Affiliate Summit West 2015 was, by all accounts, a great event. The office has been buzzing for the last week as the ten (!) people who were at the conference have shared stories, contacts, and favorite moments.
I wanted to continue that discussion online by letting some of the BrandVerity team who were there tell you about a few of their highlights (both professional and less professional) at Affiliate Summit West.
Best Event
Dave Naffziger, CEO
Both eAccountable and ShareASale’s 15th Anniversary parties were great. It’s really nice to see their continued success as the affiliate industry grows and changes.
Sam Engel, Marketing Manager
Bill Rothbard's speed-talk on what to expect from the FTC. There's certainly more than meets the eye when it comes to standards and regulation. I also enjoyed the opportunity to meet Tricia Meyer for the first time, just before the panel I was speaking on. While I would have liked a bit more time to actually speak to her one on one (it was just a brief "good luck" right before we started), it was great to finally meet her.
Andrew McCaffrey, Sales Manager
I really enjoyed going to some of the smaller happy hours organized by networks. I was able to speak with compliance folks from several issuers, networks, and large affiliates. They were great opportunities to share best practices, talk regulation, and introduce our technology.
Best Customer Insight
Julia De Friel, Sales Manager
I loved talking to people that had never heard of us before, and when you tell them what we do, their response is "that is exactly what I need!"
Jon Gordner, Director of Product Management
I was impressed by the growing demand for Content Monitoring. In multiple conversations I was speaking to people outside of the typical regulated industries (Finance, eCigarettes, Health, etc.) and found that advertisershad a lot of interest in making sure their offers were kept up to date and accurate on affiliates’ sites. It’s great to see advertisers emphasizing the importance of brand.
Best Feel-Good Moment
Georgia Gier, Senior Account Manager
My best professional moment was hearing all of the positive things customers had to say about the way we're helping them and making their lives easier. I was also especially excited to meet our customers who had traveled long distances to be there!
Jon Gordner
Georgia and I being "those people" at the craps table, drawing people to our table to play because of the energy and good vibes—accomplished with loud chants, and renditions of 90's Disney classic songs. A few of the people who came up to the table due to our ridiculousness were fellow ASW attendees!
Julia De Friel
I found meeting clients really rewarding. Everyone was very happy with our software, and it was fun to hear that from users outside of the sales process.
Best Sports-Related Moment
Preston Holland, Sales Manager
The Seahawks victory was certainly a highlight.
Julia De Friel
Seahawks win!
Sam Engel
I feel like being Seahawks fans also became a natural conversation starter!
Best Decidedly Non-Professional Moment
Sam Engel
Georgia throwing $10 at the roulette table, betting on her mom's birthday and immediately winning. Followed up by me doing the exact same thing 5 minutes later. Thanks mom!
Brendan Lash, Olivia Hull, and Julia De Friel at the "Meet Market." PC: Affiliate Summit
We’d also like to send out our hearty congratulations to the winners of this year’s Affiliate Summit West Pinnacle Awards: Tricia Meyer, Joe Sousa, Wayfair.com, Brian Littleton, Acceleration Partners, and FMTC, which won Tool/Service of the Year.
What were your favorite moments at Affiliate Summit West? Were you at any of the same events as the BrandVerity team? Did you meet any BV’ers while you were there? Let us know in the comments or contact us at BrandVerity!