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Are Voucher Code Affiliates effectively hijacking / kidnapping already committed customers (purchaser) of retailers at the checkout basket, causing either greater shopping cart abandonment or cannibalising the profit margins of retailers & to a lesser extent over-riding the tracking cookies of other content affiliates who did the groundwork in promoting a retailer? 

Retailers might need to consider taking the following preventative measures to increase their profit margins & to assist in REDUCING shopping cart abandonment & STOP paying commissions to Voucher Code Affiliates where it is unnecessary to do so.

Scenario:

A customer is already at the checkout basket on a retailer’s website & has already committed to the purchase of an item, without the need of a Voucher Code. The customer was not aware a voucher existed. In all essence the sale is already closed & no affiliate tracking cookie is on the customer's device (laptop, pc, mobile phone, tablet etc.)

However, during the checkout process the customer is presented with an option box to enter a Voucher Code in order to receive a discount. Now at that point in time there might or might not be a valid Voucher Code during specific validation dates or there might be one for a particular product which is not even relevant for the items in their shopping basket. 

Still, the customer then decides to leave (abandon) the retailer’s checkout basket either in the current browser tab or a new one to find a Voucher Code.

Pandora’s Box has now been opened.

This has profound disadvantages for retailers!

In a search engine they, “the customer”, … Well not quite yet “the customer”, because they have not completed the purchase since they have just paused at the checkout basket & not yet proceeded with payment. The retailer might have to wait longer to get the sale, if at all, because shopping cart abandonment can be high if they go off to a Voucher Code website & find a competitor of the retailer also listed on the Voucher Affiliate’s website & are distracted to go elsewhere.

Anyhow, in a search engine the customer types "retailer brand name + Voucher Code" or something similar. 

Within the paid advertising results on Google or Bing, paid adverts appear for various Voucher Code websites.

Did the retailer allow them to bid on "retailer brand name + Voucher Code"? … Did the retailer have keyword policy restrictions for this? Did the retailer give permission to the voucher affiliate? Or did the Voucher Affiliate / Affiliate Network / Agency leverage the retailer to grant them permission to bid on the retailer’s brand name in exchange for exposure, which is an egregious error for the retailer to succumb to on their behalf? Was the affiliate network or agency complicit in this leveraging? Since, either or both parties might receive some form of remuneration or it might be self interest in protecting their job as an affiliate marketing manager & making the voucher affiliate channel look better than it actually is, costing the retailer profit margins to secure their role.

We digress …

Alternatively, also towards the top of natural search listings appears the Voucher Code websites because they have deliberately SEO’d for the retailer brand by the forming a title tag of "retailer brand name + Voucher Code".

Question: Why hasn’t the retailer SEO’d for this on their own website, when they would normally naturally rank/appear higher. i.e. "retailer brand name + Voucher Code".

We digress again … A bit like Ronnie Corbett and his end of show yarns.

Once the customer enters the Voucher Code website, to view a code, if valid, they are required to click a button which says something along the lines of "Click to Reveal Code", once the customer does this the code is revealed & the retailer’s website is launched in another browser tab. It is at this point when the tracking cookie is dropped onto the customer's device. This tracking cookie is very important, because now the sale has been attributed to the Voucher Code affiliate.

Obvious, yes, are you sure?

Subsequently the customer returns to retailer’s checkout basket, enters the Voucher Code and completes the sale. Well not always, yep indeed not always, but for the purpose of this scenario let’s make the retailer feel all warm & fluffy inside by concluding that the customer purchased from them.

Remember, there was originally NO affiliate tracking cookie, whether that be a Voucher Affiliate or Content Affiliate, in place on the customer’s device.

Suddenly, there is a DOUBLE WHAMMY & not in the retailer’s favour. They now have to discount on an item where the customer was already committed to the price in the checkout basket thus reducing the profit margin / bottom line on those sold items and ALSO they now have to pay a Voucher Affiliate commission PLUS an over-ride commission to the Affiliate Network and/or Agency where it was originally unnecessary to do so. The retailer’s charity to them is undoubtedly most welcomely received.

