November 22nd 2011 - TradeDoubler, the number one pan-European performance marketing company, today announced the launch of The Zoo Project, a UK Affiliate Marketing incubator designed to foster grass roots growth and help drive innovation in the Affiliate Marketing arena.

With applications now open until 6 January 2012, up to 20 Affiliate Marketing start-up companies will be admitted into the Zoo for one year, and will benefit from more than £1 million worth of business resources, including rent free and rates free office space at TradeDoubler’s prestigious UK headquarters in Victoria; hands-on mentoring from TradeDoubler’s affiliate marketing industry experts; unique access to major brand advertisers and partners; and networking opportunities with other companies and entrepreneurs.

“Affiliate Marketing is inherently entrepreneurial as an industry sector, and we want to mentor and help support grass roots affiliate growth in the UK,” said Rob Wilson, Market Unit Leader North West for TradeDoubler. “We believe the UK is still one of the world’s biggest gateways for new ideas. Every day we help our clients reach thousands of customers through Affiliate Marketing campaigns, and want to see more affiliates come to market and achieve similar levels of success. We believe the difficult economic climate brings unique opportunities for affiliates as consumers search for better deals online. The Zoo Project will help start-up affiliate businesses harness these opportunities, enabling them to grow into major sustainable companies.”

Interested affiliates can download an application form at www.thezooproject.co.uk or send an email to [email protected]. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to meet with one or more of The Zoo’s panel of ‘Dragons’.

The project is being supported by several industry experts and thought leaders in the market with the final panel being announced in the coming weeks. Key experts include:
• Rob Wilson, Market Unit Leader North West, TradeDoubler
• Mary Keane Dawson, Strategic Advisor and Digital Agency Mentor
• Paul Bongers, Head of Paid Search at BT / clickbuyclick
• Matthew Wood, Founder of A4U

TradeDoubler will announce the list of successful incubator companies at the end of January 2012, followed by a launch party to celebrate the new incubator residents. Entry requirements and further information can be found online at www.thezooproject.co.uk

About TradeDoubler
TradeDoubler helps companies improve their online results, both by increasing sales and by increasing brand awareness. The core business is performance-based online marketing. With a network of over 138,000 web publishers, TradeDoubler helps more than 1,900 advertisers worldwide to reach their business goals. The company has a unique reach being able to address around 75 per cent of Europe's e-commerce consumers. Among the advertisers are Apple, American Express, Dell, Disney, Expedia, lastminute.com and Nokia. The share is listed on Nasdaq OMX. More information is available at www.TradeDoubler.com

For further information, please contact:
Kim Lynch, Devonshire Marketing (PR for TradeDoubler)
Tel: +44 (0) 870 7000 166, Email: kim[at]devonshiremarketing[dot]com

Marie Dalton, TradeDoubler
Tel: +44 (0) 207 798 6470, Email: marie.dalton[at]tradedoubler[dot]com

Distributed on behalf of Devonshire Marketing by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)