In this short summary episode, I am looking back on a fascinating episode I conducted with Jonathan Hopkins of Sonder Media , all about the revenue potential for loyalty programmes to leverage some of their customer relationships and permissions as media channels. From American Express to Virgin Australia, I learned about some of the incredible work that is being done to unlock the billions of dollars of media value that is often left untapped. If you are not yet aware of the inherent media valu...
Feb 14, 2022•6 min•Season 1Ep. 186
Points for Good is a programme partner for brand loyalty programmes that allow customers to donate reward points toward a social purpose. Started in India as Points for People and expanding globally, in this episode we learned about the drivers behind this impactful programme from Brian Almeida , Founder of Points for Good. Brands have long partnered with charities, but keeping the relationship successful long-term can be a labor-intensive task. This programme offers connections to more than 14 ...
Feb 09, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 185
Yuu Rewards is the first coalition loyalty program ever launched in Hong Kong and we had the opportunity to speak with Chief Operating Officer and loyalty expert, Mark Sage , about the amazing success of the program. In this short summary episode, we look back on lessons learned when launching this massive program in a very short time in the middle of a global pandemic. Show Notes: 1) Mark Sage, Chief Operating Officer, Yuu Rewards 2) Yuu Rewards...
Feb 07, 2022•6 min•Season 1Ep. 184
In this week's episode, we explore the launch of a customer reward program by Denmark's largest retailer. We are joined by Andras Szocs, Head of Customer Programs and Center of Excellence for The Salling Group. As Denmark's largest retailer, The Salling Group serves over 11 million customers per week and operates more than 1,400 retail locations including restaurants, discount and grocery stores and coffee shops. Szocs led development and execution of a new customer program in mid-2020. Hear how...
Feb 02, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 183
BP is one of the world’s largest oil companies, operating service stations in nearly every corner of the world. In this short summary episode, I am reflecting on an interview I had with Olivier Martinet , who led BP’s loyalty initiatives for more than a quarter century. We look back on lessons he learned when rolling out digital marketing campaigns, loyalty programs and mobile integrations in both emerging and mature markets. Show Notes: 1) Interview Episode #60: BP Discusses Driving Loyalty in ...
Jan 31, 2022•7 min•Season 1Ep. 182
The global loyalty landscape has dramatically shifted in the wake of the global pandemic. Customers think differently, privacy laws and policies have changed and mobile adoption has skyrocketed. Brands must continuously evaluate their programme offers to best fit with how consumers behave and the upcoming 2022 International Loyalty Awards will recognize those brands who have excelled at doing just that in 2020 and 2021. Recently rebranded from the Loyalty Magazine Awards, Annich McIntosh takes t...
Jan 26, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 181
In this short summary episode, I looked back on an episode with two rising Epsilon executives, Tamara Oliverio and Julie Smith , to hear about how brands can assess and evolve their loyalty programmes to stay successful with consumers in this rapidly changing time. I revisited key takeaways from that episode that will help retailers and brands further engage with customers by focusing on having a strong mobile platform, offering contactless payments and simplifying the overall customer experienc...
Jan 24, 2022•7 min•Season 1Ep. 180
Join us to discover the Irish Loyalty Summit and Irish Loyalty Awards 2022, with Eileen McGuinness , Co-Founder of the Irish Loyalty Awards. The Summit features globally recognised loyalty speakers with deep knowledge of the loyalty marketing industry and will be of interest to loyalty practitioners in the UK, Europe and even further afield. Featured speakers include experts from Bond, The Loyalty Academy and others to talk about the power of customer loyalty and explore the role of loyalty mark...
Jan 19, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 179
In this short summary, I looked back on an episode with a Comarch executive, Sidney Dunn to hear this global loyalty technology leader share some key trends and insights he is hearing from their clients. Comarch works with global powerhouse brands like BP, ADNOC Petroleum and Costa Coffee to deliver world-class loyalty solutions to their customers. From the collection and analysis of data insights using machine learning, AI and social mining to support program execution, the short show features ...
Jan 17, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 178
In this episode, I talk with Robbie Kellman Baxter , the world's leading expert on subscription pricing and membership models. Robbie is a bestselling author, speaker and consultant with more than twenty years of experience providing strategic business advice to major organizations including Netflix and other notable brands. She is the author of The Membership Economy and The Forever Transaction and host of the podcast, Subscription Stories: True Tales from the Trenches . Robbie has spent many y...
