The IAB’s Affiliate Marketing Council has launched a consumer facing site that explains the inner workings of the performance marketing model.

‘Online Performance Marketing, Cookies and You‘ is the latest initiative from the AMC as part of its ongoing project to educate a wider audience about the performance industry as well as provide a resource for affiliate marketers to link to in their quest to bring them into line with the revised ePrivacy Directive.

The site features a range of jargon-free pages explaining how the business model works, what information is typically stored, how the industry differs from behaviourally targeted advertising as well as typical business models and some affiliate insights into the day to day workings of vouchercodes.co.uk and Red Letter Days.

Sponsored by Nectar, thousands of publishers will be encouraged to link to the site as part of a drive to offer a standardised explanation for consumers about the benefits of affiliate marketing.

IAB’s Industry Programmes Consultant, Clare O’Brien said: ‘This IAB AMC initiative is a milestone for the online performance marketing industry. It forms part of our overall response to the ePrivacy Directive, by helping people understand why the industry uses technologies – including cookies – that allow advertisers to pay publishers.

It’s the first real step the industry has taken to take the lead in describing the mechanics of a business which the majority of online shoppers will probably have used at some point.’

Nathan Salter, chair of the IAB AMC’s Legislation Committee which was responsible for the initiative added: ‘The online performance marketing industry is structured around the use of technologies and outside of our industry there’s very little knowledge of how it all works.

In helping guide the industry towards clear and consistent communications around the ePrivacy Directive, we decided to go an extra step and provide a resource for people to get to know the business better. It provides the vital context to the cookie lists people will be reading in most privacy and cookie policies.’