As sports organizations strive to adapt to the challenges of modern fan engagement, one successful model offers a wealth of insights: Frequent Flyer Programs (FFPs). The best frequent flyer programs have revolutionized customer engagement for airlines, creating ecosystems that not only reward customers for their loyalty but also provide valuable data and unlock new revenue streams.

The good news, as was discussed in a recent episode of the Loylogic Podcast, From Frequent Flyer Programs to Fan Engagement Programs: How Loyalty Can Be the Savior of Sport,the principles that make FFPs successful can easily be applied to Fan Engagement Programs (FEPs), helping sports clubs and leagues build deeper connections with their audiences.

In this article we explore some of the key learnings from FFPs that loyalty experts Gabi Kool and Philip Shelper believe can transform how sports loyalty programs work. To listen to the podcast in full, simply click below, or read on to find out more.

1. Building a partner ecosystem for broader engagement

One of the most powerful elements of FFPs is their ability to create extensive partner networks, allowing customers to earn miles not just from flights but from everyday activities, such as shopping, dining, and using credit cards. Gabi, in the podcast, highlighted this key advantage: “Frequent flyer programs have built loyalty by creating ecosystems. Sports organizations should do the same, allowing fans to earn points through different touchpoints.”

FEPs can emulate this model by partnering with businesses and brands that resonate with fans, extending the ways in which they can engage. Fans could earn points not only from attending games but also from buying merchandise, subscribing to content, or interacting with a team’s sponsor network. This allows sports organizations to keep fans connected, even outside of game days, and opens up additional revenue opportunities.

2. Flexible and meaningful rewards are critical

FFPs succeed because they offer flexible ways for travelers to accrue points and redeem them for rewards that matter—whether it’s a free flight, an upgrade, or access to exclusive airport lounges. The key is in offering rewards that provide real value to customers, incentivizing them to stay loyal over the long term.

Fan Engagement Programs should also focus on offering a diverse range of rewards that appeal to different segments of their fanbase. As Philip explained, “Redemption is key. If fans can only use their points for things they don’t care about, it’s not going to work.”

For sports fans, valuable rewards could range from VIP tickets and exclusive team merchandise to once-in-a-lifetime experiences like meeting players or attending a training session. Offering a variety of options allows FEPs to cater to both casual and passionate fans, increasing the likelihood of sustained engagement.

3. Creating emotional bonds with fans

One of the strengths of FFPs is their ability to create emotional bonds between the airline and its customers. FFPs don’t just offer material rewards; they make customers feel recognized and valued. Priority boarding, access to lounges, and personalized offers are designed to make frequent flyers feel like part of an exclusive community.

In the sports world, the emotional connection between fans and teams is already strong, but FEPs can enhance this by offering personalized experiences that deepen that bond. Gabi noted, “Loyalty is about emotion. Offering a fan the chance to meet their favorite player or get behind-the-scenes access—that’s about creating memories.”

By offering exclusive experiences as rewards, FEPs can turn fan loyalty into something much more personal and meaningful, ensuring long-term support and engagement.

4. Unlocking hidden value in non-traditional fans

Just as FFPs allow even infrequent travelers to stay engaged through partner programs, FEPs can tap into non-traditional fans who may not attend games regularly but are passionate about the team. Philip emphasized, “There’s a huge segment of fans who aren’t going to games regularly but are engaging digitally. These fans are incredibly valuable.”

By allowing fans to earn points through digital interactions, such as watching live streams, following social media, or purchasing merchandise, FEPs can engage a wider audience and unlock value from fans who may otherwise be overlooked. This helps teams build a more inclusive engagement strategy that caters to fans wherever they are, whether in the stadium or at home.

5. Data is a key asset for tailored engagement

As discussed in a previous episode of the Loylogic Podcast - click here to listen - FFPs are known for generating vast amounts of data on customer preferences and behaviors, allowing airlines to tailor their offerings and communications. As Gabi noted, “Data is the future of fan engagement. Loyalty programs give you the tools to understand exactly how your fans are interacting with the club.”

FEPs can harness the same potential by using fan data to personalize the fan experience. By tracking how fans engage with digital content, attend games, or interact with sponsors, teams can create targeted marketing strategies, offer tailored rewards, and strengthen sponsor relationships. The data can also help sports organizations make smarter decisions, refine their offerings, and create fan experiences that are more aligned with individual preferences.

6. It is possible to monetize fan engagement

One of the biggest advantages of modern FFPs is their ability to monetize engagement across a wide range of activities, beyond just air travel. In the same way, FEPs can monetize fan interactions that go beyond the stadium. Philip observed, “Loyalty programs are a great way to monetize digital behavior. You don’t need fans to come to every game for them to stay loyal.”

By encouraging fans to engage with the team through multiple platforms—whether it’s mobile apps, live streams, or social media—FEPs can turn every interaction into a revenue opportunity. This approach is particularly effective for digital-first fans who may engage heavily online but don’t attend games in person. Monetizing fan engagement across platforms ensures that the club can capture value from fans wherever they are.

Fan Engagement Programs have the potential to revolutionize how sports organizations interact with their audiences. By learning from the success of frequent flyer programs, fan engagement programs can create broader ecosystems, offer meaningful rewards, and build emotional connections that deepen fan loyalty. With the right strategy, sports clubs can harness fan data, monetize digital engagement, and extend their reach to non-traditional fans.

In a rapidly changing sports landscape, the lessons from FFPs provide a proven model for success in the future of sports loyalty programs, helping organizations at all levels to overcome some serious challenges along the way.

As sports organizations strive to adapt to the challenges of modern fan engagement, one successful model offers a wealth of insights: Frequent Flyer Programs (FFPs). The best frequent flyer programs have revolutionized customer engagement for airlines, creating ecosystems that not only reward customers for their loyalty but also provide valuable data and unlock new revenue streams.

The good news, as was discussed in a recent episode of the Loylogic Podcast, From Frequent Flyer Programs to Fan Engagement Programs: How Loyalty Can Be the Savior of Sport,the principles that make FFPs successful can easily be applied to Fan Engagement Programs (FEPs), helping sports clubs and leagues build deeper connections with their audiences.

In this article we explore some of the key learnings from FFPs that loyalty experts Gabi Kool and Philip Shelper believe can transform how sports loyalty programs work. To listen to the podcast in full, simply click below, or read on to find out more.

1. Building a partner ecosystem for broader engagement

One of the most powerful elements of FFPs is their ability to create extensive partner networks, allowing customers to earn miles not just from flights but from everyday activities, such as shopping, dining, and using credit cards. Gabi, in the podcast, highlighted this key advantage: “Frequent flyer programs have built loyalty by creating ecosystems. Sports organizations should do the same, allowing fans to earn points through different touchpoints.”

FEPs can emulate this model by partnering with businesses and brands that resonate with fans, extending the ways in which they can engage. Fans could earn points not only from attending games but also from buying merchandise, subscribing to content, or interacting with a team’s sponsor network. This allows sports organizations to keep fans connected, even outside of game days, and opens up additional revenue opportunities.

2. Flexible and meaningful rewards are critical

FFPs succeed because they offer flexible ways for travelers to accrue points and redeem them for rewards that matter—whether it’s a free flight, an upgrade, or access to exclusive airport lounges. The key is in offering rewards that provide real value to customers, incentivizing them to stay loyal over the long term.

Fan Engagement Programs should also focus on offering a diverse range of rewards that appeal to different segments of their fanbase. As Philip explained, “Redemption is key. If fans can only use their points for things they don’t care about, it’s not going to work.”

For sports fans, valuable rewards could range from VIP tickets and exclusive team merchandise to once-in-a-lifetime experiences like meeting players or attending a training session. Offering a variety of options allows FEPs to cater to both casual and passionate fans, increasing the likelihood of sustained engagement.

3. Creating emotional bonds with fans

One of the strengths of FFPs is their ability to create emotional bonds between the airline and its customers. FFPs don’t just offer material rewards; they make customers feel recognized and valued. Priority boarding, access to lounges, and personalized offers are designed to make frequent flyers feel like part of an exclusive community.

In the sports world, the emotional connection between fans and teams is already strong, but FEPs can enhance this by offering personalized experiences that deepen that bond. Gabi noted, “Loyalty is about emotion. Offering a fan the chance to meet their favorite player or get behind-the-scenes access—that’s about creating memories.”

By offering exclusive experiences as rewards, FEPs can turn fan loyalty into something much more personal and meaningful, ensuring long-term support and engagement.

4. Unlocking hidden value in non-traditional fans

Just as FFPs allow even infrequent travelers to stay engaged through partner programs, FEPs can tap into non-traditional fans who may not attend games regularly but are passionate about the team. Philip emphasized, “There’s a huge segment of fans who aren’t going to games regularly but are engaging digitally. These fans are incredibly valuable.”

By allowing fans to earn points through digital interactions, such as watching live streams, following social media, or purchasing merchandise, FEPs can engage a wider audience and unlock value from fans who may otherwise be overlooked. This helps teams build a more inclusive engagement strategy that caters to fans wherever they are, whether in the stadium or at home.

5. Data is a key asset for tailored engagement

As discussed in a previous episode of the Loylogic Podcast - click here to listen - FFPs are known for generating vast amounts of data on customer preferences and behaviors, allowing airlines to tailor their offerings and communications. As Gabi noted, “Data is the future of fan engagement. Loyalty programs give you the tools to understand exactly how your fans are interacting with the club.”

FEPs can harness the same potential by using fan data to personalize the fan experience. By tracking how fans engage with digital content, attend games, or interact with sponsors, teams can create targeted marketing strategies, offer tailored rewards, and strengthen sponsor relationships. The data can also help sports organizations make smarter decisions, refine their offerings, and create fan experiences that are more aligned with individual preferences.

6. It is possible to monetize fan engagement

One of the biggest advantages of modern FFPs is their ability to monetize engagement across a wide range of activities, beyond just air travel. In the same way, FEPs can monetize fan interactions that go beyond the stadium. Philip observed, “Loyalty programs are a great way to monetize digital behavior. You don’t need fans to come to every game for them to stay loyal.”

By encouraging fans to engage with the team through multiple platforms—whether it’s mobile apps, live streams, or social media—FEPs can turn every interaction into a revenue opportunity. This approach is particularly effective for digital-first fans who may engage heavily online but don’t attend games in person. Monetizing fan engagement across platforms ensures that the club can capture value from fans wherever they are.

Fan Engagement Programs have the potential to revolutionize how sports organizations interact with their audiences. By learning from the success of frequent flyer programs, fan engagement programs can create broader ecosystems, offer meaningful rewards, and build emotional connections that deepen fan loyalty. With the right strategy, sports clubs can harness fan data, monetize digital engagement, and extend their reach to non-traditional fans.

In a rapidly changing sports landscape, the lessons from FFPs provide a proven model for success in the future of sports loyalty programs, helping organizations at all levels to overcome some serious challenges along the way.

Welcome to the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast, From Frequent Flyer Programs to Fan Engagement Programs: How Loyalty Can Be the Savior of Sport.

The past few months have seen us enjoy a wonderful summer of sport, with the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the Euro football championships, and an incredible Tour de France to name just some. But what happens once those big events are over? How can sport remain at the forefront of people’s attention? How can sports continue to drive participation and engagement with the help of loyalty?

