Marketing Over Milkshakes

Is affiliate marketing overdue a rebrand?In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Linda O’Connell, Senior Vice President of UK and Ireland at CJ, to explore how affiliate marketing, influencer commerce, content publishers and AI-powered discovery are reshaping performance marketing.If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/Linda has spent more than 20 years at CJ, one of the biggest and most established affiliate networks in the world, helping brands grow through performance-led partnerships across retail, travel, tech and ecommerce. In this conversation, she shares her perspective on how the affiliate industry has evolved from voucher codes and cashback into a far broader ecosystem that now includes influencers, content commerce, card-linked offers, creator partnerships and AI-driven product discovery.We go deep on why the term “affiliate” may no longer reflect the true value of the channel, why brands should stop treating affiliate as a silo, and how the smartest marketers are now using it as a strategic growth lever across the full customer journey. Linda explains how CJ thinks about connected commerce, why publishers are becoming even more valuable in an LLM-driven world, and how content sites are increasingly shaping what consumers discover through AI search experiences.KEY MOMENTS:00:00 – Why affiliate marketing may need a different name01:10 – Linda’s background, Dublin life and the CJ introduction06:16 – Linda O’Connell’s 20-year journey at CJ and the scale of the business07:36 – How big CJ is, major global brands and what makes long-term client retention work10:00 – Why the best affiliate partnerships behave like extensions of the brand team13:30 – Building a senior leadership career while raising three boys15:10 – Being the first woman at CJ to go on maternity leave and shaping family policies18:53 – International growth, relocating back to Dublin and making career progression work21:28 – Stepping into leadership, remote management and overcoming imposter syndrome23:53 – Balancing work, motherhood and identity beyond your career26:02 – Burnout, overwork and why unplugging matters for high performers27:55 – The early days of CJ, startup energy and the evolution of affiliate marketing30:04 – How publisher types changed from voucher codes to a much broader partnership mix32:43 – Why networks helped build the affiliate industry and still drive innovation today35:25 – Consumer behaviour, influencer growth and the changing role of publishers37:12 – What CJ means by connected commerce39:18 – Why many brands still misunderstand affiliate’s role in the wider media mix40:57 – TikTok Shop, halo effects and how one channel can improve performance elsewhere45:00 – Amazon, attribution and why brands need to follow customer behaviour47:53 – How CJ trains teams to communicate an evolving performance marketing story50:00 – CJ’s global footprint, growth markets and expansion opportunities54:00 – CGU, industry events and why relationship building still matters1:02:31 – Women in Affiliate, representation and supporting female leadership1:07:13 – Imposter syndrome, ambition and advice for women building careers in the industry1:09:43 – Should influencer marketing now sit inside affiliate?1:12:05 – Affiliate’s reputation problem and why the industry may be its own worst enemy1:15:00 – Why Linda sees affiliate as performance marketing, not just last click1:18:37 – The rise of content commerce and why publishers matter more than ever1:22:55 – AI search, LLM citations and how content publishers are winning visibility1:24:46 – ChatGPT, monetisation and why affiliate could play a major role in AI commerce1:25:49 – Quick fire: career growth, leadership and what brands are still missing1:32:45 – The single biggest opportunity most brands are overlooking right now

