The Official Unofficial Affiliate Summit East 2023 Recap

Many of us are still recovering from Affiliate Summit East earlier this month (both mentally and physically — more on that in a bit), and it was an incredible show! Each show seems to be attracting higher and higher quality companies, and it truly is a testament to the growth and evolution of the performance marketing channel as a whole.

The brands and publishers that are enjoying the most success in today’s age are the ones who have fully adapted to the performance model, pairing great content with great products and services to benefit consumers of all shapes and sizes.

The TUNE team was out in full force, having Matt, Dan, Nate, Nessa, Lyndsey, Tie, Connor, Matt, and myself to conquer the streets of New York City. We even had a guest appearance by our new Integrated Marketing Manager Rachel.

On Sunday, the TUNE team ventured through the subway to grab a pre-dinner drink at Fiddlesticks Pub, then made our way to the main event team dinner at Baby Brasa, an amazing Peruvian spot in the West Village. And seriously, props to Tie, our resident foodie expert, on picking the place, as well as the spot for our networking happy hour.

Monday, it was back to all business (especially since Tie again recommending yet another great breakfast spot, Black Seed Bagels), with us hosting dozens of meetings at our booth, with a great spot right in the middle of the show!

Later that evening, the TUNE team co-hosted a happy hour with Penske Media Corporation, a mass media publisher with world-renowned publications include Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and Spy.com, and agency partner Klay Media, a nominee for Best Affiliate & Partner Marketing Agency at the US Partnership Awards, at Castell’s rooftop lounge. It was a resounding success! (We had not one, not two, but three companies speak with us about co-hosting a future event.) TUNE helped bring together brands like Disney, Hulu, Earthlink, Entertainment.com, HelloFresh, Sling TV, TikTok, and partners like USA TODAY, Forbes, Katie Couric Media, The Daily Beast, UpSellIt, and Sweatcoin — with the TUNE team literally introducing people in real life, showcasing a glimpse of what our new marketplace has to offer.

After our amazing event, we walked straight past a 99¢ pizza shop and had our nightcap at Turntable — a Korean chicken and jazz club (really!) with enough vinyl records to make any collector jealous. Also, no NYC trip can be considered a success without a post-midnight run at the original Halal Guys on 53^rd and 6^th. (Thanks, Matt!)

On Tuesday we wrapped up the last day of the show, collecting business cards and, sadly, a touch of post-conference crud. (I’m seriously never shaking someone’s hand ever again.)

All in all, we loved sharing more information about TUNE’s network of some of the best affiliates in the industry, as well as our growth as a company: from starting out as a network to network platform, to becoming the first MMP in the industry, to coining the term “postback,” to powering the partner marketing programs for some of the biggest brands in the world.

If we didn’t get a chance to meet at the show and you want to learn more about TUNE, reach out to us via chat or at [email protected] for a complimentary consultation. We’d love to learn about your business and discuss how we can help it grow!