In this episode, we focus on how fan engagement programs (FEPs) can offer a lifeline for clubs, leagues and sports federations amid changing media consumption trends and financial challenges. We discuss how loyalty can better engage fans, including those who attend games every week and the masses of hidden fans, and unpick how sports organizations can replicate the success and engagement expertise of frequent flyer programs (FFPs), to leverage fan loyalty to drive financial growth and emotional connection.

Joining us to share their views are Philip Shelper, CEO of loyalty consultancy and Loylogic partner Loyalty & Reward Co, and Loylogic’s CEO, Gabi Kool, who both have experience of the international sports arena. Philip has worked on a number of loyalty programs for international sports federations and an English Premiership football club. Gabi, away from his time at Loylogic, is president of the International Korfball Federation, which is an IOC Recognized Federation, where he’s a passionate advocate for the development of Korfball, which he hopes to see make it to a future Olympic Games.

To find out loyalty can be the savior of sport, listen below or read the full transcript further down the page.

(2:08) Gabi, for context, can you provide a quick overview of who the key stakeholders in the world of sport are and how it's structured?

Gabi: "The world of sport is a very complex ecosystem, so let me maybe run you through almost like a top 10 of the key players in there. So, if you start maybe at the top, it's the international sports organization level. That's where you will find the IOC. The IOC, of course, governs the Olympic Games and also recognizes the International Federations. In short, they're called the IFS who manage the individual sports and there are about 72 recognized by the by the IOC.

"Then you also have national Olympic Committees at that same level, so they represent the IOC at the national level and oversee the participation in the Olympics and also promote sports within their countries. Then at the second level, you have got something which is called national governing bodies, in short, called NGBs. In that group, you will find national federations who govern specific sports within individual countries. They're quite often under the umbrella of an IF so, for example, this would be the FA in England for football, but could also be professional leagues which organize and regulate professional competition within the country or region. To build on the FA example, which will be, then the Premier League in the UK, or the NFL or Serie A in Italy for football.

"At the third level, what you have in the ecosystem is clubs and teams. So, these are professional clubs who are competing in various leagues and competitions. But also, of course, national teams. Fourth layer would be athletes. Within there you've got professional athletes who compete at the highest level. But of course, maybe even more importantly, also the grassroots level, which are the amateur athletes.

"If you go to the next levels, you have event organizers. So often there are event management companies involved. Also host cities are a player in that ecosystem for large events. Another level would be sponsors and advertisers, where, basically, very often, you will find the investment in sports through the sponsorships. And then there are broadcasters and media rights. These are television networks, streaming platforms, media outlets etc.

"And then you've got the fans and spectators, who are another big group in the ecosystem, and then the last two would be government and regulatory bodies. So, for example, national governments often play an important role in the sport ecosystem, also via their financing and support, but also organizations like WADA, who are the anti-doping agency, or CAS, which is the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"And then lastly, you've also got agents and managers playing a role there. All in all, it's a very interconnected ecosystem, especially I think in the topic of today's discussion around loyalty. It's interesting to think about what kind of fans and followers and kind of individual consumers are in connection to these kinds of layers, and how can you come up with compelling propositions there."

(5:12) As mentioned, there's lots of different stakeholders at different levels, and the ecosystem is interconnected. Are there any common challenges that you can draw out that all of these different stakeholders are facing?

Gabi: "So maybe I can start before Philip shares lots and lots of examples and experience as well dealing with a lot of the sport bodies around the world. The two key topics that I see coming across a lot is, of course, attracting income via sponsorship and media rights. It doesn't matter who I speak to, it's a topic that always comes up. It's always a challenge for a lot of the sports bodies. And then the second part, which is a bit linked to that, is the ability to reach the younger generation, especially because of their different media consumption patterns. So of course, there's tons and different kind of topics that will come up for all these examples that I mentioned previously, but those probably will be two major ones that I often see coming across."

Philip: "I think the main thing is the recognition that they're incredibly complex organizations. So, a major sports club would have numerous divisions covering ticketing, food and beverage, they'd have a merchandise team, people who look after the stadium, all the hospitality, sponsorships, media, they might have an Academy for teaching junior sport. They'll be doing some grassroots investment. They've got the memberships, transport for fans for away games and more. Compared to the average company, they're way more complex and have got so much more going on, and they never really know which way their fortunes are going, because that internal team can be doing everything perfectly, and yet the team is losing and so the amount of money that they get coming in for ticket sales or for media or for future seasons drops away. There's a lot that I think they need to take into account in planning what their future is going to be."

(7:24) Gabi, coming back to one of the challenges that you mentioned there, that I know you're very interested in, what are the specific problems around the current media landscape and the changing consumption habits, and how is that impacting sport?

Gabi: "I will give some examples, basically, kind of to paint the picture there a little bit. But if you take a step back, kind of what most sports organizations are dealing with, and especially also the larger ones as well, there's a fragmentation of viewership. With the rise of the streaming platforms, you see that audiences are increasingly spread across multiple channels, so it becomes much harder for traditional broadcasters to capture the large and unified audiences compared to what it used to be. So nowadays, with this fragmentation, you would have linear TV, these are companies like ESPN or Fox, you got streaming exclusive partners, which could be YouTube or Apple doing kind of a specific event via their kind of channels. There are streaming bundles, there's direct from leagues platforms like mlb.tv or like nba.tv and then, of course, you've got the second screens like TikTok or instar or snap, who are also starting to broadcast particular matches or content kind of in there. So, it becomes much more fragmented than what the sports organizations were used to dealing with. In light of that, they also see a declining traditional TV viewership, because, especially the younger generations, they prefer on demand mobile content and so that starts affecting the advertising revenues for the broadcasters.

"Then you'll also see topic of piracy in that space. So basically, a lot of people are consuming it via less formal kind of channels, in that sense. So, the ease of accessing illegal streams undermines the legitimate broadcaster’s revenue potential in there.

"All of that paints quite a complicated media landscape for them. And if I give you a numeric example, if you think about people in their 50s, 60s, they are probably worth about 1,000 euros per year for when it comes to sports media distribution. Then slightly younger, 30 to 40, probably they sit now at around 800 euros per year of what they represent in media distribution value. But then the younger ones are going to 700 euros and often quite far below. If you look at the Serie A as an example in the Italian Football League, all in all, it basically means that series lost about 304 million euros per season in the latest cycle. And of course, that financial shortfall creates all kind of challenges for the clubs associated so it's an example of where it starts hurting. And probably the main way to keep the attention or get the attention of the sports administrators is to follow the money in that part, because that's where usually it affects their ability to run their clubs or their organizations."

(9:13) Given this whole changing media consumption, does it mean that there's a whole untapped fan base that sport is now failing to engage and therefore monetize?

Philip: "I think there definitely is, that's what we refer to as hidden fans. And it's not just a modern phenomenon. It's something that has always existed, ever since television was invented. Actually, clubs are doing a better and better job of making it easier and easier for fans all around the world to engage with them, but there is a lot of fans who don't go to the games. They might buy merchandise, but there's no record of them buying that merchandise. They watch the games, but they might do it at the pub. So, they don't have any sort of subscription. There's no tracking of it. They go to work on a Monday and talk obsessively about how good or bad the game was, and so on and so forth. So in our estimates, that could be as much as 60 to 80% of the total fan base is completely hidden by a club, and that means that all the different opportunities for the club to drive engagement with that base and to monetize them, but also to recognize them and make them feel closer to the club  don't exist.

"From our perspective, there's enormous opportunity there that would be better for the clubs, but also better for the fans as well. And it's all about making it an easy and rewarding experience that they're attracted to enough to take the step of doing that formal engagement."

(12:08) Is that why sport is perfectly suited to loyalty?

Gabi: "I think if you if you look at the comparison to the frequent flyer program model, which has probably been the most successful in that particular space and has created enormous valuations for the airlines who own those loyalty programs, Qantas in kind of Philip's backyard, of course, is a great example. But also, if you look at all the US-based carriers, also European carriers, very often, their valuations are in the millions, even billions of dollars. And if you take a look at their model and basically unpack that, I think there's a very great blueprint for sports organizations to write on that part.

"If you look at an FFP, the key thing why that's so profitable is that on one hand side, they've got accrual partners where people can earn those miles. And basically, those accrual partners buy the miles from the airline at a relatively high cost per mile or per point, and then when those miles are being redeemed, there is a very high perceived value of the reward, i.e. the perishable airline seat, but the actual cost for the airline is much lower. So one of the big kind of secrets or tricks in these FFP models is like, you sell it at a much higher cost per point, and then when the member exchanges that for the reward, it's actually a much lower cost to you, but it has a very high perceived value.

"If you draw that parallel to the sports world, basically you would have to find a lot of accrual partners who are willing to buy a sports-related currency, either a currency linked to a club or a federation, or something like IOC level, maybe even in there. But then, when they use these sport-related points, you need to be able to offer them something which is relatively low cost to you as a program operator, but has got very high perceived value, so access to games, money can buy type experiences. There's a whole range of examples that we'll unpack a little bit more so, but the ecosystem of an FFP model is perfectly replicable in the sports world."

Philip: "I think one of the unique aspects of a sports team is a loyalty program is not needed to generate loyalty. The fans are already loyal. Some of them are obsessively loyal. And so, unlike an airline, where the airlines have to keep working very, very hard to maintain that share of wallet and stimulate the base to travel more, the sports teams kind of already have that. And actually, for many of the bigger sports teams, they don't have enough tickets to sell to each game, and so there is a slightly different dynamic there. So, I think the big opportunity for a loyalty program is to provide that better recognition and reward fans and make them feel like they do have that deeper connection in the same way that a good quality loyalty program would build emotional engagement between the member and the brand. It's that establishment of that formalized two-way relationship is where the big opportunity is.

"Now to Gabi's point and the frequent flyer model. I tend to agree. I think there is definitely some parallels there. You've got the club, you've got the obsessed fan base, you've then got sponsors, but you've also got other companies who would be interested in being connected to the club, that can't afford sponsorship, who might be happy to be earn partners. There's definitely the opportunity to build out that engaged ecosystem of companies that are buying points to give to the fans.

"Then on the other side, you've got all the money can't buy experiences that a club would be able to provide to the fans that they can redeem those points on as well. I think it's a really fascinating model."

(15:55) There's obviously a lot of opportunity there. Philip, what's the current situation when it comes to sport and loyalty, is the sports industry tapping into the benefits loyalty can bring, or you've touched on it already, is there so much more that can happen to drive engagement?

Philip: "They're barely scratching the surface at the moment. I think traditionally, teams have focused much more on memberships that provide fans with access to games, dedicated seating, discount hospitality packages. So, it's more that subscription loyalty program strategy, but they can definitely do a lot more to engage fans who can't or don't want to attend the live games. There are enormous amounts of fans out there who actually don't want to go to a game. They're obsessed about and would live and die for the team, but the idea of going to a game actually isn't that interesting to them. They might go to one or two, or they just can't get tickets, and all the tickets are too expensive, so they don't bother. So, building out a loyalty program that provides fans with a lot of other ways that they can engage in a way that is meaningful to them, is definitely something that clubs could do a lot better at."

