any laurels, and any prudent brand understands that constant assessment and evolution is key. 

In this session, learn from experts from across a variety of verticals as they give their best tips and tricks to give your program a boost, and to truly get to the heart of what works for your business. 

• Which affiliate marketing KPIs should you focus on to measure your marketing effectiveness?
• What publisher types are you potentially neglecting, and how can you make them work for you?
• If you are a brand starting from scratch, where should you begin?

For years, affiliate marketing and PR have been working in parallel, but have failed to meet at a natural intersection. Approaching the digital media landscape from two very different places, it seems to be that the concerns of brands lie in understanding how marketing dollars are being lost within the chasm of organic vs paid editorial placements. 

As both marketing efforts are intended to hit different objectives, it seems necessary for brands to decide whether their main goal is to drive direct response or brand awareness. Understanding which of these is more important will lead to fewer lost marketing dollars, but is there a way to hit two birds with one stone?

This session will provide you with the ultimate success toolkit to ensure these two valuable channels work together towards success.

• How can these siloed marketing efforts better work together to be reactive?
• How can you succeed as a publisher utilizing PR and affiliate teams?
• How can you avoid commission being taken away when data is cannibalized for the upper part of the funnel?

Coupled with evolving consumer preferences with the plummeting measurability and trackability of ads, content commerce is commanding a more significant share of marketers’ budgets than ever before, having proven itself as a way to win the battle of targeting ads whilst respecting privacy. It’s time to perfect the art of finding context on not just who your customers are, but what they are reading about.

By incorporating product reviews into their editorial offering, publishers are becoming established as a source of trust. These have developed as a great way for brands to attach themselves to an article in which a relevant conversation is being had about them, in a place where the desired audience feels comfortable.

• Using content commerce in addition to influencer marketing to ensure your customers trust you
• How to channel authority in content for affiliate partnerships success

As a marketer, there is a natural tendency to be constantly searching for the next best opportunity. We ask for the media kit ASAP, for data-backed forecasts to be designed even sooner, and a test launched if the deal looks good. Let me tell you that in some cases, taking a step back to re-design a deal by building a shared funnel can provide you with a “blue ocean” space to grow.

But why does this matter?

By doing this you reach new audiences with the first-to-market advantage, your partner builds a new income source, and the consumer gets a fresh new way to experience your product. Let's talk about a win-Win-WIN with shared funnels.

After nearly three decades, how can the affiliate marketing industry continue to grow? New technology, and new applications of existing technology, present opportunities that help the industry expand its distribution network to reach new customers cost-effectively and keep merchants' revenue tracking charts moving up-and-to-the-right.

This panel will explore the journey leaders in the industry have taken to build their businesses which elevate affiliate marketing into brand new spaces, plus how the industry overall is evolving to benefit merchants, the networks, and most importantly - the end user shopper.

Bringing together brands and publishers to drive innovation through first-party data has never been more critical. Historically speaking, the best way to drive more ad dollars into a channel is being able to prove that ad spend is targeting the right audience.

However, with an increase in privacy regulation, the challenges of this strategy - and ultimately driving customer acquisition - are making it difficult to execute and measure.

Join us for a discussion with industry leaders who are working together to solve these problems in the affiliate channel to;

- Identify unique audiences with a brand’s CRM data
- Re-engage lapsed customers and build loyalty
- Use action-based targeting for more acquisition
- Increase dollars and investment in affiliate programs

In an industry in which functionality relies on mutually beneficial partnerships, it’s vital that every cog in the wheel does its part to ensure a smooth process for all. However, a breakdown in communication and a lack of transparency can often lead to issues that negatively affect both parties.

Every penny counts, now more so than ever, so how can we continue to improve the machine to safeguard the efficacy of the system? How can a strategy be developed that is in line with other channels, to ensure offline and online channels are working in parallel?

This friendly debate between an advertiser and publisher provides the perfect opportunity for long-standing issues to be addressed, allowing actionable insight for you to take into your own program.

• How can the sharing of data be improved to achieve transparency?
• The cutting of budgets will inevitably hurt margins, so how can a strong relationship endure?
• How can you use parameters to ensure clarity?
• What is the role of agencies, SaaS and networks in a productive partnership?

If your affiliate program is heavily weighted on just a few partners or partner types for revenue-generation, you're not alone. In fact, many marketers are well aware of their overreliance on a limited number of partners, yet they don't know how to best mitigate risk or optimize revenue opportunities. And while the path to acquiring new, high-lifetime-value customers is paved with complexities, we know that embracing a diversified approach to your partnerships enables your brand the omnipresence it simply doesn't get working with just one or two partner types occupying the same general position in the funnel. So what’s the best strategy to discover, reach, engage, recruit, and onboard different partner types that will extend your audience reach and are also a good fit for your program?

