How The AA Made Brand Partnerships a Top Acquisition Channel
Learn how The AA partnered with BrandSwap via Awin to advertise at Screwfix and Currys, dramatically reducing its reliance on cashback publishers.
+204% vs acquisition target
+78% increase in CVR
+19% cashback revenue
The AA is one of the UK's leading breakdown service providers, offering roadside assistance and vehicle insurance to millions of customers in the UK.
BrandSwap is a brand partnerships technology provider that enables brands like The AA to reach millions of in-market customers through strategic placements at major retailers like B&Q and Currys.
The challenge
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in ‘switcher’ customers within affiliates in the past few years. To improve retention, we had to find environments where customers aren’t primarily looking for deals.”
In February 2024, cashback publishers dominated The AA's affiliate programme revenue. While this channel delivered valuable customer acquisitions, it came with the usual drawbacks.
Cashback audiences were inherently deal-driven, making them more likely to switch providers when their breakdown cover expired. This created a constant churn cycle as customers routinely searched for better offers elsewhere.
The incentive-heavy environment also fuelled a race to the bottom with competitors, eroding profit margins and limiting sustainable growth opportunities.
The AA had maxed out its cashback channel's potential. To get back onto the road to meaningful growth, it needed to diversify into partnerships that could deliver higher-quality customers with better retention rates.
The solution
Using advertisers as publishers
Brand partnerships are one of the fastest-growing partner types on Awin, and for good reason.
Rather than investing huge amounts of time into finding brand partners and sharing offers with all their individual retail media networks, advertisers like The AA can use a brand partnerships tech provider like BrandSwap to centralise the process.
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Brand partnerships on Awin: |
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Finding a new acquisition vehicle
BrandSwap approached The AA with an opportunity to distribute exclusive offers through two of its largest retail partners: Screwfix and Currys.
The partnership model was straightforward. The AA would pay the retail hosts each time it acquired a customer, with BrandSwap taking a small share of the revenue.
The audience fit was ideal. Currys customers purchasing products like Bluetooth car stereos and Screwfix shoppers buying van equipment had clear overlaps with The AA's target market of vehicle owners and tradespeople.
Offering a high incentive
The AA offered a compelling 40% discount on annual breakdown cover, exclusive to BrandSwap's retail partners when The AA wasn't running broader site promotions. When site-wide offers exceeded 40%, BrandSwap was permitted to match them, ensuring customers always received the best available deal.
BrandSwap integrated The AA's offer seamlessly into the post-purchase experience at both Currys and Screwfix. After completing a transaction, customers saw The AA's offer on confirmation pages and could opt-in to receive redemption details via email or click through directly to sign up.
As well as having the retailers and audience to give The AA enough volume to diversify from a cashback-led acquisition model, BrandSwap’s technology made sure its offers were seen and redeemed:
Segmentation: On Screwfix, BrandSwap used first-party data to identify B2B customers and show The AA's multi-vehicle business offer, perfectly aligned with tradespeople's needs.
Delivery: The introduction of WhatsApp and email delivery options at both retailers allowed customers to save or share The AA’s rewards, significantly improving conversion rates.
Placements: Strategic investments in high-visibility 'hero' placements targeted specific product categories. At Currys, for example, The AA focused on the computing category, which generated some of its highest-quality customers.
By partnering with established retail brands, The AA reached millions of customers at the point of purchase, right when buying intent was at its highest.
The results
“We’ve never been able to access so many relevant customers so quickly. Brand partnerships have been pivotal to a fantastic year for acquisition, retention, and diversification.”
The AA set out to make brand partnerships a significant contributor to its affiliate programme, reducing its dependence on cashback publishers while opening a powerful new acquisition channel. The results exceeded expectations.
Monthly acquisition targets were consistently surpassed at both retailers throughout 2024, with particularly strong growth in Q4:
Screwfix sales:
- October: +56% vs target
- November: +204% vs target
Currys sales:
- October: +41% vs target
- November: +125% vs target
Tactical investments in featured placements drove remarkable conversion improvements. The AA's conversion rate at Screwfix jumped +78% from October to November. When measured over four months, the average conversion rate from brand partnerships far exceeded The AA's other marketing channels, including pay-per-click advertising.
The impact on The AA's overall affiliate mix over the course of the year was transformative. By December, cashback sales dropped to half their previous proportion of total programme revenue despite sales from this partner actually growing +19% year on year.
Brand partnerships had successfully diversified The AA's acquisition strategy while delivering superior customer quality.
Want to target millions of customers at Screwfix and Currys? Partner with BrandSwap today.