Affiliate Liberation

Client: Ann Summers

Ann Summers is an iconic multi-channel retailer for women, operating three successful sales channels: Party Plan, Retail and Ecommerce. In 2020, the brand migrated to the Rakuten Advertising Affiliate Network in 2020 under its self-managed service level. Soon after, the pandemic took hold, Ann Summers was forced to close 140 high street stores across the UK. Ann Summers immediately felt the impact on its retail business as in-store revenue plunged. The brand needed its Ecommerce business to bridge this gap and the affiliate channel became crucial to this objective as it offered a low risk, performance-based solution.

However, Ann Summers did not have the in-house resources to make affiliate the main revenue driver. Rakuten Advertising recommended an upgrade to ‘Complete’ – a fully managed affiliate service. This allowed Rakuten Advertising to become part of Ann Summers’ performance team, making optimisations and forging new partnerships on the brand’s behalf.