From customer support to a rising career in affiliate marketing. Meet Brendon.

Brendon is not a new face in the iGaming scene. Having worked his way up in the industry for 6 years, he’s now Affiliate Relationship Manager at SBC. With both the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing and the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Marketing under his belt, we caught up with him to understand the role digital marketing skills play in affiliate marketing.

Why did you decide to study Digital Marketing?

When I became VIP account manager, which is where I got my first experience in marketing, I completed a short online course just to wrap my head around the concepts and the jargon. That course wasn’t very detailed because it was more of a basic entry-point, but it showed me that I was ready to invest in a more valuable credential.

As I gradually shifted towards affiliation, I wanted to learn more about digital marketing as a whole – from SEO and PPC to Google Ads and social media – to build on what I had and lay strong foundations through my studies. That’s when I enrolled for the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing – which one of my colleagues had recommended – and later, for the Postgraduate programme too. These skills were valuable to me not just in terms of gaining useful knowledge but also in terms of learning how to market yourself in order to keep growing. And in the broader industry, ICE Malta is a very familiar name. I’ve run into so many people who are either ICE Malta alumni already or who are considering the institute’s courses.

Would you recommend ICE Malta’s Digital Marketing courses to fellow affiliate marketers?

Definitely. First of all, having a thorough understanding of digital marketing will help you build a strong affiliate marketing programme. Beyond that, and this is a common problem in the industry, you often get individuals working in affiliate igaming without a solid background in digital marketing. At the end of the day, working in affiliate means you’re dealing with other marketers, so you need to be marketing-oriented. When you’re talking to c-levels from a media company, for example, the stakes are high so you need the knowledge to back you up. You’re ultimately pitching to marketing-savvy stakeholders, so you need to speak their language. This is how you show that you’re not just talk but that you know what you’re doing.

The postgraduate modules on brand building and social media marketing are absolutely essential to the day-to-day aspects of my current role, where I’m responsible for my company’s affiliate leaders’ branding, especially on LinkedIn. I’m also drawing on everything I’ve learned on SEO and PPC as we push our marketing strategies towards that direction too.

You enrolled for the Postgrad as soon as you got your Professional Diploma. What prompted you to go further?

I wanted to get all that I could. I was in study-mode at the time, so to speak, so I thought it best to take in as much as possible and go the extra mile there and then, rather than shelving it for later and then maybe putting it off indefinitely. You know how it goes. And here, I recognised the value this would bring to my career so I just went for it. With roles like mine, where there’s a high sense of responsibility, the right credentials matter. The Postgraduate Diploma gave my profile and reputation that extra credibility. You need to be taken seriously to be able to land those high-stakes conversations in the first place.

As an investment, the postgraduate is really worth your dedication. I’m very busy at work so the flexible schedule was a very important factor for me. I also really appreciated the option to split your course fees into monthly payments. It keeps your expenses manageable and I think that’s a really good approach to education.

How was your learning experience?

The two programmes at ICE Malta were practical, relevant, and focused entirely on the ‘doing’ side of things, which is something I appreciated since, even in my school days, I never enjoyed purely academic or theoretical learning all that much. With both diplomas, you can adapt whatever you’re learning to the parameters of your work. They prepare you for what it is exactly that you need to do, how to identify and stick to your objectives, and it puts you on the right path for you to apply the skills and tools that you’re picking up. The Postgrad especially teaches you how to be flexible in your strategies so that you’re able to experiment until you find the system that works best for your particular industry or goals. That adaptability is key to marketing. It’s part of its very nature. So both courses set you up to tackle that challenge and make the most of it. I was also really happy with the educators for both courses and I’m still in touch with them to this day.

For anyone out there who’s not only forging a career in digital but who also has their eye on building their own business or even working on on their self-branding, Brendon’s story proves that the right training can help you show the relevant stakeholders – be they your employers, your competitors, or your clients – that you are the real deal.

 


With roles where there’s a high sense of responsibility, the right credentials matter. The Postgraduate Diploma gave my profile and reputation that extra credibility to tackle high-stakes conversations.

BRENDON SPITERIAffiliate Relationship Manager