This week's Customer Loyalty and Digital Marketing News
From the Editor
This is a final call for you to join The Loyalty Academy™ in London for a CLMP™ workshop on October 21-22. This one will be led by Bill Hanifin and Aaron Dauphinee. We have secured a fantastic venue at the Marriott Marble Arch and seats are limited. This will be a highly interactive event with hands-on exercises and plenty of time for discussion and networking. Join us by registering here.
If Dubai is a more convenient location for your training, make sure to register for this workshop led by our exclusive training partners QBF Consulting. The event is in Dubai October 22-24. You can get all the info and register here.
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The Global News Roundup
- [Global] Mastercard CPO Calls for ‘Rethink’ of Payments Technology With Tokenization
- [Global] Top 10 Cryptocurrency Wallets to Explore
- [Global] Earn Rewards with Plus Wallet
- [Global] Training courses and loyalty program for military to be added to Army+ app
- [US] TXB Stores Increase Loyalty App Frequency Through Partnership with BrandMobile
- [UK] Tesco to launch location-based self-scanner adverts in stores
- [US] 7 in 10 consumers worldwide prefer emails from brands
Microsoft Rewards presents a million-dollar sweepstakes
Microsoft Rewards has just announced “The Ultimate Giveaway” where one member can win a $1 Million prize, with 10 more winning $10,000. Members need to sign into their Microsoft account or join the Microsoft Rewards program to enter the contest.
Members have up to 200 chances to win. Those who enter agree to receive emails about Microsoft Rewards, which include offers about Microsoft and partner products.
Aer Lingus’ AerClub Loyalty Programme Reaches 1 Million Member Milestone in Ireland
To celebrate this achievement, Susanne Carberry, Chief Customer Officer, Aer Lingus, said: “Aer Lingus is delighted to say ‘You’re Very Welcome’ to one million AerClub members in Ireland. AerClub members enjoy perks and rewards when they travel with Aer Lingus. To celebrate this exciting milestone in Ireland, we’re making one lucky AerClub member an Avios millionaire. This fantastic prize will allow the winner to explore Aer Lingus’ wide variety of destinations, including our exciting, new routes to Las Vegas and Nashville.”
Established in 2016, AerClub has over 2.9 million members globally. AerClub has four membership tiers: Green, Silver, Platinum and Concierge. As the reward currency of Aer Lingus, Avios can be collected by members through every day spend with hundreds of partner retailers, including Lifestyle Sports, Kildare Village, and Brown Thomas, as well as by booking car hire, hotels and much more.
GM, Barclays sign long-term credit card partnership agreement
General Motors and Barclays said they have signed a long-term credit card partnership agreement to let customers earn and redeem reward points on new Buicks, Cadillacs and other GM cars, including electric vehicles. The partnership will help expand Barclays' credit card footprint in the U.S. The bank also has card relationships with other prominent brands such as American Airlines and Gap.
As part of the agreement, Barclays will acquire the card program's receivables from the current issuer, Goldman Sachs, as it had been reported last month.
Save A Lot debuts its first loyalty program
Save A Lot, one of the country's largest discount grocery chains, announced its first-ever loyalty program: Save A Lot Rewards. Provided via mobile app, Save A Lot now offers points or “dots” for shoppers to redeem for rewards at their local Save A Lot retailer.
“Save A Lot Rewards marks our evolution in the digital space – even as an independent, bannered wholesaler, we recognize the importance of personalized and incentivized shopping,” said Trey Johnson, Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer at Save A Lot.
C-store discounts resonate with loyalty members, fall flat with non-members, report shows
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Convenience Store Study 2024 showed that loyalty reward programs play a critical role for convenience stores as members are more satisfied, perceive higher value, visit more frequently, and are more likely recommend the store to others compared to nonmembers.
Rewards members give notably higher ACSI marks for their convenience store experiences than nonmembers. Overall, there is a 5-point difference in customer satisfaction for members (79) versus nonmembers (74). Value perceptions (which do not factor in fuel) are significantly higher for rewards members, and they are much more likely to recommend the store to others compared to nonmembers. Read the report here.
White Castle Features Gamification in New Craver Nation® Rewards
The new Craver Nation® Rewards adds a points system and a tiers element to Craver Nation, the customer loyalty program that White Castle introduced in 2019. Members can now earn points by purchasing menu items and by completing quests, such as trying new menu items or visiting Castles during late-night when the Crave sometimes hits the hardest.
"We're not using the typical earn-and-burn strategy where customers simply earn points and exchange them for rewards," said Aaron Lahman, digital marketing manager at White Castle. "While this newest iteration of our program still offers rewards, it lends itself to more engagement with our Cravers. It's more like a game where they complete quests to earn badges and unlock new tiers to get special perks, rewards and exclusive benefits not available to nonmembers."
SLH revamps loyalty program and launches app
Boutique hotel collection Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has revamped its loyalty program and launched a mobile app and customer magazine Swoon by SLH.
Previously known as INVITED, the new loyalty program SLH Club has been created in response to member feedback such as the introduction of a three-tier structure.
Indonesian loyalty platform GetPlus to close in December
Indonesian loyalty platform GetPlus will halt operations on 6 December 2024. Founded on 21 February 2019, GetPlus was co-founded by Adrian Hoon and Antonny Liem, the latter being a founding partner at GDP Venture, the startup’s investor.
GetPlus’s coalition loyalty model allowed users to accumulate points from transactions at partner merchants both in-store and online, distinguishing it from conventional loyalty programs by enabling point redemption across diverse brands.
Global Hotel Alliance Q3 KPI's Hit Double-digit Growth
UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands with more than 800 properties in 100 countries, has reported an exceptionally strong Q3, with double-digit growth achieved across all performance metrics. Continuing the growth story of the first half of the year, total hotel revenues rose 15% to reach US$689.0 million in Q3 with year-to-date revenues now at $2.0 billion.
Q3 growth was fueled by a 16% increase in room nights, combined with a small uptick in average rate. One of the key drivers behind GHA’s ongoing success is its GHA DISCOVERY loyalty programme, which now boasts a membership of 28.3 million.
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