Rakuten Advertising & Redbrain, successful partnership between affiliate network and shopping partner
Discover how working with over 200 advertisers, Rakuten Advertising and Redbrain delivered outstanding results.
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Key Takeaways
The Highlights
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About Rakuten
Rakuten Advertising delivers performance-driven, brand-driven, and people-driven ad solutions that help the world’s top brands connect with unique, highly engaged audiences – from first impression to final sale. Backed by industry-leading technology, global media properties, and the largest, high-quality partner network, Rakuten Advertising taps into decades of data and experience to develop the strategies and ad experiences that will drive engagement, sales, loyalty, and beyond. A leader in the industry since its beginnings, Rakuten Advertising is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc. (4755: TOKYO), one of the world’s leading internet service companies. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices throughout EMEA, APAC, LATAM, and North America.
The Approach
Spotting the opportunity
We identified areas to improve in CPA efficiency and built a smarter model to close them.
Driven by data
Performance insights shaped new, sector-specific CPA baselines that worked harder for every retailer.
Aligned from day one
Together with Rakuten, we kept retailers informed and confident through open collaboration.
Clear communication, real results
Simple, transparent messaging helped retailers see the value of change.
Collaboration that converts
Sharper bids, stronger visibility, and scalable growth across the network.
Building a Partnership
Since 2017, Rakuten Advertising and Redbrain have partnered to help brands across the UK and Europe tap into Google Shopping and Microsoft Ads placements to promote their products and services.
In early 2023, the Redbrain team identified an opportunity - with our access to large data sets, we analysed the effect of varying CPA rates on campaign performance. Understanding the unique nuances of each industry for performance, we modernised our commission structure, introducing baseline CPA rates per advertiser sector. Our goal in making this change was to ensure that our advertisers were best placed to navigate their market with the impact of CPCs and competition.
We explained these changes to the Rakuten Advertising team, who immediately collaborated with our Customer Success team to educate brands on the reasons for the change and negotiate competitive CPA rates. Where retailers needed clarification on the expected benefits of the changes, the Rakuten Advertising and Redbrain teams worked together to explain the anticipated gains. Through many conversions and combined efforts from our teams, more retailers transitioned to our recommended baseline CPA rates for their sector.
The Results
The Results
171%
Year on Year Order growth
100%
Year on Year Sales growth
+€50
Average Order Value
This change made it more straightforward for brands to partner with us and adjust rates where needed. Higher bids we won resulted in higher impression shares on Google product carousels, leading to more clicks and sales. This effort resulted in us gaining additional data from Google auctions, allowing us to optimise new and existing campaigns even further.
Working with over 200 advertisers, Rakuten Advertising and Redbrain delivered strong results.
The partnership between Rakuten Advertising and Redbrain exemplifies the power of collaboration in driving e-commerce success. By combining advanced technology, strategic insights, and dedicated support, we have set a benchmark in the affiliate marketing industry, helping brands achieve remarkable growth and visibility across Europe. The results speak for themselves, and the future looks even brighter as we continue to innovate and expand our impact.
Testimonials
Customer Testimonial
Partner Perspective
Actionable recommendations
About the Author
Shaazia is Head of Marketing at Redbrain, focused on sharing insights, updates and industry relevant news with our partners.