What if one of the biggest untapped growth opportunities in ecommerce was hiding in plain sight inside Google Shopping?In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Jared Owen, CEO of Redbrain, to unpack how CSS, Google Shopping, affiliate attribution and AI-driven product discovery are reshaping ecommerce growth for brands and retailers.If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/Redbrain is one of the biggest success stories in the affiliate and performance marketing space. The business processes billions of product offers every day, works with over 12,000 retailers, is eBay’s largest CPA partner in Europe, and last year alone drove more than £1 billion in sales through Google for its retail partners. Jared explains how Redbrain evolved from a price comparison and content arbitrage background into one of the most important players in comparison shopping services, and why CPA-led Google Shopping is still widely misunderstood by brands.We go deep into the real mechanics of CSS, including what comparison shopping services actually do, why the “no cannibalisation” pitch is often oversimplified, how brands should think about cost of sale versus incrementality, and why transparency matters more than ever. Jared also shares sharp insight into feed optimisation, attribution, affiliate innovation, Google’s dominance, AI-powered commerce, LLM search behaviour and why brands need to stop relying solely on marketplaces like Amazon if they want to build long-term customer value.KEY MOMENTS:00:00 – Selling helicopters, £300k watches and the scale of Redbrain01:05 – Introduction to Jared Owen, Redbrain and £1BN+ in Google-driven sales02:32 – The Redbrain origin story and Doug Scott’s startup-style environment06:46 – What Redbrain actually does and how CSS works in Google Shopping10:23 – The European legislation that opened Google Shopping to CSS partners15:11 – Cannibalisation, incrementality and the truth about CSS performance22:19 – What makes Redbrain different from other CSS providers23:39 – Transparency, dashboards and solving the CSS black box problem24:53 – Why some retailers can scale without running their own Google ads32:53 – Why too many CSS partners can damage performance36:11 – How Redbrain decides whether a retailer is worth testing39:18 – Expensive products, luxury clicks and strange things sold through the model45:27 – AI, trust, creators and the future of ecommerce discovery50:17 – LLMs, product research and what happens next to search traffic55:19 – Will Google still dominate product search in 10 to 15 years?58:33 – Where the affiliate industry fits into AI-powered commerce1:00:18 – Why outcomes-based marketing is becoming more important than ever1:06:16 – Attribution problems, GA4 and why affiliate still gets misunderstood1:13:50 – Why CSS should sit closer to the internal paid media team1:17:01 – Hiring, customer success and scaling Redbrain’s growth1:18:28 – Leadership, pressure and the reality of being a CEO1:30:09 – When CSS does and does not work for retailers1:34:20 – Amazon dependency, brand-owned growth and the future of ecommerce1:52:03 – The single biggest opportunity most brands are still missing

Affiliate marketing is entering its biggest transformation in over a decade. In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Clements, Country Manager at Impact, to explore how partnership marketing, influencer commerce and AI-driven discovery are reshaping the affiliate ecosystem.If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/Drawing on more than 20 years in the industry, Anthony breaks down the three major shifts that have defined affiliate marketing so far, from search and desktop commerce, to mobile and social, and now the next wave: agentic AI and large language models changing how customers search, discover and buy online. The conversation goes deep on why last-click CPA models no longer tell the full story, how creators and content publishers drive value beyond clicks, and why brands must rethink how they measure and reward performance marketing.We also explore Impact’s role as one of the world’s leading partnership marketing platforms, operating across 20+ countries and processing billions of partner touchpoints annually. Topics include creator monetisation, influencer marketing, loyalty and referral models, AI-powered discovery, attribution challenges, and what ecommerce brands need to do now to stay competitive as search traffic declines and AI-driven commerce accelerates.KEY MOMENTS:00:00 – The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing & Rise of Agentic AI04:02 – Personal Reputation and Industry Reflections06:47 – Impact’s Technology and Marketing Philosophy08:32 – Growth and Challenges in Influencer & Creator Marketing12:34 – Referral and Loyalty Marketing Insights15:04 – Professionalisation and Major Shifts in Affiliate Partnerships22:51 – Future-Proofing Affiliate & Influencer Attribution with AI24:11 – Building Sustainable Teams & Leadership in Affiliate Marketing34:58 – Case Studies: Scaling Influencer Marketing and Transactional Insights36:03 – Rethinking How We Measure Marketing Value46:07 – Compliance, Curiosity & Industry Pitfalls48:16 – Navigating Uncertainty & Career Growth54:40 – Advice for the Next Generation of Leaders

