NEW MEDIA: Beenz.com hires Lowe for direct push

Online loyalty brand Beenz.com has hired Lowe Direct for a dollars

10m (pounds 6.25m) direct marketing push in the US and UK for new

sign-ups to the incentive scheme.

Beenz.com launched less than three months ago as a dedicated online

brand offering users credits, or Beenz, for shopping online or

performing particular activities on the web. These credits can be

exchanged for goods at sites which have signed up to the scheme.

The new advertising campaign will mainly target consumers, although

there will also be a highly targeted DM campaign aimed at potential

traders, beginning in July.

The consumer campaign is expected to kick off toward the end of

August.

It is expected that between 30% and 50% of the total budget will be

spent on online media, although the final amount has yet to be decided.

Online planning and buying will be handled by Western International

Media.

Marketing spend will be weighted toward the US market. Lowe Direct in

London will work as the lead strategic agency, with New York-based

sister agency, Lowe Fox Pavlika, implementing strategy for the US

campaign.

Lowe will work with Twelve Stars Communications, the brand strategy

outfit which helped create the Beenz brand.

Beenz says it has signed up around 150 traders, including Sony

FriendFactory, Sporting Life and PC Flowers.

Last week the firm announced a marketing agreement with DoubleClick,

which will see the ad sales house encourage its roster of sites to

distribute Beenz and promote the currency across its network.

Beenz said it expects to name a number of companies in the entertainment

and travel sectors which will sign up to the scheme in the next few

weeks.

’From the start we wanted to be a global brand. For that, we needed a

global agency with experience of direct marketing. We want to create an

image of Beenz as a lifestyle brand and help popularise e-commerce,’

said Nicolas de Santis, chief marketing officer for Beenz.com.

Ian Taylor, managing partner of Lowe Direct, said: ’There will be two

angles to the campaign: making Beenz attractive to potential traders and

stimulating consumer interest.’

He added: ’We’re beefing up our expertise in the whole area of digital

marketing. In terms of importance it’s high on the agenda.’

The web address for beenz is www.beenz.com.

This article was first published on Marketing