Part 2 of The 3 Keys to Affiliate Intelligence by Rakuten Advertising Series: A World-Class Full-Funnel Network

Rakuten Advertising was one of the pioneers of affiliate marketing, and we’re still continually investing in new technologies and methodologies to drive the next wave of affiliate success.

Recently, we set out on a new path forward designed to completely turn the industry on its head—Affiliate Intelligence by Rakuten Advertising. Our goal is to help both brands and publishers understand how to better connect with audiences, so both parties can win bigger.

Affiliate Intelligence doesn’t happen on its own, though—it takes the right mix of technology, partners, and strategy to deliver on the promise of Advertising That Outperforms.

In this 3-part series, we’re exploring each key component of Affiliate Intelligence by Rakuten Advertising. Last time, we saw the data and AI that work hand-in-hand to help you find the right partners. Today, we’re taking a closer look at those partners themselves—and how they can help you reach any audience, at any stage, in any market. A world-class full-funnel network.

Proven and emerging publishers—across channels and around the globe.

Recently, Rakuten Advertising has been focused on developing revolutionary data- and AI-driven technology to pair the right brands and publishers to reach the right audiences: New markets, new opportunities, new ways in. But, those tools can only help if your network of brands, publishers, and audiences are truly up to snuff:

The big names. The proven names. The up-and-coming names we see just on the horizon. Payment partners like Klarna. Content platforms like Vogue. Influencer tools like LTK. Other networks just use these partners—we’re the network that first finds and introduces them to affiliate.

Rakuten Advertising is the leading affiliate network: Massive. Premium. Curated. Diverse. And always expanding—across every vertical, channel, and region. The foundation to high-performing partnerships no one else can offer.

But, a top-tier network alone isn’t enough—you can have the names, but do you have the connections? What puts Rakuten Advertising ahead are the close relationships we’ve formed with our partners. We understand the players and the game: Who they are, how they can help, and how to make the introductions and connections to cultivate close, mutually beneficial partnerships—for whatever your unique needs. Which brings us to our next point…

The only full-funnel network—to fully reach your unique goals.

Back in the day, affiliate always came down to that last click, which led to the final sale. But, today’s brands have bigger, broader goals, with highly specific steps in between. Maybe you’re a resort looking to get families first thinking about their next summer getaway. Or a bank ready to show Gen-Zers the right way to kick off their credit. At Rakuten Advertising, we’ve helped our clients reach over 1.2B consumers. Now, we want to help you reach who you’re looking for, so you can win your way.

Because of our massive, diverse network—and because of our deep understanding and connections within that network — Rakuten Advertising can create custom, large-scale, long-term programs that reach across the funnel and reach your specific goals. Building brand-to-brand partnerships. Optimizing for conversion. Connecting with specific audiences through specific networks—like students or expecting parents.

Whether it’s awareness, consideration, conversion, or ongoing loyalty, we have the partners for you, at each stage of the buyer journey. Take that family pondering their potential vacation. We can create a complete full-funnel journey to help the resort build their interest and get their business:

• First, we’ll use popular social media influences to first excite and educate the family about the destination and resort.
• From there, as the family more closely considers their options, we’ll feature the resort as part of a vacation package on a shopping portal.
• And then, to close the deal, we’ll include a special cashback offer for the resort on a popular travel blog.

Any stage. Any need. Any region. Backed by our robust network, you can reach beyond the ordinary, reach further than ever, and reach high-value, highly engaged audiences where, when, and how it matters most. And keep reaching out—to keep building toward your ultimate goals, now and in the future.

The tech and teams to do even more.

At Rakuten Advertising, our partner network counts for a lot. But, you couldn’t make the most of it without the right backup on your side—from advanced AI to experienced support—connecting brands and publishers where audiences are most likely to take action. Faster, easier, and smarter.

The Rakuten Advertising Publisher Team

The very experts who created our network, our global publisher team is here to ensure you’re always getting top results from top partners—particularly if you’re ready to reach beyond the usual channels. A global presence, but with all the regional support, expertise, and connections to make headway anywhere and everywhere, from the top to bottom of your funnel: Finding the partners, building the relationships, and crafting the right program to meet your needs. They know our network, and they speak the language—literally: We’re fluent in more than 15 key global languages, more than any other affiliate provider.

Audience Engine

Bringing together first-party data from both advertisers and publishers, Audience Engine helps brands quickly define the niche audiences they’re looking for, find the (sometimes-surprising) publishers that can best reach these specific consumers, and facilitate close 1:1 partnerships where both parties work together to create custom campaigns and messaging to reach highly-targeted, high-quality audiences—all while maintaining consumer privacy.

Influencer Marketing

Content creators, brand ambassadors, and influencers are a powerful way to reach audiences on a trusted, personal level. But, it’s a large network of complexities, subtleties, and constant evolution: Today’s top influencers might not be tomorrow’s. Rakuten Advertising is here to help you find the right influencers—not just initial recommendations, but ongoing support to ensure you’re being promoted by the right people, to the right people, to keep getting results. Our easy-to-use platform helps you quickly find diverse partners, plan your campaigns, and track and incentivize performance.

Instant Publisher Onboarding

We’re proud to offer a vast variety of diverse publishers to meet your needs. But, if there’s a partner you’d like to work with outside our network—a new influencer, for instance—we’ve made it fast and easy to recruit them to affiliate. With Instant Onboarding, advertisers can send a VIP invite and commission offer to any potential partner: Brands. Resellers. Ambassadors. Anyone with a web or social presence. After a quick and simple sign-up, your new publisher is instantly added to the Rakuten network, where they can start working—and earning—with you. Our Publisher Dashboard offers everything they need to set up payment, download affiliate links, track earnings, and even search for other potential partner brands.

Affiliate Intelligence means tech, network, AND strategy.

Affiliate Intelligence by Rakuten Advertising allows you to outthink and outperform in affiliate on an entirely new level. Building on our advanced data, AI, and network, next time, we’ll take a look at the final piece of the Affiliate Intelligence puzzle: Our forward-thinking strategies and innovations—the experience and expertise to keep pushing performance and help you take the future head-on.

Jump back to Part 1 to learn how our data and AI are cornerstone to Affiliate Intelligence.