Basically, could it be considered that the Voucher Code website has effectively kidnapped / hijacked the tracking cookie? We are not implying they have done so in a malicious or nefarious way, not at all, however there are MAJOR flaws in Voucher Codes and Voucher Affiliate marketing which has tarnished the affiliate marketing industry for a number of years and the bottom line / profit margin of retailers without the warranted press exposure & scrutiny by the decision makers of retailers. Haemorrhaging their profit margins.

This is not a definitive scenario, just an example since it depends on the browsing habit of the consumer, but based upon the potential customer already at the checkout basket of a particular merchant.

This is partly due to Affiliate Networks (not all of them we hasten to mention) & could even be due to an agency not representing a retailer’s brand properly, both of whom might receive some override commission from sales generated or retention of their contract.

These unnecessary commissions would be better served by passing the additional discounts to the customers rather than the intermediaries of Voucher Affiliates, Affiliate Networks & the Agencies who are “meant” to have their clients’ (the retailers) best interest.

We are not suggesting for a moment not working with Voucher Affiliates, they have their advantages & should be worked with as long as you analyse the whole picture & various scenarios.

There needs be a solution where Voucher Affiliates & Content Affiliates can operate with parity in the Affiliate Marketing space & are treated equally with regard to opportunities, attribution models & especially tools. Voucher Affiliates are volume drivers, usually towards the lowest part of the funnel. But take away this element & the figures might be markedly contrasting.

It must be emphasised not to demonise Voucher Affiliates, but the Affiliate Marketing Industry has been complacent in moving forward apart from getting as many merchants on their network as possible without reinvesting in the whole channel & the remaining Affiliate base  ... rather than being dependent on a just a score of affiliates. With too many eggs in one basket, the gravy train will come to a halt sometime. How long will these magic money tree last for?

Timestamps

Now most retailers don't compare the actual Timestamps (date & time) of when the customer was at the checkout basket on their website … with … when the Voucher Affiliate’s tracking cookie was placed on the customer's device. The Affiliate Network should hopefully provide this information of the Timestamp of the Voucher Code Affiliate for the retailer. These basic analytics would give the retailer a huge insight on how much money they are needlessly paying to Voucher Code affiliates when maybe they shouldn't be. Which comprehensively outweighs any benefits (for which granted there are a also some advantages with Voucher Affiliates) they might perceive in any sales pitch from an Affiliate Network / Agency representing their brand or Voucher Affiliate has presented to them. The wool might have been either pulled over the retailer’s eyes or the whole picture not revealed.

An Affiliate Network might not be always giving the retailer the full picture on Timestamps of a tracking cookie drop where the retailer should cross reference with their own analytical data like when a customer is at their checkout or on their website. Note not all Affiliate Networks are like this. Beware of those networks who appear impressive with their sales pitch, corporate spiel & persuasion in their favouritism of Voucher Affiliates. If a network is boasting they have this or that Voucher Affiliate and not providing plenty of examples of Content Affiliates, then ask yourself why.

These Voucher Affiliates are probably signed up to most networks, so if most of your sales are coming from Voucher Affiliates why are you paying through the nose on Network fees when a lesser known, yet equally reputable networks has the same Voucher Affiliate on their network? Like us, You could be saving some money there too.

As a side note, don't be hoodwinked into how Affiliates networks claim to have on a network. It's more informative to know how many Affiliates actually meet the minimum threshold per month to receive payment. If you top & tail this by 5% which eliminates to payments to Voucher Affiliates, what really is the average Affiliate earning?

Also, an agency representing a retailer brand, might want to make themselves look better than what they actually are from the overall marketing of the retailer, especially from the Voucher Affiliate channel. Why would they? when it makes them look like they have been generating sales when in effect they might be just as culpable either by ignorance or by not being fully transparent. Note, not all Agencies or Networks are intending to deliberately mislead. However, some could be getting a taste of the commission too for this low hanging fruit. Perhaps, for some agencies representing brands they manage, their loyalties possibly lie with their pockets?

Overall, the retailer could be paying commission on at least 25% of those sales in addition to the discount to the final price. It is believed by some that a vast majority of the revenue for a Voucher Affiliate is accrued via this exploitation and also that of the Affiliate Network. Why does it feel there is a lot of silence & impressive rebuttal (spin) whenever these problems are brought up directly with them. It is important that all the decision makers of retailers are aware, especially those with Affiliate Programs.

Some agencies, merchants, affiliate networks & affiliates have claimed these percentages are considerably higher.