Jan 12, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 177
Wiiv Rewards is a coalition loyalty programme in Mauritius, created by the country’s largest private company IBL Group and boasts eleven loyalty partners across multiple business sectors. After only a year in existence, Wiiv won two of the loyalty industry’s most prestigious awards at the 2019 Loyalty Magazine Awards: the Regional Loyalty Champion Award for Middle East and Africa as well as Highly Commended as the Best New Loyalty Programme for 2019. Join me in this short summary episode as I lo...
Jan 10, 2022•7 min•Season 1Ep. 176
Listen and learn some impressive ideas and insights from eBucks, the loyalty program that was just awarded the title of “Best Programme of the Year” AGAIN at the 2021 South African Loyalty Awards. In this episode, Let’s Talk Loyalty speaks with Johan Moolman, CEO of eBucks , about what makes his programme the one that South African people said they couldn’t live without. eBucks is a rewards program for FNB bank customers, providing rewards to card users for simply spending with their bank cards....
Jan 05, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 175
Let's Talk Loyalty talked with Rob Burgess , a leading travel loyalty expert in the UK, who created HeadForPoints.com to share his ideas on how to get the best value from UK travel loyalty programmes. In this short summary episode, I share the top three tips I learned from Rob for loyalty industry professionals, including travel and traditional and innovative retailers such as Pret a Manger's new subscription loyalty programme, John Lewis departments stores and the iconic Danish café brand - Joe...
Jan 03, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 174
Australia is a fascinating loyalty market led by two dominant airlines who have successfully built partner networks to make it incredibly easy for Australian consumers to earn points across all parts of their household spend. Someone who feels passionately about the extraordinary experience of "flying flat" is Steve Hui , who has built a brand and a business advising Australian consumers how to do exactly that. In this episode, Steve says that earning loyalty points is easy but redeeming them is...
Dec 30, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 173
"Very Me Rewards" was launched by one of the UK's top telecommunications companies in 2018, as a non-points-based programme, instead leveraging partnerships and "share-able" rewards, to create an award-winning customer loyalty proposition. Listen to discover how Vodafone's "Very Me Rewards" is building loyalty in this ultra-competitive sector in the UK. Show Notes: 1) Let's Talk Loyalty Episode 55 - Vodafone UK's Very Me Rewards Programme...
Dec 27, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 172
Cristina Ziliani is the Professor of Loyalty Marketing and CRM at the University of Parma, Italy, where she has been leading the " Loyalty Observatory " for an incredible 20 years. In this episode, she shares the work they do there for the Italian loyalty community, which includes loyalty research, consulting and education across the entire field of loyalty, CRM, CX, and analytics. If you're interested in loyalty in Italy, this is the episode for you! Show Notes: 1) Cristina Ziliani - Professor ...
Dec 22, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 171
Today's episode features what I learned from my episode with Margaret Molloy , a globally-recognised marketing thought leader, and someone who advocates simplicity as a key principle for brands. We discussed "simplicity" and how it drives business value and customer loyalty, so I captured the key points of our discussion in this short summary show. Listen to this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty to understand simplicity as an increasingly powerful, yet underestimated factor that drives loyalty in e...
Dec 20, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 170
Panera Bread is a US bakery chain of over 2,000 cafes and it operates one of the restaurant industry's largest loyalty programmes. In early 2020, it dramatically changed the loyalty industry with a disruptive subscription proposition, offering unlimited coffee for just $8.99 a month. Guided by a clear insight on customer needs from it's member base, it has earned respect around the world for creating a whole new business model, leveraging the power of subscription psychology to delight its membe...
Dec 15, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 169
As one of the world's largest retailers, Shell is a well-known for its fuel stations and increasingly its convenience stores around the world, and it operates loyalty programmes in twenty-one of the countries it trades in. With this global perspective, it was fascinating to chat with Pavel Los , Shell's Global Loyalty Manager about their latest launch in the UK market - a points-free programme called Go+, as well as their strategy in China and his view on loyalty coalitions. This short show summ...
Dec 13, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 168
As the creator of the “net promoter system”, Fred Reichheld is a true legend in the loyalty industry. His career spans 44 years as a consultant, author of four best-selling books and an internationally-renowned speaker on loyalty, and currently a Fellow with Bain & Co. He joins me today to introduce his latest book called “ Winning On Purpose – The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers ” – which features some profound new ideas on the very fundamentals of how we do business. He challenges ...
