CJ Affiliate - the practical guide.

CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction) is one of the oldest and largest affiliate networks, with a particularly strong US publisher base and enterprise-grade reporting. Owned by Publicis, it runs programmes for many global retail, travel and financial services brands and is a common default for North American mid-market and enterprise programmes.

Mid-market and enterprise advertisers in retail, travel, finance and telco needing access to large US publishers - content sites, cashback, loyalty and major media partners. Strong fit for brands that want a managed-service relationship alongside the platform.

Quote-only. Expect an annual access fee (typically four to five figures), a network override on top of publisher commissions, and a performance-based monthly minimum. Managed-service fees are extra. Pricing favours larger advertisers; it's not built for very small programmes.

Right when you need access to top-tier US affiliate publishers and want enterprise reporting plus a managed account team. Wrong fit for small DTC brands or B2B SaaS - cost and complexity won't pay back. Many newer brands prefer impact.com for richer partnership types beyond classic affiliates.

The platform shows its age in places, though reporting is solid. Override fees plus minimums add real cost - model the all-in take rate. Publisher quality varies; active management is needed to recruit, vet and prune partners. Consider whether a partnership platform (impact.com) better fits a multi-channel partner strategy.