We & others unwavering believe Voucher Code websites in these situations (not all situations) often add NO extra value to the brand (retailer), because they are targeting customers that have already decided to purchase by already at the checkout. But they shouldn't be excluded if the appropriate remuneration / attribution model is in place.

This can be likened to match of football, they (the Voucher Affiliate) act like a goal poacher or a goal hanger whereby the ball was already going in the net, but they (the Voucher Affiliate) deliberately (not nefariously) get their toe on the ball to claim the goal from somebody else together with the bonus money for scoring a goal. Where the Affiliate Network (not all) and/or Agency (not all) are likened to a bias referee who turns a blind eye.

Expanding Further

Now let's expand on elements from on above which can affect retailer profits and the disadvantages of Voucher Code websites. 

Content Affiliate Tracking Cookies Are Being Over-Written

Let's assume for the sake of simplicity that Affiliates fall into two main groups, “Voucher Affiliates” & the rest we can generically call “Content Affiliates”. 

Now whilst, this effect might be less than that in the aforementioned about timestamps, it will have an overall effect on the affiliate program.

These Content Affiliates usually earn significantly less revenue than Voucher Code websites but do exponentially more in the pre-sell of the products / services / brand exposure of a retailer. 

Now, this next scenario is similar to the original aforementioned except that a tracking cookie on a customer’s device is already in place and attributed to a Content Affiliate who did the groundwork in promoting the retailer or a product which led the customer to retailer’s website. Granted there are various touch-points, but this is article is purely for simplicity. 

However, going back to the scenario where the customer pauses their purchase and goes off to a Voucher Code website to collect a code. 

What happens here is that this dropped tracking cookie of a Voucher Affiliate over-writes the tracking cookie of the Content Affiliate & thus the Content Affiliate loses out on the commission, when it was the Content Affiliate who did the groundwork that led to the customer deciding to make the purchase in the first place. They introduced the customer to the brand earlier during the buying cycle, but they lose out.

As long as the retailer gets the sale, why would they care?

Well their profit margin is already reduced by the discount applied at the basket due to the Voucher Code, when customer was originally committed / satisfied with the price, BUT also,they will lose the loyalty of the Content Affiliate. Resulting in their affiliate program being a left-over husk as ONLY Voucher Affiliates will promote their affiliate program and they’ll have to keep offering Voucher Codes. 

Content Affiliates won’t vacate the space, they are entrepreneurial & resourceful. Instead they WILL promote competitors of this retailer.

Some networks have made strides to re-address this, but not enough. Placating Content Affiliates with the odd nickle here or there, is not enough for a network to sit on their laurels for so many years without reinvesting in the tools Content Affiliates have been requesting.

Voucher Code Affiliates & their websites in these situations add NO extra value to retailers’ brand, because they are targeting customers that have already decided to purchase. 

Unfortunately, this problem has been going on for quite a few years, maybe a decade. As a result many Content Affiliates left the industry. Some (not all) Affiliate Networks won't do anything because at the end of the day they still receive their over-ride on commission as part of their income. Some networks have failed miserably in creating an adequate solution or supporting Content Affiliates on this matter in addition to lacking the development of affiliate tools beyond a reporting interface. Some networks might also guilty of pulling the wool of merchant’s eyes to the full picture of Voucher Affiliates, because they want their share of the commission the merchant/retailer needn’t had paid.

Solution :

Well there are many which should be adopted.

(1) Timestamps
(2) Deduct The Value Of The Voucher From The Commission Of The Voucher Affiliate  
(3) STOP : Do Not Permit Click To Reveal Buttons
(4) What To Do, When No Voucher Code Actually Exists
(5) Prevent Total Abandonment Of The Shopping Basket
(6) Retailers Should Create Their Own Voucher Code Page
(7) Remove the Voucher Code Box From Checkout
(8) Some (Not All) Affiliate Networks Don't Care
(9) Allocate Bespoke Voucher Codes For Your Customers & Gain Control
(10) STOP Voucher Affiliates Leveraging Retailers from bidding on "Retailer Brand + Voucher Code" and similar expressions.
(11) Get The Customer To Sign Up To Your Newsletter In Order To Receive A Voucher
(12) Other Disadvantages



(1) Timestamps

We make no apologies, but this needs to be reiterated.

