Affinity marketing
Affinity marketing refers to an activity of collaborative brand marketing, comprising an exchange between two or several companies with the same ideas in order to acquire or retain customers. In such relationships, costs are reduced, new channels to the consumer are opened and complementary brands can attract consumer benefits that neither party could obtain independently (Greenyer, 2004).
Affinity marketing is the process of turning passive customer referrals into active ones. This is a point-by-point strategy for taking control of the conversation, helping your customers make the people they care about and serve them better (Cooper, 2021).
Affinity marketing tactic growing tendency
Marketers are under pressure to seek out alternative advertising channels that offer a better, or less more measurable, return on investment compared to traditional media. For larger companies that have regular communications with their customers, this has led to renewed interest in partnerships where companies share these existing channels with the customer in order to advertise their products and services. A crucial factor to brand partnership is to work with companies that provide appropriate services as well as products. They have to have an affinity with the primary brand that makes the association acceptable to the clients. But partnership marketing is not for everyone- if it is executed poorly, it can be inefficent and a harm the brand. Poor partner matching due to incompatibility, imbalance or control issues is a risk associated with affinity marketing, as is negative consumer perception of partnership. However, affinity partnerships as a marketing tactic have grown significantly in the past few years (Greenyer, 2004).
References
- Cooper Ch., (2021). Affinity Marketing by Chris Cooper. Two Brain Business.
- Greenyer, A. (2004). Affinity marketing- A step in the right direction?. Henry Stewart Publications. Interactive Marketing, Vol. 6 No. 2, 141–150.
- Macchiette, B., & Roy, A. (1992). Affinity marketing: what is it and how does it work?. Journal of Services Marketing.
Author: Paulina Olszewska
