How CJ’s clean tracking, clever reactivation, and commercial focus transformed an affiliate programme into a scalable success.
156%
|
|
100%
|
|
+46%
|
| ROAS |
|
partners reactivated
|
|
traffic |
Background
Pizza Hut UK is part of the global Pizza Hut brand, one of the world’s most recognised pizza chains. Operating under a franchise model, the UK business focuses on quick-service delivery and takeaway, serving millions of customers annually. While the brand enjoys strong national awareness, the UK digital team is tasked with driving competitive growth in a crowded food delivery market. Affiliate marketing is a key digital performance channel supporting its e-commerce goals, contributing to online orders, app orders and customer retention.
Challenge
Pizza Hut UK’s affiliate programme growth was hindered. Under a previous provider, there was an over reliance towards few legacy partners, with limited diversification and little room to scale.
Affiliate revenue was contributing just 4% of e-commerce sales, well below the 10% industry benchmark. Beneath the surface, performance issues arose predominately due to
- a lack of tracking integrity
- publisher diversification
- long-term growth opportunities
These challenges made it difficult to prove performance or unlock additional budget.
Meanwhile, major partners were stepping back, citing limited commercial upside and technical frustrations.
Internal confidence was being significantly eroded and there was a risk affiliate would be deprioritised entirely.
Pizza Hut UK faced a strategic crossroads: they chose to reboot their affiliate program but needed a partner with the relationships, infrastructure and strategic clarity to make it happen.
Connect:
Rebuilding trust through clean tracking and partner reactivation
Following joint consultation with CJ & Publicis, the partnership with Pizza Hut UK was approached as a full-scale transformation project. Not just a platform switch, but a strategic rebuild of Pizza Hut’s affiliate infrastructure, partner ecosystem, and growth model.
The first priority was to restore tracking integrity. A full audit revealed critical attribution gaps, particularly for in-app transactions. CJ deployed its best-in-class tracking solutions (server-to-server tracking, universal tag technology, and in-app batching) to recover visibility and reduce data loss.
These upgrades restored confidence in the channel’s performance and gave the business a solid case for renewed investment. With tracking stabilised, CJ’s focus shifted to reactivating high-potential partners and unlocking new growth verticals. With CJ’s help Pizza Hut’s affiliate team reactivated paused revenue-generating partners including TopCashback and Valuedynamx.
Amplify:
Driving performance through smarter placements and measurable results
To accelerate results, CJ leveraged its network intelligence and vertical performance analysis to secure:
- Tenancy budget for premium placements
- Exclusive voucher rights with top partners
These moves increased visibility, improved promotional control and created standout moments for Pizza Hut across publisher channels. With the tech, partner ecosystem and commercial levers all firing, the results were immediate.
Grow:
Expanding the programme with vertical diversification and strategic KPIs
With the foundation rebuilt, CJ helped Pizza Hut UK scale its affiliate programme intelligently by unlocking new growth verticals. Across just a few months, the team onboarded 77 new publishers, including:
- Student platforms: Student Beans, UNiDAYS
- Closed user groups: Blue Light Card, Network Digital
- Employee benefit schemes: Reward Gateway, Benefex, Purpl, Telus Health
Finally, the programme reset was anchored around a new set of strategic KPIs:
- Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Affiliate was no longer operating in isolation. It was now aligned with business-wide objectives and geared for sustained performance. This wasn’t just a fix. It was a fundamental redefinition of what affiliate could deliver for the Pizza Hut UK brand.
The results
The impact was immediate and transformative. Within weeks, what had been a stagnant, sidelined channel was delivering outsized returns across every key metric.
Within 5 months of relaunch, the affiliate channel had been transformed:
- +64% YoY revenue growth (Jan–May 2025)
- +156% ROAS vs. target in month one
- Channel revenue share rose from 4% to 10%, hitting the industry benchmark
- 100% of paused partners reactivated, restoring lost revenue
- 77 new publishers onboarded, reaching new verticals
- +46% Month-on-Month traffic growth between March and April
These gains weren’t a spike, they were a structural reset. Affiliate is now a core part of Pizza Hut UK’s digital strategy: measurable, resilient, and ready to scale.
