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I agree with the Professor, this has been extremely distracting and I think we all need to get back to business.
One question that I think still needs to be cleared up so everyone can put this to rest is whether or not Greg Powell worked for Effective Media Group while he was the affiliate manager for Cardspike. This is a question a lot of people seem to be asking, and it would be nice to have this clarified. I believe this is the crux of the issue.
Looking forward to London.
Thanks Bryan
Yes Greg Powell was the affiliate manager assigned to manage the Cardspike.com account and he was employed by EMG. Unfortunatly, he is no longer employed by the company.
Couple of quick things to note:
1.At CAP and at PAP Greg Powell was listed as the Cardpike.com affiliate manager and made numerous posts so there should not have been any confusion about his working in that capacity.
2. EMG provides consulting services and acts as a master affiliate. Payments to players and affiliates were performed by Cardspike.com in conjuction with the software supplier. Greg, Peter and EMG were not responsible for issuing payments or any delays that DID occur.
3. I believe Greg and Peter tried their hardest to make the best of an uncomfortable situation and service affiliates and get them paid. I know EMG did, but internal data issues at Cardspike.com prevented that from happening.
4. It does appear that CardSpike.com has begun issuing payments to affiliates so hopefully whatever data problems there were have been corrected. Unfortunately due to the slow payments to affiliates and no payment to EMG we can no longer recommend or certify that brand until they are on an even keel for at least a year.
I hope this is helpful and answers any questions affiliates might have.
At last the truth – I just hope people listen and read and repeat!
Thanks Warren – appreciate the info.
Hoping you can explain a bit more; I’m not up on some of the lingo here. What’s a master affiliate?
WarrenCAP;194290 wrote:…
2. EMG provides consulting services and acts as a master affiliate. Payments to players and affiliates were performed by Cardspike.com in conjuction with the software supplier. Greg, Peter and EMG were not responsible for issuing payments or any delays that DID occur…Thanks!
Remember Adrian with Paymaster? Used to have Micki’s casinos and the Jackpot factory before Brightshare?
He was a master affiliate, it is like an affiliate who has other affiliates under him in tiers. Makes a site for affs and signs them up. Takes care of them. But s/he doesn’t do the payments or anything like that.
It’s really quite common. I think Pearl gaming was a master affiliate for playtechs, correct me if I am wrong.
Hi Dom,
I was asking Warren how they define this as “Master Affiliate” in this situation. But thanks for your input.
Is a master affiliate in charge of managing the affiliate program? Or is he/she a consultant? If it’s a consultant, why do they call themselves Affiliate Managers?
Does this apply to Absolute Slots? The affiliate manager (Benjamin) has an email address from EMG as well. I’m just trying to make sense of this and I’m hoping CAP can explain this once and for all so we can move on.
Casinomeister;194324 wrote:Hi Dom,I was asking Warren how they define this as “Master Affiliate” in this situation. But thanks for your input.
Is a master affiliate in charge of managing the affiliate program? Or is he/she a consultant? If it’s a consultant, why do they call themselves Affiliate Managers?
Does this apply to Absolute Slots? The affiliate manager (Benjamin) has an email address from EMG as well. I’m just trying to make sense of this and I’m hoping CAP can explain this once and for all so we can move on.
Would it be possible for Warren or Lou define what exactly a “Master Affiliate” is in the context of Cardspike and with Absolute Slots?
I’m assuming that Absolute Slots is a CAP Master Affiliate program as well. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I’m trying to wrap my head around how a master affiliate differs from an affiliate manager. If you click the “Affiliates” link at Absolute Slots and Cardspike you go to the Master Affiliate website, right? So these would appear (to me and everyone else) as the actual affiliate program.
And why would a “Master Affiliate” program need to be CAP certified? Or pay for its certification for that matter? Or is it different somehow?
Hi Bryan
The term “Master affiliate” is a basic description of one of the services EMG can offer to a client when EMG are retained as consultants. EMG develops and can manange their affiliate program. EMG provides seasoned affiliate manager(s) who work exclusively on behalf of the respective client. The program handles player support and all payments for all players and affiliates. EMG receives a performance based consultant fee on what the affiliate program generates.
CAP and PAP are owned and operated by Affiliate media inc. which is a wholly different company. CAP and PAP do not act as master affiliates. A standard certification fee is paid for the listings of EMG clients. In practice this fee is then passed along to the client by EMG for payment.
Most legitimate Casinos and Online Gaming Operators are listed at CAP. EMG’s clients are no different. They want to be a part of the commmunity so they can grow their business. Certifcation grants them access and a presence on the CAP/PAP forums, their staff is admitted free at CAP events, they can appear in our publications and they get certified partner pricing on sponsorships at CAP Euro, CAP Down and CAP Springbreak.
Hope this clarification helps.
Professor;194450 wrote:Hi BryanThe term “Master affiliate” is a basic description of one of the services EMG can offer to a clint when they are retained as consultants. EMG develops and can manange their affiliate program. EMG provide seasoned affiliate manager(s) who work exclusively on behalf of the respective client. The program handles player support and all payments for all players and affiliates. EMG receives a performance based consultant fee on what the affiliate program generates.
CAP and PAP are owned and operated by Affiliate media inc. which is a wholly different company. CAP and PAP do not act as master affiliates. A standard certification fee is paid for the listings of EMG clients. In practice this fee is then passed along to the client by EMG for payment.
