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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- Giant Eagle ends fuel rewards program
- There’s a Convenience Store Showdown happening in the US Midwest
- While Delta struggles to make the right changes, United Airlines is flying smoothly at altitude
- JTV® Introduces New Customer Rewards Program: JTV Rewards
- Good business reads to prep you for 2024
- How do you define Leadership?
- Retailers listen up. Have you heard about the Zero Consumer?
- The Loyalty Summit CXM in Los Angeles is a wrap. Read the conference summaries here.
- Comarch extends collaboration with Old Mutual to launch a Customer Loyalty Programme in Namibia
- Loyalty marketing agency Ascentis fined S$10,000
- Career Opportunities and Jobs in Loyalty Marketing
Giant Eagle ends fuel rewards program
Giant Eagle announced it is ending a popular fuel partnership and is migrating the program to a new model. The official press release stated “On January 25, 2024, the fuelperks+ program will end, and you will be moved into an enhanced myPerks Loyalty Program. Any existing fuelperks will be converted to perks in your new myPerks account. You can check your current perks balance on your receipt, in the Giant Eagle app, or by contacting us at gianteagle.com/contact-us. In addition to the ending of fuelperks+, we will be making improvements to the myPerks Loyalty Program.”
There’s a Convenience Store Showdown happening in the US Midwest
Major players including Casey’s, Sheetz, Kum & Go, RaceTrac, and Wawa have entered, expanded, or announced plans to open stores in key Midwest markets including Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. And now Buc-ee’s wants to get in on the action with the announcement of its first store in Ohio. Interested in learning more? Read this incisive article from Rob Gallo, CMO Impact 21.
While Delta struggles to make the right changes, United Airlines is flying smoothly at altitude
Most people are familiar with the recent changes that Delta Airlines made to its SkyMiles program. Elite level qualification rules were changed and the outcry from program members has been relentless. Delta has walked back some of its changes, and while Delta has been consumed with damage control, both Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have made changes to their program that have been well received in the market.
We read a post from Nik Laming, CEO Urban Leopard, CLMP™, and founder of Philippine based Loyalty outsourcing firm Loyalty Connectos that commented on a detailed post from Luc Bondar, COO & President United Airlines MileagePlus. This is a very insightful take on the current situation that you must read.
JTV® Introduces New Customer Rewards Program: JTV Rewards
JTV, the national jewelry retailer and broadcast network, announced the launch of its new “JTV Rewards” customer loyalty program. Through the JTV Rewards program, jewelry lovers will earn 1% in Brilliant Cash™ rewards every time they place an order using their JTV Account. Rewards members who use a JTV Preferred Account Credit Card on their purchase will earn double the Brilliant Cash.
Good business reads to prep you for 2024
We’ve heard it said that the most successful people in the business world are avid readers. We reviewed a list of all-time best business books from McKinsey that you can check out here. After reviewing the list ourselves, we have three solid recommendations we think will help you to achieve your goals in the coming year. Note that there are many good choices on this list, so this happens to be an assortment of books we have read ourselves and can vouch for. All links shared lead to Amazon. They are not affiliate links and you can buy the book you want at many other outlets.
- Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take. By Paul Polman & Andrew Winston
- Extreme Ownership: How US Navy Seals Lead and Win. By Jocko Willink & Leif Babin/Macmillan
- Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. By Dan Ariely
How do you define Leadership?
There’s a passion for leadership today, and rightfully so. Leadership is essential to our progress, individually and corporately. Nearly everyone seeks an element of leadership in their lives, whether it’s developed internally or acquired externally through association with others. In his latest article, Wise Marketer Group CEO Bill Hanifin maps out his thoughts on The Cult of Leadership and How to Make it Real in Your Life.
Retailers listen up. Have you heard about the Zero Consumer?
McKinsey recently published an article Retail reset: A new playbook for retail leaders. The premise of the article is based on the twin truisms that 1. the retail sector has experienced as much disruption in the past five years as it has in the previous 25 and 2. Consumers have altered their shopping behaviors dramatically; they aren’t browsing like they used to, are abandoning their once-preferred brands and are demanding speed and sustainability.
Reading this article, we discovered a new term “Zero Consumer”. Become familiar with the term as it may heavily influence your thinking in creating profitable customer connections in retail over the coming year. You can also find another angle on this same subject in article from Forbes titled Why Customer Loyalty As We Know It Is A Myth.
The Loyalty Summit CXM in Los Angeles is a wrap. Read the conference summaries here.
FTE hosted the first Loyalty Summit CXM 2023 on 15-16 November 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. Wise Marketer Group was the official media partner for the event and attended in force. Event MC, Rick Ferguson and co-chairs Phil Rubin and David Slavick facilitated a very strong event. There was so much content to share that we organized the conference report in two parts. You can read Part One here.
In sum, Loyalty Summit CXM felt like the perfect way to wrap up 2023, a year in which loyalty marketing made significant changes and advances. The conference filled a glaring gap on the customer loyalty industry calendar in the US and the mix of attendees, presenters, content shared, and networking was sufficient in value to ensure that we will be back next year.
Comarch extends collaboration with Old Mutual to launch a Customer Loyalty Programme in Namibia
Comarch, a global provider of advanced IT systems and services, announced it has partnered with Old Mutual, a Premier Pan African financial services company, to launch the Old Mutual Rewards loyalty programme in Namibia, following their successful collaboration on a similar ongoing programme in South Africa.
Old Mutual Rewards is a free rewards programme that lets you earn points for completing financial wellness activities like financial assessments, using online education savings or debt repayment calculators, and completing education modules on Moneyversity. It’s described as the very first open-to-all, including non-Old Mutual customers, rewards programme in Southern Africa.
Loyalty marketing agency Ascentis fined S$10,000
Loyalty marketing agency, Ascentis, has been fined S$10,000 in the wake of a data breach affecting over 300,000 members of Starbucks Singapore’s rewards membership program. The breach, which occurred in September 2022, resulted in the personal data of 332,774 Starbucks Singapore customers being offered for sale on a dark web forum.
Ascentis, the developer of an e-commerce platform for Starbucks Singapore, cooperated with investigations and took prompt remedial actions, according to the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) judgment released on Nov 10. The agency had been engaged by Starbucks Singapore since 2014 to support its loyalty program, and in 2020, it was tasked with developing and providing ongoing technical support for the e-commerce platform.
Career Opportunities and Jobs in Loyalty Marketing
We’ve gathered some interesting career opportunities across the Loyalty Marketing industry. We share here a partial list of all that is on our desk and there are excellent brands represented. To learn more and express your interest, please click through the individual links below.
We also have a curated concise list of executive level resources and other professionals who are available to support your team. If you are interested in connecting with anyone on the list, please email Bill Hanifin. All inquiries are managed in a confidential manner.
- Comarch - Loyalty Program Manager
- Kobie Marketing - Director of Business Development
- Hilton - Manager, Marketing & Loyalty Strategy & Planning
- LA Clippers - Loyalty Marketing Manager
- Dollar Tree - Director, Loyalty & Personalization
- Albertsons Companies - Manager, Loyalty Programs Partnerships
- Citgo Petroleum Corporation - Manager, Loyalty Programs
- FanDuel - Customer Marketing Director, Casino Loyalty
- Eureka! Restaurant Group - Loyalty Marketing Manager
- The Hertz Corporation - Director, Loyalty
- FIS Global - Loyalty Business Analyst II
- Carnival Corporation - Loyalty Operations Specialist (Hybrid)
