Rakuten Advertising DealMaker Team Powers Thousands of In-Person Connections for Growth

Rakuten Advertising developed DealMaker events years ago to help advertisers and publishers connect, learn, and do business. The guiding principle is to create value for the industry. The DealMaker Team wanted to do more than “just” bring together members of the industry, they wanted to ensure that attending was time well spent by architecting every aspect to foster richer and more productive interactions.

In 2023, the team delivered the most valuable event ever as measured by attendee assessments and all metrics: * 538 brands and publishers attended * 1,121 booked one-to-one meetings were held leveraging the networking technology and dedicated meeting venues * 78% of attendees reported achieving all their goals. A further 19% reported achieving many of their goals * The “Deal Space” brand stands helped advertisers recruit hundreds of new partners * Forums educated attendees on influencers, advanced technology partners, and other emerging partner classes * Developed dedicated content to non-retail verticals – something most industry events overlook The biggest challenge for any event team is to prove ROI for attendees. Attendees of DealMaker Europe showed higher growth rates in the period following the event than brands not attending. The growth rate for UK brands that attended was 21% versus 12% for non-attendees (75% higher.) The team is intrigued by the possibility of proving attendance has a material ROI impact with further, more granular research.