Retailers should do themselves a service by scrutinising the scale of the problem (it could be significant or minimal, no rule fits all), then they’ll realise how much / little of their profit margins are being affected. 

Check & compare the timestamps of when a Voucher Affiliate tracking cookie is dropped and when the potential customer is at their checkout/basket and also on their website. The Affiliate Network HAS A DUTY to provide the retailer with the timestamp of the tracking cookie & then the retailer should cross reference with their own analytics for when the customer entered their website & was at the checkout. 

If the timestamp of the Voucher Affiliate tracking cookie is in-between the point they reached the checkout & actually confirmed the purchase, then this confirms the effect of the Voucher Code. Retailers could be unpleasantly surprised how prevalent this problem is.

But, it seems there are one or two networks who will try to play down this problem via lots of spin & colloquialism of marketing spiel to bamboozle & hoodwink the retailer and/or their agency.

If the timestamp of the Voucher Affiliate tracking cookie is in-between the point the customer enters the retailer’s website & confirms the purchase, then this is a similar concern. Also, a retailer must request from the Affiliate Network if during these time periods a Voucher Affiliate tracking cookie is dropped.

If a Content Affiliate tracking cookie was over-written by a Voucher Affiliate, then the commission should be re-attributed to the Content Affiliate since they were the main touching point of the customer’s journey & the positive influencer.

If no tracking cookie was originally in place, then a retailer should incorporate this as part of their dedupe / deduplication policy by either reversing the commission or not approving the commission of the Voucher Affiliate.

It is important that retailers DEMAND transparency from an Affiliate Network. They should request from them, all the timestamps of cookies & compare. It is the duty of an Affiliate Network to be transparent with the retailer. Or if they are represented by an agency, request it from them. If you are an agency, conduct dutiful diligence by investigating & informing your client.

What if there is no current / valid Voucher Code in place?

Sometimes merchants / retailers have a Voucher Code entry box at the checkout basket when there is not currently one in circulation within the valid dates.

Here the merchant / retailer has either been neglectful or too lazy in removing the Voucher Code box, yet the customer still trots off to find a Voucher Code or a Voucher Affiliate website & more often than not will still see links or buttons to / for an inapplicable promotion. Again, the tracking cookie gets dropped & again the retailer will needlessly be paying commission to a Voucher Affiliate.

(2) Deduct The Value Of The Voucher From The Commission Of The Voucher Affiliate  

One way for a retailer to partially offset their loss in profit margins is to deduct the value of the voucher code from the commission from the voucher affiliate.

For example, if the basket value is $/£200 and the voucher was a 10% discount, then discount this $/£20 (10%) from the Voucher Affiliate to no less than zero. Therefore, if the voucher affiliate commission level is 10% or less, then the voucher affiliate doesn’t receive anything. Why should the retailer lose out!? If the affiliate commission is higher than the discount % then obviously they are only paid the difference. Unfortunately, only a few merchants offer slightly reduced commission to voucher affiliates but it isn’t sufficient to outweigh the use of the voucher code & the subsequent loss in profit margin.


(3) STOP : Do Not Permit Click To Reveal Buttons

Do not allow “click to reveal”. Demand form Voucher Affiliates that customers can view the Voucher Code, thus mitigating over-riding the tracking cookie of a Content Affiliate or prevent a tracking cookie being dropped where neither existed.

(4) What To Do, When No Voucher Code Actually Exists

If you visit various Voucher Code websites for a specific merchant, quite often there are no current Voucher Codes. But instead they might just have a message saying special offers or a discount % without a Voucher Code, or maybe only just a brief description about the retailer.

Customers are still inclined to click the reveal button, discount button or in fact any button that is present. This again drops a tracking cookie on the customer’s device whereby it over-writes a tracking cookie of a Content Affiliate or worse still plants one where no tracking cookie previously existed.

By insisting on this alone, retailers could see a massive reduction in commissions they will have to pay Voucher Affiliates.
In these situations, many Voucher Code websites have also SEO’d for “Retailer/Brand Name + Voucher Code”, which is a similar problem, especially if no Voucher Code currently exists.