Despite uphill reputational challenges pegging it a last-click-only attribution channel, affiliate programs with the greatest partner diversity ensure your brand is capturing attention and engagement at every portion of the funnel and most importantly—these partners are being properly rewarded for their role in the path to purchase. The partnership channel has effectively created operating leverage at the intersection of scale, automation, and outcome-based reward structures and the right partnership platform should complement this achievement by offering automation, scaled partner diversification, attribution, commission, and payment models that equitably reward all partners all inside a well-lit, brand-safe environment.

Join our session, A Winning Trifecta: How Scale, Automation & Outcome-Based Rewards Structures Fuel Profitable Growth to learn everything you need to know about growing your partnerships into profit.

Performance-based tech partnerships have created some of the industry’s most promising new directions; On-Site Journey Optimization, Buy Now Pay Later, and now cutting-edge partners who reach users via Connected TV, or encourage consumers to engage in the circular economy.

The emergence of tech partnerships has broadened the scope of how affiliate marketing can benefit consumers, expanding the scope and boundaries of affiliate marketing. However, the crossover of these partnerships with other channels (and organic visits) often raises questions about attribution of budget and sales, and who exactly the partnership is owned by.

In this session we will explore:

- The challenges in changing the perception of how tech partners fit within our performance-based channel
- How tech partners can act as an amplifier for all channels, while navigating siloed org structures
- Where advertisers are missing opportunities by trying to box these partnerships within traditional affiliate boundaries
-How and why to work with other channel stakeholders to leverage these performance-based partnerships to drive omnichannel growth

2 for 1 Happy Hour

Celebrate new partnerships with our 2 for 1 Happy Hour at the Promenade Bar, located on the show floor.  Buy one drink and we'll give you another of the same, on us!

As the field of generative AI continues to evolve, its impact on various industries cannot be overlooked. In this talk, we will dive into the ways generative AI is transforming content, commerce, and affiliate marketing.

We will explore how generative AI is being used to create high-quality, engaging content across various mediums. From text to images and videos, we will examine the potential of generative AI to produce content that is both creative and useful for businesses.

We will discuss the ways generative AI is being used to improve e-commerce experiences for customers. From personalized product recommendations to virtual try-ons, generative AI is changing the way consumers shop online, and we will explore the opportunities and challenges that come with this change.

Finally, we will look at how generative AI is being used to revolutionize affiliate marketing. By creating targeted, personalized content, generative AI is enabling affiliates to connect with their audiences in more meaningful ways, resulting in increased conversions and revenue.

Through real-world examples and case studies, this talk will provide attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the potential of generative AI to transform content, commerce, and affiliate marketing. Attendees will come away with actionable insights and strategies for leveraging generative AI to drive growth and innovation in their own businesses.

Based on performance, the partnerships channel is viewed as a reliable safe haven for marketing dollars. But does it have its house in order when it comes to partner regulation?

Increased attention to the channel has revealed some spanners in the works. Not all activity is governed sufficiently, and fraudulent behavior can easily slip through the cracks. So how can partners be vetted to ensure this doesn’t happen? Are there certain partners that need to sharpen up? This session will look at how to have a comprehensive full-funnel program that can be regulated from top to bottom.

Well established as a valuable addition within the customer loyalty space to many retailers’ programs, CLO seems to follow the online-offline shift seamlessly. Quickly adopted by Gen Z-ers, it snowballed into one of the most buzz-worthy publisher types of 2022. It’s not all flattering however, with criticism coming from analysts explaining that the offer programs often don’t deliver value or follow any structured strategy, and therefore aren’t actually beneficial for merchants’ bottom lines.

How can CLOs deliver when it comes to inventory management?

How can we leverage affiliate technology to help the growth of CLO?

How can offers be made more specific at the merchant level to deliver better personalisation and therefore a better CX?

How can enhanced collaboration between merchants and card issuers create repeat usage and higher spend?

Can brands and card-linked offers providers team up to resolve 'double dipping'?

The second annual US Partnership Awards will take place at the Hyatt Hotel in Miami - Contact the Sales Team to secure your ticket now! 

Join us to network with the industry’s finest and celebrate those who are conquering the affiliate, performance and influencer marketing industry.
The evening will include:

• Drinks Reception
• Three Course Meal (includes wine at your table)
• Awards Ceremony - with celebrity Host Steven Michael Quezada

Don’t miss your opportunity to network with existing and potential clients and fellow industry leaders while raising a glass to the winners 🥂

To attend the awards you need to purchase your seat. Access is not included with your ticket.

