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Warren Corpus is a pioneer in the email marketing industry, with over a decade of experience in email delivery and internet marketing compliance. He is often called the Dean of Delivery and the Count of Accountability.

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Your Guide to Affiliate Summit 2012

Written on
Jan 6, 2012 
Author
Warren Corpus  |
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Your Guide to Affiliate Summit 2012

ADOTAS – Ahhh… a new year. 2011 was an odd year, but a prime year as well. (Only you mathematicians will get that one.) This week we’ll be crowning a new National Champion in college football (my money is on the SEC), and next month we may have a new Super Bowl Champion as well – and even though I’d love it, I don’t think Tim Tebow will be going to Disney World. One thing is certain, however – thousand of affiliates, agencies, vendors, merchants and networks will descend upon Sin City for a few days of discussions, deals, drinks and debauchery.

Founded in 2003 by Missy Ward and Shawn Collins, Affiliate Summit is the premier affiliate marketing conference, offering educational sessions on the latest industry issues and fostering an environment of productive networking for one and all. Almost 5,000 will be attending this year’s conference at Caesar’s Palace, enjoying and learning in educational sessions covering web content, social marketing, lead generation, search engine optimization, performance tracking and tons of other topics under the affiliate marketing sun.

Each and every show, Affiliate Summit boasts some incredible keynote speakers, and this show lives up to the hype. For you sports fans, on Monday you’ll be sure to recognize Jon Spoelstra, former GM of the Portland Trailblazers, president of the New Jersey Nets, and father to Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. On Tuesday, we’ll hopefully all learn a thing or two from Eric “ET The Hip Hop Teacher” Thomas. The Detroit native is a YouTube sensation, taking the attention of students, athletes, educators and corporate execs of all ages with his energetic and heartfelt messages of hope, persistence and moving beyond your circumstances. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, Jeremy “ShoeMoney” Schoemaker will be the closing keynote. Going from unemployment to an eight-figure income in only a few years, Jeremy is one of the most successful internet marketers of our time.

Affiliate Summit isn’t all work, however — there’s a little play that comes with these shows. As with each Summit, this one comes packed with a plethora of parties to peruse. For example, Sunday night features ShareASale’s perennial “Under the Stars” Party at Chateau Nightclub at the Paris Hotel. I’ll definitely be attending DoublePlay Media’s 2012 Tip-Off Party – “The 3-Peat” at the Hardwood Suite at the Palms Hotel. This great basketball-themed fantasy suite event is co-sponsored by Infinite Traffic, Optimal Fusion, CPAWay, and React2Media. Also on Monday is ClickBooth’s Affiliate Fight Night, at world-renowned UFC training facility Xtreme Couture, owned by Randy Couture. This event will have live fights all night, and a meet-and-greet with the UFC Hall of Famer and legend himself. The fight night is co-sponsored by ClickBooth CPC, Calculated Creativity, Authorise, Molding Box, Optizmo, and Dating Gold. Lastly, there’s a lot of buzz about MaxBounty’s Affiliate Ball at the Crown Theater at the Rio Hotel. For some reason, affiliate parties draw old-school and past-their-prime rappers such as Doug E. Fresh, Naughty by Nature, Biz Markie and Slick Rick, to name a few. This year’s Affiliate Ball brings us the one and only Nelly!

With all these parties and events, you might want to venture away from the Affiliate Summit crowd – or impress your clients and colleagues with a nice dinner or even a massage. For the ins and outs of Las Vegas, I’d like to introduce you to Sin City resident and blonde bombshell Danielle Raybuck of PartnerWeekly… Take it away, D!

“Thanks, Warren! So I get asked all the time where to go from friends or friends-of-friends who are visiting Las Vegas – so much so that I started keeping track of the places I liked and disliked in a Word document on my computer. Although I’ve only lived in Las Vegas just shy of a year, in that time I have done my fair share of exploring, shopping, ‘spa-ing,’ and of course, eating! So here are a few tips I have for you about Vegas.

“Firstly, when at all possible, make a reservation! If you are fortunate enough to have a casino host, use them! If you don’t, use OpenTable… Also, “there’s an app for that” on your smartphone that works miracles. I typically go for later reservations than earlier, like 8:30 or 9 or later, and head straight out after dinner. Yelp is also a great source to help find a restaurant and determine if one is a good choice.

“The Cosmopolitan is one of the newer hotels in Las Vegas and pretty much all of the restaurants in there are good. My two favorites are STK (steak) and Comme Ca (French). STK can be on the louder side, with a live DJ nightly, but it’s the perfect place to get the party started before you go out. Comme Ca has an amazing view of the strip, so try to request a table by the window. Two more places to get the party started are Tao (Asian) and Lavo (Italia). Both are restaurants downstairs and clubs upstairs, so after dinner, the transition is almost seamless, without a long cab line to the next stop.

“Speaking of other restaurants with views, Olives at the Bellagio has an amazing view of the famous fountains. They go off more often after 8:30 pm and they also have an amazing rabbit dish there, which is unusual. If you are looking for seafood, my two favorites are Joe’s Stone Crab (do not confuse this with Joe’s Crab Shack – there are only three Joe’s Stone Crab restaurants in the country) at the Caesar’s Forum Shops and Nobu for sushi at Hard Rock Hotel. (HRH, by the way, has an amazing spa.) Other good steakhouses include Botero, Cut, N9ne, and SW at theWynn. The three breakfast recommendations I have are Carnegie Deli at the Mirage, Terrace Pointe Café at the Wynn and Hash House a Go Go at the M — there’s one at Imperial Palace, too. All of these choices are excellent to settle your stomach, especially when coupled with a bloody mary.

“If you are feeling really frisky and want to get adventurous ‘off the strip,’ my suggestions are as follows: Lotus of Siam (Thai), Marrakech (Moroccan), Firefly (tapas), Hot n’ Juicy (garlic crabs and crawfish), Panevineo (my all-time favorite Italian — it has amazing views of the airport and strip), The Oyster Bar at the M Casino, and Town Square, a shopping mall with, like, 10 restaurants.

“If you have the opportunity to see a show, hands down, go see Absinthe! It’s adult humor and is absolutely hysterical. It also happens to be right outside of Caesar’s and consequently is a Cirque show. My favorite shopping in Vegas is Caesar’s Forum Shops, followed by Town Square and then The Fashion Show Mall.

“There’s actually a couple of new clubs that just opened up in Vegas: 1Oak and Hyde. I have not been to either, but I’m sure I will be soon. I’m still a huge fan of XS at Encore and Marquee at The Cosmo. I’m also a huge fan of free drinks, so if these tips helped you out, don’t be afraid to pass a dirty martini my way!”

Thanks, Danielle, for that comprehensive list – I just might have to save this for my future trips to Vegas! And don’t you worry – I’ll probably be having some dirtys with you very soon. So, safe travels to all the readers coming to Las Vegas – let’s meet a ton of new clients, network even more, and – in the immortal words of the FFC – “let’s have some f—– fun!”

Warren Corpus can be reached at warren@warren-g.com and Danielle Raybuck at danielle.raybuck@partnerweekly.com.





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