Three More Industry Heavy Weights Join UK Affiliate Incubator, the Zoo Project, As Dragons
Final Panelist Line-up for the Zoo Project – ‘Dragons Den’ style offer of £1 Million of business resources and industry mentoring for UK Affiliate Marketing Start-ups
London, UK – 5 December 2011 – TradeDoubler, the number one pan-European performance marketing company, today announced the addition of three more business and industry experts to serve as ‘dragons’ for its £1 million UK Affiliate Marketing incubator initiative, The Zoo Project, bringing the panelist line-up to seven. The dragons will decide the fate of up to 20 UK Affiliate Marketing start-ups that apply for residency in the Zoo for one year. The new incubator project is designed to foster grass roots growth and help drive innovation in the Affiliate Marketing arena.
Television presenter Jasmine Birtles brings her business and personal finance expertise to the Zoo Project panel. She has co-presented BBC 1’s “Homes Under the Hammer”, ITV Scotland’s “Spend Spend Spend,” as well as “First Time Buyers” and “Doctor Dosh” for UKTV Style. She is also the co-presenter of RaW Money on the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk/raw/money. She regularly appears as a financial expert on Daybreak, This Morning, BBC News, BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio Sky News and The Wright Stuff. Jasmine is the founder and editor of the money-saving and money-making website Moneymagpie.com. She has also set up Clever Video Production which creates online videos for companies. As a financial journalist she has a column for Reader’s Digest, Prima Baby, Yourchoices.co.uk and Tescomagazine.co.uk. She also writes for the Daily Express and also contributes to the Independent on Sunday, The Spectator Business, The Mirror, The Express, Essentials Magazine, You Magazine, Prima, Woman & Home and many others. She is the author of 38 books including her latest, ‘Beat the Banks’.
Tim Jessop, Marketing Manager for Online Advertising at Tesco also joins the Zoo’s team of dragons. Tim has seven years’ experience in affiliate marketing and has been at Tesco for the past five years. He currently manages the online advertising for Tesco.com, including the Tesco affiliate programme. This programme covers a range of product areas such as Grocery, Tesco Direct, Wine by the case and Entertainment. Tim works closely with affiliate partners to support their campaigns with Tesco’s range of tools, and has an in-depth understanding of the affiliate marketing industry. Tesco.com is the UK’s biggest online grocery retailer. It also has a huge range of non-food products on offer with a loyal customer base.
Also joining the Zoo Project’s team of dragons is Steve Wilson, Head of Online for British Gas Business. Steve is a highly experienced senior manager in online sales and marketing and has worked closely with both large and small affiliates in his 10+ years in the industry. Steve brings a client slide perspective to the dragons panel with a background that includes roles such as Head of E-Commerce at O2, Head of Online Sales and Marketing for Europe at McAfee, and Global Online Merchandising Director for Nokia.
Together with The Zoo Project’s four other dragons – Rob Wilson, Market Unit Leader North West, TradeDoubler, Mary Keane Dawson, Strategic Advisor and Digital Agency Mentor, Paul Bongers, Head of Paid Search at BT / clickbuyclick, and Matthew Wood, Founder of A4U – the team of seven panelists will review and judge the entries of hopeful affiliate applicants.
With applications open until 6 January 2012, up to 20 Affiliate Marketing start-up companies will be admitted into the Zoo for one year, and will benefit from more than £1 million worth of business resources, including rent free and rates free office space at TradeDoubler’s prestigious UK headquarters in Victoria; hands-on mentoring from TradeDoubler’s affiliate marketing industry experts; unique access to major brand advertisers and partners; and networking opportunities with other companies and entrepreneurs.
“We’re delighted to see industry innovators lend their support to The Zoo Project to help encourage, mentor and inspire the entrepreneurs in the UK Affiliate Marketing arena,” said Rob Wilson, Market Unit Leader North West for TradeDoubler. “We have a very strong team of dragons with collective insight, industry expertise and business acumen. This is a unique opportunity for affiliate start-ups, and we’re excited to see how the successful applicants will prosper and thrive with such levels of support.”
Interested affiliates can download an application form at www.thezooproject.co.uk or send an email to apply@thezooproject.co.uk. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to meet with one or more of The Zoo’s panel of ‘Dragons’.
TradeDoubler will announce the list of successful incubator companies at the end of January 2012, followed by a launch party to celebrate the new incubator residents. Entry requirements and further information can be found online at www.thezooproject.co.uk
About TradeDoubler
TradeDoubler helps companies improve their online results, both by increasing sales and by increasing brand awareness. The core business is performance-based online marketing. With a network of over 138,000 web publishers, TradeDoubler helps more than 1,900 advertisers worldwide to reach their business goals. The company has a unique reach being able to address around 75 per cent of Europe’s e-commerce consumers. Among the advertisers are Apple, American Express, Dell, Disney, Expedia, lastminute.com and Nokia. The share is listed on Nasdaq OMX. More information is available at www.TradeDoubler.com
For further information, please contact:
Kim Lynch,
Devonshire Marketing (PR for TradeDoubler)
Tel: +44 (0) 870 7000 166,
Email: kim[at]devonshiremarketing[dot]com
