Interviews — 02 Oct 2026
Interview with the Founder of Affise Dmitri Zotov
In 2016, Dmitrii Zotov co-founded the affiliate marketing platform Affise. Since then, a humble startup turned into a multinational company with customers all over the world.
For all these years, Dmitrii has been running Affise and shaping the way the platform works for customers. Under his supervision, the company had become a leading partner marketing solution and transformed the industry.
We talked with Dmitrii Zotov about the changes in the partner marketing industry, the trends and challenges this field faces now, and the tactics businesses need to adhere to thrive in affiliate marketing in the future.
I’ve been in the affiliate marketing industry since my university days, starting in 2004. Being a tech guy initially, I’ve begun working as a software engineer. However, I was always eager to learn the business side better, so I started to gain experience as a media buyer. Years of practice in this field have led me to launch my own CPA network and media buying agency. It was a game-changer experience, which helped me understand the market and players, their needs, and pain points. I realized that the affiliate marketing industry needed a better solution — transparent, easy-to-use, and powerful enough to meet the new market challenges.
From the beginning, our mission was to disrupt the affiliate marketing industry. We were the first who automated campaign data pipelines and let advertisers pay for actual conversions. It has made affiliate marketing more transparent and reliable for customers.
Another way we're shaping the affiliate industry is by making it more customer-focused, not only on the technical side.
We have a customer success team fully dedicated to helping our clients step to the next level. Our managers are not just assistants in navigating the platform. They are experts advising on advertising trends, the most efficient promotion strategies in a specific vertical, and more.
User privacy has become a significant challenge in the last couple of years. Apple launched a new App Tracking Transparency policy which limits access to user-level data. Major technology companies, including Google, have announced a tracking cookie ban. As the whole advertising and affiliate industry rely on analytics and mobile attribution, these changes hinder companies from making informed business decisions.
We’re working on new solutions to provide our customers with transparent attribution despite the lack of data. We launched SKAdNetwork integration to help ad networks access data from iOS mobile campaigns in the Affise dashboard. Another feature we created to solve the problem is probabilistic attribution.
Growing demand for user privacy makes traditional traffic sources either expensive or not transparent enough. Brands are looking for new lead generation channels and finding what they need in the affiliate marketing industry.
I see an increased request for cutting-edge technology. Our customers seek higher automation to reduce routine work and in-depth but simplified data analytics to make informed decisions faster. The affiliate marketing industry continues to adopt machine learning technology. At Affise, we use it to make predictions and help our clients determine their growth strategies and business transformation.
Another trend is growing reliance on social media as a customer acquisition channel. Since 2015, major platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have been working a lot to advance their eCommerce functions. Alongside developing Shops, Facebook is adjusting its advertising tools to bring more potential customers.
Advertisers develop interest in affiliate marketing because they seek reliable, transparent, and outcome-based customer acquisition channels. Market players who understand these needs, put them first, and provide effective solutions to reach their clients’ goals will flourish.
Back in 2016, the affiliate industry was represented by a couple of major companies setting their own rules. We entered the market with the solution our customers needed — a transparent, reliable platform and a new pricing policy. It has helped us get ahead and revolutionized the whole industry.
Affise has a culture code that says that the customer perspective comes first. This attitude is a must-have right now. Businesses need to remember that success is based on the value they provide to their customers. If it’s not offering the cheapest solution on the market, you need to double down on building customer relationships.
To stay on top, you have to make your clients' growth your own goal.
Initially, we were a solution for small and medium businesses, agencies, and affiliate networks. Now our focus has shifted to offering more value for direct advertisers in the large-enterprise segment. To achieve it, we are constantly updating our platform according to the specific needs and goals this type of client has. Also, we’re planning to launch additional services to give our customers more reliable solutions for their business growth.
To provide a better customer experience, we continue to expand geographically, open new offices, and offer better services. Recently, we’ve launched local support for the Indian market. It will help us assist our customers better and strengthen our presence in this region.
According to Dmitri Zotov, Affise was created with the core mission of making the affiliate marketing industry more transparent and reliable. They achieved this by introducing automated campaign data pipelines and enabling advertisers to pay exclusively for actual conversions. This focus on outcomes rather than just clicks has revolutionized how businesses approach their marketing budgets. In addition to these fundamental changes, they offer robust analytics and cutting-edge machine learning technology to predict future performance. If you are curious about their core platform features, you can explore the Affise Performance solution to see these transparent tracking capabilities in action. Zotov notes that prioritizing customer needs and clear outcomes is the ultimate way for market players to flourish.
User privacy has become a major hurdle for advertisers, particularly with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy and Google’s plans to ban tracking cookies. These ongoing changes limit access to user-level data, which previously formed the backbone of mobile attribution and analytics. To overcome these data limitations, Affise has proactively developed workarounds like SKAdNetwork integration and probabilistic attribution models. They are deeply committed to providing their customers with accurate, reliable attribution despite an increasingly privacy-first digital landscape. Advertisers who want to easily synchronize their offers and streamline data can also utilize the Affise CPAPI platform to automate their operations securely. Ultimately, embracing these advanced technological tools helps brands make informed business decisions faster.
Dmitri Zotov emphasizes that prioritizing the customer perspective and building strong relationships is absolutely essential for long-term success. Rather than simply offering the cheapest product on the market, businesses must focus on delivering genuine value and making their clients’ growth their own primary goal. With traditional traffic sources becoming more expensive, brands are increasingly looking toward reliable, outcome-based affiliate marketing and emerging social media channels. Cultivating a transparent, client-centric approach is what originally allowed Affise to break into an industry dominated by just a few major players. To see how these relationship-building strategies translate into real-world business results, you can read through their extensive affiliate marketing case studies and success stories. Adopting a similar customer-first mindset will undoubtedly empower any enterprise to thrive in the modern partnership ecosystem.
Written by
Affise Academy
Affise is a partner marketing platform for brands, advertisers and agencies to scale via all possible performance marketing channels. Synergy of technology and our long standing experience lets you expand your partnerships, automate every step of the campaign lifecycle and make data-driven decisions.
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