At a time when other beleaguered e-tailers are shying away from big-dollar
marketing deals, discount clothing seller Bluefly Inc. on
Tuesday inked an expanded agreement with Microsoft‘s MSN.com.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, and the companies didn’t give
details about the length of the committment.
The deal calls for Bluefly.com to be a featured tenant in MSN’s re-designed
eShop channel. The company will receive fixed links in the clothing and
accessories department, and it will appear in integrated product and
graphical placements throughout the Microsoft Network.
“Successful online retailers need to do many things, but at a minimum they
need to acquire customers in a cost-effective manner,” said Jonathan Morris,
executive vice president of Bluefly Inc.
“Over the last year, MSN’s eShop has proven itself to be a very effective
customer acquisition vehicle for Bluefly. We are extremely pleased to renew
our relationship with MSN, and look forward to working with them as we try
to grow Bluefly’s customer base.”
Rather then jettisoning the usually high-priced portal deal, Bluefly says it
has tested various customer acquisition techniques and believes the deal
with MSN is cost-effective.
Separately, FreeShop.com signed one-year marketing alliance with MSN, that will feature
FreeShop’s magazine subscription offers throughout the Microsoft Network.
The magazine titles, which include a 90-day free trial period, will be
positioned in eShop’s books and magazines section, as well as other areas
including MSN WomenCentral, MSN Health, Encarta, msnbc.com and Slate.