Marketing Strategies

Publisher Spotlight: Pace

As part of our Publisher Spotlight series, Rakuten Advertising recently spoke to Terence Quah, Director of Affiliate Partnerships at Pace, a Singapore-based fintech company with buy-now pay-later (BNPL) solutions.

Terence explains how Pace can help brands throughout all stages of the customer journey, from brand awareness to purchase, via its virtual Pace Card and loyalty program Pace Perks.

Tell us a little bit about your brand.

Terence: Pace is a leading fintech solutions company in Southeast Asia that allows customers to easily access BNPL services. In just over a year, we have boosted sales for more than 2,000 brands and established an active Gen Z and Millennials user base of over 230K across the region. Our partnered advertisers include Charles & Keith, Dreamcore and more. Our aim is to be Asia’s number one shopping ecosystem, bridging the gap between shoppers and brands, and bringing them closer to one another

Our mission is to help brands acquire high intent shoppers and drive incremental sales via our fintech solutions. Our BNPL service lets shoppers automatically split their purchases into three interest-free payments, allowing them to shop now and pay later at their favourite stores. We work with a wide range of advertiser verticals including fashion, jewellery, health and beauty, electronics, fitness and more.

To drive awareness, Pace has an online marketplace that aggregates all our partnered brands on a single landing page. Here, shoppers can browse the various brands, products and promotions that offers BNPL payment options.

What sets you apart from publishers in your category?

Terence: Allow me to introduce you to our differentiators, Pace Card and Pace Perks.

Pace Card is Asia’s first ever virtual card that lives in the Pace app. Unlike physical cards, Pace Card automatically splits online payments into three interest-free instalments, is free to apply and the customer receives it instantly. This means that shoppers who are browsing through Pace’s marketplace are immediately equipped with our BNPL service in the palm of their hands. Brands who accept Pace Card online can also benefit from this feature (in-store capabilities launching soon) and reach customers who prefer to pay via BNPL services.

Pace Perks is our brand new loyalty and rewards program, perfectly tailored for Pace Card users. Every time a shopper makes a purchase through Pace Card, they will receive up to 5% credit back to their Pace account, which can be used on their next purchase. The combination of Pace Card coupled with Pace Perks is designed to reward highly engaged users who make purchases where Pace Card is accepted.

While BNPL is often seen as a lower funnel solution, Pace Card can also help brands reach new customers. With an audience base of 230K strong, Pace can seamlessly introduce brands to its users through its integrated payment solution, allowing brands to tap into a new pool of customers.

How do you help advertisers add value and drive incrementality?

Terence: Pace will not only deliver any new customer to our partnered brands, but customers who have high propensity to spend. Our track record shows that when customers use BNPL at checkout, they add more items to their carts, which means an increase in AOV by up to 20% to 30%. Additionally, through Pace Perks, we have established a community of shoppers who will be incentivised to return for more shopping deals.

As a bonus, we can help brands add value without any integration what-so-ever. Pace Card is powered by Visa, and transacting through Pace Card is no different to that of a normal Visa credit card. This allows Pace to start promoting brands to its user base quickly and efficiently without any technical complexities.

What excites you about the affiliate marketing industry and where it’s headed? What new innovations will we see from you this year?

Terence: Pace Card and Pace Perks is just the beginning as we aim to expand our presence in markets such as Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia. We are excited at the prospect of driving incremental value for our partnered brands in existing and new markets. We want advertisers to view us as not only a publisher who can drive new customers and sales, but also an extension of their marketing team. Most importantly, we want to understand the pain points and challenges of our advertisers and create innovative solutions that will help them overcome these challenges and achieve their goals.

Why did you choose to partner with Rakuten Advertising?

Terence: Rakuten is the obvious choice to partner with, due to their global footprint and expansive portfolio of advertisers. The experience collaborating with Rakuten has been fantastic and they have constantly showcased their expertise and professionalism. I believe with Pace partnering with Rakuten, we will be able to formulate a mutually beneficial relationship whilst driving optimal value to our advertisers.

To partner with Pace, reach out to your account representative or contact us today. For more information about Pace, visit their Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok page.

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