Case Studies

Icelandair

Bringing in-flight excellence

The Results

Since joining the Rakuten Advertising Network, Icelandair has seen a significant uptick in North American bookings and overall affiliate sales. This is thanks to the Icelandair team’s willingness to test and learn, our vast global publisher network, and the Rakuten Advertising technology made for travel. Since launch, we have seen significant results:

54%

of publishers are driving sales with top partners

>$1K

average order value

77%

of all publishers are driving traffic

In addition, we’ve onboarded over 26 global publishers driving business across North America and have driven an extremely impressive ROAS, thanks to our longstanding relationships with our publisher partners.

About the Brand

Icelandair, Iceland’s flagship airline, offers a unique stopover program, inviting travelers to explore Iceland’s volcanic beauty on transatlantic flights without extra airfare. Combining traditional Icelandic hospitality with an eco-friendly fleet, Icelandair connects Europe and North America and enchants passengers, making every journey an introduction to a land of fire and ice.

The Story

The Icelandair team was searching for a new digital marketing channel that would allow their national brand to become international and break into the North American market. They sought increased bookings within the United States and Canada and turned to Rakuten Advertising’s affiliate travel team to build a net-new affiliate program from the ground up.

In launching a new program, we knew that affiliate was an entirely new channel for Icelandair, so our team of experts leveraged our travel expertise, world-class full-funnel network, and unique affiliate intelligence to provide the Icelandair team with a program that was ready for success right from launch.

The Rakuten Advertising Solution

The Rakuten Advertising team has been providing Icelandair with world-class service from the beginning, backed by our robust global partner network and Affiliate Intelligence. Together, we’ve built a unique travel program that leverages our top partners from across the world, to help Icelandair reach their next traveler wherever they are. We’ve created high-performing campaigns that put Icelandair in front of customers who are ready for their next adventure. Our strategy encompasses:

Partnering with a small, but impactful group of North American publishers

Since launch, we’ve onboarded 26 high-performing publishers that are uniquely fit-for-travel, enabling the team to target the distinct audience they desire, while being able to easily track what’s performing best, with the intent to grow the program YoY.

Leveraging different publisher types

After their successful launch, Icelandair looked to trial new-to-them publisher models, including loyalty partners. We’ve trialed increased cashback rates for off-peak seasons and have already seen extraordinary results.

Testing new commission fields

At Rakuten Advertising, we have a multitude of travel-specific transaction fields, enabling travel brands to uncover critical insights. We’ve suggested the Icelandair add in “booking consumed date” and “departure location” over the next few months – this would allow them to commission based on departure location and see clear timeframes on when consumers book flights.