In the agency world, your ability to drive success for a brand is make or break. The best in the business have sifted through various options to land on the perfect formula for a winning brand strategy. One of those pros is Amanda Mount, Director of Affiliate Marketing at Monks. In this episode, Todd Crawford is on a mission to learn how Amanda does it, balancing brand authenticity, content strategy, cost-effective partnerships, and the perfect ratio of influencers to affiliates among a myriad of other tactics! They cover a wide range of topics, from the cost-efficiency and built-in trust of nano and micro influencers to the unique value agencies bring through quickly testing and refining strategies for clients. Finally, they explore the foundational values that define standout programs: trust and relationship-building, emphasizing that when it comes to partnerships, that’s what it’s all about!

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

Pack your bags, we’re heading across the pond! In this episode, Todd Crawford sits down with Graeme Boase, Account Director at Growth HQ, to explore how to build an affiliate A-team and the key differences between affiliate marketing in the U.S. and the U.K. To start, they break down how the maturity of each market is shaping the role, influencing everything from affiliate manager salaries to partnership dynamics. Then, Graeme shares what it takes to succeed in the affiliate space today, highlighting essential skills like data fluency and creative content strategy. He also explains why not all affiliates should be compensated equally and how performance analytics can be leveraged to ensure fair and effective partnerships. Todd and Graeme also dive into best practices for agency and in-house collaboration, emphasizing the importance of transparency, adaptability, and avoiding a blame-game culture. To wrap up, Graeme shares his take on career growth in the affiliate industry and the growing opportunities for those who can balance both the analytical and human sides of the role.

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.

When it comes to trust, it can take years to build and seconds to break. While this might feel like common sense when it comes to consumer-brand relationships, it's possible to overlook how crucial trust is in the brand-creator relationship. With a passion for this topic backed by a deep understanding, Brianna Doe, founder of Verbatim, joins Dave to share her take on building brand-creator trust and how it’s shaping the broader creator economy. As someone who’s worked on the brand, agency, and creator side, she provides a unique perspective on the dynamic between these groups. The conversation begins with a look at content saturation and how promotional overload has amplified the need for authenticity. Dave and Brianna unpack the evolving balance of control in these partnerships as more brands begin to loosen their grip. They also explore how this shift in control is influencing compensation models, with creators now leveraging content control as a bargaining chip. With trust and control so tightly linked to performance, Brianna emphasizes the importance of aligning on KPIs before a campaign begins and why choosing a primary and secondary success metric is a great call. Finally, they close the loop with language. Brianna shares why the words we use can signal how much a brand truly respects its partners and why that distinction matters more than ever.

This podcast episode was produced by Quill.