A company with a global focus, Clever Advertising is comfortable with the ‘ever-changing’ regulatory environments and will continue to pursue expansion into new markets. That’s according to Marcos Oliveira, the company’s Chief Operations Officer, who spoke to SBC about the growing importance of affiliation, regulatory changes and the opportunities in new markets across the world.
SBC: Tell us about your presence in the US – how important is this market for Clever Advertising?
Ah, the American Buzz. We know what those markets can bring to the industry and we are very happy to have them back in the online gambling sphere. Currently, we are working on our 13th license, and we will continue to collect them until we have broad market coverage.
As a top-tier acquisition partner, having good legal coverage means that we can serve the acquisition needs of our partners and make full use of our advertising span. We are positive that US markets will come full force and take the top positions on the world stage, and on our list.
SBC: In your opinion, what are the key challenges facing affiliates in the US?
I see 3 main challenges: marketing spending attribution, legal requirements, and consumer behavior. The United States has a particular way to face the acquisition budget. They tend to redirect less marketing budget to the affiliate channel. Whilst other mature markets see the affiliate channel as premium and essential, the US prefers a more traditional approach.
Legal requirements. They go from taxation to advertising restrictions and make the workload so extreme that many affiliates cannot bear it.
Last, is consumer behavior. Each state has a plethora of intricate habits, spending, and preferences that are complex to understand for a normal affiliate.
SBC: How do you think commercial models will evolve as more states in the US, and provinces in Canada, begin to open up?
I strongly think that the affiliate channel will have a crucial role in the acquisition. After the PASPA dissolution, we view the USA as a multi-market due to individual state regulations.
The affiliate channel will be one of the most important acquisition channels as brands work market share, and position themselves in the consumers’ minds. Brand segregation by the state in an affordable way is a wieldy path to the affiliates.
SBC: Clever Advertising is operational in a number of markets now. Are there any new markets in the pipeline for the rest of this year?
Definitely! We are always onboarding new traffic sources from new regulated markets. Our Marketing and Legal departments are very active, and since we are a global company, we are constantly shifting efforts from one end to another.
Besides the United States, we are very happy to follow LATAM and African markets. They are regulating at a very fast pace, and we are thrilled to be able to perform as well as we have been.
SBC: As more mature markets begin to crack down on affiliates, how do you plan to adapt to the ever-changing regulatory environment?
We are comfortable with the ‘ever-changing’ regulatory environment. Clever Advertising is a regulated, lean, and agile company. Licensed in the US, Romania, and Greece, which are markets that require affiliates to have a license.
One of our core strengths is the ability to shift traffic efforts in a matter of days. We lean on regulatory bodies to lead us on the compliant and player protection route; thus we have no deep impact when regulations are imposed or revised.