Why brand integrity matters

Brand integrity is a measure of how consumers perceive a company across all of its touchpoints. With affiliate marketing, protecting brand integrity for advertisers – or in the case of networks, the advertisers they manage – becomes exponentially more complex in the highly interdependent ecosystem that also includes affiliates, and sub-affiliates.

Affiliate Marketing Ecosystem

Affiliate marketing is a proven model that has already generated $15 billion in revenue in 2020, according to CHEQ. A crucial element for affiliate marketing success is building and maintaining brand integrity while avoiding pitfalls that can steer you in the wrong direction.

The 6 dreaded pitfalls

Brand integrity is strengthened by stability, reliability, consistency, and trust. Conversely, brand integrity can take a significant hit and diminish by simply falling into these six major pitfalls of affiliate marketing. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to avoid these pitfalls altogether.

• Pitfall #1: Deviate from brand guidelines
  Failing to follow brand guidelines can lead to poor campaign performance and have a negative impact on your brand integrity. That’s why it’s important to stay on brand across marketing channels and campaigns. This enables company growth and sets you apart from your competitors.
• Pitfall #2: Overlook consumer privacy
  Consumer privacy is more important than ever as to how your company handles policies has the potential to seriously impact your reputation. If personally identifiable information (PII) is mishandled or inadequately protected, it can damage brand integrity and also result in hefty fines. On the flip side, effectively safeguarding privacy and security can be a boost for brand-building and corporate reputation.
• Pitfall #3: Make bad relationship choices
  In the affiliate marketing ecosystem, the partners you associate with influence your overall reputation and credibility which could strengthen, or unfortunately hurt, your brand integrity. A smart strategy involves connecting with the right partners, then consistently managing those relationships.
• Pitfall #4: Monitor compliance with manual methods
  Effectively tracking compliance is a necessity to develop a successful affiliate marketing program. And when it comes to monitoring compliance data, automation always outperforms manual processes.
• Pitfall #5: Fail to effectively combat fraud
  While affiliate marketing is a proven, data-driven model that drives traffic and increases sales, it also attracts fraud that can damage your brand integrity. Advertisers and networks can’t afford to risk fraud infiltrating their affiliate marketing programs. Ensure that acquired sales are authentic, valid, and profitable with a working fraud management process.
• Pitfall #6: Rely on unstable technology
  Depending on unstable technology can have a long-lasting negative impact on your brand, as well as lead to poor campaign performance. Be prepared for growth by relying on stable technology from providers with a strong success track record.

[Free Guide] Brand integrity: 6 affiliate marketing pitfalls and how to steer clear of them

Learn more about why these pitfalls matter and how to avoid them by checking out our new guide. Created with Optizmo, a leader in email suppression list management, the in-depth resource delivers expert guidance on how to successfully navigate through some common perils that advertisers and networks encounter in the world of affiliate marketing.

Download Guide

Curious to see how CAKE’s affiliate marketing software can help you combat these dangerous pitfalls? Reach out to our team here.