Marketing Over Milkshakes

CJ’s Linda O’Connell: Does Affiliate Marketing Need a Rebrand? How Influencer Commerce Became Performance Marketing and What AI Means for Publishers

Is affiliate marketing overdue a rebrand? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Linda O’Connell, Senior Vice President of UK and Ireland at CJ, to explore how affiliate marketing, influencer commerce, content publishers and AI-powered discovery are reshaping performance marketing. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Linda has spent more than 20 years at CJ, one of the biggest and most established affiliate networks in the world, helping brands grow through performance-led partnerships across retail, travel, tech and ecommerce. In this conversation, she shares her perspective on how the affiliate industry has evolved from voucher codes and cashback into a far broader ecosystem that now includes influencers, content commerce, card-linked offers, creator partnerships and AI-driven product discovery. We go deep on why the term “affiliate” may no longer reflect the true value of the channel, why brands should stop treating affiliate as a silo, and how the smartest marketers are now using it as a strategic growth lever across the full customer journey. Linda explains how CJ thinks about connected commerce, why publishers are becoming even more valuable in an LLM-driven world, and how content sites are increasingly shaping what consumers discover through AI search experiences. KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 – Why affiliate marketing may need a different name 01:10 – Linda’s background, Dublin life and the CJ introduction 06:16 – Linda O’Connell’s 20-year journey at CJ and the scale of the business 07:36 – How big CJ is, major global brands and what makes long-term client retention work 10:00 – Why the best affiliate partnerships behave like extensions of the brand team 13:30 – Building a senior leadership career while raising three boys 15:10 – Being the first woman at CJ to go on maternity leave and shaping family policies 18:53 – International growth, relocating back to Dublin and making career progression work 21:28 – Stepping into leadership, remote management and overcoming imposter syndrome 23:53 – Balancing work, motherhood and identity beyond your career 26:02 – Burnout, overwork and why unplugging matters for high performers 27:55 – The early days of CJ, startup energy and the evolution of affiliate marketing 30:04 – How publisher types changed from voucher codes to a much broader partnership mix 32:43 – Why networks helped build the affiliate industry and still drive innovation today 35:25 – Consumer behaviour, influencer growth and the changing role of publishers 37:12 – What CJ means by connected commerce 39:18 – Why many brands still misunderstand affiliate’s role in the wider media mix 40:57 – TikTok Shop, halo effects and how one channel can improve performance elsewhere 45:00 – Amazon, attribution and why brands need to follow customer behaviour 47:53 – How CJ trains teams to communicate an evolving performance marketing story 50:00 – CJ’s global footprint, growth markets and expansion opportunities 54:00 – CGU, industry events and why relationship building still matters 1:02:31 – Women in Affiliate, representation and supporting female leadership 1:07:13 – Imposter syndrome, ambition and advice for women building careers in the industry 1:09:43 – Should influencer marketing now sit inside affiliate? 1:12:05 – Affiliate’s reputation problem and why the industry may be its own worst enemy 1:15:00 – Why Linda sees affiliate as performance marketing, not just last click 1:18:37 – The rise of content commerce and why publishers matter more than ever 1:22:55 – AI search, LLM citations and how content publishers are winning visibility 1:24:46 – ChatGPT, monetisation and why affiliate could play a major role in AI commerce 1:25:49 – Quick fire: career growth, leadership and what brands are still missing 1:32:45 – The single biggest opportunity most brands are overlooking right now

Redbrain CEO Jared Owen: How Google Shopping CSS Drives £1BN+ in Sales, Why Most Brands Misunderstand Cannibalisation and What AI Means for Ecommerce