Most legitimate Casinos and Online Gaming Operators are listed at CAP. EMG’s clients are no different. They want to be a part of the commmunity so they can grow their business. Certifcation grants them access and a presence on the CAP/PAP forums, their staff is admitted free at CAP events, they can appear in our publications and they get certified partner pricing on sponsorships at CAP Euro, CAP Down and CAP Springbreak.
Hope this clarification helps.
Thanks Lou, it’s clarified, but somewhat convoluted.
The problem that many persons – to include myself – are having with this is how this appears. Since both you and Warren “appear” to run CAP and PAP, then it appears that you run EMG as well. This is how everyone (well, most everyone) perceives the relationship. I understand how the differing companies are set up – but that is a “behind the scenes” thing that not many pay attention to. They think CAP and PAP are connected to EMG which manages Cardspike’s and Absolute Slots’ affiliate programs.
Before I started CAP, and to this day, I own and operate over 200 retail and gaming affiliate portals too. So we can add that in the mix.
I also own and manage commercial, retail and residential properties too.
I am surprised that people would be dumfounded that someone who has worked in the affiliate marketing industry for ten years might offer consulting services in addition to the other things he does or why that is somehow sinister as suggested by recent videos and threads elsewhere.
Lets face it after, UIGEA many of us saw our incomes plummet by a large percentage. I have a family to feed and fairly high expenses to maintain, so naturally I looked at ways of diversifying and replacing that lost income. Frankly I dont think offering consulting services as being a bad way of staying afloat personally.
Also bear in mind I draw a salary for what I do at CAP from Affiliate Media Inc. which is growing into a large company. So does Warren. Its not like the two of us split the certification fees that come in down the middle and whistle all the way to the bank. Our overhead is enormus and we are building for the future so our salaries are conservative.
Listen, everyone here has known me for years and thousands of you have been to our conferences and events. You have seen what CAP does and how we always strive to improve things for affiliates and the industry. You have seen how we help each other when the chips are down and how we rise to the occasion when there is something that needs to be corrected. Why are we wasting so much time and energy on all of this crap? Havent we all got better things to do? I know I do and CAP does.
CAPTV and MyCAP are just the begining of all the wonderful things we have planned for 2009 and I would rather work on those initiatives.
Professor;194476 wrote:Before I started CAP, and to this day, I own and operate over 200 retail and gaming affiliate portals too. So we can add that in the mix.I also own and manage commercial, retail and residential properties too.
I am surprised that people would be dumfounded that someone who has worked in the affiliate marketing industry for ten years might offer consulting services in addition to the other things he does or why that is somehow sinister as suggested by recent videos and threads elsewhere.
Lets face it after, UIGEA many of us saw our incomes plummet by a large percentage. I have a family to feed and fairly high expenses to maintain, so naturally I looked at ways of diversifying and replacing that lost income. Frankly I dont think offering consulting services as being a bad way of staying afloat personally.
Also bear in mind I draw a salary for what I do at CAP from Affiliate Media Inc. which is growing into a large company. So does Warren. Its not like the two of us split the certification fees that come in down the middle and whistle all the way to the bank. Our overhead is enormus and we are building for the future so our salaries are conservative.
Listen, everyone here has known me for years and thousands of you have been to our conferences and events. You have seen what CAP does and how we always strive to improve things for affiliates and the industry. You have seen how we help each other when the chips are down and how we rise to the occasion when there is something that needs to be corrected. Why are we wasting so much time and energy on all of this crap? Havent we all got better things to do? I know I do and CAP does.
CAPTV and MyCAP are just the begining of all the wonderful things we have planned for 2009 and I would rather work on those initiatives.
Hi Lou,
Thanks – but I’m just trying to figure out what’s up – and convey how this appears. I don’t think being transparent is anybody’s waste of time.
If it seemed that I was running a casino via another business entity, and had that casino listed on my accredited list, I would have been publicly drawn and quartered, and then stomped on a couple of times for good measure. It would put a major wrench in the gears of Accreditation at Casinomeister. Players would be freaking out on me. Hell, I would be freaking out on me.
Added: And if the Accredited casinos on my site got wind that they were paying me to compete against me, they would be grabbing the pitchforks and torches as well.
Off to the old mill!!
Perhaps I’m the only one who sees this, thus the quietness of this thread. I’ll go back to my place where I belong I guess
EMG offers consulting services only. EMG doesn’t own casinos or any gambling operations. EMG is not a competitor. EMG is a service provider.
EMG would be happy to offer these same services to any or all of our certified programs here at CAP. If anyone is interested in a managed affiliate solution please feel free to contact me. You just may find we can optimize your existing program and generate a positive ROI over the cost of our services.
Hi Lou,
The way this came to light doesn’t earn our industry any kudos, but I think we’re now all ok with the fact that EMG and AM are two separate and distinct legal entities.
But surely you understand why some affiliates/certified partners are not too impressed by the way this appears i.e. that EMG and AM are a bit too close for everyone’s comfort.
Professor wrote:EMG would be happy to offer these same services to any or all of our certified programs here at CAP. If anyone is interested in a managed affiliate solution please feel free to contact me.This sounds like EMG is managing an affiliate program.
Which like prk is probably figuring, he’s paying you (CAP) to compete against Absolute Slots (EMG = you). Like I mentioned earlier, if I would have done this at Casinomeister, I would have been crucified. But then, maybe I’m the only one here that sees this.
I’m just trying to do you a favor by pointing out that there is a conflict of interest here.
