Emirates’ Affiliate Comeback in APAC: Revenue Turnaround Against Mounting Competition Using Rakuten Advertising

The Challenge

Emirates faced a 48% affiliate revenue decline over two years in APAC and lost 25% market share on key cashback portals as aggressive airline and travel agent competitors spent double on affiliate partnerships.

The Strategy

Rebuild the affiliate network by shifting from broad publisher volume to a high-value, data-driven partner core.

Execution and Innovation

Utilised Rakuten Advertising’s AI-powered "Partnership Discovery" and "Prompt" analytics to perform automated GAP benchmarking, trim underperforming partners by 61%, and recruit >20 high-value publisher partners.

Results

Reversed a multi-year decline into +31% YoY revenue growth and expanded market share by +25 percentage points YoY, unlocking 60% new internal program investment from Emirates leadership.

Judges' Verdict

"A great entry which showed clear objectives and targets. Clear demonstration of incrementality and impressive results with quick turnaround."