GM Card links nicely with Visa

Our Web site address on the Internet is: http://www.marketing-week.co.uk/mw000Letter of the month prize. Every month the editor will award this de luxe fountain pen to the writer of the best letter. The chrome and 22ct gold pen, made by AT Cro

I read with interest your article on the growing trend in partnership marketing “Joint deals put strain on core brand values” (MW July 12), in which you interview Tom Blackett, deputy chairman of Interbrand, about some partnership combinations. I would like to respond to his comments on the GM Card and its relationship with Visa, and his misconception that these are “strange bedfellows”.

The GM Card was the first co-branded card in the UK. It is both a loyalty card and a credit card. The benefits to all parties concerned – the consumer, Vauxhall, Visa and Mastercard – are considerable.

Blackett’s belief that the long-term benefits to Vauxhall are probably “not a great deal” is incorrect. The card has attracted a new target market to Vauxhall, opening regular channels of communication to people we haven’t reached before.

Richard Parker

The GM Card

Luton

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