This Week's News
The weekly Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer delivers a curated list of the latest news and announcements from around the globe on all topics related to customer loyalty. We share news on a spectrum of topics, all with the intention of giving you an “info boost” to start your week.
The Loyalty Newswire makes it simple for busy professionals (that means YOU) to quickly digest important industry news and to *maybe even* enable you to star in your next big meeting.
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- Ex-Nectar and Aimia execs team up to acquire TLC Worldwide
- Oliver Wyman to boost digital payments expertise with Innopay acquisition
- Loyalty Academy CLMP™ Certification Workshop planned for 27-29 February in Dubai
- Why copyright should never apply to AI-made works
- W. Capra agrees to acquire Impact 21, representing consolidation of consulting services for Convenience and Fuel Retail
- T-Mobile introduces “Magenta Status” with “One-of-a-Kind” Benefits
- Smokey Bones revamps loyalty programs
- IHG Partners with Rakuten Travel for Enhanced Loyalty Program Integration
- Decoding American Express - a Strategic SWOT Analysis
- International Loyalty Awards has a fresh look for 2024
- Gen Z is leading the adoption of digital wallets – how they want to use them
- Short Takes, Big News
Ex-Nectar and Aimia execs team up to acquire TLC Worldwide
bd-capital has announced its partnership with TLC Worldwide, the global loyalty and rewards company, with the strategy to accelerate growth across new and existing geographies and products. TLC Worldwide (“TLC”) is the global market leader in tech-enabled, experience-based reward campaigns and loyalty programmes. The company is headquartered in London, UK, and has office hubs in 14 countries across EMEA, the Americas and APAC, employing over 350 people.
One of bd-capital’s founders, Richard Baker, was Chairman of Nectar, the UK-based loyalty programme, and another member of bd-capital’s team, David Johnston who was previously CEO of Nectar owner Aimia, becomes Chairman at TLC. Jan-Pieter Lips, former CEO of Nectar and also previously a senior executive at Adyen, also joins the Board. TLC’s founder Nick True will remain on the Board, and CEO Alec Johnson will continue to lead the business. Sky News previously reported the deal to be estimated around £150m.
Oliver Wyman to boost digital payments expertise with Innopay acquisition
Oliver Wyman, a premier global management consulting firm and a part of Marsh McLennan, has announced its decision to acquire Innopay, a consultancy renowned for its specialization in digital transactions.
Innopay excels in delivering comprehensive strategies, scheme development, and execution across various domains including digital payments, open finance, digital identity, and data sharing. Their expertise spans the payments sector, aiding companies, and organizations to navigate and capitalize on the digital landscape’s opportunities.
Loyalty Academy CLMP™ Certification Workshop planned for 27-29 February in Dubai
The Loyalty Academy™ and QBF Consulting are presenting a public Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ Workshop to be held in Dubai 27-29 February. The workshop will be led by Chayya and Manav Fernandez, principles of QBF Consulting. For those who wish to achieve the distinction of Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ (CLMP), this workshop is for you! More information can be found here.
Why copyright should never apply to AI-made works
Christopher S. Penn is a 2021, four-time IBM Champion in IBM Analytics, a Brand24 Top 100 Digital Marketer, an Onalytica Top 100 AI in Marketing influencer, and co-host of the award-winning Marketing Over Coffee marketing podcast. Prior to co-founding Trust Insights, he built the marketing for a series of startups with a 100% successful exit rate in the financial services, SaaS software, and public relations industries. His work has served brands such as Twitter, T-Mobile, Citrix Systems, GoDaddy, AAA, McDonald’s, and many others.
This long introduction is to let you know that we listen to Christopher Penn for good reason. With the content marketing business under threat from AI and the veracity of what we read online in question without taking time for verification. Chris is an advocate of including an AI Disclosure and Copyright Assertion on his website and has written a complete analysis of why copyrights should not be allowed to apply to AI generated content. For all the content creators out there, this is for you.
W. Capra agrees to acquire Impact 21, representing consolidation of consulting services for Convenience and Fuel Retail
W. Capra, the leading professional services firm in commerce, technology, and consumer programs and Impact 21, a globally recognized business transformation firm with a rich history of empowering businesses to drive results through people, systems, processes and data – announced they have signed a letter of intent for W. Capra to acquire Impact 21.
Together, W. Capra and Impact 21 will form the premier end-to-end consulting and services business – from high level strategy to implementation – providing customer-first business transformation in every vertical served.
T-Mobile introduces “Magenta Status” with “One-of-a-Kind” Benefits
With its latest move, the T-Mobile, the “Un-carrier” is reinforcing its longstanding belief that customers deserve to be thanked without paying more for it — and is taking customers’ everyday experiences to the next level for nothing more than being a customer.
