In the fifth episode of The Partner Marketing Podcast, Tradedoubler CEO Matthias Stadelmeyer welcomes Gerhard Trautmann, co-founder and CEO of Atolls, to explore Atolls’ strategies for scaling globally in Partner Marketing. Their discussion is a deep dive into Atolls’ growth journey from a startup to a global powerhouse and one of the world’s largest Publisher groups. Matthias and Gerhard also exchange on the progress of the Partner Marketing industry, crucial KPIs for Brands striving to optimize their Partner Marketing strategies, and the increasing role of data, technology, and AI in reshaping the industry.
The origins of Atolls: DropGifts and the Samwer brothers
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Matthias: "Hello, Gerhard, and a warm welcome to the Partner Marketing Podcast. It’s great having you here today! You are one of the co-founders of Atolls, which was founded around 12 years ago. Can you share with us a little bit about how you started, about the beginning of your journey?"
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Gerhard: "Hi Matthias, thanks for having me! We started indeed in 2012, and we actually initiated Atolls out of a company which was called DropGifts. So, in February 2012, we embarked on a journey where none of my two other co-founders, so to say, fellow co-founders and me, had no e-commerce experience."
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Gerhard shares the origins of Atolls and his entrepreneurial journey. He reflects on starting Atolls in 2012 with DropGifts, a social gifting startup initiated with two co-founders. Despite lacking e-commerce experience, the team navigated the nascent venture capital and e-commerce ecosystems in Berlin.
Gerhard highlights their pivotal encounter with the Samwer brothers, renowned founders of Rocket Internet, whose portfolio includes companies like Zalando and HelloFresh. This collaboration led to the creation of DropGifts, providing valuable lessons in startup growth and the challenges of scaling innovative concepts. Initially designed as a Facebook-based social gifting platform, DropGifts allowed users to send gift cards to friends based on their Facebook events. However, the venture quickly failed, setting the stage for their subsequent success.
Founding CupoNation and expanding into emerging markets
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Gerhard: "So out of DropGifts and out of the whole, let's say, understanding of how gift cards work, how the industry works, etc., we got into this general space around coupons, cashback, and deals. That was basically how the idea for CupoNation came. (...) We focused completely on BRIC, so Brazil, Russia, India, and China. We never launched in China, but our first platform was launched in India. Then we launched Brazil, then Poland, and Russia. And that's how it all started because we felt that the markets and e-commerce, as a whole, were underpenetrated."
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Building on their experiences and insights gained from DropGifts, Gerhard and his team identified untapped opportunities in the realms of coupons, cashback, and deals, leveraging these to carve out a niche in the competitive e-commerce landscape. This led to the creation of CupoNation, focused on emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India, and Poland. Gerhard shares how their strategy diverged from the saturated U.S. and European markets. They aimed to educate consumers in underpenetrated regions about couponing, establishing a foothold where competition was minimal.
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Their operational model featured centralized teams in Germany managing overarching strategy, while localized teams in target markets handled client relations, cultural nuances, and regional challenges, ensuring both consistency and adaptability. This hybrid approach allowed them to tailor their strategies to local needs while maintaining efficiency. The challenges included gaining traction in initial markets, overcoming the chicken-and-egg problem of traffic versus merchant partnerships, and navigating cultural and infrastructural differences between regions like India and Brazil.
Innovative approaches and differentiation
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Gerhard emphasizes their professionalism and scalability as key differentiators. Unlike fragmented competitors, CupoNation leveraged funding, process optimization, and a commitment to quality. As they expanded into mature markets like Europe and the U.S., they adopted a partnership-driven approach, collaborating with major news Publishers to create white-label coupon platforms. This strategy allowed them to access traffic and promote their offerings effectively while providing Publishers with new revenue streams.