Gabi: "I would build on Philip's input there. It also depends a little, if you think about a club, they need to do their kind of strategies, and they are only scratching the surface right now, but you see some interesting propositions coming. If you think about a national federation, the Football Federation, their national team only plays X number of times per year. So how do you basically keep the engagement going in between those kinds of games? If you think about an IOC when it's every two years when there's a winter games and a summer Olympics, you get massive attention during these kinds of games, but then how do you keep that ongoing engagement? There are different kind of propositions you can build on there. So, it also depends a little bit on how you design, what you design for whom, in that sense, on the proposition, because they've got different needs.

"I think in general, there are lots of opportunities. You see some emerging loyalty programs, but in terms of the sponsorship synergies or the data utilization, it's quite often still a bit ad hoc. It's not kind of a master plan embedded in a larger strategy of the organization."

Philip: “At a league level, the next level up, we're not really seeing anything at all, and I feel that's quite disappointing, because some of the leagues, particularly bigger leagues, could play a critical role in helping clubs to roll out comprehensive loyalty strategies. Loyalty is complex, it requires technology, it requires expertise, and you need to get the proper design. You need the right commercial model; you need operational excellence. So where we see a big opportunity is a league engaging a loyalty consultancy or company to design out a program, bring in the technology and enable that to be cascaded down to the teams, so that the teams can get access to something with shared cost and maybe a centralized operations team to run it for them, so the whole league can actually have a good quality design loyalty program for their club with a fraction of the cost of what it would be if they tried to design it out themselves."

(19:17) I guess a big part of that is knowing what excites fans and what actually drives engagement. So, Gabi, how do you see that playing it? What are the trends that you're seeing?

Gabi: "I just came back from the Paris Games at the opening ceremony in my other kind of hat, as President of the International Korfball Federation. I had a chance to speak with a lot of the presidents of other International Federations. And exactly to Phil's point, how can you maybe do things collectively together, for big impact, because you might not have the individual resources available between each of the IFs. But if you bundle your kind of efforts, you can do much bigger things, and also you might have got a couple of million followers there, and another Federation is kind of there, so the scale can be enormous, right?

"I think it comes down to what are these fans kind of looking for. It varies a little bit. Is it the exclusive content and behind the scenes access? There are some notable examples on fan tokenization, NFTs, what people can do with it. But also, what we see is a lot of interest on how can you bring the physical sport world together with the eSports world? The esports world is also massively growing. Saudi Arabia just signed an agreement with the IOC for the next 12 years to have the Olympic esport games in Saudi and they're expecting that to turn into a $13 billion kind of industry just for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone. You see massive groups of youngsters also in that kind of space. When you think about the rewards and the content. The sky's the limit actually."

(21:03) Coming back to what you were saying earlier about the airline loyalty program side of things. What can sport learn from those frequent flyer programs, and how can they bring that success to the fore for the good of the sporting community?

Gabi: "The internal tagline that we're using when we talk about how we see ourselves helping and supporting sports organizations, we call it from FFP to FEP: from frequent flyer programs to fan engagement programs.

"Where we think that sport communities can learn best is to replicate a lot of the great thinking on how you set up such an ecosystem? How do you manage it? How do you commercialize it? It starts by creating a big idea. It doesn't matter if it's a club or a federation or an IF, basically whatever the audience is in there. So, you create a big idea with a high-level engagement vision. Then based on that, you define the blueprint of your program, which should include all the key elements for such a fan engagement proposition. Program concept, program organization, business case. And then when you've done that, you validate that blueprint with all the stakeholders involved in your FEP, including the sponsors, the fans, and especially also the accrual partners, if you think about kind of a point space, because they will have to fund the currency.

"On the redemption side, you need to make sure you've got a very robust and creative offering in place which the members can spend their currency on. Probably the question is, do you go alone as an organization, or do you go together with a group of organizations? And then there's kind of people like us out there to help. There's so much knowledge in there, and you don't need to reinvent the wheel, right? That's kind of, I think, one of the key things for these sports organizations, because loyalty is complex, and therefore you need to make sure you don't make it more complex than it needs to be."

(23:12) Philip, what would be the right loyalty strategy?

Philip: "I definitely would always lean towards the club or the league owning the program so that they've got full control. I think the likes of socios.com has been attractive to a lot of clubs because it's very much a plug and play solution, and it provides some instant revenue for the club without them having to do anything. But certainly, the opportunity, the monetization and having control of that fan experience is going to work much better if they do own the program.

"So, I think if it's a big club, they should definitely be going their own. They're going to have the scale of fans to be able to layer a loyalty program over that very effectively. If it is smaller clubs, then, as I was talking about earlier, getting the league to build out the capabilities which can then cascade down to individual clubs would be a great way to do it, and it save them a lot of cost. But also building up those partnership networks could work across multiple teams and provide fans with lots of opportunities to earn points or currency or credits, whatever it might be to then use with their specific club."

(24:26) So where does loyalty come into play in overcoming the challenge of the changing media kind of situation?

Gabi: "I think there's an enormous monetization opportunity there, like if we draw back to the parallel to the ecosystem of how frequent flyer programs are being run, if you would replicate setups like that, you can create enormous income for the entities, but you need to design it properly. You need to think it through carefully on who those accrual partners would be for your fan base, what kind of brands would like to get in touch with your community. We tend to refer to this as Brands 2 Communities, which means if you understand the DNA of your community, then you understand what kind of brands would like to get their content or stories or offers in front of that particular community.

"Of course, you've got existing sponsors of clubs or federations or IFs out there, but you can also basically extend that to the accrual partnership network very easily. So I think the with the media income under pressure, loyalty offers a great opportunity for sports bodies to generate new income, and if designed well, also these media partners that need a helping hand in there can also find their way within such a loyalty ecosystem to get their media rights and media opportunities much better monetized in a very fragmented kind of landscape. So that's how I see the opportunity for large sports organizations."

(25:52) Wrapping up a lot of what we've already talked about here, what's the member value in this new loyalty led world of sport?

Gabi: "I think to the earlier discussion, fans are deeply in love with their sport or their club, right? What they're looking for is personalization, recognition if they've been a lifelong fan, to being part of the community. So really, that sense of belonging, but also having some kind of an influence or access to certain kinds of content in the recognition element, the exclusive access special rewards are what I think the fans are looking for, in this case, the members.

"The flip side of the what the clubs or the federations are looking for comes from the fact that a lot of these people in sports, would love, basically, for people to support their club or their sport, but they also are very passionate about getting people to move in general, because we see a lot of data out there of the world getting more obese, younger generations being less involved in clubs and organized sport. The true enemy is not moving and not being involved in sport. Yes, you try to do your best for your federation, your club, to get people involved in there and highly competitive on the pitches, as Philip mentioned. But basically, the much, much bigger opportunity that people are deeply passionate about, I've seen, is how you get people connected to sport, and I think that's where, integral loyalty platform or ecosystems can really play a role."

(27:24) So for sporting organizations, where do they start? What challenges do you think they should aim to solve, first through loyalty programs?

Philip: "I definitely think that they should start with better recognition of their long-term fans. If they try to do anything else, then they'll get those long-term fans offside. But it's very easy to do it. One of the clubs that we're working with identified when a fan who was having their birthday was going to be at a club, going to be at a game, and they actually delivered a cake to them during half time, right? There are a lot of very small, quite low-cost things you can do to really make someone provide them with an experience they're going to remember the rest of their life.

"I think providing more opportunities to for fans to influence hard decisions would be a really great thing. Clubs generally do not like this. They don't want to be giving control over to the fans, but even giving them some say on a few different things, I think would definitely appeal to them. Then, it's all about reaching out to that hidden fan base and engaging them as best as possible, and then providing better sponsor promotion. Sponsors are paying a lot of money for the right to put their brand on the team jersey, and anything that can be done in order to better support sponsors, particularly through a loyalty program stimulating fans to go and spend with the sponsors and be able to track that is going to be hugely beneficial to the sponsor in demonstrating the value they're getting from the sponsorship, as well as for the club, in getting the sponsor to sign up for the next."

(29:14) Gabi, how should sports organizations move forward?

Gabi: "I think the old saying of go slow in order to go fast is also valid here, because you do basically get a lot more value if you think as a sports organization, "Okay, what is kind of our plan? What do we want to kind of build in there?" And then, create your big idea, create a program blueprint, validate it, then kind of launch it. I think that would be the right approach in there.

"On a practical level, the examples that Philip referred to, it’s true that sponsors, you can almost draw a parallel between them and the number one funding partner in airline loyalty programs, which are co-brand credit card offerings. But if you see how difficult it is even for that organization to communicate directly via the airline's database. Basically, you can see similarities there between the sponsor community with a sports organization on how difficult it is for them to get in touch with the fans directly, so facilitating that direct engagement in that ecosystem, whereas airlines need to almost think like becoming marketing machines for their partners, sports organizations also have that opportunity, and quite often it's not well enough thought through by a sponsor, and how can you then leverage and engage with that community kind of in there, right? So that's, that's one thing in the design.

"I think in the next step, what I would encourage sports organizations to think about and understand and learn how valuable these loyalty entities could become, just in their own right, as an additional asset for a sports organization. And there's some really good examples out there, and that's kind of what I would encourage them to do as a next step."

(30:57) Coming back to the bold claim that we made at the outset of the discussion, how can loyalty be the savior of sport?

Gabi: "I do think this from FFP to FEP idea might be the proposition here, right? So how can you go from the frequent flyer program thinking to a fan engagement program thinking in there? The opportunity is there for the first number of sports organizations to create multi billion-dollar valuations via such an entity. But the airlines also didn't get that overnight, right? They basically had to build it, the technology, the thinking, the fan base, the offering kind of in there. So, while there are learnings to be taken in there, and plenty of support from companies such as ourselves, Loylogic and Loyalty and Reward Co, it will not happen as a miracle overnight, right? This is kind of a long-term engagement, and therefore you also need to think about what you want to do. It's not like a marketing gimmick where you just kind of do something and then basically, the dollars will fly in. That's not how it works. It needs to be an integral part of the club's or the Federation's strategy. There will be early movers in there that will take the time to think about it in that way, and there will be more tactical, ad hoc type initiatives, and I think the first group will be more successful with that."

Philip: I agree. I think the reality is that a lot of sports clubs and even leagues are not as lucrative and cashed up as what fans and people might perceive them to be. Certainly, there is a small number of clubs that are doing incredibly well, but they tend to be in the minority. Most clubs are trying to get together enough revenue and most of that goes into buying new players and putting on games. Any opportunity for a club to be able to build out a sizable new revenue stream should be highly attractive to them.

"And as per Gabi's talk of the frequent flyer program or the fan engagement program using the points earn and redemption economics, there's a really great opportunity there, but it does need to be symbiotic. It's not just enough to say, great, let's monetize our highly loyal fan base. It needs to be done in a way that provides fans with desirable, motivating value, so that they're getting something out of it, and the club is also getting something out of it. And

Really, the key to that is access. That's what the fans really want. They want access to players. They want access to the games. They want access to limited edition merchandise value offers, things that are really going to get them excited about engaging with that program, and then you've got a winning, successful recipe there."

Welcome to the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast, From Frequent Flyer Programs to Fan Engagement Programs: How Loyalty Can Be the Savior of Sport.

