The Partnership Economy

When Marcel Floruss started his blog in 2013, it was because he had a passion for men’s apparel and fashion. Over the following years, he has built a massive audience on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube- with over 1 million subscribers on YouTube alone. He and host Dave Yovanno discuss Marcel’s journey as a creator, his connection with his audience and how he leveraged his success to become the Creative Director of Aetos Apparel. They also discuss the differences between social platforms, tips for brands and creators looking to build partnerships, and the importance of not seeking virality just for the sake of it. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Welcome back to the Partnership Economy podcast! We‘re starting Season 5 off strong, welcoming Kerry Curran, the former Chief Growth Officer at Gen3 Marketing, the oldest and largest affiliate specialty agency in the world. Kerry is a veteran of the marketing and partnerships space with over 17 years of experience and insights that she brings to this conversation. Kerry and host Todd Crawford discuss understanding consumer behavior in relation to affiliate channels and how Kerry has seen this shift over her career. They also discuss proving the partnership channel’s value to the C-Suite, understanding how consumers interact with affiliate content, and much more! This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Season 5 of The Partnership Economy is here! We’re diving right back into interviews with leaders from all sides of the ever-evolving partnerships industry and answering the question on every marketer’s mind - how do I reach the modern consumer? Join your hosts, Todd and Dave, on April 9th for Season 5! This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

After witnessing the digital transformation in the early 2010s through her work in retail, Tara McNulty made a career pivot to focus on the e-commerce and affiliate space. Today, she manages strategic partnerships at YouTube Shopping- a new program from the video giant. Commerce existed on YouTube long before partnerships were standard, with creators doing reviews, unboxings and hauls beginning in the early days of the platform. Today, creators and brands are both empowered to monetize this content and drive significant business revenue. Tara and Dave discuss how YouTube Shopping is helping creators and brands create long-term partnerships that move the needle, the power of YouTube as a search engine, and what Tara sees as the future of commerce on the platform. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Jonathan Claydon is an affiliate and partnerships expert, having worked in the industry for years in a variety of niches. Today he is the Chief Development Officer at Acceleration Partners - the world's largest partner marketing agency. According to Jonathan, there is a shift happening in the industry. Brands are increasingly looking to measure the impact of influencer marketing and understand what impact influencer marketing has on customer acquisition, rather than just measuring brand awareness. He and host Todd Crawford discuss assessing the value of the content holistically by amplifying user-generated content after the campaign launch to maintain momentum and authenticity. They break down this shift, the difference between influencers who move products and those who build awareness, and more. We’ll be taking a short break for the holidays. Stay tuned for the S4 finale coming in January 2024. Happy holidays and New Year from Dave, Todd, and the impact.com team! This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Erin Dwyer is the CMO of Matter of Fact, a skincare brand started by former K-Pop star Paul Baek, and a former professional dancer herself. Erin draws on her experience as VP of Digital at Drunk Elephant and OUAI, to build a brand in today’s competitive, noisy landscape. She tells Dave that being consistent with your messaging, no matter where a consumer is hearing about you, is crucial. She also emphasizes the importance of partnerships to acquire new customers in the beauty space, because the modern beauty consumer is savvy and does their research. Dave and Erin dive into her journey so far, and why Erin believes there is no ‘sales funnel’ but rather a ‘sales pinball machine.’ This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Growth HQ is an affiliate and partnerships agency that works with a diverse range of clients, from DTC to fintech. The co-founder and CEO, Inez Miedema, thinks a lot of marketers have preconceived notions about affiliate programs and therefore don’t include them as a top channel. Miedema is pushing back against these notions and wants marketers to understand that affiliate programs should be about much more than coupons and cashback. She and Todd discuss the importance of adding new and diverse partners to your affiliate program, taking affiliate marketing as seriously as you do other top channels, and why creating partnerships shouldn't be one-sided. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Stephanie Schultz loves learning about new innovative technologies. It's a large part of the reason she’s stayed so long at American Express, where she is VP and Head of Partnerships. In her position, she gets to work with her team to uncover how new tech can bring better value to their customers and partners. She and host Dave Yovanno discuss getting their start in product, enriching experiences for customers after they’ve been acquired, and strategic partnerships to create differentiated experiences. Stephanie also gives insight into how Amex tests, builds and launches new products. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

When Jason Fairchild started tvScientific, he wanted to democratize access to TV advertising. Today, the company does just that by allowing marketers to run paid campaigns on connected TV, allowing organizations to unlock the power of streaming services and Smart TV. He joins host Todd Crawford to discuss why advertising should ultimately always be connected to sales, the importance of what he calls radical transparency in TV advertising, and how to measure attribution on a medium without last-click attribution. Jason discusses why he thinks TV is the new paid search, and the mindset shift marketers need to make in order to reap the benefits of connected TV advertising. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Join host Todd Crawford as he sits down with Sagar Joshi, Director of Partnerships at Site Plug. Site Plug is a bottom-of-the-funnel performance partner that helps brands drive performance with touch bases across a variety of search engines and websites. He’s spent seven years in this role, and learned about the industry across a variety of locations including Europe and India. They discuss unique channels in the content marketing space, the importance of leveraging alternative search engines and improved transparency for brands on where their ads are appearing. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

