Good Housekeeping Rewards Readers with Cash Back Awards

Good Housekeeping is the latest consumer magazine to roll out a new incentive program, which rewards loyal readers with cash back for online purchases.

The effort is part of a growing trend by magazine companies to offer rewards programs to boost readership and subscriptions.

Members of the Good Housekeeping Rewards program can earn up to 20% cash back when shopping online at more than 200 participating retailers. People with active subscriptions can enroll at GoodHousekeepingRewards.com.

Those who have accumulated $20 in cash back rewards will receive a Good Housekeeping branded MasterCard Prepaid card. The card can be used at any retail outlet where MasterCard Debit Cards are accepted. There is no limit for the amount of cash back rewards shoppers can earn.

Members can earn a 10% cash back reward at Macy’s, 8% off Brookstone.com purchases and 7% back on Petco.com items. The free program is designed to boost subscription retention rates, as well as drive increased visits to Good Housekeeping’s Web site.

“We’re always looking for programs to benefit our readers,” Beth Ifcher, vice president of consumer marketing for Good Housekeeping, said. “We’re giving people a way to continue to make purchases everyday and get some money back.”

The program, which Affinity Solutions is handling, meshes well with Good housekeeping’s brand promise: Save you time, save you money and save you hassle.

Good Housekeeping has a monthly readership of 26 million women, Ifcher says.

People who do not subscribe to the magazine can sigh up a free 90-day trial membership at GoodHousekeepingRewards.com. At the end of the trial period, readers simply collect their cash back or can subscribe to magazine to remain in the rewards program.

Since the program launched on June 3, feedback has been positive, Ifcher said.

“This is free money,” she said. “It’s a big ‘wow.’

In addition, visitors can print online coupons from the site, such offers for 5% off Barnesandnoble.com and 15% off Shoes.com. People can additional rewards program by signing up for the program.

The rewards program follows a similar effort Parenting Magazine launched last month, in which subscribers credit in the form of prepaid Visa debit card when they accumulate at least $10 in rewards (Promo Xtra, June 11, 2008).

“It certainly is a trend regarding an industry paradigm shift,” Jonathan Silver, CEO of Affinity Solutions, the agency that executes Good Housekeeping’s and Parenting Magazine’s reward programs and is in charge of the retailer recruitment. “It [offers] readers cash back from retailers that are aligned with the magazines. So for the average reader, it’s a no-brainer they will renew.”

And rewards programs are ripe for publications. It’s a business, like many, that is challenge, “given its competition for eyeballs,” Silver said.

“The idea is added value,” he added. “It’s just another opportunity for differentiation in the marketplace and a way to extend the brand.”

Good Housekeeping is promoting the program with print ads in its July issue, via cover wraps to subscribers and in direct mail and billing notices.