What does the future of shopping, media and affiliate marketing actually look like in an AI-driven world?In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we are joined by Stuart Miles - founder of Pocket-lint and Squirrel - to unpack the evolution of affiliate commerce, publisher monetisation, tech journalism, AI in media, and why trust is still the most valuable asset in digital publishing.Having spent more than 20 years at the heart of the tech industry, Stuart has seen it all up close - from the launch of Google and the rise of the iPhone to conversations with Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and some of the biggest names in global technology. He now brings that experience into Squirrel, a platform helping publishers automate product feeds, price comparison, affiliate links, and commerce content at scale.The conversation explores how publishers can survive in a world of zero-click search, AI-generated content, shrinking editorial teams and changing consumer habits. Stuart explains why editorial trust, storytelling, and real relationships still matter more than ever, even as AI transforms how people discover, compare and buy products online.In this episode, we cover:The journey from Pocket-lint to building SquirrelHow affiliate marketing has changed for publishersWhy trust is the foundation of commerce contentThe real future of AI shopping and AI-assisted buying journeysWhat publishers need to do to survive Google zero-click searchWhy storytelling will matter more in the age of AIThe difference between good AI use and bad AI useFounder lessons on decision-making, resilience and momentumWhat brands are still getting wrong about outreach, PR and relationshipsKey Moments: 00:00 – Intro to Stuart Miles, Pocket‑lint, big tech names (Steve Jobs, Elon Musk) and the future of tech and media05:38 – From Pocket‑lint to Squirrel: how Stuart built and sold a global tech publisher then launched affiliate tech for publishers13:19 – Inside Squirrel: 30,000 product feeds, 13 billion offers and fixing classic affiliate problems like dead links and bad pricing21:29 – Trust, honest reviews and content strategy: avoiding clickbait, bad influencer habits and the programmatic race to the bottom32:24 – PR vs commerce content: how publishers monetise with affiliates while still serving readers and brands39:10 – How publishers really use AI: good vs bad use cases in journalism, writing and operations43:26 – Meeting Elon Musk and Steve Jobs: what top founders teach us about focus, decisions and product48:03 – Founder mindset: resilience, failing fast, making decisions and letting go as your business scales51:53 – Future of devices and AI: AR/VR, companion hardware, quantified self and how AI will reshape shopping59:17 – AI in commerce and discovery: boring repeat buys vs emotional purchases and the lasting role of publishers1:05:51 – AI coding, no‑code tools and why senior human expertise still matters in development1:20:12 – Personal lessons: being nice, long‑term relationships, leadership as removing obstacles and networking without an agenda

How do you get fired from your own company after building a £200M IPO business… and then start again? Chairman of Huddled PLC, Martin Higginson shares how he went from launching Britain’s biggest-selling BMX magazine at 20…to scaling a mobile business to a £200 million valuation…to pioneering surplus-led e-commerce with Huddled PLC to take on Amazon!This episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes is a masterclass in entrepreneurship, marketing fundamentals, arbitrage thinking and founder resilience.If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/Martin shares lessons from four decades of building, scaling, exiting - and rebuilding. With businesses across publishing, telecoms, premium rate competitions, mobile content, gaming, student accommodation and e-commerce it is clear how Martin has created the level of success that has resulted with his appearance on The Sunday Times Rich List.You’ll hear how Monster Mob reached a £200m valuation, what really happened when he was fired from his own company, why most founders “self-harm” successful businesses, and how Huddled PLC is now tackling surplus