What if one of the biggest untapped growth opportunities in ecommerce was hiding in plain sight inside Google Shopping? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we sit down with Jared Owen, CEO of Redbrain, to unpack how CSS, Google Shopping, affiliate attribution and AI-driven product discovery are reshaping ecommerce growth for brands and retailers. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Redbrain is one of the biggest success stories in the affiliate and performance marketing space. The business processes billions of product offers every day, works with over 12,000 retailers, is eBay’s largest CPA partner in Europe, and last year alone drove more than £1 billion in sales through Google for its retail partners. Jared explains how Redbrain evolved from a price comparison and content arbitrage background into one of the most important players in comparison shopping services, and why CPA-led Google Shopping is still widely misunderstood by brands. We go deep into the real mechanics of CSS, including what comparison shopping services actually do, why the “no cannibalisation” pitch is often oversimplified, how brands should think about cost of sale versus incrementality, and why transparency matters more than ever. Jared also shares sharp insight into feed optimisation, attribution, affiliate innovation, Google’s dominance, AI-powered commerce, LLM search behaviour and why brands need to stop relying solely on marketplaces like Amazon if they want to build long-term customer value. KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 – Selling helicopters, £300k watches and the scale of Redbrain 01:05 – Introduction to Jared Owen, Redbrain and £1BN+ in Google-driven sales 02:32 – The Redbrain origin story and Doug Scott’s startup-style environment 06:46 – What Redbrain actually does and how CSS works in Google Shopping 10:23 – The European legislation that opened Google Shopping to CSS partners 15:11 – Cannibalisation, incrementality and the truth about CSS performance 22:19 – What makes Redbrain different from other CSS providers 23:39 – Transparency, dashboards and solving the CSS black box problem 24:53 – Why some retailers can scale without running their own Google ads 32:53 – Why too many CSS partners can damage performance 36:11 – How Redbrain decides whether a retailer is worth testing 39:18 – Expensive products, luxury clicks and strange things sold through the model 45:27 – AI, trust, creators and the future of ecommerce discovery 50:17 – LLMs, product research and what happens next to search traffic 55:19 – Will Google still dominate product search in 10 to 15 years? 58:33 – Where the affiliate industry fits into AI-powered commerce 1:00:18 – Why outcomes-based marketing is becoming more important than ever 1:06:16 – Attribution problems, GA4 and why affiliate still gets misunderstood 1:13:50 – Why CSS should sit closer to the internal paid media team 1:17:01 – Hiring, customer success and scaling Redbrain’s growth 1:18:28 – Leadership, pressure and the reality of being a CEO 1:30:09 – When CSS does and does not work for retailers 1:34:20 – Amazon dependency, brand-owned growth and the future of ecommerce 1:52:03 – The single biggest opportunity most brands are still missing

How AI Will Reshape Affiliate Marketing and Partnership Growth with Anthony Clements, Country Manager (UK) at Impact

Affiliate marketing is entering its biggest transformation in over a decade. In this episode, we sit down with Anthony Clements, Country Manager at Impact, to explore how partnership marketing, influencer commerce and AI-driven discovery are reshaping the affiliate ecosystem. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Drawing on more than 20 years in the industry, Anthony breaks down the three major shifts that have defined affiliate marketing so far, from search and desktop commerce, to mobile and social, and now the next wave: agentic AI and large language models changing how customers search, discover and buy online. The conversation goes deep on why last-click CPA models no longer tell the full story, how creators and content publishers drive value beyond clicks, and why brands must rethink how they measure and reward performance marketing. We also explore Impact’s role as one of the world’s leading partnership marketing platforms, operating across 20+ countries and processing billions of partner touchpoints annually. Topics include creator monetisation, influencer marketing, loyalty and referral models, AI-powered discovery, attribution challenges, and what ecommerce brands need to do now to stay competitive as search traffic declines and AI-driven commerce accelerates. KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 – The Evolution of Affiliate Marketing & Rise of Agentic AI 04:02 – Personal Reputation and Industry Reflections 06:47 – Impact’s Technology and Marketing Philosophy 08:32 – Growth and Challenges in Influencer & Creator Marketing 12:34 – Referral and Loyalty Marketing Insights 15:04 – Professionalisation and Major Shifts in Affiliate Partnerships 22:51 – Future-Proofing Affiliate & Influencer Attribution with AI 24:11 – Building Sustainable Teams & Leadership in Affiliate Marketing 34:58 – Case Studies: Scaling Influencer Marketing and Transactional Insights 36:03 – Rethinking How We Measure Marketing Value 46:07 – Compliance, Curiosity & Industry Pitfalls 48:16 – Navigating Uncertainty & Career Growth 54:40 – Advice for the Next Generation of Leaders

Will AI Change Shopping Forever? Pocket-lint Founder Stuart Miles on Affiliate Marketing, AI Commerce and the Future of Digital Publishing