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Gerhard: “Where it got more difficult was when we would enter really established markets in Europe, like Germany, the UK, or France. When it comes down to those markets, we felt a different approach would be necessary. What we did was we actually went for a partnership approach. Our thinking was as follows: Who has a lot of traffic and media power to promote the concept, and on the other side, is looking for digital revenue streams? And when you add those two things together, you very quickly look into the world of media. So, what we did was we started talking to first pretty big news Publishers, and they fulfilled that criteria: They had a lot of traffic; they were all somehow thinking about how to add a new revenue stream in their transition into the online world (...). When we talked with them, it was kind of a natural compliment for them to have another foothold in this whole e-commerce piece, and at the same time, it was very helpful for us because they would have a lot of reach and also the capabilities to promote the concept as a whole."
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Their focus on credibility and trust further distinguished them. By aligning with reputable Brands and ensuring quality offerings, they built trust among consumers and advertisers. This win-win model facilitated growth and helped Publishers diversify their revenue in a digital-first world.
Diversification into cashback and deals
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Matthias: "Later on, you went into the cashback business as well. At what point did you decide to diversify further? When was that? And why did you do that?"
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Gerhard: "When we started thinking about the whole space, our vision was always to bring the different businesses together under one roof. Our view was that when you do consumer interviews and talk to an average consumer, the consumer doesn't necessarily differentiate between coupons, cashback, a deal, a reward, and an incentivized gift card. These are all just tools for solving one major problem, which is to save money. So, when you start thinking it primarily from a consumer lens, to us, it felt awkward how fragmented the whole space was and even today is because it's just different journeys."
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Recognizing the interconnectedness of consumer saving mechanisms, Gerhard and his team started with acquisitions. They expanded their portfolio to include cashback and deal platforms. Notable acquisitions include Blog de Chollos, Spain’s largest deal community, the cashback platform shoop in Germany, and iGraal in France, which dominated the cashback market with an 80% market share.
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Gerhard explains that their M&A strategy was driven by the need to overcome high entry barriers in mature segments like cashback. By acquiring market leaders with established user bases and expertise, they bypassed the lengthy process of building from scratch and gained a competitive edge. Established players in cashback had significant entry barriers, making acquisitions more effective than building from scratch. Consumers’ reluctance to switch cashback platforms further justified this approach.

How to utilize Partner Marketing and overcome challenges
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Gerhard acknowledges his initial lack of familiarity with Partner Marketing, noting how he immersed himself in the industry by studying best practices, collaborating with experts, and adapting quickly to the dynamic demands of the market. However, he credits the model’s scalability and cost-effectiveness for their rapid growth. Partner Marketing allowed them to validate their business quickly, gaining clients and generating revenue. He highlights the channel’s low risk compared to cost-per-click (CPC) models, as costs are incurred only for successful transactions.
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Gerhard: "I think there's one beauty, particularly if you're a startup, Partner Marketing allows you to gain traction quickly. So, if you have a nice product and you want to build out, you have product market fit, and you have your first couple of users that are starting to engage with you, there's rarely another channel or opportunity for you to scale so quickly into getting clients."
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Addressing the debate on the incremental value of cashback and vouchers, Gerhard argues that the focus should shift from incrementality to fair compensation for Publishers. He stresses the importance of retaining customers and driving repeat transactions, which are crucial for long-term customer loyalty and lifetime value. He also cites data showing higher average order values (AOV) on cashback platforms, reinforcing their value to Brands.
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Matthias: "Voucher and cashback models are an essential part of Partner Marketing, and still, there is always some discussion about the incremental value that cashback or vouchers bring for the Brand because some Brands argue that they rather want to incentivize new consumers and not for returning customers. How do you argue about these topics? "
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Gerhard: "I think it's interesting, right? I mean, you're talking about the cheapest channel in marketing across the board; you're arguing about a channel that's probably a fifth of the cost compared to any CPC you're paying at Google or Meta. (...) I would say, first of all, it's incredibly low-paid for me. The discussion shouldn't be about incrementality, it should be about paying fairly to Publishers. (...) I think it should be much more than just generating new customers. (...) The much bigger and more interesting challenge is how to get your existing clients and cohorts to do the third or fourth transaction on your e-commerce shop that finally makes them loyal to you. (...) This third or fourth transaction is what matters to you, and that is normally when your cohorts start getting way more relevant and sticky to you as a shop in terms of customer lifetime value."
