The Golden Link Awards, Organized by Rakuten Marketing, Recognized and Celebrated Excellence and Innovation of the Industry’s Top-Performing Digital Marketing Leaders

Rakuten Marketing, a leading technology company that enables brands to increase sales through data-driven marketing, announced the winners of the 16th annual Golden Link Awards that took place June 27 at the Rakuten Marketing 2018 DealMaker event in New York. More than 350 leading advertisers, publishers and agencies in the Rakuten Marketing Affiliate network attended the awards ceremony.

The Golden Link Awards – hosted by New York-based actor and Saturday Night Live stand-up comedian, writer and cast member, Alex Moffat – recognized and celebrated excellence and innovation of the industry’s top-performing digital marketing leaders. Golden Link Award category winners include the following:

• Advertiser and Publisher Collaboration: Gilt & Dealmoon
• Affiliate Manager of the Year (Advertiser): Neil Baker – JP Morgan Chase
• Affiliate Manager of the Year (Publisher): Jillian Posada – TopCashBack
• Best Global Strategy: MatchesFashion
• Best Multi-Channel Performance: PacSun
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Kevin Joyce – Brad’s Deals
• Most Innovative Campaign: Sam’s Club
• New Rising Star Publisher: Stylight
• OPM Agency of the Year: PartnerCentric
• Publisher’s Choice: Macy’s
• Advertiser’s Choice: Honey

Also Read: Rakuten Marketing Whitepaper – Avoiding Data Breaches: Understanding What Constitutes a Consumer Data Breach Under GDPR

“It is exciting to celebrate so many of our valued clients as this year’s Golden Link Award winners,” said Stuart Simms, President of Rakuten Marketing. “Recognizing the innovation and hard-work by  all of our advertisers and publishers in the Rakuten Marketing Affiliate Network is absolutely priceless, and we are thrilled to play a part in their success.”

Golden Link Awards judges are composed of leading industry influencers, experts and executives. Winners were selected based on nominations from staff and clients. This year’s judges included:

• Melissa Campanelli, Editor-in-Chief and Content Director, Total Retail, Co-Founder, Women in Retail Leadership Circle
• Pippa Chambers, Online Editor, AdNews
• Peter Figueredo, Partner & Head of Client Services, House of Kaizen and Affiliate Benchmarks
• Tricia Meyer, Executive Director, Performance Marketing Association
• Chris Trayhorn, CEO and Founder, mThink
• Susan Borst, Vice President, Interactive Advertising Bureau

At the event, Rakuten Marketing leading retail client, Footlocker, teamed with Rakuten Marketing to hold a Footlocker.com ‘Sneaker Cam’ contest. Attendees ‘dressed to impress’ with their best cocktail attire and ‘coolest kicks’ for a chance to win the ‘hottest sneaker/cocktail attire combo’ prize. The two lucky winners received a $250 Foot Locker gift card.

The Rakuten Marketing global affiliate network empowers marketers to engage shoppers across the entire consumer journey. Rakuten Marketing provides the innovative tools, technology and strategy to enable advertiser and publisher partnerships to reach new audiences and influence repeat purchases while driving incremental revenue.

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