I Am Performance Marketing: JEBCommerce’s Jamie Birch
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Jamie Birch is the founder and CEO of JEBCommerce, a full service, award-winning performance agency with over 75 years of collective experience managing affiliate programs.
Jamie has accumulated decades of performance marketing knowledge in many relevant fields such as SEO, Email, Affiliate and Relationship Management. He is also an entrepreneur, having successfully launched ChloeWorks, LLC and Renewed Horizons, LLC.
A Bugatti, the dot-com bubble, and a Western resort town you probably can’t pronounce. An unlikely combination for some, but they all are part of our interview with industry expert and PMA member, Jamie Birch. This month we sat down with Jamie to ask, “Why performance marketing, where do agencies fit in, and are relationships really that important?”
With a hint of nostalgia, he first recounted his years as a search engine guru and recalled a desire for a career with substance. Freedom would come, ironically, in the form of the tech market collapse where Jamie eventually found himself in charge of paid search and affiliates at Coldwater Creek. He found new energy in his role as he was able to make an immediate impact and understand the value of his efforts.
Jamie’s altruistic beliefs have certainly contributed to his agency’s success in the performance marketing industry, “I started JEB to ultimately help my clients keep their jobs, and provide employment and education.“ Nestled in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, his agency sees client service as its strongest asset. “We win most when our clients win,” Jamie remarked. And that’s exactly why agencies are so important to our industry. The expertise and relationships, which take years to develop and build, are paramount to the success of their merchant clients. But Jamie doesn’t stop there. He also helps affiliate networks develop new tools based on client feedback and the wider needs of the performance marketing space. It’s this type of involvement which allows an agency like JEBCommerce to successfully deliver incremental revenue to its clients, who would otherwise be without the necessary resources to reach their performance marketing goals.
As an industry veteran, Jamie offers a very unique perspective on what most of us view as emerging trends. Jamie explains, “The conversations are the same as we had 10 years ago, the value of coupon, and the perceived value of affiliates.” In his eyes, everything we experience in our industry is cyclical. He also understands the massive opportunity available to partner with affiliates offering a true multi-channel reach. When asked how he would position performance marketing to someone with limited background on the subject Jamie said, “’We sell other people’s stuff’ became a diminishing phrase which really didn’t explain the full benefits of our industry and what we do.” “We, cost effectively, deliver new customers and sales in unique ways.” The true multi-channel nature of the industry was also important for Jamie to highlight, “We are paid search, we are SEO, we are loyalty.”
Jamie’s PMA membership further speaks to his advocacy and support of performance marketing. He is an agent of progress and believes our industry is strongest when we come together as one voice. His view is one of a “highly trackable, measureable and tweakable” environment, which places our industry at the center of innovation in the digital space. These advances stem directly from the relationships we nurture within our ecosystem. “More than any other industry, performance marketing allows you to prove your value and earn responsibilities quickly.”
So let’s get back to that Bugatti. Jamie’s interest in our industry started with an article his father sent him after he graduated college. The subject matter? A successful businessman driving a Bugatti after the dot-com boom. His distinctive journey and spirited insights are an important reminder that performance marketing is much more than the metrics we typically reference. As Jamie proclaims, “It’s everything!”
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