Anton Eshtokin, Boomerang Partners: “The Golden Boomerang Awards is about recognition, community, and exclusive experience”

Anton Eshtokin, Chief Marketing Officer at Boomerang Partners, discusses the third season of the Golden Boomerang Awards, detailing the affiliate tournament’s “Beyond the moment” theme and its strategic five-month format.

Exclusive interview.- Boomerang Partners has launched the third season of its Golden Boomerang Awards (GBA), its annual affiliate traffic tournament. The company will offer special prizes and host the final in Lisbon during SBC Summit.

In an interview with Focus Gaming News, Anton Eshtokin, chief marketing officer at Boomerang Partners, shared details about this season’s event, spoke about GBA’s main objective and challenges and shared insights about this year’s theme, the five-month format, and the experiences as rewards.

Golden Boomerang Awards (GBA) started as an affiliate competition, but now feels much bigger. At what point did you realise this could evolve into a full-scale industry platform rather than just a performance-driven initiative?

We always looked at Golden Boomerang Awards as something bigger than a short-term competition. From the start, the idea was to build a format that adds structure and recognition to a market that’s usually very performance-driven.

The shift became obvious after the first season. We saw affiliate teams coming back, planning ahead, and treating GBA as part of their yearly strategy, not just another campaign.

That’s when it stopped being just about results. When affiliates care about how they rank, how they’re perceived, and where they stand in the ecosystem, it naturally turns into a platform.

This year’s theme is “Beyond the moment”. What was the insight behind this shift, and what does “legacy” actually mean in the context of affiliate marketing?

The “Beyond the Moment” concept came from a pretty simple observation: in affiliate marketing, strong results can happen quickly, sometimes even by chance. But staying at that level is a different challenge altogether.

That’s why in Season 3, we structured GBA as a five-month competition split into three stages. This format makes it clear who can actually sustain performance over time, not just hit one strong period.

As for “legacy”, in this context, it’s not something abstract. It’s how your results add up over time and how you’re recognised because of that. Not a single spike, but a track record. If you consistently perform across the whole season, it becomes a real marker of your level in the industry.

The industry has traditionally been very focused on short-term results. Are you already seeing affiliates approach the game differently because of this longer, season-based structure?

It’s still early in the season, but the format itself already sets a different tone.

With a shorter competition, teams could rely on a strong initial push and try to hold their position. A five-month season with multiple stages changes that dynamic – it naturally requires a more planned approach.

We expect to see more planning, better resource allocation, and a stronger focus on timing. Instead of reacting to individual moments, participants will need to think in phases and manage performance across the full distance.

That’s really the key difference – the format encourages a more strategic way of working, even if the full effect becomes clear closer to the end of the season.

“When affiliates care about how they rank, how they’re perceived, and where they stand in the ecosystem, it naturally turns into a platform.”

Anton Eshtokin, chief marketing officer at Boomerang Partners.

You’ve built the entire tournament around a football-style season. How important is that emotional structure – kick off, playoffs, final sprint – in driving engagement compared to traditional incentive programs?

It’s important because it gives the competition a narrative.

It’s less about a full season model and more about a match-like structure – a clear start, shifts in momentum, and a final push.

Traditional incentive programs are usually flat – you either hit targets or you don’t. Here, that structure creates tension and keeps affiliates engaged throughout.

On top of that, each stage has its own main reward, which adds short-term goals within the longer run and helps maintain engagement throughout the competition.

So it’s not just about mechanics – it’s about making the competition feel dynamic and worth following over time.

Instead of cash rewards, you’ve gone for high-end experiences like Wimbledon or F1. What does that say about what truly motivates top affiliates today?

For us, the Golden Boomerang Awards is about recognition, community, and exclusive experience. Financial rewards still matter, but they are not the core of what we’re building.

For top affiliates, financial rewards are already part of the baseline. What really stands out is access and experience.

As a sports-focused affiliate program, we see value in offering something that reflects that positioning. Wimbledon or a Formula 1 Grand Prix goes beyond typical rewards. These are experiences that are difficult to replicate and carry a different kind of value.

They also connect directly to the same ecosystem that affiliates work in every day.

So it complements financial incentives by adding a layer of exclusivity and recognition that standard incentive models don’t really offer.

The mechanics – boosters, phases, wild cards – are clearly engineered to keep affiliates engaged over five months. What has been the biggest challenge in maintaining that momentum across such a long cycle?

The main challenge is finding the right balance between stability and change.

Over a five-month period, you need a structure that’s clear and predictable, but at the same time, you can’t let it become static. That’s where engagement usually drops.

That’s why we designed the season with phases, introduced bonus mechanics, and left space to introduce new elements along the way.

The goal is to keep the competition dynamic without overcomplicating it – so affiliates stay involved, but still clearly understand how to perform and move up.

GBA is now positioned as your main B2B platform. How does it help Boomerang Partners stand out in an increasingly crowded affiliate space?

It differentiates us by moving beyond a standard affiliate program model.

Most offers follow similar mechanics – traffic, payouts, short-term KPIs. GBA adds another layer: competition, visibility, and a clear way to measure where you stand.

It also creates continuity. Instead of isolated campaigns, affiliate partners engage with us over a longer cycle, track their progress, and become part of a structured ecosystem.

We now work with over 3,000 partners, and participation in GBA continues to grow year by year – from 226 teams in the first season to 400+ in the second. That kind of growth shows that the format resonates with the market.

In our industry, that kind of approach is harder to replicate. It’s not just about what you offer, but how affiliate partners experience working with you over time.

The grand final in Lisbon is framed as more than an event; it’s a statement. What do you want attendees and winners to feel when they leave that room?

The idea is to make it feel earned – more than a typical industry event, the final point of a long and competitive run.

We’ve been building that experience step by step. In 2024, the ceremony was about bringing the community together. In 2025, we scaled it to San Siro Stadium in Milan through our partnership with AC Milan, which significantly raised the level and made it more connected to the sports world.

“We now work with over 3,000 partners, and participation in GBA continues to grow year by year – from 226 teams in the first season to 400+ in the second.”

Anton Eshtokin, chief marketing officer at Boomerang Partners.

This year, we’re taking it further by hosting the final in Lisbon during SBC Summit, putting it at the centre of a key industry gathering.

For us, it’s about giving top teams access to experiences they wouldn’t normally get. So when they leave that room, the feeling should be clear: this wasn’t just a win, it’s a moment that reflects their level and where they stand in the industry.

Disclaimer: Third-party names, events, and trademarks (including Wimbledon, F1) are used descriptively to illustrate the type of experience offered. Boomerang Partners is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of these organisations.