Interview with Callie Dove – Performance Marketing Manager at TBD.Media

Company: TBD.Media
Interviewee: Callie Dove
Interview Date: 02/28/2024
LinkedIn: Click Here
Affiliate Program: Click Here

In an exclusive interview presented by The Inside Bet, we had the privilege of conversing with Callie Dove, Performance Marketing Manager at TBD.Media. As we delve into the dynamic world of performance marketing, Callie graciously shares her valuable insights on the latest industry trends and growth strategies.

Edward: Could you please share your background and how you initially entered the iGaming industry?

Yes, it was all quite random and getting into iGaming wasn’t intentional at all! In 2006, I moved to Tel Aviv for 18 months, and after getting a work visa, I looked for employment for English speakers. I started working for a group of well-known online casinos in their customer support department. If I’m honest, at the time, online gambling was a whole new concept to me, but in that role, you quickly learn. 

I finished my time at this company when I was working in the VIP department, and when I returned to the UK, I decided to make a switch to the marketing side of things – and found an affiliate (poker) account manager position in London. At that time, online poker was huge, and I started from the bottom. Today, I work with TBD.Media in their performance marketing department, where we try to not solely ‘just’ be the affiliate manager; we tend to be involved throughout all the steps and across multiple channels.

Edward: Reflecting on your journey from your entry into the industry to where we are today, what are the most significant concerns you have regarding the iGaming sector?

I have a few concerns that have come about in recent years. First off, there’s regulation, and then there’s over-regulation. I’ve seen the iGaming industry go from a new and immature market with barely any rules, licenses, or regulatory bodies to what it is now. Don’t get me wrong – licensing and regulation are in everyone’s favour, especially the punter, but at times, with such strict new rules being imposed by certain regulators, there’s the risk of over-regulation to the opposite effect.

This can lead to a couple of issues that are not good for the industry: the first is that overregulation can push some operators too far to compete in the already saturated market, and they end up not turning a profit and closing in a short space of time. This isn’t good for them of course, or the affiliate. 

Secondly, my main concern is that over-regulation can take away players’ choices. If a seasoned gambler who can afford to participate in their hobby is restricted and limited, for example, on how much they can deposit, how much they can bet per spin or cannot play as they wish on regulated sites – the risk is that they find themselves playing on unlicensed/unregulated sites – which is precisely what regulatory licensing is trying to avoid in the first place. 

Also, lately, you can’t help but see many more unlicensed ‘grey’ brands marketing towards regulated markets – which almost confirms my concerns. Of course, it’s not as black and white as that, but I’m sure you get my point.

Edward: What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an iGaming Affiliate Manager? In your opinion, what are some effective strategies or tools that could help overcome these challenges? For example, how do you distinguish legitimate affiliates from the fraudulent ones?

The main challenge for me is budgeting. If we’re working with newer brands on a smaller, conservative budget, it can be hard to work with larger affiliate partners for volume. However, we believe in a ‘slow and steady’ approach to spend budgets wisely while still growing the brand name in a healthy way.

When it comes to fraudulent activity, this comes down to a lot of the time – experience. What’s really helpful nowadays is there are a lot of forums and Skype groups that help affiliate account managers communicate. I think affiliate marketing managers help each other out and share insights a lot more freely than they used to. I think this is great to see and of course, it’s in the best interest of operators as it can help avoid fraud campaigns and weed out partners with no interest in your ROI. 

Edward: When evaluating potential affiliates, what is your perspective on verifying an affiliate’s past performance? Do you rely on screenshots they provide, or do you have other methods of assessment in place?

The performance marketing team at TBD.Media are working for multiple brands globally, so we each have a very decent understanding of most markets when it comes to typical value, standard product commercials and expectations.  We use many insight tools, including my favourite – DeepCI.com which helps you drill down and find out a lot about websites, including market share in many GEOS, traffic share, related sites and PPC bidding. Also, as mentioned, when agreeing to a new deal, I personally ensure everything is crystal clear about the listing and exposure we agree on, and I always monitor and evaluate it closely during the month.  

Edward: It appears that many affiliates are now requesting listing fees and high CPA’s, which seem to have become an industry standard. Do you find it difficult to determine who can justify the fees they charge and who overpromises and under delivers?

Yes, but it’s essential to undertake your own due diligence and research when offering higher-than-average deals. We always have IO’s, T&Cs and DD steps in place and everything is clear before starting campaigns. Also, it does become a little easier to determine deals from an experience point of view – after a while, you know what to look for, whether it could work with a particular brand and sometimes it can be going on your ‘gut feeling’ too! 

At the end of the day, a deal needs to work for both sides of the partnership – there’s no point working with affiliate partners if the deal/commercials always send you into the negative. I’d rather not go down that route just to be featured on a specific site. Also, as briefly mentioned, if you do agree to high CPA’ s and flat fees/tenancies, it’s imperative to monitor deals daily to ensure everything is going as planned. If it’s not, you have the opportunity to make changes, whether that is to try a different landing page, tweak the sign-up offer or speak to the affiliate for feedback and pointers to make it a success.

Edward: How do you think a platform like Affiliate Roulette can benefit affiliate managers in the iGaming industry? Can you share any experiences or insights on how Affiliate Roulette has influenced your approach to affiliate management?

Absolutely – I think AffiliateRoulette.com is a terrific initiative that can help affiliate managers find out about new affiliates in different geos, but you also help newer operators share their brand with affiliates alike.

Edward: In closing, what would you like to see offered from Affiliate Roulette that would help you have outstanding performance in 2024? 

Perhaps it’s already on the list, but it would be good to receive frequent newsletters offering industry insights and changes – especially where regulation is concerned, as well as notifications of new operators and affiliates who have joined AffiliateRoueltte.com. Fun-to-read articles would be good, too – it’s nice to find out more behind the scenes whether that’s getting to know affiliates or employees at different iGaming companies. 

That said, I do think you have most things covered, though and have made it easy for both operators and affiliates to get the most out of your product.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Callie Dove, Performance Marketing Manager at TBD.Media, for graciously sharing her invaluable insights and expertise with us today. Her thoughtful perspectives on performance marketing are truly enlightening.

Additionally, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated audience at The Inside Bet, in collaboration with Affiliate Roulette, for your unwavering support. Your continued engagement and enthusiasm are highly valued. As we embark on this exciting journey in the realm of performance marketing, we promise to deliver more engaging interviews and content to empower your exploration.

Thank you for being an integral part of our community. You can also explore TBD.Media’s performance marketing initiatives directly on our website by clicking here.