Welcome back to the Wise Marketer! That is, if you've been here before! Each week, our team of editors curate a list of the latest customer loyalty, CRM, and other relevant marketing news. Our goal is to make it simple for busy professionals to quickly digest important news and trending topics. Show your support by joining our mailing list to gain access to exclusive content, events, and promotions. Or you could just follow us on social media!
- Smokey Bones partners with Personica to launch new loyalty rewards program
- New England based convenience store chain Yatco Energy launches Yatco Rewards on Paytronix platform
- Brand Keys to release a database of predictive brand loyalty metrics
- Rakuten and Afterpay partnership enables retailers to combine cash back incentives with BNPL offers
- Paymentology and Tutuka merger forms world's first global issuer-processor across 49 countries
- FTC Whistleblower Act would offer financial incentives to potential whistleblowers with the courage to come forward
- Exodus Travels launches new loyalty program for travel advisors
- Best Western Rewards offering members double points on all stays
LOYALTY PROGRAM NEWS
Smokey Bones partners with Personica to launch new rewards program
Highlight: With the launch of its Bones Club rewards program on the Personica platform, Smokey Bones has the power to collect and leverage member, campaign, and transactional data across offers and customer engagement journeys, building lasting guest relationships with every interaction across touch points. Smokey Bones guests can gain rewards benefits from visits on-premises or via online order options, which are powered by Fresh Technology’s ToGo solution that is fully integrated with Personica… “Through our partnership with Personica, we are employing a data-driven approach to creating personalized offers and more meaningful rewards,” said Nichole Robillard, Vice President of Marketing at Smokey Bones. “The new Bones Club rewards program is designed to incentivize greater visit frequency while inspiring new usage occasions and trial around the menu. We know diners have a lot of options when choosing where to eat, and a loyalty program that provides unique and high-value offers is another way for Smokey Bones to stand out among the crowd.”
Yatco Energy Launches Loyalty Program on Paytronix Platform
Highlight: Paytronix will provide the Yatco Rewards with loyalty, a branded mobile app, and, for three of the Yatco stores, order and delivery. “Yatco Rewards will help create brand loyalty while incentivizing our customers to come into our stores more frequently and to spend more. It also will give us a better idea of who our customers are, how often they visit and what they buy. In today’s highly competitive market creating a differentiative program helps in staying relevant in the eyes of the consumer,” said Hussein Yatim, Vice President, Yatco Energy, Inc. “Paytronix also gives us a means to communicate with our customers and solicit their feedback so that they feel valued and heard.”
MARKETING TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Brand Keys to Release Brand Tracking Database
Highlight: "After 25 years conducting the Customer Loyalty and Engagement Index, it seemed an apt time to allow brands access to where brand loyalty has come from and, more important, where it's going," said Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys' founder and president. "Loyalty--how to earn it, grow it, and keep it--will be one of the most important performance indicators that brands measure in the next decade." The Brand Keys database will contain as many as 4.3 million evaluations and will include loyalty and engagement analytics for 1,624 brands in 142 categories. Brand assessments have been independently-validated and correlate highly with positive, in-market consumer behavior. Brand Keys' first Loyalty Index was conducted in 1997 and assessments have been conducted annually ever since.
PAYMENTS NEWS
Rakuten and Afterpay Partner to Let Shoppers Stack Cash Back Rewards with Buy Now, Pay Later
Highlight: Shoppers enrolled with Rakuten and Afterpay who make purchases from participating merchants like MAC Cosmetics, Crocs, Ulta Beauty, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Ugg, Ray-Ban and thousands more, will earn cash back while opting to pay over time in four, interest-free installments. In turn, the combined offering can help merchants experience benefits like higher conversion rates and average order values. "Working with Rakuten, we are able to help consumers spend responsibly during the busiest shopping season of the year, while also providing merchants with a two-in-one solution to deliver new customers and drive higher conversion rates," said Melissa Davis, Chief Revenue Officer at Afterpay. "Heading into this holiday season, we couldn't be more excited to join forces with Rakuten for the benefit of shoppers and merchant partners alike."
Tutuka and Paymentology Create the World’s First Global Issuer-processor Spanning 49 Countries, to Form a New Payments and Card Processing Powerhouse
Highlight: Operating under the Paymentology name, the merger creates a new force in payment solutions; giving banks and fintechs the technology, team and experience to issue and process Mastercard, Visa and UnionPay cards, across 49 countries. The move brings together the ultra-advanced, multi-cloud platform of Paymentology, with the global reach and experience of Tutuka. The merger creates a powerhouse of over 270 payments and technology experts, working across both developed and emerging markets, serving customers in 49 countries, across 14 time zones – and a platform that is already processing USD 10 billion in transactions each year… Rowan Brewer, CEO at Paymentology, said: “Banks and fintechs are racing to provide customers with digital and data-driven features. They are highly receptive to working with a single issuer-processor that can provide that, across the globe.
DATA & PRIVACY NEWS
FTC Whistleblower Act Would Reward and Protect Whistleblowing About Data Privacy Misconduct and Other Deceptive Practices
Highlight: Earlier this week, Representatives Jan Schakowsky and Lori Trahan (D-MA) introduced the FTC Whistleblower Act of 2021 (FTCWA), which would reward and protect disclosures about potential or suspected violations of any law, rule, or regulation enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission). And an FTC whistleblower reward program could spur whistleblowers at social media and technology companies to disclose data privacy and security practices that harm consumers. As demonstrated by the success of similar laws rewarding whistleblowing about various types of fraud, offering financial incentives to encourage potential whistleblowers to take the significant risk of coming forward would substantially enhance the FTC’s ability to detect and combat deceptive trade practices.
TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY NEWS
Exodus Travels launches new loyalty program for agents
Highlight: Exodus Travels’ new loyalty program for travel advisors – called The Exodus Agent Collective – includes a ‘welcome back bonus’ for travel agent partners. The tour operator says membership in The Exodus Agent Collective gives travel advisors special access to benefits, and the more trips an agent books with Exodus, the more benefits they can access. Sasha Andrews, Exodus’ Director of Industry Sales, said, “Travel agents are a crucial part of the Exodus Travels family, and now more than ever we want to show how much we appreciate them. The past 2 years have been an incredibly difficult time for the entire industry, and from the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank our loyal agent partners who have been there with us throughout the pandemic and beyond. We are thrilled to introduce this new loyalty initiative to celebrate our loyal travel agents and our shared love of adventure travel.”
Best Western Rewards double points promotion
Highlight: With a new promotion, Best Western Rewards members can earn double points on all stays. The promotion is valid for stays between December 6, 2021, and February 6, 2022, at any Best Western branded property in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. For context, Best Western Rewards ordinarily offers 10x points per dollar spent, meaning that with this promotion you’d earn 10 bonus points per dollar spent. This doesn’t include the rewards you’d earn for credit card spending, plus any bonus rewards you’d earn if you have elite status with Best Western Rewards.
Did you miss last week's newswire? Stay informed: Loyalty Newswire – November 29th, 2021
The Loyalty Newswire is compiled and edited by the staff at The Wise Marketer.
