HOW TO ENTER

The Rakuten Advertising Golden Link Award is offered by Rakuten USA Inc DBA Rakuten International ("Rakuten").

Submissions to the Rakuten Advertising Golden Link Award must be received by 11:59 pm PT, [March 20, 2026].

Individuals or businesses that meet the eligibility criteria may submit entries online via the Golden Link nomination form on their own behalf or on behalf of third parties meeting the eligibility criteria. 

Entry forms may be submitted for any of the following 10 categories, provided that the entrant will only be considered for awards if he, she, or it meets the eligibility requirements for that category or categories specified:

1. Top Performing New Advertisers
2. Best Influencer Campaign
3. Best Campaign Optimization
4. Best Global Campaign
5. Best Collaboration
6. Best Collaboration with Rakuten
7. Affiliate Team of the Year
8. Advertiser of the Year
9. Publisher of the Year
10. Lifetime Achievement Award

In case of dispute as to identity of entrant, entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. "Authorized Account Holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) responsible for assigning email addresses or the domain associated with the submitted email address. A potential winner may be requested to provide Rakuten with proof that such winner is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the winning entry.

Any other attempted form of entry is prohibited; no automatic, programmed, robotic or similar means of entry are permitted.

Rakuten, its affiliates, partners and promotion and advertising agencies are not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, Website, Internet, or ISP availability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one's ability to be considered for a Golden Link Award, including any injury or damage to entrants' or any other person's computer relating to or resulting from participating in the Golden Link Awards or downloading any materials in relation to the Golden Link Awards.

Limit one entry per person/business per category. By submitting an entry, entrants grant Rakuten a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works from the entry and all supporting materials solely for purposes of administering, judging, and promoting the Golden Link Awards and Rakuten's related marketing activities. Entrants retain ownership of all intellectual property rights in their entries, and nothing in these rules requires entrants to disclose trade secrets or confidential information. Entrants represent that they have or have obtained all rights and permissions to submit the information contained in the entry and have the authority to grant the license set forth above. Receipt of entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Rakuten is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified. Only fully completed entry forms are eligible. Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Rakuten.

ELIGIBILITY

Participation is open to Rakuten advertisers, publishers, and agencies with a Rakuten account in good standing. Employees, officers, and directors of Rakuten, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, promotion and advertising agencies, and members of the Golden Link Awards Council of Judges, and their respective immediate family members (spouse, parents, siblings, children) and household members, are not eligible to participate, whether or not related. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. There is no purchase required to participate.

JUDGING

Between 3 and 5 finalists will be selected per category by the Golden Link Awards Council of Judges, which includes members of the Rakuten team and representatives from the performance marketing community and other distinguished industry professionals. The Golden Link Awards Council will base their decisions on (1) an entrant's overall impact to performance-based marketing and (2) the information submitted within the entry. By accepting a Golden Link Award or a Golden Link Award nomination, entrants and finalists fully and unconditionally agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the judges, which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Golden Link Awards.

A maximum of one (1) winner from each category of finalists will be selected by the Golden Link Awards Council and announced at the Golden Links Award ceremony, for a total of ten (10) winners. However, in the event an insufficient number or quality of entries are received to judge the Golden Link Awards, or any Golden Link Awards category, Rakuten reserves the right to cancel all or any part of the Golden Link Awards, or not choose a winner in any particular category, in its sole discretion.

PRIZES

Each winner will receive one (1) commemorative Golden Link Award statue. The statue has no cash or retail value. All finalists are solely responsible for any expenses related to attendance at the Golden Link Awards including but not limited to travel and/or accommodations. Winners will not receive any compensation or other item of cash or retail value . In the event any finalists are unable to attend the Golden Link Awards, no substitute prize will be awarded.

NOTIFICATION

Finalists will be notified by e-mail and/or phone. If any finalist cannot be contacted within five (5) business days, or in the event of non-compliance with these Golden Link Award rules and requirements, the finalist's status will be forfeited, and an alternate finalist will be selected.

CONDITIONS

Participation in the Golden Link Awards and acceptance of a prize statue constitutes finalists' and winners' permission for Rakuten to use their names, likenesses, biographical information and any statements regarding the Golden Link Awards for advertising and promotional purposes without notice or additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. Rakuten reserves the right to use entries and supporting material for promotional purposes relating to the Golden Link Awards and Rakuten's marketing activities, provided that Rakuten shall not publicly disclose any confidential business data (including campaign performance metrics, revenue figures, or client lists) contained in any entry without the entrant's prior written consent.

By participating, entrants, finalists and winners agree that, except for death or personal injury attributable to Rakuten's negligence and to the extent permitted at law, Rakuten, its advertising and promotion agencies and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors, shall not be liable for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever including without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death which may occur in connection with, preparation for, travel to, or participation in the Golden Link Awards, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of a prize or participation in any Golden Link Awards-related activity. Nothing in these rules limits or excludes liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law.

Each entrant shall indemnify Rakuten against any third-party claims arising from or related to that entrant's participation in the Golden Link Awards or the content of that entrant's submission. Rakuten is not responsible if any prize cannot be awarded due to delays or interruptions due to Acts of God, Acts of War, natural disasters, weather or terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these rules, or attempt to interfere with the Golden Link Awards selection process in any way shall be disqualified. Prizes are non-transferable. No substitutions or cash redemptions. In the case of unavailability of any prize, Rakuten reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

ADDITIONAL TERMS

Rakuten reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Golden Link Awards should (in its sole discretion) any cause beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the nomination. In such case, Rakuten will judge the finalists from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Rakuten. Rakuten reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the Golden Link Award nomination process.

DATA PROTECTION

By entering the Golden Link Awards, all entrants agree to allow the details of their entry, including personal data and company information, to be shared with the judges and representatives of Rakuten for the purpose of administering and judging the awards. Entrants' personal data will be processed in accordance with Rakuten's Privacy Policies, available at https://rakuteninternational.com/privacy-policy, https://rakutenadvertising.com/privacy-policy/, and https://business.rakuten.com/privacy-policy/ and entrants may request to exercise their applicable privacy rights as described therein. Personal data collected in connection with the Golden Link Awards includes entrant name, email address, company name, job title, and certain information in the content of the entry submission. This data will be used for the purposes of administering, judging, and promoting the Golden Link Awards, and will be retained for a period as necessary to those purposes following the conclusion of the awards, unless a longer retention period is required by law.  Rakuten may publish the names, company names, job titles, award categories, entry summaries, and photographs or recordings of shortlisted entrants and winners on its website, social media channels, press releases, promotional materials, and in connection with future Awards or related events.

For entrants located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom: the legal basis for processing personal data is the entrant's consent, provided by submitting an entry. Entrants have the right to withdraw consent at any time by contacting RI-RS_privacy@rakuten.com, which will result in disqualification from the Golden Link Awards. Rakuten will facilitate resolution of any privacy questions or concerns but entrants also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data protection authority if they are not satisfied with Rakuten’s resolution. Personal data may be transferred to the United States for purposes of administering the awards; such transfers are made pursuant to Rakuten's Binding Corporate Rules found here: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/privacy/bcr/  which incorporates appropriate safeguards.

For entrants who are California residents: Rakuten collects the categories of personal information described above for the business purposes described above. Rakuten does not sell or share (as defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act) personal information collected in connection with the Golden Link Awards. California residents may exercise their rights under the CCPA by contacting RI-RS_privacy@rakuten.com .

GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

These rules and any dispute arising out of or relating to the Golden Link Awards shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to the Golden Link Awards shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

WINNERS LIST

The winner's list will be posted to the Rakuten website on May 6th, 2026.