Dean Witter, Discover & Co. has signed a deal with the Smithsonian Institution to market a credit card that will be introduced later this year.
The Smithsonian Card, Dean Witter's second affinity card, is part of the company's strategy to expand its stable of card products.
Thomas R. Butler, president of Dean Witter's card unit, Novus Services Inc., said it has been difficult landing cobranded/affinity partnerships, in part, because Dean Witter entered the game much later than its competitors.
"We started from ground zero," said Mr. Butler, in an interview last month. "But we have ambitions to build that business."
A spokesman for the institution said Dean Witter was chosen for the contract partly because of its sponsorship of the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary celebration last year. Dean Witter was one of four companies- along with Intel, TWA, and MCI-that paid $10 million to sponsor the Smithsonian.
The other Dean Witter affinity card is with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. To market that card, Dean Witter formed a nonprofit group called the National Alliance for Species Survival, which supports the survival of endangered species. One half of one percent of purchases made with that card benefit the organization.
The Smithsonian Card will likely be marketed to the Smithsonian's 2.1 million members, who receive a monthly magazine called Smithsonian and special benefits when they visit the institution's museums.
"The level of success of the card is going to depend on more than just the name Smithsonian," said credit card consultant Michael Auriemma. "It will depend on how aggressively they market the card."
The partners declined to disclose their marketing plans or the pricing of the card.
In a prepared statement, Mr. Butler said the card will "encourage savings in America," implying that there will be some benefit to the cardholder aside from supporting the Smithsonian Institution.
In general, affinity card customers are loyal because they believe in the organization with which the card is affiliated, said Mr. Auriemma. The benefit of using such cards is simply to support an organization rather than to gain points toward some benefit to the cardholder.
