Surfshark and CJ - Successful for sure

Surfshark offers cybersecurity for everyone and, like CJ customers NordVPN and NordPass, is part of NordSecurity. The advertiser launched at CJ in January 2023, the reason for this decision was the positive recommendations of the sister companies that have been doing affiliate marketing with CJ for some time. We talked to Monika Sackute, Country Manager DACH at Surfshark, to find out what makes this brand so attractive to publishers. Monika has been with Surfshark since September 2020 and in this role is responsible for driving growth for Surfshark in the German-speaking markets.

Monika Sackute, Country Manager DACH, Surfshark 

Monika, first question for you: What exactly does Surfshark offer, in which countries are you active and what does your target group look like?

Surfshark is a global cybersecurity company that provides a wide range of online privacy and security solutions. Surfshark is primarily dedicated to the development of individual privacy and security solutions. Our product portfolio includes a VPN, Antivirus, Alert (a data breach detection system), Search (a private search engine tool), and Incogni (an automated personal data removal system). We are constantly developing our solutions and features in line with specific market requirements.  

The markets of North America, Europe, APAC and Brazil are particularly exciting for us, so CJ's activities are focused on advancing the programs in these countries. In Europe, UK, Germany, France and Spain play an important role in our expansion, but Surfshark is also open to new markets.

Cybersecurity solutions are in high demand among end customers today, as private data protection and privacy are becoming increasingly important. Our main target group is predominantly male, about 25 to 45 years old, tech, sports, travel and gaming-savvy. However, you can't exclude anyone, as the topic of Internet security is becoming more relevant for everyone every day. Our goal is to provide information about the risks and to provide the appropriate tools to be prepared for possible dangers.

Why and what type of publishers should consider working with you?

Surfshark offers a simple user interface and has received top-notch reviews on the market, for example, we are one of the TOP 3 paid VPN services. We offer continuous product improvements and new product launches. Publishers benefit from attractive commissions, a high conversion rate, and technical and strategic support. The content or coupon publishers are doing well at Surfshark. Loyalty programs also work very well. We are very interested in both Surfshark and Incogni in the area of influencer marketing and review pages. But we are also open to B2B2C collaborations with other brands/verticals if our target groups match. In general, we are interested in long-term, mutually successful partnerships.

What distinguishes you from the other cybersecurity providers on the market?

First of all, we are a steadily growing company, market leaders such as Burda Investment are investing in our development. The group has been a unicorn company since 2022. If the performance is right, we are interested in long-term partnerships with the publishers. Our products are constantly evolving, both to meet market needs and to remain competitive. At Surfshark, we see ourselves as having a role to educate users about online privacy and security.

Which CJ solutions do you use and what would you recommend to publishers to be successful with you?

The CJ platform has a partner recruiting tool that makes it easy to find the right partnerships. In addition, the CJ team manages this task for us as part of their service. The personal initiation of contact by CJ plays an enormous role. We know how important trust is in successful partnerships, and CJ supports us very well in this regard.

Another good approach to develop the programs optimally is onsite events. CJ brings us together with potential partners at industry events to establish personal contact. One of the highlights for Surfshark was this year's CJU which takes place annually in September in Santa Barbara, California. Surfshark is also regularly present at other industry events, such as PI Live Europe in London.

It is essential to regularly deal with the performance and data in the system in order to be able to react quickly. I find the Insights Dashboard and the rankings with key figures such as the EPC (e.g. for competitive benchmarks) particularly helpful. We also receive a dedicated Insights Report from CJ on a weekly basis with all the key metrics. We also use the Performance-based Commissioning tool, so that publishers can be compensated and incentivised individually, according to the products or the added value they bring. Bi-weekly update meetings are held with our CJ account team, which are extremely valuable for mutual exchange.

What are the most important projects and actions? Is there a particularly relevant time for you?

The most important sales times of the year for Surfshark are Q4 with Cyber Monday, Black Friday and Single Day. Here, we secure attractive campaigns and advertising space with the best publishers at an early stage.

Surfshark is also running campaigns for the summer/travel season. The travel time is particularly relevant for us, because many customers need reliable security solutions here in order to be able to move around the Internet without worries. The annual CJ Trend Reports, such as the CJ Shopping Intelligence Report and the CJ Travel Benchmark, which show globally important trends in consumer behaviour and e-commerce, are very useful for this.

Sporting events such as UEFA EURO 2024, the UEFA Champions League or the Olympic Games play an important role for us. The traveller must be able to move safely on the Internet, no matter where he is, and wants to stream his favourite channels even on vacation. However, it is also useful for people living abroad, such as expats, to be able to receive certain channels in their local language.

What are your plans for further cooperation with CJ?

The approach that is absolutely right for me is to work with a global network like CJ to have publishers and contacts with expertise all over the world or in our respective target markets. In addition, it is helpful that our program is managed by a central person at CJ, e.g. the local Client Development Manager. This is where all the information comes together and they are perfectly familiar with the CJ platform and the optimisation options. We feel well looked after and will continue to work with CJ in the future.

Thank you very much for the interview, Monika, and good luck with the marketing of Surfshark/Incogni.

About the person: Monika started as Country Manager Germany at Surfshark, Lithuania in September 2020. Since March, she has also been responsible for the Austrian and Swiss markets. Prior to that, she spent several years in Berlin until the end of 2019, where she studied business administration with a focus on marketing. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, running, hiking and traveling. In addition to volunteer work in the field of children and young people, her latest passion is ceramics.

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