Digital Window is the holding company for Affiliate Window and buy.at, two of the UK's leading affiliate marketing networks. In 2009 a majority stake of Digital Window was bought by the German-based media group Axel Springer AG and the Swiss-based communications group Publigroupe S.A. who also own Berlin's Zanox AG, continental Europe's largest performance-based online marketing network. As a group Zanox, Digital Window and buy.at form Europe's market leader in affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is the principle of financially rewarding a third party for every paying customer they introduce. Typically the reward is a percentage of the customers total spend and is commonly referred to as a commission. Alternatively the reward can be a fixed amount and can work this way for lead based introductions.
This reward process is called a Cost Per Action (CPA) and in most cases the 'action' is a purchase. It is important to note that the 'action' may also be; applying for a loan, joining a database, completing a questionnaire, entering a completion, etc.
A transactional website such as www.johnlewis.com or www.tescofinance.com is referred to as a merchant.
A website publisher who supplies traffic to a merchant, such as www.quidco.com or www.vouchercodes.co.uk, is referred to as an affiliate. These sites can be categorised as shopping portals, content sites, search specialists, shopping comparison, voucher code directories or reward/incentive based partners.
Digital Window has developed a range of proprietary tools to help merchants and affiliates increase their revenues from this relationship. Some of these technologies, such as ShopWindow, ShopCentral, ContentWidgets, Snoopy, Webshop and Agent99, have become recognisable brands in their own right.
The principle of affiliate marketing is being adopted by an ever-increasing number of online retailers and is considered a mainstream online requirement. Any company, from any sector, selling products or services via the Internet should have an affiliate marketing strategy as part of their digital marketing mix. The Digital Window network comprises over 100,000 registered affiliates and over 1,000 merchants, operating across all sectors including; consumer goods, fashion, telecoms, gaming, finance and travel & tourism.
The company and its employees have won much acclaim including:
- a4u Publishers Choice of Network 2007-2009 (Affiliate Window)
- a4u Most Innovative Network 2007-2009 (Affiliate Window)
- a4u Publishers Choice of Account Manager 2008 (Julie Wood, Affiliate Window)
- The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Company to Work For 2008 & 2009
- Best Company 1 star accreditation 2008
- Best Company 2 star accreditation 2009
- Times Tech Track 2006-2008
- Deloitte Fast 50 2006-2008
- Travolution Award for Best Affiliate Marketing Campaign 2007 (buy.at & Laterooms)