T-Mobile President Mike Katz said that while other “loyalty programs” treat customers like numbers, at T-Mobile, they’re family. Magenta Status includes new one-of-a-kind deals and experiences on nationally loved brands across services used every day like hotels, rental cars, concerts, movie tickets and more, in addition to discounts and freebies every week from T-Mobile Tuesdays … on top of the industry-leading benefits that customers already have access to including free streaming services, free in-flight Wi-Fi and more.
Smokey Bones revamps loyalty programs
Smokey Bones, the Florida based full-service restaurant barbecue chain with 61 locations across 16 states, has refreshed and relaunched its Bones Club loyalty program. The revamped program offers guests an instant reward upon joining, exclusive ongoing deals and offers, higher earning rates for points based on purchase and other special surprise and delight features.
Smokey Bones is part of the FAT Brands (NASDAQ: FAT) group, a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets, and develops fast casual, quick-service, casual dining, and polished casual dining concepts around the world. The Company currently owns 18 restaurant brands: Round Table Pizza, Fatburger, Marble Slab Creamery, Johnny Rockets, Fazoli’s, Twin Peaks, Great American Cookies, Hot Dog on a Stick, Buffalo’s Cafe & Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Pretzelmaker, Elevation Burger, Smokey Bones, Native Grill & Wings, Yalla Mediterranean and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, and franchises and owns over 2,300 units worldwide.
IHG Partners with Rakuten Travel for Enhanced Loyalty Program Integration
IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rakuten Group Inc.’s travel reservation service Rakuten Travel, a leading online travel agency in Japan, to collaborate on a seamless travel booking experience linking the two companies’ loyalty programs.
Rakuten Travel and IHG will carry out discussions with the aim of improving services and customer experiences for members of Rakuten and its flagship loyalty program, Rakuten Points, together with IHG One Rewards, the loyalty program run by IHG.
Decoding American Express - a Strategic SWOT Analysis
On February 9, 2024, American Express Co (NYSE:AXP) filed its annual 10-K report, revealing a comprehensive overview of its operations, financial health, and strategic direction. As a global financial institution, American Express operates in approximately 130 countries, providing a wide range of payment products and services. The company's integrated payments platform, which connects card members and merchants, is a cornerstone of its business model, allowing for the analysis of spending data to enhance customer experiences and reduce fraud.
Financially, American Express Co has demonstrated resilience, with an aggregate market value of voting shares held by non-affiliates reaching approximately $128.1 billion as of June 30, 2023. This summary SWOT analysis includes:
- Strengths: Robust integrated payments platform and strong brand recognition
- Weaknesses: Intense competition in the premium card space and regulatory challenges
- Opportunities: Expansion of digital payment solutions and international growth
- Threats: Cybersecurity risks and evolving payment technologies
International Loyalty Awards has a fresh look for 2024
The 2024 International Loyalty Awards is under new leadership, with several changes planned for the 2024 event. After 13 years of commitment to building the International Loyalty Awards program into what it is today, Annich McIntosh has transferred leadership of the event to Zenith Marketing, led by Eileen McGuinness and Marian Kelly.
Zenith is the organizer of the Irish Loyalty Awards and has been managing the ILA over the past two years. Annich McIntosh will remain as an advisor to the ILA and now joins the judging committee as a fully-fledged member. Loyalty Magazine will remain as a media partner for ILA and is joined by The Wise Marketer, Let’s Talk Loyalty, and the Australian Loyalty Association as media sponsors.
For the first time in its 13-year history, the International Loyalty Awards Gala Evening will be held outside of London and a new collaborative partnership with the Loyalty Connect Global conference and expo brings the awards to Dubai on the April 24, 2024. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Unity in Shaping Tomorrow Together’ and this new partnership with Loyalty Connect Global will harness the power of collaboration to reach new heights. Finalists will be announced towards the end of February.
Gen Z is leading the adoption of digital wallets – how they want to use them
McKinsey’s 2022 Digital Payments Consumer Survey showed that nearly nine in ten Americans are now using some form of digital payments, with younger consumers showing higher adoption rates for digital wallets compared to their older counterparts.
Among Gen Z consumers, 79% embrace digital wallets, a figure that declines with each older demographic, bottoming out at 26% among baby boomers and seniors. This contrasts with credit card usage, where the older the generation, the greater the reliance on credit cards. Many among the older demographic hesitate to use digital wallets due to security worries and a lack of trust in a single platform to manage all their information, a sentiment particularly prevalent among Baby Boomers.
Meanwhile, to punctuate the importance of digital wallets for Gen Z, research shows that 66% of Gen Z consumers are open to switching to digital service providers that offer new or enhanced digital wallet features beyond basic card payments.
Short Takes, Big News
- All Customers are the Same – Just Kidding. Read this from Seth Godin
- Consumers lost a record $10 billion to fraud in 2023, with digital tools making it easier for scammers to find targets. Read how this happens.
- Google rebranded its chatbot Bard as Gemini. The rebrand is due to the name of the AI model that powers the tool, Gemini.
- SIX The Musical, announces the SIX Royalty Program!
- How Geissler’s Supermarkets leverage tech and loyalty for success
