Rakuten Rewards' Chief Commercial Officer Carl Kalapesi highlights a Prohaska Consulting research report which indentified challenges that come in measuring affiliate marketing. The data tells a cautionary tale: when brands pull back on affiliate programs, customers go straight to competitors — and many never fully recover their lost sales or market position, even after course-correcting. Marketers need to be sure of results of these Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) before making detrimental decisions.

To make more informed decisions, Carl recommends three best practices:

  • Understand the metrics and inputs behind your MMM.
  • Validate model findings with real-world testing.
  • Support industry efforts to improve measurement standards and data quality.

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Watch the full video to hear Carl's insights here.