March 1st 2010 proved to be a momentous day in affiliate marketing. Not only did it signal the launch of the all new Affiliate4U it also brought news of Affiliate Window’s acquisition of Buy.at. It also saw the announcement that former Tradedoubler IPD Andreas Andreou has joined the board of Quidco. All very exciting events – but what does it all mean for the bedroom affiliate?

The acquisition of Buy.at by Affiliate Window is quite intriguing. Matt Bailey has done a nice piece on “what’s in it for Awin?” whilst Robin Moore from Coast Digital examines the advantages and disadvantages of an affiliate network monopoly. My first thoughts on the news was that it was a bit like Man United signing Michael Owen.

Man United didn’t really need Owen, but they knew that with a bit of love he could become effective and potentially match winning again as long as he stayed free from injury. Besides it’s far better to have Owen at Old Trafford than allow a rival to get him and therefore become a tougher proposition!

So Buy.at are a bit like Michael Owen. They were once young and great, but lost their way due to a move not working out and are now hoping to get back in the big time with an established and successful team.

This means Affiliate Window are Manchester United, except they had to pay $17million for their “Michael Owen” whereas Man United got their’s for free. Mind you, Awin probably have a lot less debt and don’t have half their supporters in red and the rest dressed up like Norwich City.

Admittedly, the football analogy goes to pot some what as the new “Affiliate Window.at” are now singularly dominant in UK affiliate marketing network terms. My biggest concern is that a “super network” may soon in the future only want “super affiliates” or at least introduce tougher criteria to becoming an affiliate.

The latter is probably more likely as new affiliates are important to keep things moving forward and as we’ve seen in the past, sometimes networks and super affiliates fall out.

Which neatly brings us to Quidco.

They’ve appointed Andreas Andreou (ex-Tradedoubler) to their board according to a report on the new look Affiliates4u. That’s not that exciting in the grand scheme of things (sorry Andreas) but it does highlight the growing development of affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is becoming less and less about bedrooms and more about boardrooms. That’s quite scary in many ways, as does it mean that to reach the upper echelons of internet business you need to bring in Dragon’s Den type assistance? Quite possibly…? Mind you it can’t hurt your business too much if your ongoing popularity stems from money saving and hot deal type sites, regardless of how many suits you employ.

Getting more than a new suit though is Affiliate4U. It’s had a full makeover and the first impressions are good. It’s faster, cleaner and the Existem guys have cleverly placed themselves as a Digital Marketing news channel. It’s perhaps yet another sign of a maturing industry and that move from bedroom to boardroom.

The good news is that the forum remains in place, meaning that affiliates from all levels have a platform to discuss and comment about affiliate marketing. So A4U is where old school AM and new AM collide! This makes their role in the future of affiliate marketing all the more important and pivotal.

On one hand they need to embrace the new world of super networks and big boardroom affiliates but without losing the voices and opinions of the rest of the people involved in the industry. I think the new look and design is set up to do that!

Most certainly there are interesting times ahead in affiliate marketing.