Rakuten Marketing

What Rakuten Marketing does

Rakuten Marketing, operating under the Rakuten Advertising brand, is a digital marketing and advertising company specializing in affiliate and performance marketing. Founded in 1997 within the Rakuten Group (TYO: 4755) and restructured around the 2012 acquisition of LinkShare, the company serves global advertisers and agencies by operating a two-sided marketplace that connects brands with a curated network of premium publishers, influencers, and media partners across more than 10 countries spanning the US, APAC, EMEA, and LATAM. The company is headquartered in San Mateo with an additional New York presence, employs 501-1000 people, and is led by CEO Tony Zito alongside CTO Seth Richardson and COO Liane Dietrich.

The company's core product is its AI-powered Affiliate Intelligence platform, which combines automated partner discovery, real-time performance optimization, and predictive analytics on a proprietary data asset spanning 200M+ annual transactions and 1.2B+ consumers reached. Rakuten Marketing claims the industry's largest data science team and operates proprietary technology with cited advantages in novel method architecture and scale reliability. Beyond affiliate, the platform has been extended through acquisitions including Next Performance, Manifest, Deep Forest Media, and the integration of Rakuten MediaForge, adding display, influencer, and cross-channel capabilities. The company reports a #1 position in global traffic among affiliate networks and has won multiple 2024 industry awards.

Rakuten Marketing operates a transaction-based revenue model, earning commissions on affiliate-driven sales and performance outcomes for its advertiser clients. The customer base includes large global enterprise brands such as H&M and JD Sports alongside specialty retailers and travel companies like OUAI, Cleo, and Icelandair. In 2024, the company entered a strategic partnership with impact.com, signaling a broader move into partnership marketing. As a subsidiary of Rakuten Group, Rakuten Marketing benefits from the parent's global brand ecosystem and cross-platform integration opportunities while contributing to the conglomerate's advertising and marketing services portfolio.

Name

Rakuten Marketing

Legal name

Rakuten Group, Inc.

Website

https://rakutenmarketing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Rakuten Marketing is a global affiliate and performance marketing company operating a two-sided marketplace connecting advertisers with premium publishers across 10+ countries, powered by an AI-driven Affiliate Intelligence platform and backed by parent Rakuten Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Affiliate Marketing Platform

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Agencies (541810), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890), Other Services Related to Advertising (54189)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Affiliate & Partner Marketing (Performance Partnerships) (BPAFACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retail Media & Marketplace Advertising (Amazon/Walmart/Instacart, etc.) (BPAFACAD), Affiliate & Performance Creator Programs (BPAFAHAG), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Paid Search (PPC) (BPAFACAA)

Keywords

• Affiliate marketing
• Partner marketing
• Digital advertising
• Performance marketing
• Influencer marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Marketing Commission: Transaction-based revenue model where Rakuten Advertising earns commissions or take rates on sales generated through their affiliate network. The platform connects advertisers with publishers and takes a percentage of completed transactions.
2. Partner Marketing Solutions: Comprehensive partner marketing solutions including affiliate, audience engine, detect, influencer marketing, and media services. Revenue generated through performance-based arrangements with advertisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rakuten Advertising operates a global affiliate and partner marketing platform that connects brands with publishers, influencers, and content creators through performance-based partnerships. The platform combines affiliate marketing, audience targeting, influencer marketing, and media buying (display, paid search, paid social), powered by its AI-driven Affiliate Intelligence suite for partner discovery, forecasting, benchmarking, and fraud detection.

Product overview

Rakuten Marketing (Rakuten Advertising) operates a unified partner marketing platform combining affiliate marketing, media buying, and influencer solutions. The core platform consists of Affiliate and the AI-powered Affiliate Intelligence module, supplemented by audience targeting (Audience Engine), fraud prevention (Detect), and media solutions (Display, Paid Search, Paid Social). The Insights & Analytics Portal serves as the central reporting hub, while the Developer Portal enables API integrations. The 2026 partnership with impact.com expanded the platform's capabilities to become a full-service partner marketing solution spanning awareness, engagement, sales, and loyalty stages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Affiliate Intelligence: AI-powered affiliate marketing analytics and insights platform that helps brands and publishers find winning partners, create custom programs, and predict/improve overall value.
• Audience Engine
• Detect
• Linkshare

Products and services

• Affiliate

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.2B+ consumers reached through network
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• impact.comcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRakuten Advertising and impact.com have formed a strategic partnership combining two industry titans in the partner marketing space. This partnership creates an unstoppable force in the industry with more opportunities, deeper intelligence, greater clarity, and even stronger performance for clients. The partnership was announced publicly and details are available at rakuteninternational.com/news/rakuten-and-impact.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ShareASale: Long-standing affiliate marketing network owned by Awin, providing affiliate program management for mid-market and enterprise advertisers. Direct competitor in the same network category.
• impact.com: Leading global partner marketing platform offering affiliate, influencer, and B2B partnership management. Now a strategic partner of Rakuten Advertising, formerly a direct competitor in the same affiliate network category serving similar enterprise advertisers.
• Awin: Global affiliate marketing network formed through the merger of Affiliate Window and Zenovia. Direct competitor in the global affiliate space, operating across similar verticals and geographies.
• CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction): One of the largest global affiliate marketing networks, operating the CJ Affiliate platform connecting advertisers with publishers. Direct competitor to Rakuten Advertising in core affiliate, with overlapping enterprise customer base.

Emerging players

• PartnerStack: B2B-focused partner ecosystem platform for managing affiliate, referral, and reseller programs. Comparable technology platform to Rakuten but focused on SaaS and B2B rather than retail/consumer.
• Refersion: Affiliate and influencer marketing platform focused on DTC and e-commerce brands. Comparable affiliate platform technology at a smaller scale, serving overlapping mid-market customer segments.
• TUNE (HasOffers): Partner marketing platform providing affiliate tracking, attribution, and analytics infrastructure. Comparable technology stack to Rakuten's affiliate platform, serving advertisers and networks.
• Everflow: Partner marketing platform for affiliate, influencer, and referral programs with strong tracking and analytics. Comparable technology offering at a smaller scale than Rakuten, targeting similar advertisers and agencies.

Others

• WPP:

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Groupe: Global advertising holding company with significant performance marketing capabilities through agencies like Performics and Digitas. Broad incumbent offering affiliate and performance marketing within a wider portfolio of services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/9866
• Xx.com/RakutenMKTG_UK
• Facebookfacebook.com/RakutenMarketingUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A7 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rakuten Marketing