A very productive and extraordinarily enjoyable AvantExpo just ended here in the AvantLink HQ city of Park City, Utah. And with it emerged our first ever Best Of awards and their respective winners.
Giving awards to affiliates and merchants has been something AvantLink hasn’t done in the past as we wanted to be sure that they were given to recipients based on a real, quantifiable, and clearly demonstrable impact that they’ve had over the last year. That changed this year during the closing breakfast of AvantExpo 2014 in which six AvantLink merchants and affiliates were presented with an award based on their notable achievements, growth, dedication, and knowledge of the industry:
1. 2014 Affiliate Of The Year: Active Junky
Impossible YOY growth and a deep understanding of and integration with the AvantLink API has helped Active Junky become a top AvantLink affiliate and winner of the 2014 Affiliate Of The Year award.
2. 2014 Merchant Of The Year: REI
A unique and industry leading example in cultivating and building relationships with content-rich affiliates, an unparalleled adoption of new AvantLink tools, and migration of their program to an exclusive platform made REI and manager UJ Cha the 2014 Merchant of the Year.
3. 2014 Affiliate Manager Of The Year: Brian Boyd, Clique Affiliate Marketing
Near unimaginable YOY growth for his programs, second to none responsiveness and a very impressive recruitment and activation process for new, high-value affiliates is what earned Brian Boyd the 2014 Manager of the Year.
4. 2014 Agency Of The Year: Affiliate Traction
A one-of-a-kind streamlined and rapid integration process, impressive YOY growth, and robust expertise in foreign markets including Canada and Australia helped Affiliate Traction take home the 2014 Agency of the Year award.
5. 2014 Industry Champion Award: Wade Tonkin, Fanatics Affiliate Program
With an uncompromising and unparalleled focus on ethical program management and affiliate relationship building, of which is rarely seen in this industry, Wade Tonkin has set the new bar for proper program management for in-house and outsourced program managers industry wide, taking home the 2014 Industry Champion award.
6. 2014 AvantLink Innovation Award: Justin Ball, SnapLinker (pictured above)
Justin’s development work in the AvantLink App Market, specifically with the immensely popular SnapLinker, has completely redefined the decade-old process of developing custom affiliate links, changing the way affiliates operate on a day-to-day basis from deep linking all the way to marketing on social channels. This incredible impact has earned him the 2014 AvantLink Innovation Award.
Congratulations to each winner and thank you for your hard work in making the affiliate marketing industry a more productive, ethical, and professional industry!