• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 29, 2020

Partnerize has acquired Pepperjam to strengthen its hold on the affiliate marketing space as brands look to prove performance for their dollars.

The deal also extends U.K.-based Partnerize’s expansion into North America. In May, the company acquired brand safety and compliance expert BrandVerity, allowing brands to facilitate more effective relationships with consumers.

The U.S. affiliate market is forecast to reach $8.2 billion by 2022, up from $6.8 billion this year, according to Statista.

The combination of the companies’ technology platforms, services and global presence now serves more than 1,750 enterprise and mid-market clients worldwide, driving about $7 billion in transactions through relationships of 750,000 partners, including 250,000 influencers.

The pay-for-performance model, combined with its partner program make it an attractive tool for marketers seeking an alternative to their primary sales and marketing channels.

About 400 employees now serve a list of clients including Adidas, Ancestry, Everlane, M Gemi, MJ Bale Morningstar, Rue La La, Saatva, Surfstich, tarte, and Tractor Supply, among others.

Both companies are material profitable and this year estimate having a $70 million annual recurring revenue run rate.

Pepperjam CEO Matt Gilbert will become President of Partnerize, a new role for the company. Prior to Pepperjam, Gilbert co-founded 500friends, which sold to Merkle, where he served as SVP and GM of the Loyalty Services group. He has held numerous leadership positions across the digital marketing category throughout his career including Webloyalty.com, IAC/InterActive Corp., Ask Jeeves, Inc, and Excite@Home.

Advertisers and publishers have been looking for transparency and scale. While the companies independently spent years building alternative advertising and marketing channels to Google and Facebook, when the “opportunity” to bring the two companies together and merge technologies presented itself it became “too good to resist,” said Mal Cowley, Partnerize co-founder and CEO.

Gilbert said he was passionate about affiliate marketing and “committed to staying and building out the business.”