Rakuten Advertising DealMaker Europe is returning to London this March 25th at the Convene Sancroft, with a day dedicated to driving forward connections, sharing ideas, and sealing deals.
With four expert-led panels, mixers and the Golden Link Awards, plus an after-party, the event promises a day bursting with insights and innovation.
“DealMaker Europe is a must-attend event where the future of performance marketing takes shape, bringing together the industry’s most innovative advertisers, publishers, agencies, and leaders for a full day of insights, strategy, and curated networking,” said Nick Fletcher, SVP EMEA, Rakuten Advertising.
Here’s some of what you can expect from the day.
Affiliate approaches for a new era
Research shows that more than half of marketers say MMM is the main tool influencing their budgets, but at the same time, it can undercut affiliate marketing. The day will kick off with a session investigating this topic. Led by Fospha, the session will dive deep into the role of MMM in affiliate marketing.
This will be followed by a session from Rakuten Advertising’s VP of AI Strategy and Operations, Ben Cox, Similarweb's Andrew Bonnici, and Dunia Silan, Skimlinks' SVP of Revenue, on the new affiliate era, where the panellists will walk through how to level up tracking, reporting, and partner types and elevate programs.
Future-forward partnerships
And as creator and affiliate converge, the event will also spotlight strategies for scaling creator partnerships across borders.
In 2024, affiliate creators generated $1.1 billion through affiliate marketing — up 93% from 2021.
This session, moderated by Deepti Vashee, Director of Client Services at Rakuten Advertising, will uncover how brands tap into this. The panellists will discuss how to build multi-market affiliate programs that combine creators, content partners, and traditional publishers to drive results.
Finance will also come into view in the latter half of the day, with a panel on consumer trust in modern finance. This panel, moderated by Goncalo Pinto, Senior Manager, Affiliate Client Service at Rakuten Advertising, is set to put consumer trends and compliance frameworks under the microscope.
The fourth and final panel will look at how travel consumers’ behaviours are changing in 2026 and what this means for advertisers and publishers on the path to purchase. In this session, Dave Gill, Vice President of Consumer Insights at Rakuten Advertising and Sinead Archer, Commercial Strategy Director at Head for Points, will examine the role of affiliate in building trust and growth in the modern travel journey.
Celebrating creativity and growth
After a day of knowledge sharing and meaningful conversation, the 2026 Golden Link Awards (GLAs) Europe will showcase the affiliate and performance players who deliver excellence.
From recognising influencer marketing campaigns that made their mark to agencies elevating affiliate, there are eight awards up for grabs — and Hello Partner’s own Matthew Wood is on the judging panel.
“Our long-standing partnership with Rakuten Advertising makes it a real pleasure to support and judge the Golden Link Awards once again this year,” commented Wood.
Wood said that the awards showcase the partnerships industry at its best, noting that the collaboration between the team at Rakuten Advertising, brands and agencies is “consistently outstanding.”
“I’m particularly looking forward to reviewing entries that showcase bold, innovative thinking and partnerships that go beyond the usual BAU activity,” he added.
Award finalists include The LEGO Group vying for Best Data Driven Strategy of the Year, Levi’s for New Campaign Strategy and Superdry for Best Global Expansion Strategy, among many other big-name brands.
You can check out the full lists of finalists here.
“At Rakuten Advertising, we’re proud to create a forum where partners can connect, share ideas, and build the partnerships that drive measurable growth and the next wave of affiliate innovation,” said Fletcher.
Register for Rakuten Advertising DealMaker Europe today.