The past few months have seen us enjoy a wonderful summer of sport, with the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, the Euro football championships, and an incredible Tour de France to name just some. But what happens once those big events are over? How can sport remain at the forefront of people’s attention? How can sports continue to drive participation and engagement with the help of loyalty?

In this episode, we focus on how fan engagement programs (FEPs) can offer a lifeline for clubs, leagues and sports federations amid changing media consumption trends and financial challenges. We discuss how loyalty can better engage fans, including those who attend games every week and the masses of hidden fans, and unpick how sports organizations can replicate the success and engagement expertise of frequent flyer programs (FFPs), to leverage fan loyalty to drive financial growth and emotional connection.

Joining us to share their views are Philip Shelper, CEO of loyalty consultancy and Loylogic partner Loyalty & Reward Co, and Loylogic’s CEO, Gabi Kool, who both have experience of the international sports arena. Philip has worked on a number of loyalty programs for international sports federations and an English Premiership football club. Gabi, away from his time at Loylogic, is president of the International Korfball Federation, which is an IOC Recognized Federation, where he’s a passionate advocate for the development of Korfball, which he hopes to see make it to a future Olympic Games.

To find out loyalty can be the savior of sport, listen below or read the full transcript further down the page.

(2:08) Gabi, for context, can you provide a quick overview of who the key stakeholders in the world of sport are and how it's structured?

Gabi: "The world of sport is a very complex ecosystem, so let me maybe run you through almost like a top 10 of the key players in there. So, if you start maybe at the top, it's the international sports organization level. That's where you will find the IOC. The IOC, of course, governs the Olympic Games and also recognizes the International Federations. In short, they're called the IFS who manage the individual sports and there are about 72 recognized by the by the IOC.

"Then you also have national Olympic Committees at that same level, so they represent the IOC at the national level and oversee the participation in the Olympics and also promote sports within their countries. Then at the second level, you have got something which is called national governing bodies, in short, called NGBs. In that group, you will find national federations who govern specific sports within individual countries. They're quite often under the umbrella of an IF so, for example, this would be the FA in England for football, but could also be professional leagues which organize and regulate professional competition within the country or region. To build on the FA example, which will be, then the Premier League in the UK, or the NFL or Serie A in Italy for football.

"At the third level, what you have in the ecosystem is clubs and teams. So, these are professional clubs who are competing in various leagues and competitions. But also, of course, national teams. Fourth layer would be athletes. Within there you've got professional athletes who compete at the highest level. But of course, maybe even more importantly, also the grassroots level, which are the amateur athletes.

"If you go to the next levels, you have event organizers. So often there are event management companies involved. Also host cities are a player in that ecosystem for large events. Another level would be sponsors and advertisers, where, basically, very often, you will find the investment in sports through the sponsorships. And then there are broadcasters and media rights. These are television networks, streaming platforms, media outlets etc.

"And then you've got the fans and spectators, who are another big group in the ecosystem, and then the last two would be government and regulatory bodies. So, for example, national governments often play an important role in the sport ecosystem, also via their financing and support, but also organizations like WADA, who are the anti-doping agency, or CAS, which is the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"And then lastly, you've also got agents and managers playing a role there. All in all, it's a very interconnected ecosystem, especially I think in the topic of today's discussion around loyalty. It's interesting to think about what kind of fans and followers and kind of individual consumers are in connection to these kinds of layers, and how can you come up with compelling propositions there."

(5:12) As mentioned, there's lots of different stakeholders at different levels, and the ecosystem is interconnected. Are there any common challenges that you can draw out that all of these different stakeholders are facing?

Gabi: "So maybe I can start before Philip shares lots and lots of examples and experience as well dealing with a lot of the sport bodies around the world. The two key topics that I see coming across a lot is, of course, attracting income via sponsorship and media rights. It doesn't matter who I speak to, it's a topic that always comes up. It's always a challenge for a lot of the sports bodies. And then the second part, which is a bit linked to that, is the ability to reach the younger generation, especially because of their different media consumption patterns. So of course, there's tons and different kind of topics that will come up for all these examples that I mentioned previously, but those probably will be two major ones that I often see coming across."

Philip: "I think the main thing is the recognition that they're incredibly complex organizations. So, a major sports club would have numerous divisions covering ticketing, food and beverage, they'd have a merchandise team, people who look after the stadium, all the hospitality, sponsorships, media, they might have an Academy for teaching junior sport. They'll be doing some grassroots investment. They've got the memberships, transport for fans for away games and more. Compared to the average company, they're way more complex and have got so much more going on, and they never really know which way their fortunes are going, because that internal team can be doing everything perfectly, and yet the team is losing and so the amount of money that they get coming in for ticket sales or for media or for future seasons drops away. There's a lot that I think they need to take into account in planning what their future is going to be."

(7:24) Gabi, coming back to one of the challenges that you mentioned there, that I know you're very interested in, what are the specific problems around the current media landscape and the changing consumption habits, and how is that impacting sport?

Gabi: "I will give some examples, basically, kind of to paint the picture there a little bit. But if you take a step back, kind of what most sports organizations are dealing with, and especially also the larger ones as well, there's a fragmentation of viewership. With the rise of the streaming platforms, you see that audiences are increasingly spread across multiple channels, so it becomes much harder for traditional broadcasters to capture the large and unified audiences compared to what it used to be. So nowadays, with this fragmentation, you would have linear TV, these are companies like ESPN or Fox, you got streaming exclusive partners, which could be YouTube or Apple doing kind of a specific event via their kind of channels. There are streaming bundles, there's direct from leagues platforms like mlb.tv or like nba.tv and then, of course, you've got the second screens like TikTok or instar or snap, who are also starting to broadcast particular matches or content kind of in there. So, it becomes much more fragmented than what the sports organizations were used to dealing with. In light of that, they also see a declining traditional TV viewership, because, especially the younger generations, they prefer on demand mobile content and so that starts affecting the advertising revenues for the broadcasters.

"Then you'll also see topic of piracy in that space. So basically, a lot of people are consuming it via less formal kind of channels, in that sense. So, the ease of accessing illegal streams undermines the legitimate broadcaster’s revenue potential in there.

"All of that paints quite a complicated media landscape for them. And if I give you a numeric example, if you think about people in their 50s, 60s, they are probably worth about 1,000 euros per year for when it comes to sports media distribution. Then slightly younger, 30 to 40, probably they sit now at around 800 euros per year of what they represent in media distribution value. But then the younger ones are going to 700 euros and often quite far below. If you look at the Serie A as an example in the Italian Football League, all in all, it basically means that series lost about 304 million euros per season in the latest cycle. And of course, that financial shortfall creates all kind of challenges for the clubs associated so it's an example of where it starts hurting. And probably the main way to keep the attention or get the attention of the sports administrators is to follow the money in that part, because that's where usually it affects their ability to run their clubs or their organizations."

(9:13) Given this whole changing media consumption, does it mean that there's a whole untapped fan base that sport is now failing to engage and therefore monetize?

Philip: "I think there definitely is, that's what we refer to as hidden fans. And it's not just a modern phenomenon. It's something that has always existed, ever since television was invented. Actually, clubs are doing a better and better job of making it easier and easier for fans all around the world to engage with them, but there is a lot of fans who don't go to the games. They might buy merchandise, but there's no record of them buying that merchandise. They watch the games, but they might do it at the pub. So, they don't have any sort of subscription. There's no tracking of it. They go to work on a Monday and talk obsessively about how good or bad the game was, and so on and so forth. So in our estimates, that could be as much as 60 to 80% of the total fan base is completely hidden by a club, and that means that all the different opportunities for the club to drive engagement with that base and to monetize them, but also to recognize them and make them feel closer to the club  don't exist.

"From our perspective, there's enormous opportunity there that would be better for the clubs, but also better for the fans as well. And it's all about making it an easy and rewarding experience that they're attracted to enough to take the step of doing that formal engagement."

(12:08) Is that why sport is perfectly suited to loyalty?

Gabi: "I think if you if you look at the comparison to the frequent flyer program model, which has probably been the most successful in that particular space and has created enormous valuations for the airlines who own those loyalty programs, Qantas in kind of Philip's backyard, of course, is a great example. But also, if you look at all the US-based carriers, also European carriers, very often, their valuations are in the millions, even billions of dollars. And if you take a look at their model and basically unpack that, I think there's a very great blueprint for sports organizations to write on that part.

"If you look at an FFP, the key thing why that's so profitable is that on one hand side, they've got accrual partners where people can earn those miles. And basically, those accrual partners buy the miles from the airline at a relatively high cost per mile or per point, and then when those miles are being redeemed, there is a very high perceived value of the reward, i.e. the perishable airline seat, but the actual cost for the airline is much lower. So one of the big kind of secrets or tricks in these FFP models is like, you sell it at a much higher cost per point, and then when the member exchanges that for the reward, it's actually a much lower cost to you, but it has a very high perceived value.

"If you draw that parallel to the sports world, basically you would have to find a lot of accrual partners who are willing to buy a sports-related currency, either a currency linked to a club or a federation, or something like IOC level, maybe even in there. But then, when they use these sport-related points, you need to be able to offer them something which is relatively low cost to you as a program operator, but has got very high perceived value, so access to games, money can buy type experiences. There's a whole range of examples that we'll unpack a little bit more so, but the ecosystem of an FFP model is perfectly replicable in the sports world."

Philip: "I think one of the unique aspects of a sports team is a loyalty program is not needed to generate loyalty. The fans are already loyal. Some of them are obsessively loyal. And so, unlike an airline, where the airlines have to keep working very, very hard to maintain that share of wallet and stimulate the base to travel more, the sports teams kind of already have that. And actually, for many of the bigger sports teams, they don't have enough tickets to sell to each game, and so there is a slightly different dynamic there. So, I think the big opportunity for a loyalty program is to provide that better recognition and reward fans and make them feel like they do have that deeper connection in the same way that a good quality loyalty program would build emotional engagement between the member and the brand. It's that establishment of that formalized two-way relationship is where the big opportunity is.

"Now to Gabi's point and the frequent flyer model. I tend to agree. I think there is definitely some parallels there. You've got the club, you've got the obsessed fan base, you've then got sponsors, but you've also got other companies who would be interested in being connected to the club, that can't afford sponsorship, who might be happy to be earn partners. There's definitely the opportunity to build out that engaged ecosystem of companies that are buying points to give to the fans.

"Then on the other side, you've got all the money can't buy experiences that a club would be able to provide to the fans that they can redeem those points on as well. I think it's a really fascinating model."

(15:55) There's obviously a lot of opportunity there. Philip, what's the current situation when it comes to sport and loyalty, is the sports industry tapping into the benefits loyalty can bring, or you've touched on it already, is there so much more that can happen to drive engagement?

Philip: "They're barely scratching the surface at the moment. I think traditionally, teams have focused much more on memberships that provide fans with access to games, dedicated seating, discount hospitality packages. So, it's more that subscription loyalty program strategy, but they can definitely do a lot more to engage fans who can't or don't want to attend the live games. There are enormous amounts of fans out there who actually don't want to go to a game. They're obsessed about and would live and die for the team, but the idea of going to a game actually isn't that interesting to them. They might go to one or two, or they just can't get tickets, and all the tickets are too expensive, so they don't bother. So, building out a loyalty program that provides fans with a lot of other ways that they can engage in a way that is meaningful to them, is definitely something that clubs could do a lot better at."

