Case Studies

Sixt Car Rentals

On the road to international growth

The Results

In 2024, the European Sixt team in Germany increased their service level with Rakuten Advertising to leverage affiliate to drive even faster bookings and consumption growth. We worked together to devise a strategy that would boost quality awareness for the Sixt brand and their unique focus on premium car rental vehicles.

+83%

increase in sales

+83%

increase in AOV

+102%

increase in bookings

About the Brand

Sixt, the first-to-market car rental brand, is a global leader in premium mobility services, offering luxury car rentals, car sharing, ride-hailing, and subscription services. With a presence in over 100 countries and a fleet of premium German vehicles, Sixt is known worldwide for its focus on quality, convenience, and customer satisfaction.

The Story

As Sixt continued to expand in the US, the company encountered challenges in scaling its affiliate marketing efforts. Operating from Germany, Sixt required a deeper understanding of the US affiliate landscape and a partner with local expertise to navigate the market effectively.

Additionally, with limited internal resources dedicated to the US market, Sixt sought additional support to manage and grow its affiliate program. Ensuring high-quality bookings while mitigating fraud risks was also a top priority.

The Rakuten Advertising Solution

In February 2024, Sixt transitioned to a fully managed Rakuten Advertising program, upgrading from an advisory support program, to gain more strategic guidance and resources. Rakuten Advertising implemented a comprehensive strategy to address Sixt’s challenges and drive growth in the US market, including:

Tech Tailored for Travel

We enhanced the Sixt customer experience and partner capabilities by implementing deep linking technology. This allowed for direct links to specific vehicles or pages, creating a seamless user journey and enabling partners to optimize campaigns more effectively.

Education & Support

Our dedicated travel team set regular check-ins, offering in-depth knowledge of the US travel market, competitive analysis, and hands-on affiliate support. Instead of a black box, the Sixt team received full knowledge sharing into how optimizations and decisions were boosting performance.

Network Expansion and Strategic Optimizations

We drove Sixt’s US growth through strategic network expansion and campaign optimization. Our teams facilitated partner introductions at Rakuten Optimism, resulting in 26 new brand-safe partners and increased bookings. Simultaneously, personalized campaigns optimized through partners increased revenue by over 40% year-over-year.

Where we previously worked with multiple networks, we’ve now consolidated to just Rakuten Advertising. The knowledge and expertise they provide have been invaluable in allowing us to not only be more strategic but also engage with a wide range of diverse partners matched to our goals.

Niklas Hollaus
Director of Online Advertising at Sixt