cMarket/BiddingForGood and LVI/Thomas Cook Group Sign $1.5 Million Marketing Agreement
August 4, 2009, Cambridge, Ma. — Cambridge, Ma; cMarket/BiddingForGood (previously known as cMarket), the leading online auction platform connecting charity auctions, consumers, and commercial item donors, announced today a signed $1.5 million marketing agreement with LVI/Thomas Cook Group, a world-wide leader in wholesale travel.
The agreement calls for BiddingForGood to make available for bid a specially designed Concierge Travel Club package to be placed into thousands of online fundraising auctions. The package will include a Three Year Membership, valued at $100 plus an additional $100 in Free Travel Cash to be used on vacation bookings. The total value of $200 for this package will be added to BiddingForGood’s auctions, allowing non-profits to include a luxury Concierge Travel Club offering in their list of auctionable goods in their fundraising efforts.
The BiddingForGood product placement marketing program involves a commercial entity providing sample items to be placed into live online fundraising auctions, enabling the marketer to reach category specific, affluent donors just at the time their spending decisions are being made. The client receives detailed reporting along with a losing bidder outreach program. Ken Sternfeld, spokesperson for LVI/Thomas Cook, says “We are excited to be using BiddingForGood’s fundraising auction platform and tap into the $16 billion charity auction market. Hopefully, millions will be raised with this unique travel offering we have developed specifically for this market, while allowing our industry leading travel services to be exposed to attractive customer segments.”
LVI/Thomas Cook’s items will soon be placed within with a program enriched with measureable ROI and backed with hard metrics, something traditional advertising vehicles have often not been able to offer. “Because online charity auctions reach affluent consumers through their trusted causes just as they are making discretionary purchasing decisions, they are a highly measureable and experiential marketing channel”, says cMarket CEO Jon Carson.
BiddingForGood believes that three tectonic trends are re-shaping the advertising/promotion markets;
• Increased targeting efficiency/reduced waste; Pay only to reach target consumers who continue to have spending power in specific category
• Performance based, guaranteed marketing ROI
• Reaching consumers when they are making spend decisions (not twittering)
The company booked $1.3 in advertising commitments in 2008, the program’s first year. This year the company has booked $4.9m YTD and is tracking to $8m in marketing commitments for 2009.
“We look forward to working with Thomas Cook as there is a lot of travel sold in the charity auction market”, said Mr. Carson. “We can help charities raise more funds while giving Thomas Cook access to a performance based specialty marketing channel.”
About Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook Group, LLC is traded publicly on the London Stock Exchange with sales in excess of $15 Billion worldwide. The company is 167 years old with 31,000 staff members operating in more than 30 countries. LVI, a division of Thomas Cook Group, LLC, has designed marketing programs for more than 130 of the Fortune 500 in the United States.
About BiddingForGood
BiddingForGood is the leading online auction platform solely for organizations engaged in fundraising for nonprofit causes. With more than 6,000 customers, online auctions powered by BiddingForGood have generated over $67 million for non-profit organizations by allowing organizations to secure more items, more bidders and ultimately raise more money. The company also works with brand marketers through its unique product placement advertising program to enable them to reach affluent donors while they are spending in a trusted environment. You can experience our marketplace at www.BiddingForGood.com. BiddingForGood is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.
