Author: <span class="vcard">Rakuten Advertising</span>

With a network that brings together technology, partners, and strategy, Rakuten Advertising builds partnerships and programs that showcase opportunities in the full-funnel journey.

Using products and tools powered by data and AI, Rakuten Advertising introduces Affiliate Intelligence to help brands and publishers connect with audiences and run data-informed campaigns.

Holiday shopping is starting earlier, with consumers setting budgets and retailers prepping for a Q4 surge. A survey of 15,000 shoppers highlights the importance of early campaigns, discounts, free shipping, and buy-now-pay-later options. Find out the best ways to integrate affiliate strategies to capture attention and drive sales and sleigh this holiday shopping season.

DealMaker Canada was a smashing success with a record-breaking number of top advertisers, publishers, and agencies coming together for 2 days of networking, discussions, and fun. Attendees enjoyed a day full of meetings, insightful content, and dealmaking in our last DealMaker event of the year. Read the full blog now to hear more!

Our Agency Support team is consistently striving for success - from our award-winning customer support teams to our innovative technology, this team supports the success of our agency partners. The Agency Services Program provides our affiliate agency partners with innovative tools and solutions to fuel consistent growth for their clients.

Rakuten Advertising has embraced the reality of incrementality. We’ve laid out a four-phase plan to help you unlock the power of incrementality and fully grasp the impact your affiliate initiatives have on your business.

While Google’s shift may raise concerns about affiliate marketing, the good news is that it has no impact on Rakuten Advertising’s affiliate tracking technology or the tracking capabilities of our network and partners. Our tracking solutions are built to be robust, effective, and reliable, adapting seamlessly to environmental changes such as these.

Following a successful networking event in London last week, we sat down with Dipa Shah, Director of Merchant Development at Skimlinks to get the low down on what you need to know to plan for the 2024 peak shopping period.

Brands can’t succeed in today’s business climate without capitalizing on every opportunity for growth. We need to deploy integrated approaches that impact the full funnel – influencing impact at every step of the customer journey. But what happens if your prospects and customers get lost on the way to conversion? What if they stop progressing toward purchase?

Since our last post on GA4's implications for affiliate marketing, we’ve continued investigating and adapting to the evolving landscape of attribution models. Our latest findings reveal nuances in how GA4 processes sessions and events, significantly impacting how affiliate conversions are credited. This update delves into these discoveries and offers actionable advice for advertisers navigating this new reality.

Rakuten International's Optimism event, held in sunny Carlsbad, California, marked a triumphant return with nearly 1,000 global attendees. This year's theme, "Fueling Meaningful Connections," was brought to life through a series of engaging panels, keynote speeches, and networking opportunities. The event celebrated the best in affiliate marketing, offering insights and innovations from industry leaders and fostering powerful partnerships across the globe.

This is the third post in our “Time to Fix Your Funnel” series that identifies ways to help partnership marketers improve program performance. In the competitive world of affiliate advertising, a brand's success hinges on a program that guides customers seamlessly from awareness to purchase.