Today, digital marketing are becoming more pronounce, as digital platforms are increasingly being incorporated into marketing plans. Affinity marketing initiative is practice within the context of digital marketing. This paper examines the effect of affinity marketing initiatives on digital performance. The authors conceptualise three dimensions of affinity marketing that are critical for superior digital and marketing performance; shared incentive, enhancement packaged and third-party endorsement. Endorsement is conceptualized as a platform for leveraging affinity initiatives. The authors test the effects of affinity initiatives on performance (e.g. website visibility, traffic and sales) using data from twenty online consumer packaged food firms. The results show that shared incentive and enhancement packaged affect performance given the right endorsement.
Keywords: Digital performance; affinity marketing; endorsement; shared incentive; enhancement packaged.