Emirates Secures Gold at 2026 Global Performance Marketing Awards for APAC Campaign
Emirates has won a gold award at the 2026 Global Performance Marketing Awards (GPMAs) for its affiliate marketing campaign in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The airline received the honour in the inaugural Best Travel, Leisure & Experience Campaign category for its partnership with Rakuten Advertising and WPP.
The campaign, titled Emirates’ Affiliate Comeback in APAC: Revenue Turnaround Against Mounting Competition Using Rakuten Advertising, focused on rebuilding the airline’s affiliate marketing programme and reversing a prolonged decline in revenue.
Emirates faced significant challenges in the APAC market, including a 48% decline in affiliate revenue over two years and a 25% loss in market share across major cashback platforms. Competitors were also spending substantially more on affiliate partnerships, increasing pressure on the airline to rethink its marketing strategy.
To address these challenges, Emirates shifted its approach from working with a large number of publishers to building a smaller network of high-value partners. The airline used Rakuten Advertising’s AI-powered Partnership Discovery and analytics tools to identify opportunities, assess performance gaps and improve its partner network.
The campaign also reduced the number of underperforming partners by 61% and recruited more than 20 high-value publisher partners. This allowed Emirates to focus its marketing investment on partnerships with stronger revenue potential.
The strategy delivered a 31% year-on-year increase in affiliate revenue and a 25-percentage-point improvement in market share. The results also helped secure a 60% increase in new internal programme investment from Emirates leadership.
The judges recognised the campaign for its clear objectives, measurable commercial results and ability to reverse a multi-year decline within a relatively short period.
The 2026 Global Performance Marketing Awards recognised leading brands, agencies, publishers and technology companies for their work in performance and partnership marketing. Emirates’ gold win highlights the growing role of data-driven affiliate partnerships in the airline industry’s digital marketing strategies.
Ajeet Yadav is an aviation enthusiast covering airline news, airports, aircraft, and industry developments through well-researched and reliable reporting.
