Admitad & Otello: How Reward Marketing Drove a 22% GMV Increase

How Admitad Rewards unlocked 100M+ banking users and drove a 22% GMV increase in just 7 months — an Admitad & Otello case study.

About the Advertiser

Otello is a hotel search and booking service covering hotels, apartments, hostels, and other accommodation types — over 2 million properties in total. The platform helps users find the right stay in Russia and abroad, with one-click booking, bonuses, discounts, and flexible payment options.

The Challenge

Otello came to the table with clear scaling objectives:

• Grow GMV and booking volume
• Scale the affiliate channel without sacrificing ROI
• Maintain full transparency through reliable tracking

The Approach: Right Partners, Right Mechanics

To drive sales and boost affiliate performance, Admitad proposed that Otello test a confirmed-purchase payment model through cashback services, loyalty programs, and online shopping reward platforms.

To attract new partners, Otello joined Admitad’s Heroes Marathon — a two-month publisher competition (April–June 2025) with cash prizes. The marathon increased offer visibility and drove traffic from top-performing, high-volume publishers.

Results came fast:

• +9.6% GMV during the two-month marathon
• +28.5% CR over the same period

Loyalty Mechanics as a Growth Engine

The key unlock for scaling was Admitad Loyalty (Cardlink) — a tool that places offers inside partner banking apps via cashback mechanics, reaching an audience of 100M+ users.

Personalized promo blocks, push notifications, in-app banners, a 15% first-booking discount, 10% cashback, and seasonal promotions all contributed to a 22% total GMV increase over the campaign period.

Because banking app users statistically convert at higher rates, the Cardlink integration delivered strong ROI — with GMV in the Loyalty channel growing 69% over 7 months. On top of that, Otello gained full visibility into performance through Admitad’s transactional tracking.

Results at a Glance

“Personalized offers within financial ecosystems performed brilliantly, converting loyal banking users into our customers. The tools Admitad provided delivered not only growth in key metrics, but also confidence in our strategic direction.”

— Alexandra Ayupova, Head of CPA, Otello

	Bank #1	Bank #2	Bank #3
February	39%	11%	—
March	75%	33%	—
April	247%	89%	70%
May	221%	111%	37%
June	120%	92%	31%
July	268%	101%	37%
August	282%	104%	31%

MoM GMV growth (%) per banking cashback partner

Want to dive deeper into the loyalty landscape? In this episode of the Admitad Go Loud podcast, Lansy Joseph, CEO of Blue Ocean Loyalty, breaks down how the industry is shifting from bank-led loyalty programs toward brand-led reward ecosystems — covering card-linked offers, merchant-funded incentives, and real transaction attribution.