From Voucher Codes to AI Overviews: How Away Resorts Reframed Affiliate Marketing

What happens when you’re handed the affiliate channel on your very first day in a new role? For Safaa Elbouchikhi, Digital Marketing Executive at Away Resorts, it was the ultimate crash course in affiliate marketing, and the chance to turn a voucher-heavy programme into a smarter, full-funnel strategy.

In this episode of Affiliate Marketing Diaries, Safaa shares her journey from seeing affiliates as “just discount codes” to leading a channel that now balances voucher partners, closed user groups, and content publishers. She discusses bold decisions like pausing all voucher activity during peak season, rolling out Uniqodo to tackle code leakage, and championing tenancy payments for top-of-funnel affiliates who build trust and influence customer journeys.

We also explore how Away Resorts is preparing for Google’s AI Overview by investing in content-driven partnerships that future-proof visibility in travel search. Plus, Safaa offers practical tips for in-house marketers on proving incrementality, winning stakeholder support, and getting the best out of agency partners by asking the right questions and letting specialists do their thing.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why affiliate marketing is more than last-click discounts
• How to measure incrementality and prove value
• The impact of bold tests like switching off vouchers
• Why Uniqodo was a turning point for Away Resorts
• Preparing affiliate strategies for AI-driven search

💬 Quote from the episode:

“You can’t just rely on the last click, content publishers might not drive instant sales, but they build trust and influence bookings down the line.” – Safaa Elbouchikhi

🔗 Links and references:

• Away Resorts: https://www.awayresorts.co.uk
• Navigate Digital: https://www.navigatedigital.com
• Safaa Elbouchikhi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/safaa-elbouchikhi-24336b182/
• Uniqodo: https://www.uniqodo.com

Affiliate Marketing Diaries is brought to you by Navigate Digital – the UK's specialist affiliate marketing agency.

In each episode, we sit down with the people behind the programs – marketers, publishers, tech providers and network leads – to uncover how affiliate marketing really works from the inside out.

You’ll hear honest reflections, smart strategies, and practical lessons from the frontlines of performance marketing – what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s coming next.

For show notes, transcripts, and all previous episodes, visit navigatedigital.com/podcast.

Found something useful in this episode? Let us know – or better yet, share it with someone navigating the same challenges. And if you’d like help launching or growing your affiliate programme, get in touch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you build an affiliate programme that supports over 140 global attractions, from LEGOLAND and Madame Tussauds to SEA LIFE and the London Eye?

In this episode, we speak to Vera Ermelina, Affiliate Marketing Manager at Merlin Entertainments, about what it takes to run a smart, content-driven, and brand-safe affiliate strategy at serious scale.

Vera shares the full story: from her early days at Admitad (with no marketing experience and only Mandarin on her CV), through to launching and scaling Merlin’s affiliate programme across the UK. Along the way Vera reveals what it took to move the internal perception of affiliate marketing from “just vouchers and cashback” to a respected channel driving incremental value and customer engagement.

We talk about:

• Why content creators beat voucher sites, and how to support them properly
• The problem with obsessing over incrementality (and how to reframe it)
• How Merlin introduced voucher codes without losing control
• The risks of working with sub-networks and how to keep your programme clean
• Loyalty portals, mid-tier influencers, and other underrated affiliate types
• What affiliate teams can do to earn internal trust and drive cross-channel collaboration

This is a must-listen for anyone managing an affiliate programme in a complex organisation, or for brands looking to modernise their approach to partner marketing.

💬 Quote from the episode:

“It’s not about proving someone wouldn’t have booked without us. It’s about showing we add value, and rewarding the people helping us do that.”

🔗 Links and references:

• Merlin Entertainments: https://www.merlinentertainments.biz
• Navigate Digital: https://www.navigatedigital.com

Affiliate Marketing Diaries is brought to you by Navigate Digital – the UK's specialist affiliate marketing agency.

In each episode, we sit down with the people behind the programs – marketers, publishers, tech providers and network leads – to uncover how affiliate marketing really works from the inside out.

You’ll hear honest reflections, smart strategies, and practical lessons from the frontlines of performance marketing – what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s coming next.

For show notes, transcripts, and all previous episodes, visit navigatedigital.com/podcast.

Found something useful in this episode? Let us know – or better yet, share it with someone navigating the same challenges. And if you’d like help launching or growing your affiliate programme, get in touch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're an affiliate marketing professional contemplating the benefits of partnering with an agency to launch and manage your program, our latest episode of "The Affiliate Marketing Diaries" with Colin Carter from Weather2Travel.com is a must-listen!

In this episode, Colin delves into the intricacies of affiliate marketing within the travel sector, likening his role to that of a discovery platform that introduces consumers to brands through engaging content, such as weather guides for various destinations. He shares insights on the crucial challenge of achieving the coveted 'last click' in a consumer's booking journey, which often sees travellers visiting numerous sites before committing.

Colin also illustrates the effectiveness of a strategic approach involving creativity and targeted traffic to bring value to brand partnerships. He discusses the comprehensive revenue model employed by Weather to Travel, which mixes cost-per-acquisition (CPA) agreements with merchants, and emphasises the importance of two-way communication to align goals and expectations.

Post-COVID, securing budgets has become more challenging, necessitating a closer evaluation of performance metrics. Carter passionately calls for a paradigm shift in the industry, suggesting an expanded focus beyond sales to include brand and product awareness initiatives. He also stresses the potential benefits of integrating PR and influencer efforts into existing analytics frameworks, and the importance of high-quality content and authentic publisher-merchant relationships.

With reflections on the evolving landscape influenced by Google's updates and the forward-looking role of AI in affiliate marketing, this episode is a treasure trove of practical strategies and thought-provoking perspectives for anyone considering agency collaboration. Listen now and gain invaluable insights from Colin Carter's extensive experience.

Don’t forget to leave your comments on Navigate Digital's website, and remember to like and subscribe to “The Affiliate Marketing Diaries” on your preferred streaming platform for more expert content.

Affiliate Marketing Diaries is brought to you by Navigate Digital – the UK's specialist affiliate marketing agency.

In each episode, we sit down with the people behind the programs – marketers, publishers, tech providers and network leads – to uncover how affiliate marketing really works from the inside out.

You’ll hear honest reflections, smart strategies, and practical lessons from the frontlines of performance marketing – what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s coming next.

For show notes, transcripts, and all previous episodes, visit navigatedigital.com/podcast.

Found something useful in this episode? Let us know – or better yet, share it with someone navigating the same challenges. And if you’d like help launching or growing your affiliate programme, get in touch.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.