The 18th annual United States Golden Link Awards were held virtually on October 7th, 2021. The event was hosted by comedian Adam Mamawala. The afternoon brought together some of the best in the performance marketing industry to celebrate innovation, collaboration and leadership!

Last month we launched A 5-Stage Blueprint for High-Performance Affiliate Marketing using insights from publishers and advertisers in the Rakuten Advertising International Collective (RAIC).  The blueprint demonstrates the importance of affiliate marketing as a strategic digital channel, and for publishers, showcases how they can add value and increase monetization opportunities.   One such opportunity stems […]

This year’s boom of the fintech IPO market led companies across financial, insurance, and mortgage sectors to shift more focus towards digitizing their offers.   A recent World Retail Banking Report showed over 57% of consumers prefer online banking to traditional brand banking and 55% of consumers now prefer mobile apps to keep track of their finances.  While the rise of digital transformation has been […]

The busiest shopping quarter of the year is now upon us, and both publishers and advertisers are looking to ensure they do everything they can to drive optimal performance. For publishers, this means ensuring they’re providing audiences with the most compelling deals and offers, strategically reaching new consumers and driving them to a brand’s site […]

As the summer travel boom winds down, travel brands are gearing up for a busy holiday season. After almost a year of booking declines across hotels and airlines due to pandemic-driven regulations and concerns, this year’s summer months closely resembled pre-pandemic numbers.   Rakuten Advertising recently surveyed just over 1,000 U.S. travelers to learn more about their feelings around holiday travel and the trips they’re planning in […]

Today Rakuten Advertising launches A 5-stage Blueprint for High-Performance Affiliate Marketing. The blueprint provides both advertisers and publishers with insights into the strategic value of affiliate marketing throughout the customer journey.   Based on discussions in the first meetings of the Rakuten Advertising Collective (RAIC), the blueprint features comments from leading advertisers such as Harvey Nichols and Microsoft, and key publishers like Reward, Beyond […]

Rakuten Advertising is excited to launch Global Partnership Week.  We understand that a network is only as strong as the publishers that are part of it.

Rakuten Advertising today launched its industry-first Affiliate Forecasting tool. The newly launched feature provides strategic forecasts and allows advertisers to better maximize affiliate performance and understand the impact of budget changes. Affiliate Forecasting is available within our Insights & Analytics Portal (IAP) and sits alongside Trends, Custom Network Insights, and the Personalized Rewards Report.   Through this new feature, advertisers can […]

We are honored to announce the 2021 Golden Link Award finalists! A big congratulations to everyone nominated.

As travel demand reaches fever-pitch, consumer needs and behaviors have evolved since pre-pandemic days.   While the travel industry continues to closely monitor the impact of the Delta Variant on bookings, recent research shows 58% of US adults said they feel comfortable taking a vacation this year in Q3 2021.  Our Rakuten Intelligence data confirms this sentiment as travel bookings boomed this summer […]

Following the launch of our 2021 Holiday Planning guide, members of the Rakuten Advertising International Collective (RAIC) met earlier this month to discuss how the strategic use of affiliate channels in driving success during major retail events.    It’s a well-known fact that the 2020 holiday period was an unprecedented one, and as we head […]

The 2021 Golden Link Award nominations are officially open! Help us honor the best and brightest in affiliate marketing by submitting a nomination today.