Bluefly Extends Marketing Relationship with MSN

At a time when other beleaguered e-tailers are shying away from big-dollar marketing deals, discount clothing seller Bluefly Inc. on Tuesday inked an expanded agreement with Microsoft‘s MSN.com.

Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, and the companies didn’t give details about the length of the committment.

The deal calls for Bluefly.com to be a featured tenant in MSN’s re-designed eShop channel. The company will receive fixed links in the clothing and accessories department, and it will appear in integrated product and graphical placements throughout the Microsoft Network.

“Successful online retailers need to do many things, but at a minimum they need to acquire customers in a cost-effective manner,” said Jonathan Morris, executive vice president of Bluefly Inc.

“Over the last year, MSN’s eShop has proven itself to be a very effective customer acquisition vehicle for Bluefly. We are extremely pleased to renew our relationship with MSN, and look forward to working with them as we try to grow Bluefly’s customer base.”

Rather then jettisoning the usually high-priced portal deal, Bluefly says it has tested various customer acquisition techniques and believes the deal with MSN is cost-effective.

Separately, FreeShop.com signed one-year marketing alliance with MSN, that will feature FreeShop’s magazine subscription offers throughout the Microsoft Network. The magazine titles, which include a 90-day free trial period, will be positioned in eShop’s books and magazines section, as well as other areas including MSN WomenCentral, MSN Health, Encarta, msnbc.com and Slate.