Inside Awin’s 2025 Global ThinkTank: 3 Takeaways on Affiliate Marketing, Creator Partnerships & the Future of Search
Awin / 20265 Global ThinkTank
Affiliate platform Awin recently marked its 25th anniversary with a special edition of its Global ThinkTank event in Vilamoura, Portugal. Typically regional in focus, this year’s event brought Awin’s global network together in one place. The result was greater alignment, new ideas, and meaningful conversations.
The multi-day event featured product announcements, keynotes, breakout sessions, networking, and memorable social gatherings.
Attendees included leading brands like Nike, SharkNinja, HelloFresh, and Samsung, along with agencies, platforms, and media such as CreatorIQ, Acceleration Partners, Klarna, Hello Partner, Affiliate Summit East, and MarTech Record.
Here are three key takeaways from the event:
1. Relationships Are the Foundation
In the Influencing the Influencers session I participated in, we explored how brands can build long-term affiliate partnerships with creators. This is becoming increasingly important as influencer and affiliate marketing continue to converge.
I shared how brands benefit when they think of creators as a distinct consumer segment. This shift in mindset often leads to deeper and more strategic partnerships, rather than one-off content deals.
Mike Balducci from CreatorIQ and Francesca Dakin from Gifta offered examples of programs that scale while keeping a personal touch. Dakin pointed out that personalized experiences, such as thoughtful unboxing moments and live briefing calls, often drive higher completion rates and stronger performance.
In a separate session titled Affiliate Marketing: A View From the C-Suite, which focused on securing executive buy-in, Acceleration Partners CEO Matt Wool explained that relationships are what set affiliate marketing apart. While competitors might spend more on Meta or Google ads, building trust and credibility with affiliates takes time. That investment is difficult for others to replicate.
Why It Matters: Whether you are working with creators, affiliates, or publishers, and whether your campaigns are small or large, strong relationships lead to long-term success. The approach may vary depending on the partner, but the outcome remains the same: sustainable growth built on trust.
2. You Need a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Strategy
Search is evolving quickly. AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are changing how people discover content. Google’s wide rollout of AI Overviews means that appearing in large language model (LLM) results is becoming just as important and soon may be more important than ranking in traditional search.
Lily Ray, VP of SEO Strategy & Research at Amsive, explained why brands need to invest in original, expert-driven content, especially across social platforms. She also noted that brands can guide LLMs by creating useful content, such as FAQ and appearing on podcasts. These touchpoints help build authority and improve visibility within generative AI results.
Why It Matters: Traditional SEO strategies are no longer enough. As generative AI becomes the primary method of search for many users, brands must have a clear content strategy to remain discoverable. For brands and creators, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Those who fail to adapt may lose traffic and visibility, while those who evolve early can gain an edge in a new and growing channel.
3. Stand Out by Being Different
Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman at Ogilvy UK, closed the event with a keynote titled How to Be Uncomparably Good. He argued that many companies lose their edge by copying competitors instead of focusing on what makes them truly unique.
One example he shared was DoubleTree Hotels. They are not known for their luxury rooms, but rather for something simple and memorable: warm cookies at check-in. That unexpected, emotional detail is what guests remember.
Why It Matters: In a performance-focused environment, emotional brand moments often get overlooked. But these are the very things that create customer loyalty, word of mouth, and long-term impact. Whether you are a tech platform, a brand, a publisher, or an individual creator, leaning into what makes you different can be one of the most powerful ways to grow.
