Affinion Group - Overview

Overview

Affinion Group is an affinity marketer of membership, insurance, package enhancement, and loyalty programs. Direct marketing is defined by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) as any direct communication to a consumer or business that is designed to generate a response in the form of an order for goods or services. Affinity marketing is a subset of the larger direct marketing industry which involves marketing to the customers of institutions, such as financial service providers and retailers, using the brand name, customer contacts and billing vehicles of those institutions. Affinity partners benefit as they are able to promote their brands while offering additional programs and services thus strengthening their relationships with their customers and also generating incremental revenue.

Affinion Groups's business model generates an alternate incremental revenue source for its affinity partners which include many of the world's largest financial institutions, major consumer-driven corporations and Fortune 500 companies. These partners benefit from Affinion's direct mail, telemarketing, database modeling, customer acquisition strategies and on-line marketing services. Affinion's revenues are generated primarily through the sale of subscription-based products and services to the customers of their affinity partners and in some cases from partner managed programs when the institution elects to market Affinion's products and service directly to their own customer base.

In addition to legacy product lines, Affinion Group also provides identity theft services and data breach solutions offered as a part of an affinity partner program or marketed directly through the Affinion Security Center division establishing in 2008.

Affinion was founded in 1973 (known then as Comp-U-Card) and has about 5,200 affinity partners. The company's headquarters are at 6 High Ridge Park in Stamford, Connecticut (it had moved there in early 2010 from Norwalk, Connecticut) and employs about 3,000 people in the United States and in fourteen European countries and South Africa. Affinion Group has proprietary rights to a number of trademarks which are important to its business, including: Affinion Group; Affinion Benefits Group; Affinion International; Affinion Loyalty Group; AutoVantage; Buyers Advantage; CompleteHome; Enhanced Checking; HealthSaver; Hot-Line; NHPA; PCSafetyPlus; PrivacyGuard; CardCops; IDSecure; Identity Secure; Affinion Security Center; BreachShield; Shoppers Advantage; Small Business Solutions; Just For Me, Great Fun!; Travelers Advantage; Great Options; Trilegiant Corporation and Wellness Extras.