This month’s publisher spotlight is not new to the affiliate space nor to TUNE. They are an “OG” publisher that has grown and developed many new technologies throughout the years. The Prodege you may have worked with five years ago is not the same Prodege of today, now available to work with through the TUNE Marketplace.
To help explain why, I spoke with Joshua Kopac, Prodege’s director of sales. If you’re wondering whether Prodege is the right partner fit for your brand (and they probably are) or how you’re missing out on new customer traffic, read on:
Q: For readers who may not know about Prodege, give us a high level overview:
A: Prodege is a diversified platform with an annual gross merchandise value (GMV) of $4 billion that connects marketers to our unique global audience of 120 million registered members along the path to purchase. We provide solutions for a diverse range of marketing needs: user acquisition, subscription growth and retention, app marketing, e-commerce, and shopper marketing, to name a few.
Q: What are some of Prodege’s biggest developments over the past 1-2 years?
A: I joined Prodege in August of 2019 and have been impressed by the company’s upward momentum and the incredible work ethic of everyone here, from the executive team to the ad-op coordinators. One newer and exciting development has been ramping up our shopper marketing solutions. This has allowed us another valuable marketing mechanism to drive sales volume both online and in-store, while also providing our partners with valuable consumer insights into the “why behind the buy.”
Additionally, recent acquisitions in 2019 and 2020 have increased our member reach by more than 50 million! Our most recent acquisition, Upromise, allows us to segment to a motivated group of savers with specific financial goals. I particularly think this audience will work very well with our fintech partners.
Q: What are the top ways you promote brands?
Prodege’s internal promotions team leverages our family of consumer brands to execute engaging promotions through various channels, whether it’s amplifying on social media to our active audience of over 12 million followers, paid placements through our site, or push notifications to consumers when they are on-the-go and near one of our partner stores. We understand the importance of reaching the right people and take pride in our unique audience of consumers who are naturally inclined to try new brands and products.
Q: Which verticals perform the best with Prodege?
A: As with any year, tides change depending on yearly market trends and consumer behavior. Right now, we’re seeing a lot of success with offers in fintech, insurance, and gaming.
Since this past year has been unlike any other, we saw key shifts in consumer purchase behavior that reflect the increased time spent at home, whether that was shopping at Home Depot to build the backyard of your dreams, or buying new athletic equipment to build that home gym. Likewise, direct-to-consumer subscription boxes were on the rise.
Q: Now I’m going to ask a redundant question: How do you prove incrementality?
A: Incrementality is something that is different for each brand we partner with; we like to showcase to our partners that we can assist in every part of the funnel. Every step of the funnel is worth something — that’s why leads are monitored into how likely they are to purchase, move to the next step, et cetera. Backed by the insights we have from our global audience, we’re able not only to create the top-of-funnel leads that any digital platform can get you, but we can also offer you meaningful information to determine a look-alike audience that will have the propensity to convert.
Take, for example, a bank. Rather than us solely focusing on sending new applicants, why not focus on sending new depositors? A meaningful action where a new customer had to overcome hurdles and be motivated enough to deposit their own money into an account. This is possible within Prodege, since we can control the marketing copy and ultimately the action of the member. By having an incentive, we are able to motivate the user into creating a “rewarding moment,” learning more about the brand, earning something for doing so, and potentially even becoming a loyal customer once they like the product or service. Take that a step further: when we know that those with a household income of XYZ are more likely to do this, we set up better targeting and can fill your campaign more efficiently utilizing less budget.
Q: Are there any outdated questions or stigmas that you still hear about Prodege, aside from the incrementality one I just asked?
A: Stigmas exist from those unwilling to adapt or those viewing through the same lens as years past. Just like the radio hurt print, and video (i.e., TV) killed the radio star, the internet is killing TV. We see legacy clients unwilling to advertise digitally even though we can prove a case and have more meaningful data to back up their spends than their current partners. Every source of traffic has value, and just like I mentioned above, by controlling the funnel, chances are more likely than not that we can make something work for your brand after brainstorming, testing, and honing in. We have many mechanisms that make us us, after many years of learning experiences and understanding how to create long term strategic partnerships.
Q: What’s unique about Prodege?
A: I think it’s pretty unique that Prodege operates eight different consumer platforms under one umbrella. We’re a one-stop shop for any marketer to reach an audience you wouldn’t find anywhere else. Each consumer site offers benefits that a different consumer base gravitates towards, resulting in very minimal overlap between our sites and with other companies in the space.
Q: Anything special we can expect in the future from Prodege, or any final comments?
A: Innovation and growth have been at the forefront of Prodege since before I joined the team. It’s one of the reasons I was attracted to this job opportunity. Along these lines, I anticipate an openness to new developments that will even better position us to deliver effective omni-channel solutions for our partners at significant scale.
Feel free to contact Joshua directly at [email protected] to learn more about Prodege or become a valued partner.
Author
Lyndsey Fish is the Director of Partnerships at TUNE. Before joining TUNE, Lyndsey worked for a leading partner marketing agency, overseeing a diverse portfolio of clients. Her career has focused on growing affiliate partnerships, utilizing data to make strategic decisions for consumer brands, and driving incremental growth.
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