retail, logistics arbitrage and the cost of living crisis.In this episode you will hear: Building and selling Britain’s biggest BMX magazine before age 21Why strict business plans can kill startupsThe power of arbitrage in telecoms and digital businessesScaling Monster Mob to a £200m valuationGetting fired from your own company and rebuildingPremium rate competitions and early internet monetisationThe Scottish Telecom IPO and the dot-com eraFounder psychology: loneliness, pressure and resilienceWhy entrepreneurs struggle to let goSurplus retail and the Huddled PLC modelE-commerce logistics, Amazon conditioning and next-day deliveryHow small brands can survive against Amazon Reducing retail waste while protecting margin partnering with the likes of TemuBuilding cooperative-style scale in modern e-commerceKey Moments: 00:00 Vegas, affiliate marketing and early premium rate competition stories06:52 From photojournalist to launching Britain’s biggest BMX magazine15:41 Selling his first business at 20 and lessons from early exit18:30 The men’s magazine idea that came before its time22:30 Premium rate competitions: the breakthrough revenue model28:30 Outmanoeuvring competitors and scaling nationally30:27 From weekend revenue to telecom acquisition talks35:27 Demon Internet, arbitrage and early ISP economics40:02 Why timing beats ideas: Malcolm Gladwell & infrastructure lessons42:53 Avatars, online casinos and being too early to market45:15 Launching Monster Mob and scaling to £200m valuation48:45 Getting removed from his own company52:23 Super Casino: live interactive TV before its time01:02:11 Huddled PLC: surplus retail and the cost of living opportunity01:12:57 TikTok, deal communities and performance marketing engine01:18:33 Logistics arbitrage and competing with Amazon01:24:10 Founder psychology: the loneliness of leadership01:27:25 Why most entrepreneurs self-sabotage successful businesses01:32:54 The biggest marketing opportunity brands are missing

The UK leisure travel and holiday rental market has transformed dramatically over the last decade - driven by digital demand, staycation trends, and portfolio-level brand strategy.In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, Group CCO James Shaw shares insight from within Sykes Holiday Cottages, one of the UK’s most recognised holiday rental brands, and its parent organisation, Forge Holiday Group; which manages 30,000 units, serving 3,000,000 customers annually, generating £200 million in revenue.You will hear about building modern travel brands for sustainable growth in the leisure and tourism space - combining performance marketing, DTC strategy and data modelling, as well as a detailed breakdown on how the adoption of AI in advertising campaigns has driven CPA’s down by 40%! In this episode, you will hear:Scaling established travel brands in competitive domestic tourism marketsPortfolio growth across multiple travel businessesPerformance marketing in high-ticket leisure sectorsBalancing brand equity with digital acquisitionUsing AI across advertising and marketing to drive CPAs down Protecting margin while expanding reachLeading growth at group level across multiple brandsThe evolution of UK staycation demandLong-term travel industry strategy vs short-term booking spikesKey Moments: 0:00 – From Sykes Cottages to Forge Group: brands, scale and acquisitions06:37 – The origin of Sykes Holidays: Clive Sykes, Yorkshire kitchen table and early growth09:34 – Obsessing over “magic moments”: guest experience, reviews and NPS in travel12:48 – TV ads and brand building: taking Sykes from 12% to 65% brand recall16:24 – AI-powered TV campaigns: cutting production costs and smarter media buying18:12 – Rational marketing: stacking highest-ROI channels and dropping what doesn’t work21:34 – Vivid Stay: AI video walkthroughs for every holiday property at scale25:05 – The AI journey: 70% staff adoption, AI Guardians Guild and legal framework29:39 – Proving ROI: sprint times, chatbot deflection and AI efficiency targets32:46 – Clickless checkout and agentic commerce: preparing for ChatGPT / Gemini bookings36:41 – Developing conversational search for UK holiday cottages41:51 – Competing in LLM search46:03 – TikTok strategy: micro-influencers, viral Sykes content and social commerce52:03 – Gavin & Stacey cottage and VIP stays: turning properties into viral moments55:13 – Private equity, PPC and scaling Sykes: from 5,000 to 30,000 properties01:00:50 – Skin in the game: betting life savings on Sykes1:08:52 – Cranfield “SAS for the mind”: leadership, EQ and brutal 360 feedback01:14:08 – Hiring for culture: curiosity, competitiveness and mindset1:20:29 – How James structures his week: 5:30am routine, family time and energy management01:34:57 – Best leadership book: Good to Great and the 4 Disciplines of Execution01:39:51 – Defining leadership: creating an environment where success is inevitable

