DealMaker Singapore: Event Recap

Last month Rakuten Marketing hosted our second DealMaker Singapore at the Four Seasons. Our DealMaker events are held globally, and after a successful launch in Singapore last year, we were excited to see DealMaker 2019 double in size.

Over 100 leaders in the retail, eCommerce and performance marketing industry attended DealMaker joining us from across the Asia region, the USA, UK, Italy, Canada and Australia, for an evening of thought-provoking content, actionable insights and networking.

DealMaker 2019 kicked-off with an afternoon of bespoke networking opportunities for advertisers and publishers working together in Asia-Pacific. The meetings were an opportunity for advertisers and publishers to come together and discuss their affiliate campaigns, goals and further cement their partnerships.

Following the networking sessions, Anthony Capano, MD of International at Rakuten Marketing opened the content portion of the event. Anthony provided attendees with an update on Rakuten Marketing’s business and the results of the past twelve months, including a whopping US$1.2BN in global publisher commissions being paid.

Data was a big talking point of the event. Did you know on in 2018, there was over 173,479 “Unicorn” related items sold via the Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Network? Our COO, Ken Dorward spoke to some of the data insights we have available such as products sold via our affiliate network, or the fact that Asia-Pacific is the number one region where brands focused on global expansion want to be.

Speaking of global expansion, Kimberly Kim from Microsoft educated attendees on how Microsoft has built a successful global affiliate program by utilising the power of their brand. Having built one of the most trusted brands in the globe, Kimberly reminded attendees that brand is about building trust, awareness and scalability for an affiliate program.

Understanding the differences in consumers throughout Asia-Pacific and employing a country-specific strategy for each market is vital for both regional and global success. Microsoft continues to experience affiliate success by tailoring its global affiliate strategy to the local market.

And affiliate success isn’t possible without publishers. Asia is responsible for producing some of the most innovative publishers, bringing new technology and models into the affiliate space. Our Publisher Showcase, highlighted three innovative publishers, each driving the industry forward in their own unique way.

“The marriage between millennials looking for instant gratification, and higher disposable income, is driving growth in visual shopping. We’re trying to democratise that technology” – Sanjeev Meenon, Manager of Merchant Acquisition at ViSenze. Sanjeev opened our showcase speaking to the power of visual search and how its delivering results through the affiliate channel. Sanjeev was followed by Lotus-Lee, Head of Merchant Development at ShopBack.

“There are two important things to take of note of. What’s your plan for a mobile-first market? Are you developing an App to App strategy? ShopBack is more than just a cashback channel, we engage with YouTube, a street team and an influencer community.” Lotus continued to explain how APAC customers are mobile-first, and the customer experience needs to be tailored for them.

Finally, Juliette Gimenez, founder and CEO of rewardSnap educated attendees on how influencers can be a powerful tool in helping advertisers expand into new markets. “Education is an important piece for advertising entering new markets; global may not be applicable, but regional merchants need comprehensive marketing plans. Understanding what they’re investing in – social, PR, affiliate etc.”.

After an evening of content, DealMaker concluded with Rakuten Marketing’s famous DealSpace networking session. Thank you to all our attendees, especially those who travelled from throughout Asia, the US, Europe and Australia, to take part in DealMaker Singapore 2019.

To view the photos from DealMaker, you can visit our event gallery.

Interested in attending the next DealMaker event? Register here today for DealMaker Sydney!