Agency Partner Spotlight: Jamdesk

Our Agency Partner Spotlight series interviews experts from our killer network of agency partners and highlights their impact in the field of partner marketing. 

This month, we connected with Max Johnson, Founder of Jamdesk. 

Max is the Founder and CEO at Jamdesk, a full-service partnership agency based in Denver, Colorado. Prior to launching Jamdesk, Max operated as the Managing Director at Perform[cb] (formerly Ignite OPM). In this role, he oversaw the growth strategy across 25+ brands and managed a client team of account managers, media buyers, and program coordinators. Outside of work, Max can be found running the local trails or trying the newest restaurant in town. 

Q: How did you get started in the world of affiliate/partner marketing? 

Affiliate marketing is the only career I’ve ever known. My first job out of college was at an agency that specialized in lead gen and acquisition for massive insurance companies. I was able to see first-hand how much data and analytics could (and should) inform marketing strategies, which is a lesson I’ve carried with me to this day. 

Q: Why should a brand consider working with an affiliate marketing agency? 

Agencies often have the scale and perspective needed to successfully launch & grow a partnership program. By managing multiple brands, often across a variety of verticals, we have learnings and insights that a single brand cannot replicate. 

Additionally, agencies have well-developed relationships with key publishers making recruitment and optimization a bit easier. 

Q: What is Jamdesk? 

Jamdesk is a high-touch, data-driven agency. We help ambitious brands launch & scale their partnership programs. Our core services include affiliate, performance PR, Amazon, and influencer. 

I founded Jamdesk in 2022 after spending years working at other agencies. The goal was simple: raise the bar for what an agency partner can and should be. The cookie cutter approaches and low-touch offerings are no longer enough. 

Q: What makes Jamdesk so innovative? What sets you apart from the competition? 

Unlike the bigger agencies, partnership marketing is all that we do. Our account managers all have decades of experience and established track records of success.

We pride ourselves on operating as if we are the brand rather than a third-party with disparate goals or standards. Affiliate marketing shouldn't operate in a silo, so it's important we function as an extension of our clients' teams.

Q: What types of brands do you work with? 

We work with brands across a variety of industries, from early stage startups to enterprise brands. The biggest thing they all have in common? They’re looking for a data-driven approach to scale, often through unique partnerships. 

Q: How does Jamdesk typically work with Everflow clients? 

Everflow has been a great partner to us (and our clients) over the years. They offer a robust platform that can meet a wide range of marketing needs including businesses with complex sales funnels and/or multiple, intersecting partnership channels. 

Similar to how we work with brands, we view ourselves as an extension of the Everflow team and vice versa. We tackle challenges and take advantage of opportunities together based on client needs. 

Q: Please share a recent client success story. 

In late 2023, Jamdesk started working with a DTC home appliance brand. The brand had an existing affiliate program for years but the channel was mostly leveraged for lower funnel acquisition — reliant on toolbars, deal sites, and lower quality networks. 

Through the team’s recruitment efforts, we were able to increase the number of active partners by 77% and grew the upper funnel contribution by 93%. 

Q: What is one unexpected opportunity for brands to scale up their partner marketing efforts? 

I think the biggest opportunity is simple: applying the “affiliate” model to an ever-growing set of channels and partnerships. Affiliate is really just a payment model so finding ways to motivate people/entities to promote your brand in exchange for performance-based incentives is where the opportunity is.