Scaling a subscription business with perishable products, tight margins, and zero room for forecasting errors is one of the hardest challenges in modern performance marketing.In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we’re joined by James Newman, Head of Performance Marketing at Freddie’s Flowers, one of the UK’s most successful subscription-first DTC brands, to break down how they’ve built a highly disciplined, data-driven growth engine across performance, affiliates, influencers, and brand partnerships.Freddie’s Flowers pioneered a subscription-only model in a category dominated by gifting, using predictable demand to reduce flower waste from an industry average of ~40% to under 5%. But behind the brand is a sophisticated growth machine built around LTV modelling, blended CPA targets, creative testing, and forecasting accuracy.If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/In this episode, you will hear:Why Freddie’s Flowers committed to a subscription-only model (and why it worked)How to scale customer acquisition with perishable products and next-day deliveryThe role of LTV modelling in setting CPA targets by channel and partnerWhy blended CPA beats single-channel attributionHow Freddie’s evaluates affiliate marketing, gift-with-purchase, and brand partnershipsThe real economics behind influencer marketing in subscription businessesHow coupon attribution works in a cookieless worldWhy forecasting accuracy is critical to profitable growthHow upper-funnel Meta ads stabilised CPAs and unlocked scaleThe difference between volume growth and profitable growthLessons retail brands can learn from subscription businessesWhy creative strategy is becoming the most important growth lever in performance marketingKey Moments: 0:00 – How Freddie’s Flowers cuts flower waste with a low‑wastage subscription model1:55 – Freddie’s Flowers cargo bikes and how the street sales rep model works 3:23 – Origin story: door‑to‑door sales to a flower subscription business6:15 – Why Freddie’s went subscription‑only and refused one‑off orders for years8:35 – Introducing James Newman, Head of Performance Marketing at Freddie’s Flowers11:39 – Dangers of artificial growth, brand contraction and over‑reliance on one Meta creative13:48 – Building a diversified channel mix: affiliates, influencers, Meta and partnerships17:23 – Managing a perishable subscription: forecasting, SKUs and holiday sell‑out strategy23:13 – How Freddie’s measures influencer performance with coupon codes and blended CPA26:42 – Multi‑touch attribution: blended CPA, GA4, platform data and post‑purchase surveys28:08 – CAC, LTV and the ‘trip’ model that underpins Freddie’s subscription economics31:56 – Predictive LTV by channel and partner using early retention and customer signals36:53 – Why subscription brands must avoid chasing volume at the expense of LTV39:19 – Blended CPA and upper‑funnel Meta ads to expand reach without spiking costs44:20 – Creative strategy on Meta: hooks, concepts and avoiding ad fatigue46:47 – What retail brands can learn from subscription businesses about LTV and discounting49:41 – Using influencers and UGC as a creative engine for paid social at Freddie’s54:12 – Gift with Purchase (GWP) partnerships as a major scalable acquisition channel57:12 – Balancing CPA, offer value and host merchant requirements in GWP programs1:01:19 – Why GWP favors subscription brands and how Freddie’s sets CPA caps1:04:08 – James’s career journey from PPC and data to brand‑side growth leadership1:10:26 – Brand tracking, awareness vs consideration and the case for gifting at Freddie’s1:12:28 – Measuring out‑of‑home and TV with surveys, geo‑lift tests and blackout periods1:20:21 – Events, networking and staying current in performance and affiliate marketing

