Education took precedent, knowledge was shared, delegates networked, networked, networked and business was conducted over an intense and immensely productive couple of days.

Here is just a little of what is being said about our 6th flagship event…

A4UExpo is another great success!

Five search tools from a4uexpo London

Affiliate channel’s big role at Sky

a4uexpo London Keynote showcases Research questioning long-tail value

a4uexpo message

Turbo Charging your SEO & Link Building Strategy

Engaging Facebook through EDGErank, Content Optimisation and Killer Apps

Analysis, Data, Value, Mobile, Search & Multi-Channel Opportunity portrayed at a4uexpo London 2012

a4uexpo London 2012 in brief

A brief recap of Day One at a4uexpo

A roundup of a4uexpo performance marketing conference

a4uexpo London 2012 London review & round-up

Mobilisation of the Nation

From Affiliate to Merchant

a4uexpo London 2012: A first timer’s view

a4uexpo Session: Are Performance KPI’s Causing an Industry Monopoly?

AdInsight at a4uexpo London 2012

Found at the London a4uexpo 2012

 For affiliate marketing, the future is mobile but less talk and more action is needed

a4uexpo, the performance marketing conference arrives today

A roundup of a4uexpo performance marketing conference

Google Anayltics for Publishers

Changing Digital Consumer Habits

Get Your Mobile Search in Order!

You are the Weakest Link…Goodbye

For Blogs Sake – Don’t You Know I Add Value?

Keynote Session – Getting Personal to Drive Conversion – Customer Behaviour Meets Big Data

Engaging Facebook through EDGErank

a4uexpo Talk Went Well – Public Relations Speaker at A4u Event in 2012

Cart recovery, data & cross border strategies

Reflecting on Another Successful a4uexpo

Great Expo-Tations

If you’ve written a blog or press release on your experience of a4uexpo London, let us know and we’ll add it here. Plus, don’t forget to leave your feedback via our online feedback form and help us to make 2013 even better!

Now the hangover from a4uexpo London has definitely gone, I thought I’d take the time to write about my first experience of an a4uexpo. Having only been with A4u for 3 months (though it seems a lot longer!), I joined at a time when we were already in full preparation for a4uexpo London so there was no ease into the job period, which suited me as I have experience of working in events before.

It is always fun to arrive on site and visit the rooms that will form the conference rooms and exhibition hall prior to build up as you know in the next 24 hours they will look entirely different. It is a proper ‘before and after’ and I always wish I had a time lapse camera to witness the change. There was a really good atmosphere during the a4uexpo build up from all the excitement and anticipation of the next two days ahead, plus I think the upcoming drinks reception, hosted by Neverblue that evening at The Refinery helped!

Arriving on-site on Tuesday 16^th October, I definitely felt ready for the day ahead and whatever that entailed….

First stop was registration and helping the sheer masses that would pass through the doors come 8am. Registration was packed, the queue to collect badges seemed to be never ending, but delegates took it as a good opportunity to network and plan the sessions that they wanted to attend.

I managed to pop up to the exhibition hall and it was literally buzzing as we’d predicted, there were some really innovative stands and an abundance of sweets, cakes and coffee! I headed over to the Knowledge Zone for the Digital Clinics and Meet the Agencies, it was great to see how popular these drop in sessions were and I even witnessed a queue for the Business Strategy Clinic!

After a fast turnaround and a quick dinner in Piccadilly it was time to head to Jewel for the official networking party. Wow, were my first thoughts of Jewel, it was a fantastic venue and I think the dark lighting, calming incense and strawberry Bellini’s courtesy of LBi, definitely helped everyone to unwind.  A lot of fun was had with the 7thingsmedia vintage photo booth and I am very glad I got my picture taken earlier on as the queue definitely grew the later the night. 

Luckily Tuesday night wasn’t such a late night for me so I didn’t feel too bad on Wednesday morning, though I heard quite a few people complaining of hangovers and saying the smoothies and bacon rolls in the exhibition hall were helping to ease their sore heads.