Gabi: "I would build on Philip's input there. It also depends a little, if you think about a club, they need to do their kind of strategies, and they are only scratching the surface right now, but you see some interesting propositions coming. If you think about a national federation, the Football Federation, their national team only plays X number of times per year. So how do you basically keep the engagement going in between those kinds of games? If you think about an IOC when it's every two years when there's a winter games and a summer Olympics, you get massive attention during these kinds of games, but then how do you keep that ongoing engagement? There are different kind of propositions you can build on there. So, it also depends a little bit on how you design, what you design for whom, in that sense, on the proposition, because they've got different needs.

"I think in general, there are lots of opportunities. You see some emerging loyalty programs, but in terms of the sponsorship synergies or the data utilization, it's quite often still a bit ad hoc. It's not kind of a master plan embedded in a larger strategy of the organization."

Philip: “At a league level, the next level up, we're not really seeing anything at all, and I feel that's quite disappointing, because some of the leagues, particularly bigger leagues, could play a critical role in helping clubs to roll out comprehensive loyalty strategies. Loyalty is complex, it requires technology, it requires expertise, and you need to get the proper design. You need the right commercial model; you need operational excellence. So where we see a big opportunity is a league engaging a loyalty consultancy or company to design out a program, bring in the technology and enable that to be cascaded down to the teams, so that the teams can get access to something with shared cost and maybe a centralized operations team to run it for them, so the whole league can actually have a good quality design loyalty program for their club with a fraction of the cost of what it would be if they tried to design it out themselves."

(19:17) I guess a big part of that is knowing what excites fans and what actually drives engagement. So, Gabi, how do you see that playing it? What are the trends that you're seeing?

Gabi: "I just came back from the Paris Games at the opening ceremony in my other kind of hat, as President of the International Korfball Federation. I had a chance to speak with a lot of the presidents of other International Federations. And exactly to Phil's point, how can you maybe do things collectively together, for big impact, because you might not have the individual resources available between each of the IFs. But if you bundle your kind of efforts, you can do much bigger things, and also you might have got a couple of million followers there, and another Federation is kind of there, so the scale can be enormous, right?

"I think it comes down to what are these fans kind of looking for. It varies a little bit. Is it the exclusive content and behind the scenes access? There are some notable examples on fan tokenization, NFTs, what people can do with it. But also, what we see is a lot of interest on how can you bring the physical sport world together with the eSports world? The esports world is also massively growing. Saudi Arabia just signed an agreement with the IOC for the next 12 years to have the Olympic esport games in Saudi and they're expecting that to turn into a $13 billion kind of industry just for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone. You see massive groups of youngsters also in that kind of space. When you think about the rewards and the content. The sky's the limit actually."

(21:03) Coming back to what you were saying earlier about the airline loyalty program side of things. What can sport learn from those frequent flyer programs, and how can they bring that success to the fore for the good of the sporting community?

Gabi: "The internal tagline that we're using when we talk about how we see ourselves helping and supporting sports organizations, we call it from FFP to FEP: from frequent flyer programs to fan engagement programs.

"Where we think that sport communities can learn best is to replicate a lot of the great thinking on how you set up such an ecosystem? How do you manage it? How do you commercialize it? It starts by creating a big idea. It doesn't matter if it's a club or a federation or an IF, basically whatever the audience is in there. So, you create a big idea with a high-level engagement vision. Then based on that, you define the blueprint of your program, which should include all the key elements for such a fan engagement proposition. Program concept, program organization, business case. And then when you've done that, you validate that blueprint with all the stakeholders involved in your FEP, including the sponsors, the fans, and especially also the accrual partners, if you think about kind of a point space, because they will have to fund the currency.

"On the redemption side, you need to make sure you've got a very robust and creative offering in place which the members can spend their currency on. Probably the question is, do you go alone as an organization, or do you go together with a group of organizations? And then there's kind of people like us out there to help. There's so much knowledge in there, and you don't need to reinvent the wheel, right? That's kind of, I think, one of the key things for these sports organizations, because loyalty is complex, and therefore you need to make sure you don't make it more complex than it needs to be."

(23:12) Philip, what would be the right loyalty strategy?

Philip: "I definitely would always lean towards the club or the league owning the program so that they've got full control. I think the likes of socios.com has been attractive to a lot of clubs because it's very much a plug and play solution, and it provides some instant revenue for the club without them having to do anything. But certainly, the opportunity, the monetization and having control of that fan experience is going to work much better if they do own the program.

"So, I think if it's a big club, they should definitely be going their own. They're going to have the scale of fans to be able to layer a loyalty program over that very effectively. If it is smaller clubs, then, as I was talking about earlier, getting the league to build out the capabilities which can then cascade down to individual clubs would be a great way to do it, and it save them a lot of cost. But also building up those partnership networks could work across multiple teams and provide fans with lots of opportunities to earn points or currency or credits, whatever it might be to then use with their specific club."

(24:26) So where does loyalty come into play in overcoming the challenge of the changing media kind of situation?

Gabi: "I think there's an enormous monetization opportunity there, like if we draw back to the parallel to the ecosystem of how frequent flyer programs are being run, if you would replicate setups like that, you can create enormous income for the entities, but you need to design it properly. You need to think it through carefully on who those accrual partners would be for your fan base, what kind of brands would like to get in touch with your community. We tend to refer to this as Brands 2 Communities, which means if you understand the DNA of your community, then you understand what kind of brands would like to get their content or stories or offers in front of that particular community.

"Of course, you've got existing sponsors of clubs or federations or IFs out there, but you can also basically extend that to the accrual partnership network very easily. So I think the with the media income under pressure, loyalty offers a great opportunity for sports bodies to generate new income, and if designed well, also these media partners that need a helping hand in there can also find their way within such a loyalty ecosystem to get their media rights and media opportunities much better monetized in a very fragmented kind of landscape. So that's how I see the opportunity for large sports organizations."

(25:52) Wrapping up a lot of what we've already talked about here, what's the member value in this new loyalty led world of sport?

Gabi: "I think to the earlier discussion, fans are deeply in love with their sport or their club, right? What they're looking for is personalization, recognition if they've been a lifelong fan, to being part of the community. So really, that sense of belonging, but also having some kind of an influence or access to certain kinds of content in the recognition element, the exclusive access special rewards are what I think the fans are looking for, in this case, the members.

"The flip side of the what the clubs or the federations are looking for comes from the fact that a lot of these people in sports, would love, basically, for people to support their club or their sport, but they also are very passionate about getting people to move in general, because we see a lot of data out there of the world getting more obese, younger generations being less involved in clubs and organized sport. The true enemy is not moving and not being involved in sport. Yes, you try to do your best for your federation, your club, to get people involved in there and highly competitive on the pitches, as Philip mentioned. But basically, the much, much bigger opportunity that people are deeply passionate about, I've seen, is how you get people connected to sport, and I think that's where, integral loyalty platform or ecosystems can really play a role."

(27:24) So for sporting organizations, where do they start? What challenges do you think they should aim to solve, first through loyalty programs?

Philip: "I definitely think that they should start with better recognition of their long-term fans. If they try to do anything else, then they'll get those long-term fans offside. But it's very easy to do it. One of the clubs that we're working with identified when a fan who was having their birthday was going to be at a club, going to be at a game, and they actually delivered a cake to them during half time, right? There are a lot of very small, quite low-cost things you can do to really make someone provide them with an experience they're going to remember the rest of their life.

"I think providing more opportunities to for fans to influence hard decisions would be a really great thing. Clubs generally do not like this. They don't want to be giving control over to the fans, but even giving them some say on a few different things, I think would definitely appeal to them. Then, it's all about reaching out to that hidden fan base and engaging them as best as possible, and then providing better sponsor promotion. Sponsors are paying a lot of money for the right to put their brand on the team jersey, and anything that can be done in order to better support sponsors, particularly through a loyalty program stimulating fans to go and spend with the sponsors and be able to track that is going to be hugely beneficial to the sponsor in demonstrating the value they're getting from the sponsorship, as well as for the club, in getting the sponsor to sign up for the next."

(29:14) Gabi, how should sports organizations move forward?

Gabi: "I think the old saying of go slow in order to go fast is also valid here, because you do basically get a lot more value if you think as a sports organization, "Okay, what is kind of our plan? What do we want to kind of build in there?" And then, create your big idea, create a program blueprint, validate it, then kind of launch it. I think that would be the right approach in there.

"On a practical level, the examples that Philip referred to, it’s true that sponsors, you can almost draw a parallel between them and the number one funding partner in airline loyalty programs, which are co-brand credit card offerings. But if you see how difficult it is even for that organization to communicate directly via the airline's database. Basically, you can see similarities there between the sponsor community with a sports organization on how difficult it is for them to get in touch with the fans directly, so facilitating that direct engagement in that ecosystem, whereas airlines need to almost think like becoming marketing machines for their partners, sports organizations also have that opportunity, and quite often it's not well enough thought through by a sponsor, and how can you then leverage and engage with that community kind of in there, right? So that's, that's one thing in the design.

"I think in the next step, what I would encourage sports organizations to think about and understand and learn how valuable these loyalty entities could become, just in their own right, as an additional asset for a sports organization. And there's some really good examples out there, and that's kind of what I would encourage them to do as a next step."

(30:57) Coming back to the bold claim that we made at the outset of the discussion, how can loyalty be the savior of sport?

Gabi: "I do think this from FFP to FEP idea might be the proposition here, right? So how can you go from the frequent flyer program thinking to a fan engagement program thinking in there? The opportunity is there for the first number of sports organizations to create multi billion-dollar valuations via such an entity. But the airlines also didn't get that overnight, right? They basically had to build it, the technology, the thinking, the fan base, the offering kind of in there. So, while there are learnings to be taken in there, and plenty of support from companies such as ourselves, Loylogic and Loyalty and Reward Co, it will not happen as a miracle overnight, right? This is kind of a long-term engagement, and therefore you also need to think about what you want to do. It's not like a marketing gimmick where you just kind of do something and then basically, the dollars will fly in. That's not how it works. It needs to be an integral part of the club's or the Federation's strategy. There will be early movers in there that will take the time to think about it in that way, and there will be more tactical, ad hoc type initiatives, and I think the first group will be more successful with that."

Philip: I agree. I think the reality is that a lot of sports clubs and even leagues are not as lucrative and cashed up as what fans and people might perceive them to be. Certainly, there is a small number of clubs that are doing incredibly well, but they tend to be in the minority. Most clubs are trying to get together enough revenue and most of that goes into buying new players and putting on games. Any opportunity for a club to be able to build out a sizable new revenue stream should be highly attractive to them.

"And as per Gabi's talk of the frequent flyer program or the fan engagement program using the points earn and redemption economics, there's a really great opportunity there, but it does need to be symbiotic. It's not just enough to say, great, let's monetize our highly loyal fan base. It needs to be done in a way that provides fans with desirable, motivating value, so that they're getting something out of it, and the club is also getting something out of it. And

Really, the key to that is access. That's what the fans really want. They want access to players. They want access to the games. They want access to limited edition merchandise value offers, things that are really going to get them excited about engaging with that program, and then you've got a winning, successful recipe there."

