Give with Bing is a new way to support the causes you care about from Microsoft.
In early October of 2020, the tech giant announced a shift in product naming from Bing to Microsoft Bing to reflect the continued integration of its search experiences across their suite of products and services.
It also marked the expansion of Give with Bing, a program which helps users support the causes they care about through the searches they perform every day.
How does it work?
Give with Bing is an extension of the Microsoft Rewards program – the company’s loyalty program which lets you earn points simply by searching, shopping or playing within the Microsoft family of products. Points can be redeemed for nonprofit donations, gift cards, sweepstake entries and more. The loyalty program’s main purpose is to incentivise the use of Microsoft Bing as the search engine of choice.
Give with Bing enables members enrolled in Microsoft Rewards to automatically donate their points to the cause of their choice.
The new evolution of the program also expands the number of supported nonprofits to include over 1.4 million organisations across the globe.
Originally open to only the US, Give with Bing is now available in seven more markets: UK, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.
Why it’s a great loyalty initiative
- It’s simple and easy to use. All you need to do is turn ‘Give’ mode on, choose your nonprofit, and start searching with Bing.
- It encourages people to try a different search engine by providing additional value to the searches they perform every day. It gives consumers a reason to try Microsoft Bing, which may then reinforce engagement and lead to the development of habitual behaviour.
- Every member is given the choice to decide which cause is most important to them from more than a million nonprofits, and they can change it whenever they want.
- Members can track contributions made to their designated nonprofit for the month, their lifetime giving, as well as the overall impact. This provides them with a sense of progression towards a personal goal, as well as feeling like they are a part of something bigger.
- It differentiates the service in a meaningful way from competitors. It also makes the act of searching more fun and interesting by adding a level of gamification. Studies have shown that gamified loyalty programs increase consumer loyalty and participation intention, and can help companies differentiate over conventional programs.[1]
Searching for a good cause
It doesn’t change the way the Microsoft search engine works, but it definitely gives a unique reason for anyone to give it a go: contribute to a good cause doing something you already do, without opening your wallet.
It’s a great time to give it a try too – Microsoft will be matching the points donated through the program until December 31, 2020.
To name a few, some of the global organisations which can be supported include Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, the Red Cross and Unicef.
Members can also choose to support a local cause in one of the eight countries (US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Germany and Spain) where Give with Bing is available. This includes Feeding America in the US, Cancer Research UK in the UK, Lifeline in Australia and Aktion Mensch in Germany.
Search nonprofits and causes in your country right here.
[1] Hwang, J. & Choi, L., 2020. ‘Having fun while receiving rewards?: Exploration of gamification in loyalty programs for consumer loyalty’, Journal of Business Research. Vol 106, pp365-376.