Registration was much quieter on Wednesday morning so I had more time to meet and greet the record number of media partners, who I had been speaking to over the past few weeks, all of which had nothing but praise for a4uexpo and were already talking about 2013!

Before I knew it 5:30pm had arrived and the exhibition hall doors closed, the last session in the conference room ended at 6:15pm and that was it a4uexpo London 2012 was over. All the months of preparation, planning, emails, phone calls and meetings and it was done!

It was a fantastic 2 days and truly reflected how hard the A4u team had worked to deliver a seamless event.  We look forward to 2013! After a few months rest that is….

We couldn’t have pulled it off without the support of all our sponsors, many of whom support our events on a regular basis, helping us to consistently deliver the high level of content and networking opportunities we are renowned for.  We’d like to extend a huge thank you to them all and look forward to working with them again soon.

The conference sessions were carefully crafted and very well attended with delegates interacting and tweeting throughout. Highlights included Performance Marketing – The Value & Perception Debate, Are Performance KPI’s causing an Industry Monopoly, Using Data to Value & Optimise the Affiliate Channel, Global Brand Building for Advertisers & Publishers, Have We Over-Engineered? Technology Congestion in Performance Marketing and the hugely popular Keynote by Dr Mike Baxter of Sales Logiq.

A big thank you to our record number of over 100 expert speakers who’s insight and knowledge was invaluable.

The Exhibition Hall was a true hive of activity this year with competitions, interactive games, offers, freebies and ample refreshments everywhere you looked. Massive thanks to our exhibitors whose innovation and enthusiasm really made the exhibition floor come alive for our 1000+ delegates.

Our networking events are always memorable and this year was no different. Monday 15th saw Neverblue host the First Evening Drinks Reception at the stylish Refinery Bar where many delegates came together to network in advance of the conference and collect their badges and wristbands early.  Performance Horizon Group quenched delegates thirst after a busy Day 1 at the Exhibition Hall Drinks Reception and everyone then got their glad rags on and headed to Jewel Piccadilly for the Official Networking Party.  The atmosphere was electric as delegates enjoyed a welcome drink from LBi, struck a pose in the 7thingsmedia vintage photo booth and showed off their moves on the dance floor.

Alongside the highly educational conference sessions and unparalleled networking events, we also included several value-add features which proved extremely popular.

The brand new Vertical Speed Networking with Webgains was very well attended with delegates building targeted new contacts in short 2 minute bursts. Thank you to the agencies who took part in our Meet the Agencies feature which gave delegates the chance to have one to one conversations with key representatives from the leading Performance Marketing agencies and to the fresh new companies who took their place on our innovative Street.

The Knowledge Zone, sponsored by Arena Media, also included brand new Digital Clinics offering one to one advice on key topics. A big thank you to the experts running these clinics.

Finally, we’d like to say a huge thank you to all our delegates. This year’s a4uexpo London was bigger and better than ever before and we couldn’t have done it without every person in attendance. Please take some time to complete our online feedback form and help us to continue to build and grow across future events.

See you next year!

The A4u team

7thingsmedia is a global digital media agency with a proven track record of delivering hugely impressive returns for clients such as Agent Provocateur, boohoo.com, Liberty London, and Ted Baker. With offices in both London and New York; 7thingsmedia’s services span the digital marketing mix; affiliates, display, lead generation, mobile, PPC, SEO and social media.

The 2012 networking event takes place at Jewel Bar, Piccadilly on Tuesday 16th October, come along,  grab a prop from the vintage box of goodies, strike a pose with your team and take away a wonderful  reminder of the fabulous evening you’ve had with a4uexpo and 7thingsmedia!

See you there!

Founded in 2010, affiliatepraxis.de is the German Affiliate Marketing Blog by Daniel Frerichmann and Carl Philipp Franz, aiming to provide advertisers with impulses to rethink daily-business affiliate marketing topics. Both authors are specialized in Affiliate Marketing for several years now and managed affiliate programs from different industries so far, both advertiser and agency side.