Robert Clements, Loylogic’s Lead Consultant, joined us at our Loylogic LIVE event recently to explore one of the biggest opportunities and challenges loyalty program leaders have today: the all-important transition to community driven engagement.

In his presentation, which can be viewed on demand below, Rob discussed how customer engagement has evolved over time and how brands can leverage communities to build a more personal, dynamic and connected experience with their customers. As he says, why build a program when you can build a community?

Key talking points include:

- The definition of community-driven engagement and how it has matured into a viable strategy for most customer-centric organizations.
- The six elements that brands can leverage to build a sense of community.
- Four reasons why brands should invest in community-driven engagement.
- Key steps to building a community, including identifying the right customers, integrating them into the right engagement framework, finding the right incentives, community management, and celebrating the contributions of the community.

To find out how, through embracing community driven engagements, you can build brand new, deep connections and passionate advocates for your brand, press play below.

To talk to Rob in more details about community driven engagement and how to build engagement for your loyalty program, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Robert Clements, Loylogic’s Lead Consultant, joined us at our Loylogic LIVE event recently to explore one of the biggest opportunities and challenges loyalty program leaders have today: the all-important transition to community driven engagement.

In his presentation, which can be viewed on demand below, Rob discussed how customer engagement has evolved over time and how brands can leverage communities to build a more personal, dynamic and connected experience with their customers. As he says, why build a program when you can build a community?

Key talking points include:

- The definition of community-driven engagement and how it has matured into a viable strategy for most customer-centric organizations.
- The six elements that brands can leverage to build a sense of community.
- Four reasons why brands should invest in community-driven engagement.
- Key steps to building a community, including identifying the right customers, integrating them into the right engagement framework, finding the right incentives, community management, and celebrating the contributions of the community.

To find out how, through embracing community driven engagements, you can build brand new, deep connections and passionate advocates for your brand, press play below.

To talk to Rob in more details about community driven engagement and how to build engagement for your loyalty program, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Continuing our review of the best sessions from our recent Loylogic LIVE event, this time we’re sharing a great conversation all about creating incremental value from an FMCG loyalty program by marketing your community.

In this session, Joël Muller from Nescafé Dolce Gusto PREMIO and Dani Schmidt from Loylogic delve into the world of FMCG loyalty programs and how incremental value can be created, using Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s supremely successful multi-market Premio Loyalty scheme as an example.

Key talking points from the session include:

- The need to partner with brands that are relevant to your target audience. This will increase the value proposition of a program and make it more relevant to members.

- Carefully select brands to partner with. The brands should be a good fit with your brand and target audience, which means understanding your program members is vitally important.

- This isn't about selling member data. You can partner with brands by inviting them into an ecosystem where they can offer their value proposition to members. Members can then decide whether or not they are interested.

- There’s an opportunity to charge brands a fee for access to your target audience. This can be done through a co-funding model where the brand pays for points that are redeemed by members.

The video from the Loylogic LIVE session can be viewed below, or head to Loylogic's YouTube channel hereto view all the session videos from Loylogic LIVE.

To discuss how Loylogic can help you build a new FMCG loyalty program or supercharge your existing one, just like we have for Nescafé Dolce Gusto, click here and we’ll be in touch.

Like this? Then don't miss our podcast featuring Joël and Dani here.

Continuing our review of the best sessions from our recent Loylogic LIVE event, this time we’re sharing a great conversation all about creating incremental value from an FMCG loyalty program by marketing your community.

In this session, Joël Muller from Nescafé Dolce Gusto PREMIO and Dani Schmidt from Loylogic delve into the world of FMCG loyalty programs and how incremental value can be created, using Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s supremely successful multi-market Premio Loyalty scheme as an example.

Key talking points from the session include:

- The need to partner with brands that are relevant to your target audience. This will increase the value proposition of a program and make it more relevant to members.

- Carefully select brands to partner with. The brands should be a good fit with your brand and target audience, which means understanding your program members is vitally important.

- This isn't about selling member data. You can partner with brands by inviting them into an ecosystem where they can offer their value proposition to members. Members can then decide whether or not they are interested.

- There’s an opportunity to charge brands a fee for access to your target audience. This can be done through a co-funding model where the brand pays for points that are redeemed by members.

The video from the Loylogic LIVE session can be viewed below, or head to Loylogic's YouTube channel hereto view all the session videos from Loylogic LIVE.

To discuss how Loylogic can help you build a new FMCG loyalty program or supercharge your existing one, just like we have for Nescafé Dolce Gusto, click here and we’ll be in touch.

Like this? Then don't miss our podcast featuring Joël and Dani here.

One of the most hotly anticipated sessions at Loylogic LIVE 2024, was the discussion that centred around the power of marketplace and how loyalty programs can leverage the Brands2Communities strategy discussed earlier in the event to incentivize engagement.

For this session, Loylogic’s Emma Shakespeare and Ahmad Oneissi delved into the strategy of using incentives to enhance consumer engagement and foster enduring loyalty. The pair used examples from Loylogic’s incentives marketplace to show how a wide-ranging reward catalog can give consumers the power of choice and boost loyalty, while optimizing incentive costs for programs.

Further key talking points from the session included the need for personalization, why data is so important to loyalty program success and the trends that are impacting global marketplace engagement, including brand relationships with communities of loyal customers, sustainability and high customer expectations.

Find out more in our video from Loylogic LIVE here:

To chat with one of the team about how Loylogic’s Brands2Communities approach can boost engagement across your loyalty program, click here.

One of the most hotly anticipated sessions at Loylogic LIVE 2024, was the discussion that centred around the power of marketplace and how loyalty programs can leverage the Brands2Communities strategy discussed earlier in the event to incentivize engagement.

For this session, Loylogic’s Emma Shakespeare and Ahmad Oneissi delved into the strategy of using incentives to enhance consumer engagement and foster enduring loyalty. The pair used examples from Loylogic’s incentives marketplace to show how a wide-ranging reward catalog can give consumers the power of choice and boost loyalty, while optimizing incentive costs for programs.

Further key talking points from the session included the need for personalization, why data is so important to loyalty program success and the trends that are impacting global marketplace engagement, including brand relationships with communities of loyal customers, sustainability and high customer expectations.

Find out more in our video from Loylogic LIVE here:

To chat with one of the team about how Loylogic’s Brands2Communities approach can boost engagement across your loyalty program, click here.

At last month’s Loylogic LIVE event, Loylogic’s CEO, Gabi Kool, opened proceedings by presenting a strategy for loyalty success called Brands2Communities.

In his presentation, Gabi stressed how traditional loyalty programs are becoming too generic, offering one-size-fits-all rewards and relying on easy technological integrations. Instead, Loylogic is working with brands to deliver a more effective approach that focuses on the unique makeup of each loyalty program's community.

Brands2Communities is all about making sure loyalty programs can be more effective by understanding the unique characteristics of their member base and partnering with brands that resonate with those communities.

During the session, which can be viewed on demand here, four key themes emerged:

1. Loyalty programs must understand community DNA

Loyalty program operators must delve deeply into the distinct characteristics of their community segments. This involves recognizing both commonalities and differences among members across various regions and demographics. For example, an Asian airline needs to distinguish between the preferences of its Platinum members in the US, China, Japan, and the Middle East. By doing so, operators can create more relevant and engaging marketing campaigns and brand partnerships.

2. Successful engagement requires segmentation strategies

To effectively understand and segment the community, loyalty leaders should start with basic demographic and behavioral data. These include but are not limited to geographical distribution, tier levels and customer value, engagement metrics, demographic insights that analyze age brackets, income levels, gender distribution, and communication channel preferences, and, of course, redemption behavior. As Gabi says, it’s important to monitor reward redemption patterns to understand member engagement.

3. Creating loyalty program value through brand partnerships

Once a detailed understanding of these segments is achieved, loyalty marketers can position themselves as valuable partners for external brands. These brands are keen to target specific audience segments that align with their own brand values and objectives. For instance, brands known for quality, innovation, customer focus, integrity, or sustainability can be matched with relevant community segments within the loyalty program.

4. Curating relevant content to build loyalty

Loyalty marketers should act as curators, akin to publishers, who tailor content to resonate with their audience. This involves mapping out and understanding the preferences and needs of each segment, categorizing them by strategic importance, and identifying complementary brands and offers. By doing so, they can enhance the member experience and strengthen brand loyalty.

To summarize, Loylogic’s Brands2Communities approach is about deeply understanding the unique DNA of each loyalty program segment and leveraging this insight to foster meaningful brand partnerships and marketing initiatives. This strategy not only enhances member engagement but also positions loyalty programs as critical players in the broader marketing ecosystem.

To chat with one of the team about how Loylogic’s Brands2Communities approach can boost engagement across your loyalty program, click here.

At last month’s Loylogic LIVE event, Loylogic’s CEO, Gabi Kool, opened proceedings by presenting a strategy for loyalty success called Brands2Communities.

In his presentation, Gabi stressed how traditional loyalty programs are becoming too generic, offering one-size-fits-all rewards and relying on easy technological integrations. Instead, Loylogic is working with brands to deliver a more effective approach that focuses on the unique makeup of each loyalty program's community.

Brands2Communities is all about making sure loyalty programs can be more effective by understanding the unique characteristics of their member base and partnering with brands that resonate with those communities.

During the session, which can be viewed on demand here, four key themes emerged:

1. Loyalty programs must understand community DNA

Loyalty program operators must delve deeply into the distinct characteristics of their community segments. This involves recognizing both commonalities and differences among members across various regions and demographics. For example, an Asian airline needs to distinguish between the preferences of its Platinum members in the US, China, Japan, and the Middle East. By doing so, operators can create more relevant and engaging marketing campaigns and brand partnerships.

2. Successful engagement requires segmentation strategies

To effectively understand and segment the community, loyalty leaders should start with basic demographic and behavioral data. These include but are not limited to geographical distribution, tier levels and customer value, engagement metrics, demographic insights that analyze age brackets, income levels, gender distribution, and communication channel preferences, and, of course, redemption behavior. As Gabi says, it’s important to monitor reward redemption patterns to understand member engagement.

3. Creating loyalty program value through brand partnerships

Once a detailed understanding of these segments is achieved, loyalty marketers can position themselves as valuable partners for external brands. These brands are keen to target specific audience segments that align with their own brand values and objectives. For instance, brands known for quality, innovation, customer focus, integrity, or sustainability can be matched with relevant community segments within the loyalty program.

4. Curating relevant content to build loyalty

Loyalty marketers should act as curators, akin to publishers, who tailor content to resonate with their audience. This involves mapping out and understanding the preferences and needs of each segment, categorizing them by strategic importance, and identifying complementary brands and offers. By doing so, they can enhance the member experience and strengthen brand loyalty.

To summarize, Loylogic’s Brands2Communities approach is about deeply understanding the unique DNA of each loyalty program segment and leveraging this insight to foster meaningful brand partnerships and marketing initiatives. This strategy not only enhances member engagement but also positions loyalty programs as critical players in the broader marketing ecosystem.

To chat with one of the team about how Loylogic’s Brands2Communities approach can boost engagement across your loyalty program, click here.

