Affiliate Summit in 2025: A Recap and Look Ahead

Funnily enough, this is my first write-up of an Affiliate Summit event, even though I’ve been attending the West and East coast versions of the show since 2011.

Needless to say: I’ve been to a lot of Affiliate Summits.

So why write about my experience this time?

Well, part of it is a subtle nudge from our marketing team to add some “SEO juice” to the website. More importantly, though, this felt like the right moment to share a perspective from someone who’s been part of the affiliate marketing community for well over a decade. 

And that’s just it. Affiliate Summit has always been a staple in our industry. If you’ve been in affiliate marketing for any length of time, chances are you’ve either attended or at least heard about it. Some of us even count our time in the industry not in years, but in Affiliate Summit shows. It almost feels like a badge of honor to say you’ve attended 10 shows, or 15, or 20.

With that in mind, here’s what I wanted to share from this year’s Affiliate Summit East:

• Why do I attend?
• What’s changed over the years?
• What did we hear at the show?
• Sip N’ Send
• Final Thoughts

Why Do I Attend?

I run two affiliate marketing software companies, CAKE and TUNE, and a lot of our clients consider going to Affiliate Summit each year. So for me, attending is a no-brainer. It’s one of the few opportunities where so many of our customers and partners are all in one place.

Attending gives me the chance to strengthen relationships and create meaningful touchpoints with our clients. I also get to say “Thanks” in fun ways, like hosting networking happy hour events adjacent to the conference space. (And yes, I’m planning to be in Vegas this January for ASW 2026.)

I value this conference because it centralizes my customers. If our customers shifted away or stopped attending altogether, I’d likely follow suit. It’s as simple as that.

What’s Changed Over the Years?

The show has changed a lot in the last 15 years.

I could talk about the choice in venue, but I’d rather not torment that deceased equine. The Marriott and Times Square are not my favorite.

What I will say is that it’s become more difficult for the general community to congregate at the show, so plan ahead. Security is stricter, and access is more limited (and more expensive) than it used to be. For example, I know several clients in NY who would love to drop by and mingle, but that’s not possible without a badge. Instead, we have to meet up somewhere down the road rather than on the conference floor. If you expect to be in the same situation, pick a nearby coffee shop or bar and head there early to secure a meeting spot before your contacts arrive. You don’t want to be left scrambling and changing plans on the fly when time on the floor is ticking away.

The audience has evolved, too. When CAKE first started exhibiting back in 2011, most of the booths were dominated by affiliate networks. I’d look across the floor and see 20 or 30 of my customers. Now, I’m lucky to bump into 10 affiliate networks. Clearly, there’s been a shift in the market, but what isn’t clear yet to me is the replacement for this audience. While we’re seeing stronger representation from call tracking companies and payment vendors, the mix is still changing. I’m interested to see where it goes from here.

Finally, the ownership of Affiliate Summit and how it’s transformed the event is something we often discuss in our downtime at the conference. It’s become obvious over the past few years that there is now more focus on monetization and less on community. This wasn’t the case when the founders, Shawn Collins and Missy Ward, were running the show (literally and figuratively) from 2003 to 2020. In 2017, Clarion Events, which was acquired by the investment firm Blackstone earlier that year, purchased Affiliate Summit. They eventually took over all operations from Missy and Shawn in 2020. While capital investment isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does fundamentally change an organization. In this case, I think it’s helped turn the show into a polished, well-oiled machine. I also think it’s left customer service feeling less personal and historical attendance less important. So, no matter whether you’re a conference vet or going for the first time next year, the same advice applies: build relationships with the people who run the show, and make sure they know you.

What Did We Hear at the Show?

I’ll admit that a lot of my best conversations didn’t happen in a session or on the conference floor. They happened over drinks, at dinners, and especially at the happy hour we co-hosted with Optizmo and Atwave.

Here are a few themes that stood out:

1. Email is alive and well.
   Email has truly stood the test of time, and it continues to deliver for every brand I’ve spoken with. When I look at the successful, long-term customers I’ve had the opportunity to partner with over the years, email is always a major part of their marketing mix.
   
2. Handshakes still drive the industry and are the most valuable thing we can do.
   Technology matters, but introductions fuel the fire of growth. As tech providers, CAKE and TUNE sit in that rare position where it’s possible to observe hundreds of companies leveraging our tools. They’re always on the hunt for new partnerships, which can be just as valuable as the software itself. We can’t downplay that.
   
3. Fraud prevention is critical.
   Again, as I look at the long-time customers who were able to thrive through recessions and shifts in vertical focus, they all leverage some form of fraud detection and prevention platform. In today’s environment where margins are tight and competition is everywhere, fraud protection is a must have.
   
4. Services verticals continue to prove their strength.
   Financial services and home services are among the top verticals where we’re seeing tremendous growth. These verticals are dynamic, and success requires a certain level of sophistication with the tech stack — lead distribution software, for example — and personnel to manage the program.

Sip & Send

A quick highlight: our Sip & Send networking happy hour event. Partnering with Optizmo and Atwave to bring people together was a real bright spot of the week. These informal meetings with players from across the industry often spark the most valuable conversations. It’s a reminder that while the conference floor has its challenges, the connections happening around the show are what make Affiliate Summit worthwhile.

Final Thoughts

Affiliate Summit East and West are important, valuable conferences to our industry. For a lot of us, they are the two primary shows we must attend, and everything else is planned around them. I applaud Missy and Shawn for building that kind of community and tradition.

That said, the show is evolving. As the conference progresses in its monetization and commercialization, I will begin to question where else I should be. For now, though, I attend because my clients are there, and I’m always open to networking with newer companies looking for attribution and tracking support. We’re good at that!