What does the future of shopping, media and affiliate marketing actually look like in an AI-driven world? In this episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes, we are joined by Stuart Miles - founder of Pocket-lint and Squirrel - to unpack the evolution of affiliate commerce, publisher monetisation, tech journalism, AI in media, and why trust is still the most valuable asset in digital publishing. Having spent more than 20 years at the heart of the tech industry, Stuart has seen it all up close - from the launch of Google and the rise of the iPhone to conversations with Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and some of the biggest names in global technology. He now brings that experience into Squirrel, a platform helping publishers automate product feeds, price comparison, affiliate links, and commerce content at scale. The conversation explores how publishers can survive in a world of zero-click search, AI-generated content, shrinking editorial teams and changing consumer habits. Stuart explains why editorial trust, storytelling, and real relationships still matter more than ever, even as AI transforms how people discover, compare and buy products online. In this episode, we cover: * The journey from Pocket-lint to building Squirrel * How affiliate marketing has changed for publishers * Why trust is the foundation of commerce content * The real future of AI shopping and AI-assisted buying journeys * What publishers need to do to survive Google zero-click search * Why storytelling will matter more in the age of AI * The difference between good AI use and bad AI use * Founder lessons on decision-making, resilience and momentum * What brands are still getting wrong about outreach, PR and relationships Key Moments: 00:00 – Intro to Stuart Miles, Pocket‑lint, big tech names (Steve Jobs, Elon Musk) and the future of tech and media 05:38 – From Pocket‑lint to Squirrel: how Stuart built and sold a global tech publisher then launched affiliate tech for publishers 13:19 – Inside Squirrel: 30,000 product feeds, 13 billion offers and fixing classic affiliate problems like dead links and bad pricing 21:29 – Trust, honest reviews and content strategy: avoiding clickbait, bad influencer habits and the programmatic race to the bottom 32:24 – PR vs commerce content: how publishers monetise with affiliates while still serving readers and brands 39:10 – How publishers really use AI: good vs bad use cases in journalism, writing and operations 43:26 – Meeting Elon Musk and Steve Jobs: what top founders teach us about focus, decisions and product 48:03 – Founder mindset: resilience, failing fast, making decisions and letting go as your business scales 51:53 – Future of devices and AI: AR/VR, companion hardware, quantified self and how AI will reshape shopping 59:17 – AI in commerce and discovery: boring repeat buys vs emotional purchases and the lasting role of publishers 1:05:51 – AI coding, no‑code tools and why senior human expertise still matters in development 1:20:12 – Personal lessons: being nice, long‑term relationships, leadership as removing obstacles and networking without an agenda

From Sacked Founder To £200M IPO! How Martin Higginson Was Fired By His Board After Creating A £200M IPO… And Why He Is Now Building Huddled PLC to Take on Amazon!

How do you get fired from your own company after building a £200M IPO business… and then start again? Chairman of Huddled PLC, Martin Higginson shares how he went from launching Britain’s biggest-selling BMX magazine at 20…to scaling a mobile business to a £200 million valuation…to pioneering surplus-led e-commerce with Huddled PLC to take on Amazon! This episode of Marketing Over Milkshakes is a masterclass in entrepreneurship, marketing fundamentals, arbitrage thinking and founder resilience. If you are looking to unlock the internet’s fastest growing marketing channel, connect with the team at RevWise https://revwise.com/ Martin shares lessons from four decades of building, scaling, exiting - and rebuilding. With businesses across publishing, telecoms, premium rate competitions, mobile content, gaming, student accommodation and e-commerce it is clear how Martin has created the level of success that has resulted with his appearance on The Sunday Times Rich List. You’ll hear how Monster Mob reached a £200m valuation, what really happened when he was fired from his own company, why most founders “self-harm” successful businesses, and how Huddled PLC is now tackling surplus retail, logistics arbitrage and the cost of living crisis. In this episode you will hear: * Building and selling Britain’s biggest BMX magazine before age 21 * Why strict business plans can kill startups * The power of arbitrage in telecoms and digital businesses * Scaling Monster Mob to a £200m valuation * Getting fired from your own company and rebuilding * Premium rate competitions and early internet monetisation * The Scottish Telecom IPO and the dot-com era * Founder psychology: loneliness, pressure and resilience * Why entrepreneurs struggle to let go * Surplus retail and the Huddled PLC model * E-commerce logistics, Amazon conditioning and next-day delivery * How small brands can survive against Amazon * Reducing retail waste while protecting margin partnering with the likes of Temu * Building cooperative-style scale in modern e-commerce Key Moments: 00:00 Vegas, affiliate marketing and early premium rate competition stories 06:52 From photojournalist to launching Britain’s biggest BMX magazine 15:41 Selling his first business at 20 and lessons from early exit 18:30 The men’s magazine idea that came before its time 22:30 Premium rate competitions: the breakthrough revenue model 28:30 Outmanoeuvring competitors and scaling nationally 30:27 From weekend revenue to telecom acquisition talks 35:27 Demon Internet, arbitrage and early ISP economics 40:02 Why timing beats ideas: Malcolm Gladwell & infrastructure lessons 42:53 Avatars, online casinos and being too early to market 45:15 Launching Monster Mob and scaling to £200m valuation 48:45 Getting removed from his own company 52:23 Super Casino: live interactive TV before its time 01:02:11 Huddled PLC: surplus retail and the cost of living opportunity 01:12:57 TikTok, deal communities and performance marketing engine 01:18:33 Logistics arbitrage and competing with Amazon 01:24:10 Founder psychology: the loneliness of leadership 01:27:25 Why most entrepreneurs self-sabotage successful businesses 01:32:54 The biggest marketing opportunity brands are missing