The BLUE BOOK results are in. And while everything changes, some things remain the same. One constant: the 20,000+ industry professionals that participated in our survey and gave us their unrivalled insight into the state of our industry. It speaks to the value that people place in the performance industry – sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the fact that in spite of a few bad apples, most publishers and affiliates love what they do and passionately believe in the affiliate marketing business model.
Also the same this year, our #1 ranked winning networks, Max Bounty and Rakuten Affiliate Network (formerly LinkShare). That these networks have been able to stay at the the top consistently over time, in an industry that is extremely dynamic, even volatile, is a huge tribute to their respective leadership teams. We congratulate them both.
When we started the BLUE BOOK some seven years ago, it was in order to promote excellence in performance marketing. We wanted to recognize and reward those networks that focused on service and delivered real advertiser and publisher value. We have succeeded (to some extent) but still whenever I speak with a major brand or a big agency they ask me who can be trusted and how to avoid the fraud that they feel is “inevitable”.
The industry needs something more. Something that will speak to Fortune 500 brands and Madison Avenue agencies. Something that answers their questions, calms their fears and guides them through the performance marketing jungle. We have a few ideas here, so stay tuned over the next few months for an announcement on what is coming next from the BLUE BOOK.
For now, please give your attention to the 40 amazing networks featured on the following pages. These are networks that have been able to thrive and grow in a very competitive and crowded space. Evolution in times of change is the mark of a survivor species – all of these networks have shown that they possess the combination of intelligence, responsiveness and resilience
to evolve and prosper in the years ahead.
These networks are the BLUE BOOK Top CPS and CPA networks: the best
networks in the world.