Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Paris, Kwanko is an online performance advertising company.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Paris, Kwanko is an online performance advertising company with offices in more than ten countries including Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and now in the UAE.
Who? Kwanko started off as a French family-run startup in 2003. In 2004, it set up the Netaffiliation platform, which went on to become one of the leading affiliate marketing platforms in the French market. It then broadened its horizons to the rest of Europe and Latin America. In 2011, Kwanko ventured into the mobile space early by acquiring mobile advertising company Swelen with the objective of offering cross-device solutions across web and mobile.across web and mobile.
How? The company has partnered with more than 150,000 direct publishers across verticals and has a database of more than 500 million emails. Naturally, these numbers keep increasing as the publisher team works with current suppliers to scale the business and onboard new ones in a bid to maximize reach and return on each campaign.
Putting technology at the core, Kwanko has built its own affiliate platform with the help of 30 in-house developers to set up, launch, monitor, optimize and invoice for all parties involved – clients and publishers. It is also in the process finalizing its proprietary DSP, which will be connected with more than 90 SSPs.
“Our proprietary platform delivers reliable, real-time conversion tracking, actionable reporting, publisher payment processing and much more,” says Bieber.
What? This enables Kwanko to offer the following services:
1. Cross-device tracking, which is of increasing importance to clients and agencies as the consumer journey gets more non-linear and fragmented
2. Attribution marketing, which puts into play the company’s ‘MultiOrigine’ model giving multiple publishers their share of the payout depending on their added-value within the purchase funnel
3. “Clicktime” (CPC-based payout), which tracks the time spent on a client’s website after a click to ensure only the most qualified traffic is chargeable
4. Kwanko Design Studio, which helps build HTML creatives for emailers from both a visual and technical standpoint
5. Emailing de-duplication tool to manage the marketing pressure and collect fresh data
Why? “All the technology in the world, however, cannot help you sustain your business should it miss the human touch,” says Bieber. And this philosophy is embedded in the company culture. As Bieber puts it, “We fully embrace the equation of technology + human = innovative success.” It’s also the driving force behind the company’s “consultant approach” versus a commercial one.
Company culture
Kwanko’s 200 employees inaugurated the company’s new HQ in Paris on September 28. The new office isn’t merely about a new look but also, a new way of working.
Based on numerous studies that demonstrate a link between space planning and well being at work, the Kwanko group has transformed its offices to better meet the needs of employees by introducing concepts such as “flex office” and “feel like home”. Although these changes are, for now, restricted to the HQ, Kwanko plans to roll them out in other offices as well.
Flex office: Offices have been de-compartmentalized to encourage inter-employee exchanges along with the creation of more collaborative spaces such as, a cafeteria; telephone booths in the middle of the open space; a “creative” room designed to foster employee creativity; and a “silence” room when needed.
Happiness manager: In order to promote a more homely feel, the company has designated a happiness manager whose role lies somewhere between internal communication, human resources and events. “This new employee organizes events to ensure cohesion between employees and lends a special ear to individual situations,” says Bieber.
Boost employee commitment and autonomy: The aim of Kwanko is twofold: to build offices that are compatible with new working methods, but also to boost the commitment and autonomy of employees. “With the arrival of new employees from the Millennial generation, having spaces that foster collaboration, creativity and conviviality has become indispensable,” says Bieber. “Employees must feel at home, which promotes their motivation and therefore their competitiveness.”
New tools: As working habits change, so do the tools required to work. “We do not have a landline, for example,” says Bieber. ”We basically hangout, use a softphone and work in real time, collaboratively with tools like Slack – a real revolution that employees particularly appreciate.”
