Personally i use very little, if not virtually none, of the marketing info/tools provided by the programs. I prefer to hop around doing my own research basing a lot of what i say on player opinions and my own reviews.
I think the information you can’t get without asking is far more valuable. What un-announced incentives do VIPs get, at what level, how quickly are payouts processed, reverse withdrawal times etc. That said, this “background” information could/should be easier to obtain but if you can name one program that tells affiliates its reverse Withdrawal time by default, i’ll be impressed.
Player retention and “unique” content is the key for me and you only get that by asking. Freebies and standard content are very secondary although “automated” information is always handy, so long as it doesn’t give way to duplicate content penalties and can be flexibly integrated.
Cheers
Simmo!