Join us for PI LIVE Miami and the US Partnership Awards exclusive party at Miami's cultural and creative hub, Oasis Wynwood. Enjoy drinks and dancing late into the night with your fellow delegates and award winners, just a 10 minute Uber ride from the hotel.
You must be attending PI LIVE Miami and/or the US Partnership Awards. 

Reserve your place here

Entering the affiliate channel can be tricky for small businesses; it’s expensive, the tech is complicated, and you don’t want to sign up to a long fixed-term contract when you’re not sure where you’ll even be in six months time. But it doesn’t have to be this way. In the past few years, more and more initiatives have launched to help SMEs enter the affiliate world. In doing so, the affiliate channel is expanding its reach, and we could see SMEs become one of the industry’s hottest topics for 2023.

Why is it important for the affiliate sphere to broaden its horizons? What are the benefits of SMEs running an affiliate program? How can an affiliate network work with SMEs? What initiatives already exist?
 

Influencer marketing has pushed its way to the top and is now a mainstream form of online marketing. The channel has certainly proved itself, with 93% of marketers saying they have used influencer marketing within their overall marketing strategy and it having reached the value of $15 billion by the end of 2022.

There is great potential for influencer marketing to become a channel that works for every brand. But that’s not to say that it’s easy, and there are a number of factors that are vital to consider when solidifying your strategy. Even if there’s only one pillar in disarray, that might have a domino effect.

Once you’ve done the hard work and identified the creators that you wish to work with, then what? You have various options to consider when it comes to working with these creators, and selecting the right ones depends on what fits your marketing objectives. This session will give you the ultimate understanding of what it takes to create a profitable influencer marketing strategy that continues to bear fruit as time goes on.

• The importance of knowing your customer audience
• PPC, discount codes, live shopping, gifting - what will you utilise to ensure your strategy is a success?
• The nitty gritty - targets, budgets, metrics, and more
• Don’t let the measurable rhetoric of performance destroy creativity
   

With the rise of Short Form Video, there are more and more creators seizing the opportunity to grow their audiences and build community through this bite-sized format. Tiffany Matloob, Global Head of Creator Community, YouTube Shorts will join us to share how to cultivate community to educate, uplift, and amplify creators. From how to access this growing network of inspiring creators, to creating incentive structures and unlocking opportunities to help them build their brands while growing yours, you'll leave this session with a toolkit on how to activate your own creator network.

The increase in redundancies, and seemingly strong businesses becoming the first victims of the adverse economic situation, mean that one thing is for sure: no one is immune to these tough times on the horizon. This session will look at the manual that any business operating within partnerships needs to succeed. 

• Is innovation on hold, or is it what will help you survive? 
• Where are the big players spending, and should you follow suit?
• What is the next ‘hot’ publisher type that you can work with to get ahead of the curve?
• What lessons can be taken away from how the channel has survived previous times of austerity?
   

Lick your finger and stick it into the air right now – you’ll notice that the wind is blowing away from the organic space, towards paid search traffic. As Google continues to prioritize sponsored ads, and may even become something of a publisher itself soon, there’s a growing concern amongst affiliates who rely on organic traffic. But there is one thing for everyone to still rely on: Data.

Data sharing is currently under-utilized in the affiliate space, but increased transparency and market share data between among affiliates, networks, agencies, and brands can provide essential insight into understanding how to improve performance and where you stand against competitors, while elevating the whole space.

- What are the real benefits of data sharing, and how can they transform your affiliate program?
- Why should you embrace and promote transparency with your partners?
- How can we move towards a culture more focused on data sharing in the industry?

We are living in the attention economy; whoever has the eyes gets the money from Fortune 1000 and DTC brands. 

Across every social platform, there are social commerce capabilities, driving frictionless online sales from tagged images, videos, and live streaming/shopping. In this session, learn how brands are activating creators to shorten the sales cycle into a single asset and measure the ROI through organic and paid media.

Algorithms on platforms like TikTok and Instagram are becoming smarter, and this means they can more accurately identify videos that users will be interested in, even if the video comes from a micro creator on the other side of the world, for example. This means anybody creating content on the platform has the chance to go viral.

Whilst this may be a positive thing for creators striving to become the next big influencer, it also means that it’s now harder than ever for a brand to tell who is a good fit for them. Whether it's follower count, vertical, or values, there are many factors that need to be considered when finding the perfect influencer for your brand - this isn’t something that should be rushed.

- How can creator discovery platforms benefit both brands and influencers?
- When to embark on a long-term partnership vs a one-off.
- How to ensure your influencer partnerships are mutually beneficial.

Gone are the days when brands are built through traditional media. New media realities have forced brands to rethink how they prioritize their marketing, flipping the old model on its head. Upstart and legacy brands must turn to social in order to build consumer relevance and drive bottom-line results.

