Here’s a Roundup of this week's Loyalty and Digital Marketing News
In this edition, we have cued up the news with tags to make it easier to find what you need. In our Global News Roundup, we have added the geographic region and in some cases, the business sector, that applies to the news item. We know that all of you are time-starved and are noodling everything we can do to help you stay smart and save time all at once.
To be even more efficient, remember that you can click on the white Search icon on the top menu bar to take you to the Search All Articles page. If you take a quick moment to create a free Wiser Marketer account, you can then save your favorite articles in your own private sandbox.
If you’re not already a subscriber, please subscribe to our Newsletter, published each Friday.
Stay. Loyal. Always.
Quick Global News Roundup
- Global: Consumer Loyalty Trends Q1 2024
- Global: Visa Brings Travelers Peace of Mind with New Digital Card Replacement
- Asia/Pac: Millennium Hotels “My Millennium” wins awards at 2024 Travel + Leisure SE Asia
- Europe/AsiaPac/Fuel: CGI and ExxonMobil strengthen partnership for payment / loyalty services
- India: Flipkart Group launches payments app, Super.money
- Nordics: Strawberry is first hotel group to enable mobile keys in Google Wallet
- Philippines/Banking: Go Rewards, UnionBank partner for credit, loyalty rewards card
- US: Best Western Rewards Loyalty Program Review
- US: Carnival Ends Loyalty Donation
- US: How does Fetch work to deliver rewards for grocery purchases?
- US: Grocer Harps Food Stores deliver personalization in real time via Birdzi’s and ECRS’s collab
- US: One Inc Partners With Zurich to Digitize Claims and Payouts
- Geo-Location: Swift Navigation and Calian partner to simplify Integration of precise positioning
Foot Locker Relaunches FLX Rewards Program.
Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) has unveiled an enhanced FLX Rewards program and announced forthcoming upgrades to its mobile app, marking significant milestones under its Lace Up Plan – the Company's strategy designed to drive sustainable and profitable growth. The Lace Up Plan was introduced in March 2023.
The company said the new design was influenced through extensive consumer insights. New features include FLX Cash, allowing customers to use points for discounts on purchases, and a variety of member-exclusive benefits, including early access to sneaker launches, exclusive sales, member-only events, free returns, upgraded birthday gifts, and continued complimentary shipping. A newly designed mobile app will be another enhancement launched later in the year.
OneFootball and Animoca brands launch 'OneFootball Club' to Reward Global Fan Loyalty.
OneFootball, a leading digital football platform, has announced the launch of the OneFootball Club (OFC) in partnership with Animoca Brands.
The program leverages the Base blockchain to reward fan loyalty globally. The initiative aims to create a digital football club dedicated to recognizing and rewarding the most engaged football fans worldwide, according to Animoca Brands.
Black Rock Coffee Bar relaunches Black Rock Rewards.
Black Rock Coffee Bar, the national boutique coffee brand, announced the re-launch of Black Rock Rewards, as Black Rock updated its tech stack with Paytronix to better engage with loyal fans. Paytronix offers guest engagement solutions for restaurants and convenience stores.
The relaunch of Black Rock Rewards improves the guest experience, making it easy for rewards members to order and get rewarded quicker in-store or however they interact with the brand—ordering online, or with the new mobile app.
Uber joins the Digital Vending Machine® from Bango to drive membership growth.
Bango (AIM: BGO) announces a strategic partnership with Uber, to expand the reach of its membership program, Uber One, by enabling bundling and Super Bundling partnerships around the world.
This strategic move helps Uber to expand its subscriber base by opening-up indirect channels worldwide, to grow its 19 million strong membership base. By joining the Bango DVM, Uber can establish direct relationships with telcos and other reseller partners, enabling Uber One to be included in Super Bundling content hubs and other bundled offers.
Sony Rewards coming to an end.
The Sony Rewards Program is being terminated as of December 31, 2024. Originally launched in 2017, the program was created to allow users to earn points through Sony or PlayStation credit cards. When enough points were collected, they were redeemable against items from the Sony brand, including PlayStation video games.
As announced on the company’s FAQ page, Members can continue to redeem points for items in the Sony Rewards catalog through December 31, 2024. Unused points expire at that time. Full details can be found on the Terms and Conditions page for Sony Rewards.
Driving Awareness, Growth, and Loyalty with Shake Shack
In this podcast, Shake Shack CMO Jay Livingston discusses his unique journey from finance and technology to marketing. Livingston also offers insights into his current role, including the importance of performance marketing and collaborations for driving success at Shake Shack.
Can Blockchain deliver a universal reward system for loyalty programs?
What if there were a universal ecosystem that enables customers to exchange and use loyalty points generated from travel, shopping, entertainment, and leisure activities? That’s the idea behind Milk Alliance Inc., a blockchain-based loyalty integration platform that connects various services in the lifestyle, travel and leisure industries.
Milk Alliance Inc. CEO Aria-Jinwook Oh lays out the possibilities in this interview with Cointelegraph, explaining how Blockchain ensures the security and integrity of loyalty program transactions by creating an immutable and transparent ledger of customer interactions.
New report says Aussies reluctant to hand data to retail loyalty programs
A new report from Power Retail and the Australian Loyalty Association (ALA) has revealed that nearly half (43%) of all Australians are reluctant to share their data with retailers. The report was based on a survey of over 2,800 shoppers and an exploration of 44 retail-specific loyalty programs.
You can download the report here and learn about consumer rewards program preferences, the challenges brands face, and the discomfort shoppers feel in sharing their data with retailers.
