St George gets serious about affinity marketing

St George has expanded its distribution reach with the purchase of a 5 per cent stake in Virtual Communities for $18 million.

The move will expand St George's affinity marketing program by gaining access to Virtual Communities' 200,000 customers who are associated with groups such as the ACTU, the Catholic and Anglican churches and industry super funds.

While St George has not announced the range of products to be offered as a part of the affinity marketing campaign, it is likely to include a range of banking and investment products from the St George Banking division, the Advance funds management business and the Sealcorp master trust and financial planning businesses.

Affinity marketing is a concept being embraced by a number of financial services business in recent years. It involves associating a brand with a particular community such as church or sporting groups and then using that affinity to distribute products to members of the community.

St George's chief executive officer Ed O'Neal says the deal is also part of a commitment to grow the group's Internet financial services capability.

"The deal gives St George the opportunity to secure a foothold in this new and rapidly growing part of the Internet banking market and complements the Bank's broader online banking growth strategy," he says.

The first products to be distributed through Virtual Communities will be rolled out in March.