In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Adam Ross, CEO of Awin, one of the world’s largest affiliate marketing networks, powering partnerships for brands like Nike, Samsung, Etsy, Vodafone and thousands more.Adam shares a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how affiliate marketing has evolved from early paid-search arbitrage into a multi-channel, AI-ready performance ecosystem - and what brands, agencies, and creators need to do to stay ahead.If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/What you’ll learn in this episode:How affiliate marketing really works (and why it’s a payment model, not a channel)Why CPA-based incentives outperform CPC in AI-driven shoppingHow influencers and creators fit into modern affiliate strategiesThe hidden brand-building value of affiliate programs most brands ignoreHow to scale a company from 15 to 1,400+ employees without losing cultureThe leadership lessons learned from growing a global tech businessWhy AI shopping assistants need affiliate monetisation modelsHow brands should measure upper-funnel influence vs last-click salesThe future of affiliate networks, retail media, and creator commerceWhat most brands are getting wrong about performance marketing todayThis episode is essential listening for anyone working in:Affiliate marketing / Performance & growth marketing / Influencer & creator partnerships / eCommerce & DTC / Retail media / AI-powered commerce platformsKey Topics Covered:Affiliate marketing explainedCPA vs CPC advertising modelsInfluencer marketing through affiliatesAI shopping assistants & monetisationScaling SaaS and marketplace platformsLeadership, hiring, and company culturePerformance marketing strategyAttribution, measurement & incrementalityBrand vs performance balanceThe future of digital commerceKey Moments:0:00 – CPA, AI & the Future of Affiliate Marketing04:20 – Lighthearted Start: Milkshakes, Personal Preferences & Show Setup05:35 – From Dentist to CEO of Awin08:16 – Scaling Awin from 15 to 1,400 Employees & the 50-Person Tipping Point11:18 – Landing Currys & Other Enterprise Brands: Big-Deal Bids That Changed the Company14:08 – Acquisitions, Telco vs Retail & Entering the US Market18:21 – Global Expansion Playbook: Organic vs Inorganic Growth in New Markets19:20 – Hiring, Promotion & Spotting Leadership Potential in a High-Growth Company23:49 – Should a CEO Be Hands-On With Product and Tech?26:16 – What Is Affiliate Marketing Really? Payment Model, Publisher Types & Early Arbitrage31:29 – Tracking Innovation: Awin’s MasterTag & the Evolution of Tech Partnerships33:06 – Influencers, Retail Media & the Next Wave of Affiliate Growth39:59 – Measuring Upper-Funnel Value & Paying Influencers Fairly45:22 – AI Hype vs Reality: Awin’s AI Assistant “Ava” and Natural-Language Affiliate Campaigns48:26 – Monetizing AI Shopping: Why CPA Beats CPC for AI Recommenders50:41 – Company Culture, Remote Work & Building Trust at Scale56:37 – Obsession, Continuous Learning & Using X/Twitter as a Learning Tool58:28 – Parenting in the Age of Screens: Kids, YouTube, Money & Financial Literacy1:05:43 – Dublin to London: Life, Family & Why London Still Feels Special1:07:14 – Quickfire Round: Must-Have Apps, Imposter Syndrome, Leadership & Brand Opportunities

Marketing Over Milkshakes is the podcast that gets behind the job titles of some of the leading players in the affiliate and performance marketing space. This show explores the evolution of the affiliate sector, performance marketing, influencer partnerships and AI-driven commerce, helping ecommerce brands unlock one of the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channels. Bought to you by the team from award-winning specialist affiliate growth agency Revwise, each episode breaks down, in detail, how modern affiliate programs, publisher partnerships, TikTok Shop, creator commerce and data-driven e-comm strategies can drive scalable revenue and revolutionise brand growth. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/

Marketing Over Milkshakes is the podcast that gets behind the job titles of some of the leading players in the affiliate marketing space. This show explores the evolution of the affiliate sector, performance marketing, influencer partnerships and AI-driven commerce, helping ecommerce brands unlock one of the internet’s fastest-growing marketing channels. Bought to you by the team from award-winning specialist affiliate growth agency Revwise, each episode breaks down, in detail, how modern affiliate programs, publisher partnerships, TikTok Shop, creator commerce and data-driven e-comm strategies can drive scalable revenue and revolutionise brand growth