Burger King Bids for Customer Loyalty Through eBay Deal
Less than two weeks after announcing a multi-year marketing and cross-promotional alliance with AOL Time Warner, restaurant chain Burger King Corp. has inked an online loyalty program deal with eBay Inc.Announced yesterday, the deal ostensibly will help to encourage repeat visits to the 8,400 Burger King restaurants dotting the country. Burger King and eBay, San Jose, CA, claim this is the first Web-based loyalty program in the fast-food business.
Buying certain food or drink items at Burger King restaurants will earn points. These points can be deposited and tracked on a co-branded Burger King and eBay site. With the aid of these points, customers will be able to bid on rewards posted on the co-branded site.
Burger King, Miami, will offer 1 million rewards in 2002. The loyalty program and the co-branded site go live early next year.
Online and offline marketing programs, including in-store promotions, from Burger King and eBay will support the effort.
