What is your craziest affiliate story?
Difficult to answer. During my time as an affiliate manager, and then head of affiliates from 2004(ish) it was a revenue-sharing business, which meant working closely with affiliates, swapping out offers, changing banners and always looking for an extra point or two on the click to first ratio. It was all about creating new revenue streams and optimising campaigns, which mostly led to success for both the affiliate and casino. All good fun! I once finished an affiliate party in London and ended up lost in Eastern Europe a few hours later with an ex affiliate. We were stopped by the police on a golf cart driving through a harbour on the way to the next bar. There have also been catamaran trips and plenty of sailing adventures.
How was the ICE/iGB Affiliate show for you and your team?
ICE was fantastic. We met up with most of our game studio partners to update them on our development roadmap for 2023 and present our new marketing initiatives. We’re implementing these new initiatives to expand the reach of our First Look Games Premium service. It’s a simple concept that solves a real problem. It was more about letting people know than needing to sell. It’s always a turning point when customers start coming to you. This year, we had a fair bit of that. For iGB Affiliate, it’s about connecting and reconnecting with contacts and reminding them that if they want assets and game info direct from multiple studios, they only need register with us to get them. For us, both conferences had a huge amount of value and were highly successful.
What’s your ethos at First Look Games and what are your main aims?
Our ethos is to adapt our product to ensure First Look Games is an essential part of every game studio’s marketing strategy. We aim to give the industry the most comprehensive platform to connect game studios with affiliates. We are constantly evolving, and improving the platform and our pricing. The studio wins by getting greater visibility for their games, and having a higher chance of players converting on their title. The affiliate wins by getting direct access to game infoand assets, and the operator wins by getting better-qualified traffic.
How do you look back at your time working in Israel?
With a big smile and fond memories. The intensity was a bit of a shock at first but the work ethic I witnessed was amazing. It’s no surprise why there are so many success stories that have started with a small office in or around the Tel Aviv area.
What was it like being in Argentina during the World Cup win?
I’d say I hit the jackpot. Complete euphoric chaos. Everyone on the streets, flag in one hand, beer in the other, singing. It was such a joyous experience.
Who serves the best beer in the world?
Wetherspoons; it’s just a shame they don’t have pool tables!
