Direct marketing to the credit card industry

Based on the notion of securing the group's endorsement, affinity marketing has achieved breakthrough results in terms of advertising effectiveness, particularly in the credit card industry. This builds impact and credibility into the sales message by leveraging the preestablished relationship that exists between members and the affiliated group. Its inherent advantage rests in the mutually derived benefits to all parties involved. While affinity marketing has gained high visibility as a formidable direct marketing technique, its interpretation varies widely. This article offers a framework for delineating the concept of affinity. It also suggests three dimensions of affinity marketing as related to strategic implications for targeting various reference group categories.