(5) Prevent Total Abandonment Of The Shopping Basket

Various articles online suggest that when a customer potentially pauses at the checkout to go to a Voucher Code website to find a Voucher Code, that the checkout is actually abandoned by a high percentage in these instances because the Voucher Code website has offered alternative retailers they are distracted away from the retailer’s checkout. Or the potential customer might have opened within the same browser tab rather than a new browser tab.

(6) Create Your Own Voucher Code Page

Any retailer should create their own webpage on their website with the current Voucher Codes & then SEO appropriately. Also combine this with SEM / Paid Search and direct potential customers or redirect back those customers who were already on your checkout page back to their website.

Then there is no need for Voucher Affiliates to be permitted to bid on “Retailer/Brand Name + Voucher Code”.

(7) Remove the Voucher Code Box From Your Checkout

Remove the Voucher Code box on retailer’s checkout basket and automatically apply the discount with a very visible kind message. It'll make the customer feel special.

All the aforementioned are just a few ways to protect retailer profit margins & prevent Voucher Affiliates from effectively cannibalising / enforcing tracking cookies which force the retailer to pay unnecessary commissions & discount items for a customer who is already committed to purchase from you

(8) Some (Not All) Affiliate Networks Don't Seem To Care

Some Affiliate Networks don't seem to care / care less / pretend to care about Content Affiliates or the issues surrounding tracking cookies because at the end of the day these few networks probably prefer to deal with / pander to a small handful of large affiliates as against many smaller Content Affiliates. 

It’s easy to perceive, obvious & deliberate favouritism. We believe these Affiliate Networks (not all) might be not informing Merchants / Retailers as to the whole picture & the concerns of Content Affiliates. Pulling the wool over a merchant’s eyes and being economic with the truth. As long as Affiliate Networks get the income via an over-ride of the Voucher Affiliate’s commission. Maybe a retailer’s agency does too?

This is not characteristic of all networks, but some are more convincing than others in their snazzy presentations together with colloquial spin. This is not just an affiliate’s perspectives but also from people who previously worked at networks, merchants & agencies and those who still do. Most won’t speak openly because there is a fear of reprisals, losing clients or an Affiliate Network looking to kick a Content Affiliate of their network with any excuse.

Please note all references to Affiliate Networks, does not tarnish them all with the same brush. Of course Affiliate Networks reputable but the over reliance of Voucher Codes for a number of years hasn't moved the industry forward as it should have. Many of the points in this article are like an old broken record, but in the main still mostly relevant, which is disconcerting.

There are GOOD networks that are more transparent on this issue.

Would a retailer prefer to have a strong army of affiliates (Both Voucher AND Content Affiliates) who are motivated and willing to invest their time in their campaign / affiliate program, to work with the retailer in order to build their brand and add value to it? Or a couple of dozen Voucher Affiliates who will just throw up a Voucher Code and effectively in certain instances cannibalise the brand & profit margins?

If a retailer can afford to provide a Voucher Code of a 5%, 10% or 20% discount & if a Content Affiliate is responsible for the sale & a Voucher Code is not used, then how about rewarding the Content Affiliate that extra 5%, 10% or 20%. It represents no less an amount in margins. 

Better still, offer increased discounts for the customer.

If you have (A) Discount Amount to Customer + (B) Voucher Affiliate Commission + (C) Affiliate Network Over-ride Commission + (D) Your Agency Over-ride Commission, a retailer could instead eliminate B+C+D and offer these to their customer instead.

It’s not rocket science. 

(9) Allocate Bespoke Voucher Codes For Your Customers & Gain Control

There are several ways to have control over voucher code distribution & that is the have bespoke voucher codes for each individual customer / potential customer. Some already do this. To be in receipt all they (the customer) has to do is maybe sign up to your marketing newsletter.

Or maybe if allocating a voucher code through the Affiliate Marketing channel then ensure this deduction (say 10%) is taken away from the commission you pay the Voucher Affiliate, where their commission is reduced to no less than zero.

(10) STOP Voucher Affiliates Leveraging Retailers from bidding on "Retailer Brand + Voucher Code" and similar expressions.

Stop any Voucher Code Affiliate websites from trying to leverage a retailer on PPC brand bidding rights. 

Apart from their sizeable email databases it is Content Affiliates who more often than not do the pre-sell or the merchants own existing marketing activity.

Now a Voucher Affiliate might have a sizeable email database & be useful for seasonal launches / getting rid of old stock etc, but there are more Content Affiliates who could potentially promote the retailer.

