[London, ENGLAND] With the aim of signing up 1,000 affiliates
by the end of January, BT announced Wednesday an affiliate
program that allows partners to pick and choose BT products
for promotion on their Web sites.
However, the affiliates are not the only ones to pick and
choose — as BT Indirect Channels will select its online
partners rather than allow all-comers to gain a slice of
the action.
David Brown, senior business development manager, BT Indirect
Channels, said the scheme would be an exciting new route to
market for BT.
“We are looking forward to working with leading Web site owners
to promote our products to their customer base, and will work
closely with them to help earn the highest possible commission
from their own personally tailored programme,” said Brown.
Brown said the scheme would effectively enable affiliates to
run an e-commerce operation without financial outlay or time
commitment.
To establish the scheme, BT has sought technical backing from
affiliate marketing specialist MagicButton. Two-year-old
MagicButton has worked with other top U.K. and European brands,
although BT will now presumably sit large in its portfolio.
With MagicButton’s approach to affilate marketing, partners
place product “buttons” on their sites rather than use general
banner advertising. Affiliates also take responsibility for
promotion, although BT says it will work closely with them to
generate the highest number of successful hits.
BT’s Indirect Channels sells a portfolio of telecommunications
products via 200 partners who in turn sell through over 1,000
resellers. The portfolio includes narrowband, broadband and
e-business products — around 30 different voice and data products.
BT established its Indirect Channel division five years ago to
market communications solutions to businesses. It still aims
its products at the business sector, from the home office worker
to large, multi-site companies in the U.K., Europe and beyond.