Recently, affiliatepraxis.de became one of the ‘Affiliate Summit Top 25 Affiliate Marketing Blogs of 2012‘ – voted by the readers of Affiliate(Tip), the Affiliate Marketing Blog by Affiliate Summit co-founder Shawn Collins.

a4uexpo London takes place on the 16th – 17th October at the Hilton London Metropole and is set to be our biggest yet! 1000 delegates, 100+ speakers, 40 sessions and 2 networking parties!

By Air

If you’re flying to a4uexpo London this year, we recommend you land at Heathrow rather than at Gatwick airport.

Taxi – You can get a a taxi from London Heathrow airport, directly to the Hilton London Metropole. The journey will usually take around 40 minutes.

Rail & Tube – The Heathrow Express, is a  terminates at Paddington Station, which is just 5 minutes by taxi from the hotel.

The nearest underground station is Edgware Road and is less than 2 minutes walk away from the hotel. Please note that there are 2 Edgware Road stations, one for the Circle, Distrtict and Hammersmith & City lines, the other is for the Bakerloo line.

* From Paddington Station - Take the Bakerloo line towards Elephant and Castle Underground Station — Disembark at Edgware Road Underground Station.

* From Waterloo Station - Take the Bakerloo Line towards Queen’s Park Underground Station — Disembark Edgware Road Underground Station

* From Kings Cross Station - 6 minute walk to King’s Cross St pancras Underground station — Take the Hammersmith and City Line towards Baker Street — Disembark at Edgware Road Underground Station

By Road

The Hilton London Metropole is located outside of London’s Congestion Charge Zone and has a secure underground car park with 170 spaces.

* From Central London A4204 (please note that Central London Congestion Charges Apply Mon-Fri 7am to 6pm)

* Follow the road right onto Nottinghill Gate – A402. Continue onto the A40 and then on to the A402

* Keep left and follow A4209 and then turn Left at the traffic signals onto the A5

* At Marylebone Flyover turn left at the traffic signals – Oxford, Wembley, Paddington A404

* Turn left onto Harbet Road and arrive at the Hilton Metropole

We look forward to seeing you on Monday night for the First Evening Drinks Reception at The Refinery Bar at 18:30.

Countries Attending

UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland and Israel.

Key Job Areas

CEO/MD = 21%, Publisher = 20%,  Online Marketing Manager/Managing Director = 18%, Business Development = 11%,  Account Director = 9%,  Account Manager/Executive = 7%  and Other = 14%

Top Sectors

There will be a good balance of industry sectors with registrations split as follows 42% publishers, 21%  advertisers,  19%  networks and 18% agencies.

Network with the greatest in Performance Marketing on a truly global level!

We encourage you to continue to do this at the show, to discuss the topics covered in our 40+ conference sessions, talk about what you’re enjoying at the event and even ask our speakers questions during their inspirational presentations.

To enable you to do this in a more effective and targeted way, we’re using session specific hashtags and will be displaying the tweets on twitter walls around the conference venue, powered by Performance Horizon Group.

You will be able to see which of the current sessions is generating the most debate and what fellow delegates think about the most current topics affecting the industry . So if you are tweeting about a specific session, please remember to use the right hash tag so that we can get a good picture of what you’re talking about.

You will be able to find the relevant  hash tag next to each individual session on the agenda pages of the conference brochure, at the top of each session description in the EventMethod mobile app and highlighted by each speaker in the session itself.

As an example, the first sessions on Day 1 will use the hashtags as follows:

#A4UB1 – ‘Changing Consumer Habits’ – Balmoral Suite

#A4US1 – ‘60 Tips in 60 minutes: Social, Search & Conversion’ – Sandringham Suite

#A4UIT1 – ‘Stop Raining on my Parade: The Sales Implications of Weather’ – Interactive Theatre

We will also be using a general #a4uexpo hashtag for any comments or chat about the expo as a whole. Plus, don’t forget to use #PerformanceMarketing to raise the profile of our innovative and exciting industry.