In a recent episode of the Loylogic Podcast, executives from Nescafé Dolce Gusto joined us to discuss the development and success of the global PREMIO loyalty program.

The insights shared offer valuable lessons for loyalty program managers looking to create or enhance their own programs. Below are nine key takeaways from the discussion, which can be listened to in full here:

1. Embrace an Omni-Channel Approach

One of the fundamental aspects of PREMIO's success is its true omni-channel concept. For consumer goods brands, especially those that generate a significant portion of their business through indirect retail and wholesale channels, direct access to retail shoppers is crucial. This approach not only increases brand value in a competitive market but also provides invaluable consumer insights.

2. Ensure Scalability

Scalability is a must for multinational and global brands. NDG's use of a cloud-based solution facilitated a scalable architecture, enabling quick rollouts across various markets. For instance, once a market approved its business case, the go-to-market time for PREMIO was less than three months. This rapid deployment is possible only with a scalable ecosystem involving global partners and cloud solutions.

3. Maintain Global Consistency with Local Flexibility

PREMIO is a global concept that offers a consistent user experience across all markets. However, it also incorporates a degree of local flexibility to meet specific market needs. This balance ensures that the program is globally uniform yet locally relevant, which is essential for gaining and maintaining member loyalty. Each market can adapt the reward catalog and marketing strategies to resonate with local consumers.

4. Focus on User-Friendly Experiences

A simple and user-friendly experience is critical for consumer engagement. PREMIO's system allows consumers to easily earn points by scanning codes inside beverage boxes or automatically through connected coffee machines. This simplicity encourages participation and makes the program more attractive to users.

5. Curate an Appealing Rewards Catalog

The reward catalog is a cornerstone of any loyalty program. PREMIO's catalog is carefully curated to include a mix of relevant rewards, from virtual gift cards to kitchen appliances, tailored to each market. This customization ensures that rewards are appealing and attainable, enhancing consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, offering rewards that align with the brand's DNA and consumer lifestyle, such as coffee-related items, further strengthens the program's relevance.

6. Utilize Data for Personalization and Engagement

Data collection and analysis are pivotal in driving the success of PREMIO. The program gathers extensive data on consumer behavior through QR codes and other interactions, enabling NDG to send personalized messages at the right time. This data-driven approach ensures that communications are relevant and engaging, fostering a deeper connection with consumers. Additionally, local markets can fine-tune the value proposition and marketing activations based on these insights, further enhancing the program's effectiveness.

7. Adapt to Market Conditions

NDG continuously monitors PREMIO's performance in each market, adjusting strategies as needed to ensure a positive return on investment. This adaptability is crucial for maintaining the program's effectiveness and relevance.

8. Incorporate Gamification

To engage lower-value user segments, NDG is exploring gamification elements within PREMIO, such as instant win options and smaller rewards. Gamification can make the program more engaging and fun, encouraging broader participation.

9. Seek Strategic Partnerships

Looking ahead, NDG plans to explore partnerships with other brands to enhance PREMIO's value proposition. Collaborations can offer mutual benefits, extending the reach and appeal of the loyalty program.

The insights from NDG's PREMIO loyalty program underscore the importance of an omni-channel approach, scalability, global consistency with local flexibility, user-friendly experiences, appealing rewards, and data-driven personalization. By incorporating these elements, loyalty program managers can create compelling and effective programs that drive consumer engagement and loyalty.

In a recent episode of the Loylogic Podcast, executives from Nescafé Dolce Gusto joined us to discuss the development and success of the global PREMIO loyalty program.

The insights shared offer valuable lessons for loyalty program managers looking to create or enhance their own programs. Below are nine key takeaways from the discussion, which can be listened to in full here:

1. Embrace an Omni-Channel Approach

One of the fundamental aspects of PREMIO's success is its true omni-channel concept. For consumer goods brands, especially those that generate a significant portion of their business through indirect retail and wholesale channels, direct access to retail shoppers is crucial. This approach not only increases brand value in a competitive market but also provides invaluable consumer insights.

2. Ensure Scalability

Scalability is a must for multinational and global brands. NDG's use of a cloud-based solution facilitated a scalable architecture, enabling quick rollouts across various markets. For instance, once a market approved its business case, the go-to-market time for PREMIO was less than three months. This rapid deployment is possible only with a scalable ecosystem involving global partners and cloud solutions.

3. Maintain Global Consistency with Local Flexibility

PREMIO is a global concept that offers a consistent user experience across all markets. However, it also incorporates a degree of local flexibility to meet specific market needs. This balance ensures that the program is globally uniform yet locally relevant, which is essential for gaining and maintaining member loyalty. Each market can adapt the reward catalog and marketing strategies to resonate with local consumers.

4. Focus on User-Friendly Experiences

A simple and user-friendly experience is critical for consumer engagement. PREMIO's system allows consumers to easily earn points by scanning codes inside beverage boxes or automatically through connected coffee machines. This simplicity encourages participation and makes the program more attractive to users.

5. Curate an Appealing Rewards Catalog

The reward catalog is a cornerstone of any loyalty program. PREMIO's catalog is carefully curated to include a mix of relevant rewards, from virtual gift cards to kitchen appliances, tailored to each market. This customization ensures that rewards are appealing and attainable, enhancing consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, offering rewards that align with the brand's DNA and consumer lifestyle, such as coffee-related items, further strengthens the program's relevance.

6. Utilize Data for Personalization and Engagement

Data collection and analysis are pivotal in driving the success of PREMIO. The program gathers extensive data on consumer behavior through QR codes and other interactions, enabling NDG to send personalized messages at the right time. This data-driven approach ensures that communications are relevant and engaging, fostering a deeper connection with consumers. Additionally, local markets can fine-tune the value proposition and marketing activations based on these insights, further enhancing the program's effectiveness.

7. Adapt to Market Conditions

NDG continuously monitors PREMIO's performance in each market, adjusting strategies as needed to ensure a positive return on investment. This adaptability is crucial for maintaining the program's effectiveness and relevance.

8. Incorporate Gamification

To engage lower-value user segments, NDG is exploring gamification elements within PREMIO, such as instant win options and smaller rewards. Gamification can make the program more engaging and fun, encouraging broader participation.

9. Seek Strategic Partnerships

Looking ahead, NDG plans to explore partnerships with other brands to enhance PREMIO's value proposition. Collaborations can offer mutual benefits, extending the reach and appeal of the loyalty program.

The insights from NDG's PREMIO loyalty program underscore the importance of an omni-channel approach, scalability, global consistency with local flexibility, user-friendly experiences, appealing rewards, and data-driven personalization. By incorporating these elements, loyalty program managers can create compelling and effective programs that drive consumer engagement and loyalty.

One of Loylogic’s partners, African Bank, is celebrating the success of its innovative rewards program, Audacious Rewards, which was named Best Short Term Loyalty Campaign at the International Loyalty Awards in Dubai last month.

The awards judges praised the synergy between African Bank – The People’s Bank – and the Soweto Marathon, known as ‘The People’s Race’, noting that both originate in Soweto and share a rich heritage of pioneering inclusivity. African Bank’s sponsorship was an ideal opportunity to connect with its customers, market its Audacious Rewards programme, and add value to its members.

Audacious Rewards, which is delivered in partnership with Loylogic, was also shortlisted for the Loyalty Redefined category, highlighting African Bank's success in creating a distinctive rewards experience for all of its customers. Audacious Rewards extends beyond traditional points based programmes, reflecting the bank's dedication to advancing the lives of its customers and enabling them to succeed financially.

Sbusiso Kumalo, Chief Marketing Officer at African Bank commented: "Audacious Rewards takes a bold approach, rewarding those not traditionally served by the financial mainstream. By simply banking with us, customers earn valuable points ('Rewards You Can Count On') that provide real-world benefits.

"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Our founders envisioned a bank that would democratise financial services, and Audacious Rewards embodies that vision by offering meaningful rewards and encouraging positive financial habits."

Whole of bank rewards

African Bank customers have the opportunity to join Audacious Rewards for free and immediately start earning points through their daily banking activities using their African Bank debit or credit card or the African Bank app. Through Audacious Rewards, customers can simply earn points for their everyday banking such as using their card, managing their debit orders or having African Bank financial solutions. Customers can enjoy spending their points on airtime, data, electricity, grocery vouchers or convert them to cash.

Since launch of the progamme in February 2023, Audacious Rewards membership has seen significant growth exceeding business targets with over 57 000 members joining in March 2024. Moreover, members of the rewards program demonstrate a significantly higher propensity to take-up other offerings from African Bank.

Notably, rewards members have generated a remarkable 67% increase in revenue over a 12-month period compared to non-rewards members. The Audacious Rewards program goes even further, incentivizing responsible financial behaviour like credit score monitoring with over 50,000 requested credit reports in March 2024 alone.

As African Bank pushes beyond traditional banking models, Audacious Rewards speaks to the Bank's commitment to progress. It's not just about banking; it's about changing and advancing lives, while creating a more inclusive financial ecosystem for all. Loylogic is delighted to be working alongside African Bank, helping to deliver an award-winning loyalty and rewards programme that is transforming lives.

Source: African Bank

One of Loylogic’s partners, African Bank, is celebrating the success of its innovative rewards program, Audacious Rewards, which was named Best Short Term Loyalty Campaign at the International Loyalty Awards in Dubai last month.

The awards judges praised the synergy between African Bank – The People’s Bank – and the Soweto Marathon, known as ‘The People’s Race’, noting that both originate in Soweto and share a rich heritage of pioneering inclusivity. African Bank’s sponsorship was an ideal opportunity to connect with its customers, market its Audacious Rewards programme, and add value to its members.

Audacious Rewards, which is delivered in partnership with Loylogic, was also shortlisted for the Loyalty Redefined category, highlighting African Bank's success in creating a distinctive rewards experience for all of its customers. Audacious Rewards extends beyond traditional points based programmes, reflecting the bank's dedication to advancing the lives of its customers and enabling them to succeed financially.

Sbusiso Kumalo, Chief Marketing Officer at African Bank commented: "Audacious Rewards takes a bold approach, rewarding those not traditionally served by the financial mainstream. By simply banking with us, customers earn valuable points ('Rewards You Can Count On') that provide real-world benefits.

"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. Our founders envisioned a bank that would democratise financial services, and Audacious Rewards embodies that vision by offering meaningful rewards and encouraging positive financial habits."

Whole of bank rewards

African Bank customers have the opportunity to join Audacious Rewards for free and immediately start earning points through their daily banking activities using their African Bank debit or credit card or the African Bank app. Through Audacious Rewards, customers can simply earn points for their everyday banking such as using their card, managing their debit orders or having African Bank financial solutions. Customers can enjoy spending their points on airtime, data, electricity, grocery vouchers or convert them to cash.

Since launch of the progamme in February 2023, Audacious Rewards membership has seen significant growth exceeding business targets with over 57 000 members joining in March 2024. Moreover, members of the rewards program demonstrate a significantly higher propensity to take-up other offerings from African Bank.

Notably, rewards members have generated a remarkable 67% increase in revenue over a 12-month period compared to non-rewards members. The Audacious Rewards program goes even further, incentivizing responsible financial behaviour like credit score monitoring with over 50,000 requested credit reports in March 2024 alone.