Data-driven marketing and community engagement
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Matthias’ and Gerhard’s conversation transitions to the role of data and community engagement in Atolls’ operations. Gerhard explains how their platforms leverage millions of keyword alerts to target offers effectively. By understanding consumer preferences, they help Brands push specific offers, clean up inventory, and optimize marketing plans. He emphasizes the importance of good offers, which maintain the trust of their communities and ensure successful collaborations with Brands.
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Reflecting on the evolution of Partner Marketing, Gerhard highlights the professionalization of the industry. Publishers have built extensive audiences, developed sophisticated marketing infrastructures, and embraced retail media trends. While progress has been significant, he believes the industry still lags behind other marketing channels in positioning and perceived value.
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Gerhard: "It should all be about positioning the channel in the right way. We have more or less 2 billion purchasing journeys, which we facilitate nowadays. So, there's quite some volume by now. And still, I feel that our teams interact more and more with heads of marketing, but way too little compared to what it should be. Hence, I still think that, in many instances, the whole channel is not managed with the level of dedication that it sometimes deserves. It requires more effort than some of the other channels, where you usually have only one publisher. On the other hand, you obviously have the diversity and the innovation."
Emerging Partner Marketing trends and industry challenges
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Gerhard identifies several transformative trends shaping the future of Partner Marketing, providing real-world examples to illustrate their impact on the industry’s evolution:
Tracking and attribution: Ensuring accurate tracking remains a challenge, with significant percentages of transactions going untracked. This issue underscores the need for better industry collaboration.
Consolidation: M&A activity continues across Publishers, networks, and Brands. Gerhard cites examples like the Zalando-ABOUT YOU transaction and the rise of Chinese players like Temu and Aliexpress, which are reshaping the ecosystem.
Social commerce: Platforms like TikTok Shop demonstrate the growing influence of social commerce. Gerhard predicts continued expansion in Europe, driven by consumer engagement and innovative shopping experiences.
AI and shopping behavior: AI’s role in transforming shopping behavior is a key area of focus. Gerhard envisions a shift from traditional browsing to dialogue-driven interactions, requiring adaptations in data and product development.
Google’s impact: Recent policy changes and the dominance of Google present challenges for the industry. Gerhard advocates for collective action to address these issues and ensure a fair playing field.
Rebranding to Atolls and vision for the future
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In 2024, Global Savings Group rebranded to Atolls to reflect their evolution as a unified entity. This rebranding process involved extensive internal discussions, external branding exercises, and a focus on communicating their mission of guiding consumers from 'anywhere to purchase' across their diverse product offerings. Gerhard explains how the rebrand aligns with their mission to connect consumers and Brands in an open ecosystem, fostering collaboration and innovation.
Internally, the rebrand aimed to unify their team, which had grown significantly through acquisitions. By creating a shared identity and vision, they fostered cohesion and motivation.
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Gerhard: "Back in time, people would use atolls as a way to logistically get from location A to B. It would be basically hops for people during their journeys. Similarly, we see ourselves building out different user propositions along the customer journey to transport them from, we say, from A to P, from anywhere to purchase, so along the entire consumer funnel. All of our propositions and our products somehow fit in there. But also, we went through a series of M&A transactions, and at some point, we felt that we had more people joining us through M&A than originally; we were here before we started the M&A journey. We wanted everyone to feel that there's nothing such as an acquiring company, and to be acquired, we wanted to send out a very clear message to all our people: Everyone is the same, we're one big team, and we have one big mission."

From strategic diversification to embracing emerging trends, Gerhard provides valuable takeaways for marketers and entrepreneurs navigating a rapidly changing landscape. Get more insights and listen to the entire episode on Spotify, Apple Podcast, our website, and all other podcast platforms.
About The Partner Marketing Podcast
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The podcast brings together thought leaders and professionals from across the globe. In each episode, our host, Matthias, sits down with guests to discuss the evolving world of Partner Marketing and share personal stories.
For more details, please visit www.tradedoubler.com/podcast
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