Join Charles Ifegwu, Managing Director of THE FIFTH, for a fireside chat explaining how modern brands are using social to build influence, ingest feedback, and ultimately drive performance.

There’s no denying that these tough economic times also present challenges for marketers. But even the most challenging eras can present an opportunity for brands to strengthen their strategies through proven tactics and consistent performance. We’ve learned from past recessions that consumers don’t necessarily cut spending — but their purchasing habits change based on what’s important to them. So, how do you make your brand stand out?

For marketers, this means keeping your brand top of mind and creating relevance through trusted voices: content creators. It’s more important than ever to craft sound influencer marketing strategies while achieving your performance goals. In this session you’ll learn:

• How to implement strategic influencer marketing activities across the marketing funnel to increase conversions and sales
• Why aligning your performance and brand teams can improve results and create efficiencies
• How to build a foundation for your influencer and creator marketing practice that will strengthen your brand at any time

Partnership marketing is transforming. Having previously been a channel that focused heavily on a very specific set of rules and metrics, it has pivoted and proved to be incredibly versatile, demonstrated through its ability to create solutions whilst privacy protection is at the forefront of consumers, and therefore the industry’s, minds.

Cookie deprecation is threatening the tracking of paid media spend, but what is actually going to happen? Amidst Google pushing back the abolition of third-party cookies, the partnerships channel has had the chance to start implementing necessary measures, including the prioritization of moving to GA4 in order to protect data assets in the future, and further creation and development of more advanced alternatives.

This session will aim to answer your burning questions and give you the insight you need to build a tracking strategy with longevity.

• How to get started in reviewing your tracking methodology
• What are the different tracking solutions offered by different affiliate networks - which is best for you according to your brand’s KPIs?
• How can tracking technology remain privacy-safe and cross-digital whilst working for all companies - are compromises going to have to be made?
• How can you get started building a more advanced crediting logic and tackle the issue of attribution, which for so long has gone on without a solution being found?
   

2 for 1 Happy Hour

Celebrate new partnerships with our 2 for 1 Happy Hour at the Promenade Bar, located on the show floor.  Buy one drink and we'll give you another of the same, on us!

With the entry of social commerce into mainstream consciousness, retailers have been able to bring their products to the place shoppers were spending most of their time: social media.
Posed as the ultimate iteration of referral marketing based on trust and connection, the creator economy has become a stepping stone towards Gen-Z’s adoption of social commerce. 

Brands have taken advantage of social commerce developments, changing the way consumers look to purchase. They have experimented with live shopping sessions hosted by influencers, as well as softer touch approaches such as product seeding with affiliate links. 

This session will look at the drawbacks that need to be addressed, and how to utilise content creators in what’s commonly referred to as Social Commerce 2.0.
 

According to Statista, LATAM can boast a two-per cent share of the global digital advertising market, which is already 11 billion US dollars. And it’s growing!

It’s little wonder many eyes are turning towards the ‘as yet untapped potential’ of the affiliate channel within Latin America. Digital advertising is expected to overtake TV advertising’s whopping 50% share of ad spend by as soon as 2024, and when it comes to the fastest-growing countries for ad spend, the top 6 are Latin America. The ad prices are still medium here, and this market is expanding - so what is there to consider when entering it, as a brand/publisher or agency?

Although UGC and influencer content are similar in the sense that the subjects become ambassadors for your brand by contributing to a company’s content strategy and influencing audience decisions; there are distinct differences between them.

Unlike influencer content, UGC isn’t sponsored by the brand, which enables the content to feel more authentic. In fact, 55% of consumers trust UGC over other forms of marketing, which goes to show just how powerful this form of social media marketing is becoming.

• How can Shopify collabs work for you?
• Is user-generated content the new influencer marketing?
• How to use UGC and influencers to form part of your social media strategy and deliver tangible results.

In a world where the focus is always on discovering the 'next big thing', it's no wonder that web3 is now omnipresent. Major corporations such as TIME, Salesforce, Louis Vuitton, and more, have begun to build foundations using web3 technologies, swearing this is the next iteration of the internet. Are virtual experiences, digital collectables, and digital currency the secret to engaging the new consumer? How can marketers prepare to transition their skills into the next era of digital innovation?

In this session, we'll discuss:
- What do they know about web3 that we don’t?
- Are consumers truly engaged in this space?
- How much movement and benefit are we really going to see?
- Is this a redundant conversation for most, or could it work for you?

An exclusive Happy Hour for Performance Marketing Association Members. Members will receive discount codes to register for the PMA.

Wrap up the event in style and head down to Lost Boy Dry Goods for the PMA cocktail happy hour. Just a short walk away from the venue, this meet up is open to all PMA members attending PI LIVE Miami.