The sum of the parts (these being Content Affiliates) are greater than any Voucher Affiliate. But utilising them both is even better.

It has been reported/commented that there are Voucher Affiliate(s) who leverage merchants by demanding they are permitted to bid on keyword phrases like (brand/retailer name + voucher) in return for exposure. It is foolhardy to fall for this, because the retailer won’t be the only merchant on their website & certainly the retailer’s competitors will also be on the Voucher Affiliate’s website. If the Affiliate Network or Agency or Voucher Affiliate is trying to persuade the retailer to permit this, well this is a warning signal.  

It is obvious when looking at paid advertising in a search engine results if a retailer is possibly one of these who favour Voucher Affiliate as opposed to Content Affiliates when looking at SEM results in Google.

Otherwise, retailers by doing this will alienate many Content Affiliates who will instead promote their competitors.

Instead, only the retailer, not anyone else, should bid on keyword phrases like (brand/retailer name + voucher) and direct the potential customer to a specific page on retailer’s website showing their current Discount / Voucher Codes.

Repeat: If ANY party is trying to persuade the retailer to permit this, well this is a warning signal.  


(11) Get The Customer To Sign Up To Your Newsletter In Order To Receive A Voucher

Why not request the potential customer to sign up to your newsletter / marketing email prior to getting a discount code, which they can collect / redeem whilst at the shopping basket. There are various ways a retailer can achieve this without having the potential customer having to leave the checkout basket or wander off to a Voucher Affiliate website where you have to pay commission as well.


(12) Other Disadvantages

Here are a few other points which were collated from other sources on the internet as to the disadvantages of Voucher Affiliates.

(a) Voucher Codes can encourage consumers to purchase ONLY when a discount is offered. Customers may become undependable - Customers may get used to waiting for retailer deals, rather than paying the full price, decreasing retailer sales and ROI in the long run.

(b) Lack of content on Voucher Affiliate Websites means consumers miss out on in depth product information.

(c) Voucher Affiliate websites add NO value to a brand.

(d) Content Affiliates may lose out to Voucher Codes at the last stage of the buying process 

(e) Long Term Brand Damage : Discounting works in the short term, but in the long term it can cause damage to the brand. Because Voucher Codes can teach customers to think that regular prices are too high. They might always expect to receive a bargain and may wait for the next voucher offer before they purchase again. This can even result in a customer refusing to make any purchase on sites without a voucher. This race to the bottom could devalue a retailer’s brand.

(f) Quality could be sacrificed – A retailer may end up limiting the quality of their services based on the decreased amount of the revenue they are getting from these vouchers.

(g) Long Term Value vs Quick Sales Now - Brand value could be damaged. This could lead to a negative impact on brand image, as it could make your brand look cheap, or customers could think that a retailer are just trying to get rid of stock.

Summary

If you are a merchant / retailer please pass this long-winded article around to your directors, marketing executives and decision makers within your company. We hope it has given you some food for thought by prompting you into action to mitigate some of the problems surrounding Voucher Codes, Voucher Affiliates & Some Affiliate Networks & Agencies.

Whatever you decide, we wish you well with your affiliate program if you have one & the continued success of your brand & business.

We are not suggesting for a moment not working with Voucher Affiliates, they have their advantages & should be worked with as long as you analyse the whole picture & various scenarios.

There needs be a solution (overdue) where Voucher Affiliates & Content Affiliates can operate with parity in the Affiliate Marketing space & are treated equally with regard to opportunities, attribution models & especially tools.

N.B. All these are just opinions & food for thought. Grammar police, feel welcome to fill your boots if you wish to show the immaturity to criticise rather than appreciate the points being made, unless they would prefer we were "tYpIn lyk dis". It might seem that you have heard a lot of this before & which have no doubt heard or read being continually repeated over several years. Unfortunately, they are mostly still relevant today. Quite a few will also be quite dismissive with accusations of bashing Voucher Code Affiliates. Usually they are in the upper echelons with self serving interests who wield both power & influence within Affiliate Marketing & thus benefit the most from Vouchers (more often than not), unlike us (Merchants, Agencies & Affiliates) who are not quite so sesquipedalianistic or belittling, such is sometimes the petulance.

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