With the introduction of the Brand Directory, Marketplace Partners can now browse brands on the TUNE Marketplace and request to connect with them. In turn, brands can share offers with the Marketplace Partners. Video overview:
Brand Directory
Marketplace Partners may access the Brand Directory by clicking on the “TUNE Marketplace” menu item in the left nav bar in the Partner Interface.
The Brand Directory displays all TUNE clients that have opted into the TUNE Marketplace and are willing to field relationship requests from Marketplace Partners.
Partners can filter brands by category or brand vertical. Clicking on a brand will reveal a description provided by the brand, the brand’s website, and an email address provided by the brand.
When interviewing Marketplace Partners, they communicated the need to vet a brand before an offer is set up and accepted. Marketplace Partners are looking to understand the following:
-
Whether the brand can take on the potential traffic volume (and subsequent payout) that larger Marketplace Partners can drive.
-
Whether the brand’s products and services are a good fit for the partner’s audience.
The email address allows the partner and brand to connect and determine a good fit as needed. Once a good fit is established, the brand and partner can work through terms and offer parameters.
Brands Opting into the TUNE Marketplace
Brands that wish to work through the TUNE Marketplace can use the opt-in toggle within their account. This may be accessed under the “TUNE Marketplace” menu item and then the “Settings” sub-menu item in the main left nav bar of the admin interface.
Filling in the brand profile and toggling the opt-in switch sets the brand as active on TUNE Marketplace.
TUNE Network Brand Profile
The brand may control its profile in the TUNE Marketplace Brand Directory.
The brand can be defined as:
-
A description of the brand and its program
-
Brand website
-
General commission information
-
Contact email address (this is the email address Marketplace Partners will use to contact a brand)
Brands may also hide their profile from the Brand Directory while continuing to work with Marketplace Partners. This addressed a potential scenario where a brand may no longer want to field requests to work with additional Marketplace Partners but wants to maintain any existing Marketplace Partner relationships.
Marketplace Partners Connecting with Brands
Marketplace Partners may request to work with a brand by clicking the “Connect” button on the brand profile within the Brand Directory. Once this step is complete, the brand must approve the connection. (The partner may also cancel the request.)
The partner can also see which brands they have an active connection with.
Brands Manage Marketplace Partner Connection Requests
When a Marketplace Partner requests to connect with a brand, the brand can accept or deny those requests from the admin interface. By accessing the “TUNE Marketplace” left-nav item and the “Partner Requests” sub-menu item, the brand can view incoming connection requests from partners, established connections with Marketplace Partners, and rejected connection requests. The brand may also terminate a connection. Terminating a connection removes all offers from the Marketplace Partner account.
Note: While offers will no longer appear in the Marketplace Partner account, tracking links remain active, and partners can continue to drive traffic to the offer until the brand either removes partner access from the offer or sets it to inactive.
Once a brand accepts a partner connection request, the brand can then share an offer with the partner.
Brands Sharing Offers
When a brand enables the TUNE Marketplace feature, it will have a new setting in the offer details view of the admin interface that allows the brand to share an offer with TUNE Marketplace.
Checking the box makes the offer available to partners on the TUNE Marketplace. At this point, the offer behaves as it would for any partner type. The brand may approve or deny the Marketplace Partner access to the offer, create partner-specific payouts, and so on. All offer features will function for Marketplace Partners just as they will for direct partners.