Dec 08, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 167
Dr Chris Arnold is a marketing strategist and a "proudly dyslexic" champion of thinking differently. With a deeply held belief in the power of community to connect us to each other, Dr Chris highlights the challenges of relying on social media and measurable marketing, rather than focusing on building a truly customer-centric business. Dr Chris believes that connecting our loyal customers with *each other* creates greater loyalty for our brands and businesses. Show Notes: 1) Let's Talk Loyalty E...
Dec 06, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 166
As 2021 comes to a close, we reflect on the key consumer trends that arose in loyalty in 2021 and discuss insights and predictions for loyalty professionals in 2022. With examples and case studies that include Dunkin (formerly Dunkin Donuts), Dell, Carters and Duolingo, I"m joined by Epsilon's Vice President of Loyalty Strategy Brad Macdonald , who shares the importance of human connection in the context of digital transformation. Brad also shares the ever-increasing focus on having a loyalty "m...
Dec 01, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 165
Today's episode is a short summary of my interview in 2020 with Annich Macintosh , the Editor and CEO of the " Loyalty Magazine Group " in the UK, focusing on their loyalty awards. Annich explains the approach, some notable winners in 2020, and also some key trends and changes she noticed in consumer behaviour that loyalty professionals need to notice and factor in to their plans in a pandemic-changed world. As these awards have now been re-branded, I also share the new positioning and remind ev...
Nov 29, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 164
Accor Live Limitless (ALL) is a loyalty programme that spans 51 brands and almost 7,000 hotels across different customer segments at different price points, yet who share common needs and passions. With a vision to offer much more than simply a place to stay, ALL is focused on becoming a day to day companion for travellers as well as local communities, based on compelling partnerships and delighting each and every guest when they arrive in any Accor property. Isabelle Birem is the Senior Vice-Pr...
Nov 24, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 163
Nathan Beaver is a Partner at KPMG UK and in 2020, he shared his insights on the "integrity economy", and how consumer behaviour evolved during the global pandemic. With 91% of customers saying they do NOT want to return to the pre-Covid world, he explained some of the principles that loyalty programme managers need to keep in mind to connect with their most valuable customers. Trust has become an essential ingredient in business and KPMG revealed some dramatic research findings on what they are...
Nov 22, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 162
7-Eleven is renowned as the world's largest retailer, with over 77,000 stores globally, serving an incredible 10 million customers every day. The brand is proud to have invented the convenience store itself, creating the concept in 1927, with a vision to delight local communities with speed and simplicity. In this episode of " Let's Talk Loyalty ", Chief Digital Officer of 7-Eleven Inc, Raghu Mahadevan , explains the firm's focus on customer loyalty, and how that entire journey is being supporte...
Nov 17, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 161
Let's Talk Loyalty celebrated its first birthday in August 2020, so in episode 49, I was celebrating this milestone with some special guests. It featured my friends from the Loyalty Academy, with a focus on the scholarship competition that listeners could enter, with one lucky listener winning a FREE Loyalty Academy Scholarship worth $1,750! My two guests on this show - Graeme Thomson, a Director of the Loyalty Academy, and Emily Ong who was a recent graduate of the course. In this short summary...
Nov 15, 2021•8 min•Season 1Ep. 160
Arsenal is one of the most successful football clubs in English football history, having played in the country's top division each season since 1919, and in the process winning 13 league titles. Like many sports, it is already loved by millions of loyal fans, and this year, Arsenal became the first UK Premier League team to create an entire loyalty programme for their fans, designed to enhance attendance at games and build the connection between fans and the Club between games. This fascinating ...
Nov 10, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 159
With over 7 million members, Etihad Guest is the loyalty program for Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, based in Abu Dhabi. This short podcast is a summary of my interview with Kim Hardaker , who together with her team, found thoughtful and meaningful way to innovate, and reward members, even while airline travel was at an all time low just six months in to the global pandemic. Enjoy Kim's compelling insights and hear their gorgeous "world of thoughtfulness" campaign - a great exam...
Nov 08, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 158
A wide-ranging conversation with L'Oréal's new Director of Loyalty for their Luxe Division, Alyssa Callahan . L'Oreal is a leading brand in the beauty industry with a huge global portfolio which includes brands likes Lancome, Kiehl's & Yves Saint Laurent. Alyssa shares her key objective to help these luxury brands demonstrate their loyalty to customers who increasingly buy directly online, with the channel having grown dramatically throughout the pandemic. Alyssa also shares learnings from h...
Nov 03, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 157
