Really interesting news out of CAKE, we’ve passed on the press release below. They’ve started a certification program for all their partners which provides, among other things, some form of training. It’s an interesting program, because it’s shows customers that the networks and companies they work with are a step above any average network, because they’ve gone through some sort of program. Of course, this is only for those who use CAKE, but still raises a few questions:
1) Is certification a good idea moving forward as an industry?
2) Will this drive more people to leave other platforms to CAKE as it makes their SaaS more mature?
I also find it very curious that Schaaf-PartnerCentric is on the CAKE bandwagon now, as they have been long term partners with other major platforms. Is this a change in strategy for companies like them to get their own tracking and move away from the Commission Junction and Share-A-Sale type relationships, or are they just supplementing their technology? Love some insights if anyone has them.
—–
NEWPORT BEACH, CA–(Marketwired – May 22, 2013) – CAKE, the performance marketing technology company, today announced the launch of its Certified Agency Program, which connects agencies and consultants with brands, advertisers, and network partners. This program provides intensive training, resources and support to agencies of CAKE customers, as well as provides a platform to facilitate the exchange of client referrals.
“We believe that CAKE provides the most powerful performance marketing platform in the industry and we partner with the best agencies to help optimize their smart investment in us,” said Mitch Gordon, CAKE’s Vice President of Sales and Business Development. “The CAKE Certified Agency Program formalizes our commitment to this elite group of professionals and sends out a strong message to advertisers that we are collectively raising the bar in performance marketing with regard to professionalism, quality and value.”
Companies today expect to gain greater control of their digital spend and CAKE allows companies to build an in-house performance marketing program with the necessary click-forward analytics and business intelligence. This technology in conjunction with CAKE’s team of partners will help companies access data to determine the precise impact of their marketing investments.
“Advertisers can maximize affiliate revenue and reduce costs by combining the tracking technology of CAKE with the affiliate program management of our organization,” says Brook Schaaf, CEO of Schaaf-PartnerCentric. “We recommend CAKE’s SaaS model, which offers performance marketers an easy-to-use interface to optimize online campaigns. Our agency and the CAKE platform can be scaled to meet diverse tracking needs and future business opportunities, such as registry actions, mobile apps and global expansion.”
Customers who seek to benefit from the CAKE platform but who do not have the experience and/or people to manage it will immediately gain value from the CAKE Certified Agency Program. CAKE’s certified agencies provide free affiliate program audits as well as strategic, creative and program management services. They are experts in the CAKE platform and can transition their knowledge and expertise to CAKE clients. The program’s inaugural partners are: Direct Agents, Acceleration Partners, Schaaf-PartnerCentric, AffiliateTraction, eAccountable, SmarterChaos.com, Neo@Ogilvy, and Juhll Online Marketing.
“CAKE and AffiliateTraction share in the belief that visibility and control are key components in the success of any marketing program — regardless of the channel,” says Greg Paulson, Director, Global Strategic Partnership and US Sales, AffiliateTraction. “CAKE’s business intelligence covers all marketing channels offering a transparent view of each campaign at the advertiser and affiliate level. CAKE’s private affiliate network option allows retailers and manufacturers a platform to manage a select group of affiliates outside of the public networks. CAKE’s marketing visibility and attribution solution offers our clients, and prospective clients, a single point dashboard to control their omni-channel marketing strategy.”
Partners who participate in the program will exchange client referrals and receive training, free 24/7 support and a dedicated CAKE account manager to essentially make them CAKE experts and an extension of its own team.
“The value provided by traditional affiliate networks is under ever increasing scrutiny as merchants have been unnecessarily paying significant performance fees on the revenue generated by a small number of large publishers,” says Robert Glazer, Founder & Managing Director, Acceleration Partners. “We feel that the best value for merchants can increasingly be found on robust, customizable, software-as-a-service platforms like CAKE. CAKE appropriately separates the technology from services, allowing for faster innovation and constant improvement that is unencumbered by conflicts of interest.”
“CAKE has been our technology partner for the last few years, and their service and technology offerings are best in class,” says Josh Boaz, Managing Director of Direct Agents. “CAKE has been instrumental in allowing us to manage, track, and optimize high scale affiliate marketing programs, lead generation campaigns, and other customer acquisition initiatives for our clients.”
About CAKE
CAKE the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, is an enterprise solution providing business intelligence for performance marketers. With an easy to use interface, CAKE’s tracking optimizes online campaigns and can increase revenue and reduce operational costs. Real-time reporting and available API enable a single dashboard to manage all of your digital spend. For more information visit www.getCAKE.com or call 949-548-CAKE.
Contact:
Media
Brittany Edmonston
949-548-2253 ext. 200
Email Contact