Roy Scheerder came on board as our CEO last year, and sat down to look back over his time with us so far, and his vision for the year ahead.
Belated happy New Year Roy! You’ve been with us now for almost half a year. How have you been settling into life here?
Thanks, and same to you! Happy for the opportunity to sit down for a chat.
It’s certainly been a busy start to my time here. In Advidi you know you are truly alive and kicking. It’s a very fast-paced environment, and the day-to-day certainly gets the blood moving.
From the first day I’ve been impressed by our people, our culture and the diverse business challenges we get to take on together.
What’s one thing you’ve learned about our partners and the affiliate space since joining?
It sounds cliche, but it really feels like one big family. I’ve realised that in this industry, everybody knows each other and is connected through shared history and experiences.
What I find really energising is the drive that everyone has to perform. We are all in this together to get the best possible results.
2025 was a year of evolution for Advidi. New people, new structure, and a lot of forward motion. What did those changes unlock for us as a network?
Sometimes it’s necessary for a company to take stock. Last year we made a few changes indeed, as we aimed to strengthen and consolidate our position in the industry.
As you said, it was a period of evolution, and with those tweaks we are entering 2026 with raised ambition and hunger to step up and adapt to the new realities of our industry.
Our focus is on our relationships with affiliates and partners and to improve our internal performance, in order to in turn boost their performance.
What were the biggest lessons from 2025 that will shape how we operate in 2026?
As an affiliate network, the external forces that put pressure on our affiliates and partners resonate with us. Many of the core dynamics of the industry are changing rapidly, and we believe we have the knowledge and expertise to steer our affiliates and partners through what the future holds.
Increased competition in media buying, affiliate earnings, increased interest in substitute products and regulatory pressure, are some of the pressures we and the people we work with face. I want to give a clear message that we are truly confident in our abilities to push forward and thrive in today’s industry.
In 2026, we aim to take our affiliate experience up a notch. We aim to improve pay-out pricing, provide a wider offer portfolio, and arm them with more detailed insights into performance and actions than ever before, while also maintaining our unique personal approach.
When you look at 2026, what’s the single biggest priority for Advidi as a business?
Adapting to the adjusted rules of the game. While remaining committed to our verticals and to our affiliates and partners, we have an ambitious agenda for changes to be developed and rolled out.
In affiliate marketing, as in life, the most adaptable will survive, and this is a philosophy we embrace and act on.
Adapting and improving is exactly what we plan to do.
What can our partners expect more of from Advidi this year in terms of support, quality, and performance?
Our strength comes from the shared ambitions and goals we have with our partners.
We are committed to enhancing these relationships through transparency and collaboration. We mean this in terms of their performance relative to others, and providing insights into how to improve.
What values do you want every team and every decision at Advidi to be built on in 2026?
Partnership – This is what Advidi is built on. What is the perspective of our partners and how do our actions impact them?
Performance – This is at the forefront of every decision made in Advidi, big or small. Will this improve our performance?
Precision – We are in a numbers game, and details matter. When taking action, we will do so with knowledge, authority and precision. This will come from using data as much as possible guiding our decisions.
A simple question next. What verticals are we focusing on this year?
Our Focus is Casual Dating, mostly on RevShare, and Antivirus on CPS.
Dating is a vertical we have been successful in for over a decade. What makes us one of the leaders in the Dating space?
We believe that we have an outstanding portfolio of exclusive offers you won’t find anywhere else, not to mention our expert affiliate managers who have deep relationships with our affiliates.
We also stand out with our pricing of payouts. Our dedicated, personal touch is something you don’t find too often in this industry.
What’s changing in the Dating vertical right now, and how is Advidi adapting to those changes?
The Dating vertical is experiencing quite significant changes in terms of shifting product categories, such as creator platforms and AI companions, combined with regulatory pressure, media buying competition with other verticals and reducing margins for all parties.
At Advidi, we are committed to adapting to this situation by optimizing for the best possible results and leveraging our funnel visibility for the benefit of all our partners. Next, we innovate for better offers, better pricing, better insights, better tracking.
Antivirus is gaining a lot of momentum. What makes it exciting from a network perspective, and what opportunities do you see for partners in 2026?
For us Antivirus is based on the same values and principles as in Dating – strong and durable relationships with affiliates and advertisers. In 2026, we aim to expand our offers and let affiliates benefit from all our changes in the dating vertical.
Are there any plans for expanding into other areas in the next 12 months?
We currently evaluate expanding into other verticals, subverticals and niches that fit our core values and capabilities. Nothing to report yet, but let’s just say watch this space.
Conferences are still the beating heart of our industry. You had a taste of this last year when you attended a couple. What have you taken from those experiences?
I just loved the energy! It’s really great to see how much everyone is aiming to connect, catch up and take business.
As a relative outsider, I am amazed by the eagerness and excitement of all people in the industry. I also learned that Advidi is part of the legacy and has a pivotal role to play as a network going forward.
Thanks for taking the time out to have a chat. Is there any final message you’d like to give us ahead of a big year for Advidi and our partners?
Thanks again for the opportunity to share my thoughts. I’ll leave you with a quote I turn to often:
“People overestimate the impact of change in one year and underestimate the impact it will have over a decade.”
Now is the moment to adapt, and change the future of affiliate marketing together.