Repositioning a tier-1 publisher portfolio at a global affiliate network.

Context

CityAds is a global affiliate network. I joined as the senior BDM responsible for the Brazilian publisher portfolio — the side of the marketplace where cashback platforms, coupon sites, banks and fintechs sit. The portfolio at the time was a mix of established tier-1 names and underperforming legacy accounts, with most of the volume concentrated in cashback (~80%) and coupons (~20%).

Challenge

Year one growth had landed at +5% — soft, given the size of the publishers involved (Méliuz, Cuponomia, Banco Inter, Promobit, Cuponation). The issue wasn't the publishers; it was the friction between publishers and advertisers running inside the network. Migrations were stalling, performance reviews weren't translating into volume, and new business pipeline was thin.

Approach

I tightened three things in parallel:

• Tier-1 account management cadence. Monthly performance reviews tied to specific commercial moves, not just metric reporting.
• Publisher–advertiser handshake. Acting as broker between both sides of the network — restructuring deals where commercials had drifted, surfacing campaign migration opportunities, defusing issues before they escalated.
• New business pipeline. Rebuilt prospecting of organic publishers from first contact through to first live campaign. Onboarded several new names that contributed to year-two growth.

Outcome

• Portfolio revenue grew +18–20% YoY in year two — a 3–4x improvement over year one.
• Retained all major tier-1 accounts. Added several new organic publishers to the active roster.
• Restructured advertiser deals that were at risk of cancellation — including a mid-quarter budget cut from a key advertiser, where I rebalanced terms in a way that kept both the advertiser and the publishers committed.
• Played a key role in structuring the account management model for the top publisher tier.

What it took

Most of the work was relational, not operational. Senior publishers don't move volume because of a new dashboard; they move volume because the BDM on the other side is reliable, responsive, and surfaces commercial upside they wouldn't have spotted themselves. The growth came from being that person across the top of the portfolio for two years.