When Dave Bolotsky founded Uncommon Goods, he wanted to create something different. In his role as an e-commerce research analyst, he had seen a world of ‘sameness’ on the internet, and saw an opportunity to do something different. 25 years later, he’s still at it. Uncommon Goods is a leader at ESG, and is something Dave is passionate about. He thinks consumers need to examine companies’ practices to make sure they aren’t engaging in greenwashing, and are actually employing sustainable practices. He and host Dave Yovanno discuss becoming a B corp, liveable wages, and how to build your brand ethos into your partnerships. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, Todd sits down with Lee-Ann Johnstone, founder of Affiverse and an affiliate marketing expert with two decades of experience. Lee-Ann has witnessed digital marketing transform from a few links into the powerhouse it is today and has held a variety of roles that have allowed her to get a holistic sense of the industry. Todd and Lee-Ann discuss how to decipher the difference between an affiliate and a creator, why you shouldn't ignore cashback partners, and how to navigate the future of affiliate marketing. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Welcome back to the Partnership Economy! In season four’s first episode, host Dave Yovanno sits down with Chloe Wen. Chloe is a content creator who has been posting content since 2015. Throughout her journey, Chloe has developed long-term vision for her content and business, embraced new social media platforms, and learned how to effectively work with brands. In this episode, Chloe provides her tips for aspiring content creators and brands who want to tap into the highly engaged audiences of creators like her. She also shares how she cultivates great relationships with the brands she works with, and the importance of having strong affiliate marketing. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Todd Crawford sits down with Brook Schaaf, CEO and co-founder of FMTC. To kick off the episode, Brook lets us in on his own personal career journey, beginning with his first role out of college at Zappos.com. During the discussion, Brook shares his perspective on a variety of topics including how his team at FMTC approaches brands about the value of coupons, understanding why consumers abandon their carts, and developing a good coupon strategy while working with publishers and commerce content partners. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Dave Yovanno sits down with Ian McGlumphy, Head of Partnership and Events at Apollo Neuro, a company that specializes in wearable stress relief technology. Ian explains how the company is effectively and strategically working with podcasters, creators, commerce content partners, B2B partners, review sites and more to create a diverse partnership program. He also breaks down how partnerships can be used to market a niche product to niche audiences, and some of the ways partnership content can be repurposed across various marketing channels to drive further growth.  This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Todd Crawford sits down with Craig McGlynn, Managing Director and Executive Vice President of Agency at Perform[cb], an affiliate management agency that represents a diverse portfolio of clients from startups to enterprise companies with a focus on subscription and financial services. Craig has over a decade of experience in the affiliate space, having previously held a position as Head of Publishers for the Amazon Associate Program. During their conversation, Craig shares his expert insights and personal stories on how the approach to partnerships has evolved and matured over the years. He also shares his thoughts on the benefits of running an affiliate program with an agency, as well as the evolution of performance-based payment models with content commerce partnerships.  This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Dave Yovanno sits down with Courtney Spritzer, CEO and Co-Founder of Socialfly, a woman-owned and operated social media agency that develops social media plans for brands like Discovery, Conair and Il Makiage. From working in finance to building a thriving agency, Courtney serves as an example of someone who has turned their passion into a successful business model. With a decade of experience in the industry, Courtney shares her thoughts on how social media—and specifically, influencer marketing—has evolved in recent years. She also shares some expert insights into what it takes to start working with creators from the ground-up, including what types of creators brands should be focused on, how to measure results and more. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Dave Yovanno sits down with Patrick McKenna, Partner and CEO at DMi Partners, a digital marketing agency he founded in 2003. Over the past 20 years, Patrick has grown DMi into a leading agency for affiliate and CRM services, working with some of the largest brands in the DTC, retail and CPG categories. Patrick shares some of his impressive industry expertise during the episode, offering his perspective on how the partnership channel has changed over the last two decades. He also explains how the challenge now lies with attribution, incrementality and effectively finding new customers, sharing a helpful breakdown on how to build successful partnerships with affiliates, commerce, content partners and creators. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Dave Yovanno sits down with Madi B Webb, a highly successful, driven and authentic content creator with millions of followers across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. Madi lets us in on her journey as a creator, explaining why she decided to get started and how her career has taken off ever since. She describes some of the obstacles she’s had to overcome along the way, how she’s built up such a massive following, and how other burgeoning content creators can get started working with brands. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

In this episode, host Todd Crawford, Co-Founder and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at impact.com, sits down with Scott Brinker, VP of the Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot. As someone with an extensive background in the SaaS industry, Scott has plenty of wisdom and sage words of advice to share from his long career in the field. In this episode, Scott shares how at HubSpot, his mission is to grow and nurture the community of tech partnerships integrated within the platform by helping to deliver results for mutual customers. Todd and Scott also dive into HubSpot’s tech ecosystem, how the company’s partnership channel has evolved since Scott joined, inbound versus outbound partnerships, and how HubSpot helps partners find each other organically. This podcast episode was produced by Quill.