Be part of the conversation. Register for your delegate pass now.

What are you looking forward to the most and who are you keen to meet?

“We are thrilled to attend this year’s a4uexpo in London. With our launch of Google Affiliate Network in the UK earlier this year, we’re excited to meet with publishers, advertisers, agencies in the market all in one location. We attended a4uexpo Europe in Barcelona in June and were impressed with the caliber of speakers and conference attendees, so we’re looking forward to engaging in a panel discussion and networking with the attendees”.

As a Gold sponsor what can visitors of a4uexpo London expect from Google during the two days?

“We hope to continue meeting key players in the performance marketing industry and understand where Google Affiliate Network can provide value to meet customers’ business objectives. We look forward to engaging in valuable discussions with publishers, where we can talk more about the new merchants that we’ve added to our network and the fact that we’re an exclusive provider of a number of new-to-market affiliate programmes. These new programmes represent an incremental opportunity for publishers in the UK. We also look forward to discussions with advertisers, specifically those who are new to the channel so that we can help educate on the value of affiliate. Our continued focus to bring new players to the channel, both publishers and advertisers, and our push for relevance and targeting are key values that we bring to the channel and look forward to discussing further at the conference”.

Which sessions or features are you planning on attending this year and why?

“We are particularly interested in attending several of the discussions focused on discovering the full value of the affiliate channel via the use of mobile, data and analytic’s. Both advertisers and publishers are confronted with understanding these principles and applying them to their business and there is a real opportunity to apply insights from data and new ad formats to make the most out of the channel”.

“There is growing sophistication around multi-channel attribution and pricing models that will naturally encourage affiliate publishers to innovate beyond the last click. More publishers will enter the channel that are not optimized for last click, particularly those focused on building awareness and influencing consumers in the research and consideration phase. This natural evolution will expand the channel’s value, making affiliate inventory more viable in higher funnel websites. This opens the door for publishers and advertisers to increase communication and engage in dialogue around optimizing around activities that advertisers deem most important. At Google, we’re focused on helping companies gain stronger insights into the measurement and valuation of their customers’ journeys, working to improve conversion rates through better utilization of tools like Google Analytic’s as well as advanced attribution modeling”.

“There are also some exciting sessions this year focused on the impact of mobile and its growing prominence in the market. Within Google Affiliate Network, a growing number of customers are seeing significant increases in programme conversions coming from mobile devices. It is important for merchants to ensure sites are optimised for mobile and Affiliate publishers invest in mobile and tablet-optimised experiences for their users. Advertisers and publishers alike need to focus on the seamless integration to ensure a positive customer experience”.

As a Global network with lots of experience of attending Digital Marketing events, what you are your three top tips for conference survival?

1. Carve out time to prioritize attendance at some of the key presentations. This year’s agenda is full of engaging topics across the performance landscape, keeping us all focused on the emerging trends that will continue to drive innovation in the industry.

2. Based on your personal or business goals for the conference, make sure you engage with the right audience – advertisers, publishers, agencies and/or networks. It’s a great way to form new relationships, learn about emerging trends in the industry, and start discussions about how you can get more out of your investment in performance marketing.

3. Have some fun at the networking parties. This is a great way to interact with customers and partners to foster new and grow existing relationships prior to the key holiday season

Visit Google Affiliate Network on stand 34 in the a4uexpo London exhibition hall.

It’s a great way for you to take in all that’s on offer at a4uexpo London and plan the sessions and networking events you want to attend.

If you haven’t yet registered there’s still time and if you need help convincing the boss have a chat with one of our sales team who will be able to help: Mark Atherton +44 (0)117 203 3113 or Stuart Pringle +44 (0)117 203 3013.

I look forward to meeting you at the event – I’ll be on the registration desk as you enter :)

View the Brochure Online

The full publication is available to download as PDF should you prefer but be warned, it’s 76mb!

Download the Brochure PDF – 76mb