Awin vs Partnerize

Awin Newsroom: New Executive Appointments, Major US Investment, and Platform Innovations

The Awin newsroom page has been updated with several new press releases, including the appointment of Varun Aggarwal as Chief Product & Technology Officer, Anna Jones joining the Supervisory Board, a multi-million dollar US investment announcement, and new platform features. These updates reflect significant corporate developments and product launches.

BuildLab Competition: Seven Affiliate Firms Build AI Time-Saving Tools

At PI LIVE Europe, the BuildLab competition brings together seven affiliate marketing companies to develop next-generation partnership tools that address time-consuming manual tasks, approval chasing, and data fragmentation in the affiliate channel. Teams from Tradedoubler, Awin, Impact.com, Optimise, Everflow, Adtraction, and Bravo Savings Network will build working prototypes in a single day, using AI tools, models, and MCP integrations. The winner will be announced at the AIP Summit on October 21. This initiative highlights the industry's focus on leveraging AI to streamline operations and enhance strategic work.

• PI LIVE is hosting BuildLab, a competition to create next-gen partnership tools.
• Seven companies participate: Tradedoubler, Awin, Impact.com, Optimise, Everflow, Adtraction, and Bravo Savings Network.
• Each team builds a working prototype in one day using AI tools and MCP integrations.

Awin Hires Former Amazon Exec as Chief Product & Technology Officer

Awin, a global affiliate marketing network, has appointed Varun Aggarwal as its new Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO). Previously holding leadership roles at Amazon and Checkout.com, Aggarwal will lead a unified product and technology strategy aimed at accelerating the platform's growth, with a focus on leveraging artificial intelligence. The company plans to launch new features like AI Visibility and Smart Search to help advertisers better understand and measure the impact of their affiliate partnerships across the increasingly complex customer journey. CEO Adam Ross highlighted Aggarwal's experience in scaling global commerce platforms and his expertise in product development, commerce, and AI as key assets. The move signals Awin's commitment to leading technological innovation in the partner marketing space.

• Awin appointed Varun Aggarwal as Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO).
• Aggarwal previously held leadership positions at Amazon and Checkout.com.
• Awin plans to introduce new AI-driven features, including AI Visibility and Smart Search.

Awin, CJ, Partnerize, impact.com CEOs to Map Industry's Future

The CEOs and co-founders of Awin, CJ, Partnerize, and impact.com will join forces for a keynote at PI LIVE Europe to discuss the future of the affiliate and performance marketing industry. The discussion comes as the industry faces significant shifts driven by AI, including the rise of AI shopping agents and changing customer journeys. Recent research cited in the article shows 72% of AI platform users use AI for product research, 42% of consumers use AI tools for shopping, and Mastercard predicts one in ten will routinely use AI agents to shop by 2030. The leaders will address the need for new measurement and attribution models beyond last-click, aiming to scale the industry tenfold. The keynote will be moderated by Jennifer Goodwin.

• Awin, CJ, Partnerize, and impact.com are participating in a joint keynote at PI LIVE Europe.
• The keynote features CEOs and co-founders Sean Sewell, Todd Crawford, Adam Ross, and Santi Pierini.
• The discussion aims to map out the future of the affiliate and performance industry.

Partnerize Blog: AI Rewrote How People Shop for Clothes. Your Click-Based Measurement Model Didn't Notice

The blog page now features a new article by Chrissy Kammerer (Sep 04, 2026) on how AI has changed apparel shopping and the need for updated measurement models. The page also highlights the Partnerize Lighthouse Program for AI-driven influence compensation.

Proposal: Add Contribution Metrics to Affiliate Reporting

The author argues that affiliate marketing is disadvantaged by strict deterministic (last-click) attribution compared with other channels that claim inferred influence. They propose that affiliate reporting should regularly include two numbers: deterministic tracking (clicks, coupons) and a separate contribution or influence metric (AI inference, other uncredited touchpoints). The article cites next-generation tracking technologies (examples: Partnerize, impact.com) as enablers, and notes historical call-tracking proposals (RingRevenue, now Invoca) that revealed uncredited conversions. Publishing contribution numbers to affiliates could strengthen their negotiating position and put affiliate channels on more equal footing with channels that rely on inferred attribution.

• The author proposes affiliate reports should include two numbers: deterministic tracking (clicks, coupons) and a contribution/influence number (AI inference, other uncredited touch points).
• Partnerize and impact.com are cited as providers of next-generation tracking technologies that can support the proposed reporting approach.
• Affiliate marketing commonly relies on deterministic last-click attribution, while many walled gardens use statistical models to infer influence.