UK offers retail loyalty points as health incentive
In the UK, a new health-driven retail loyalty programme called 'Points4Life' has been announced by Manchester City Council and Manchester NHS (National Health Service), aiming to encourage local citizens to make healthier lifestyle choices.
Through the use of government, local authority, and private sector funding, Points4Life has been designed to encourage Mancunians to be healthier in a range of ways, including changing the way they eat and taking more exercise.
According to Anthony Lawton, Points4Life programme director for NHS Manchester, the programme will benefit from knowledge, know-how and technology from the private sector.
Points4Life is connected with the larger government programme, Change4Life, having previously been a sub-brand of Change4Life. As a result, the programme's 'look and feel' is expected to be very similar to Change4Life. The Points4Life initiative was granted permission to use the sub-brand because the goals of the two programmes are very similar (i.e. to eat well, to move more, and to live longer).
Points4Life will work in the same way as many other loyalty schemes in the market, rewarding consumers with points for good choices, and offering tangible rewards when enough points have been earned. When the scheme is officially launched in the second half of 2009, members of the public in and around Manchester will be able to join the scheme for free, and then use their loyalty card to collect points.
Many City Council and NHS Manchester activities will offer points, and it is planned that there will also be private sector retailers involved in the programme (for example, to offer points for purchasing healthy goods such as fruit and vegetables, health food, and healthier drinking options). As the programme develops over time, more and more partners are expected to join, including both local and national organisations.
Members will then be able to redeem their points for a broad range of healthy products and services, ranging from free public swimming pool access and the use of sports centres, through to sports equipment from a rewards catalogue.
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