As African Bank pushes beyond traditional banking models, Audacious Rewards speaks to the Bank's commitment to progress. It's not just about banking; it's about changing and advancing lives, while creating a more inclusive financial ecosystem for all. Loylogic is delighted to be working alongside African Bank, helping to deliver an award-winning loyalty and rewards programme that is transforming lives.

Source: African Bank

In the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast, we discuss the story of PREMIO, Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s world-leading multi-market international loyalty program.

Along with Yves-Louis Pigueller, Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s Global Data and Digital Ecosystems Lead, Joël Muller, digital marketing advisor for Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Dani Schmidt, Loylogic’s Head of Growth, we hear how this world-class loyalty program, designed to build engagement and boost consumption of  products, has developed from initial idea to the global success it is today.

Topics discussed include:

- The challenges PREMIO was designed to overcome
- How PREMIO enables the brand to directly connect with consumers through personalized communication
- How the program delivers an appealing value proposition in a consistent yet locally relevant way across multiple geographies
- The data and measurement behind the program
- The reward shops driving engagement 
- Future plans for PREMIO and much, much more.

A must listen for any internatonal brand looking to scale-up a loyalty program globally, or create a new international engagement stratgey, listen here, or read the transcript below.

(1:20) A good place to start is with the story of Nescafé Dolce Gusto and PREMIO. So Yves-Louis, what's the background that led to the creation of the program?

Yves-Louis: "Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a pod coffee system, offering consumers the ability to prepare at home, all the beverages that are made in a regular coffee shop. The range includes espresso, americano, but also the latte macchiato, the cappuccino and chocolate and teas. You can even find, since a couple of years, all of Starbuck's iconic recipes in the portfolio.

"Nescafé Dolce Gusto is available now in 70 markets, mostly in retail channels for the machine, but also for the coffee pods. We also use our own DTC to sell pods and machines. The overall yearly turnover has exceeded more than 1 billion USD in the past year."

Joël: "We like to call ourselves billionaires!"

Yves-Louis: "We're already there, Joël!

"Nescafé Dolce Gusto is operated by each of our markets and the central function provides support for anything which is a common solution, process or capability. This is the case for the Nescafé Dolce Gusto digital ecosystem, which is made up of a direct to consumer, CRM, but also PREMIO, our loyalty scheme, all of which is operated above market."

(3:17) Joël, I'll bring you in here. What challenges has PREMIO been designed to solve?

Joël: "Well, like any brand sold in retail, our challenge is to have a direct engagement with our consumers. This direct engagement provides the ability to collect precious insights on our consumers, and also the ability to engage with them through our own channel in a relevant matter.

"One of the other big challenge we have is the pressure from compatible capsule solutions, and inflation on top, which has increased the need to maintain brand value perception to engage with consumers. So PREMIO, our loyalty scheme, has been designed to answer those challenges."

(4:07) PREMIO has been in play now for a number of years. So what have been the main stages of development since its launch? How has it adapted to meet those challenges and overcome the barriers to success?

Yves-Louis: "It has been a long journey, not an easy ride every day. To design, to build and also to roll out PREMIO across the world did not happen overnight. We invested upfront a firm enough time and effort to define the concept, but also to build a sustainable business case. Loyalty is not really a frequent practice in our industry, so it took time to get everyone on board and to be convinced about the concept. Then, in order to validate all of the business assumptions and to harness the concept, we worked with a pilot market over a period of two years.

"Following these two years, where we had good results, and for the past four years, we've focused on two folds. Number one was to roll out PREMIO to our top DTC markets. And now today we're covering more than 80% of our total revenue. The other fold is about fine tuning the value exchange. What is very important to find is the right balance between an appealing proposition for a consumer, but also for us to remain ROI positive. And this is where we are now."

(5:26) Dani, what role does Loylogic play in supporting this development?

Dani: "Well, as mentioned by Yves-Louis, a major focus in recent years has been on opening up new markets on various continents. And what I mean by launch is, of course, beyond the technical implementation. It's about acquiring members and driving engagement from the program registration, and the very first can onwards. This requires a lot of effort and provides a lot of learning opportunities for all involved parties, including us. Hence, our role is to support NDG in line with its strategy and focus, and while there will be additional market launches, the next one is just around the corner in May, the engagement and value for the brand will mostly come from existing markets and its millions of members. Hence our job is to evolve and support the mentioned initiatives from both the conceptual and executional perspective."

(6:20) Joël, bringing you in again here. What are the core pillars of success for the PREMIO program?

Joël: "The first pillar is the simplicity of the user experience. It is super user-friendly. So concretely, as a consumer, you just have to flash the code which is printed inside every box of Nescafé Dolce Gusto beverage, and each scan will increment your point balance. So you can redeem your points in a gift catalog. And with our latest coffee machine generation, NEO, earning points is even easier. Once you connect your machine to your Wi Fi points are automatically granted for every cup brewed. So no more QR codes to scan so it's even more user friendly.

"The second pillar for the success is the reward catalog itself. So not only we can select for each market, the relevant rewards for all type of points, but consumers can also select many types of appealing rewards like virtual gift cards, physical gifts, vouchers for our own web shop, and so on."

Yves-Louis: "I will add two further pillars. The third pillars is definitely the solution. So we went for a cloud solution that enables two benefits: the first one is easier to roll out than the other solutions that are hosted on premise, but also to get, with a quicker time to market, all the latest innovation from the cloud solution. And to conclude, the latest pillar is in the communication, which is key. One of the main success factors is the ability to be able to advertise on the back in order to reach our acquisition target."

(8:06) Taking that point to the next stage. You were quoted in a recent press release that Nescafé Dolce Gusto was able to establish a strong personalized intimacy with its customers through PREMIO. So can you elaborate on that further?

Yves-Louis: "Indeed, PREMIO is a goldmine of data points. Thanks to these small QR codes, we're able to track the consumption behavior at the consumer level. And with reach of this data, we can push to our consumers the right message at the right time. So any activities that could be scaled like the tech segmentation inside and communication concept, are now run above market. And these enable us to empower the market to be really spot on with the engagement with the consumer."

Joël: "And to be even closer to our consumers, each market can localize and fine tune the value proposition. So the cost per point the reward catalog are different per market. If you go and visit the reward shop in Korea, for example, and then you go to the French one, you will see that the catalog is adapted to the culture of the country. The marketing activation is also mainly local, each market can define how to activate the first party data collected through PREMIO."

(9:23) Okay, so it's all about engaging members in a personalized manner?

Joël: "Exactly using the data to engage with our consumers to spread the right message at the right time to the right people, which is the you know the basics of CRM."

(9:37) So Dani, it seems like a good place to bring you in here to talk more about the rewards catalogs and that personalization from a Loylogic perspective. So how does Loylogic work with PREMIO to source relevant rewards that work both internationally and locally?

Dani: "Yes, thanks for the question. We are often asked whether we can show THE Loylogic catalog. The answer always is that this just doesn't exist, because our job is to create an engaging rewards experience for the communities of our clients and all of our reward shops are curated for our clients. And in fact, we involve our clients in co-creating and providing a rewards briefing which includes potential categories or must have rewards, a wishlist of certain brands, do's and don'ts, in line with the brand and the program DNA.

"In the case of NDG, we collaborated closely with the global business unit and the pilot market, which was Spain back then in 2017/18. And we defined the categories which includes NDG rewards like vouchers that bring members back to the NDG web shop for their next coffee purchase. We defined music technology as a must have category. This includes earbuds and loudspeakers, electronical gadgets etc. We defined kitchen as a must have category because coffee is often produced and consumed in the kitchen, so we offer kitchen appliances and coffee mugs and these kind of things, as well as experiences which is a mix of international and local gift cards. Within these categories, we look for the right rewards that fit the community profile and the program economics.

"Now, you can imagine that the accrued points value in a coffee pod program is much lower compared to a frequent flyer program, and hence the price points of offered rewards need to be within members' reach. It's important that committed members are able to reward themselves within 30 to 90 days after registration, after starting engaging with the brand. And this requires reward offers at a few euro value or dollar value in this specific case. And on the other hand, we we need to ensure that the offers fit the brand DNA and positioning, which might be a stretch in some cases.

"And maybe another important topic is that, PREMIO is a global concept, but member behavior and needs vary slightly among European countries, and are quite different in markets in Latin America and Asia. And this requires a well-balanced approach to rewards that follows global brand principles, as Joël mentioned, but takes local needs into account. And this is important not only to gain the loyalty of the members in these markets, but also to maintain the commitment of all NDG markets. Within NDG we apply the Pareto rule wherever possible, whereby 80% of the catalogue is, let's say, globally defined, and the markets have a 20% of room to maneuver local needs into the equation. Hence PREMIO is therefore a uniform global concept which is nevertheless localized. I think that's a key success factor."

(12:55) Do seasonal promotions play a part in the rewards appeal too?

Dani: "Absolutely, I mean, redemption is a good thing right, as it is the ultimate proof of member engagement. And of course, to encourage such engagement over many years, it is crucial to run marketing campaigns, whether through the introduction of new rewards categories or reward items, seasonal campaigns such as Valentine's Day, or Black Friday, or run prize draws remember can win the  latest iPhones or an annual supply of NDG coffee capsules. So, we closely collaborate with the markets to provide an exciting marketing calendar in line with the local Nescafé Dolce Gusto marketing plan, you know, throughout the year."

(13:38) Okay, it's clear listening to you that data and analytics are important to the success of PREMIO and you seem to have a really clear picture of what's going on with the program across the numerous markets. So one question I would like to ask is, what criteria do you use when selecting which markets to roll PREMIO out to? Or indeed, stop? Joël, I'll let you answer that one.

Joël: "So we do indeed define two main sets of criteria to set up PREMIO but also to stop PREMIO. When setting up PREMIO in the market we take a fact-based approach by running a business case considering the consumer base by size, the cost to set up and operate the program and the rewards price range.

"Once we're live, we monitor on a monthly basis, the success of PREMIO, looking at the consumer base evolution, acquisition and churn rates. We also look at consumer reviews or we run surveys. When KPIs are not met, all mitigation plans are exhausted to sustain a positive return on investment, then we make the decision to stop PREMIO in the market. This happened. Thankfully, not so often. But we are able to monitor it in an accurate way and we can decide to stop it if necessary."

(14:58) What role does Loylogic play in supporting the data gathering and measurement?

Dani: "Loylogic's scope is related to the rewards experience. And we do complement the picture with redemption related data primarily? Such data contains typical ecommerce metrics such as how many members come to our reward store? How many use their points by placing orders? What's the average order value? What are the top performing rewards and so on? Markets can access reporting dashboards individually 24/7. And the data is also uploaded on a monthly basis in the NDG BI, which allows every stakeholder to have a complete picture of the metrics related to premium."

(15:40) Looking to the future, how do you see PREMIO developing further, given you've got all this data available to you? Yves-Louis, let's start with you.

Yves-Louis: "So we're working on three main streams and I will cover the first two. Number one, we want to complete the footprint, we still have a couple of big markets to launch as well as tackling the non DTC market. So this is really the number one challenge.

"The number two challenge or looking forward is to be able to target the low value user segment. Back to the famous equation of how to have something appealing, but ROI positive. So we're working on extending the reward catalog with smaller gifts like a retail coupon, or raffle ticket donation. The aim is also to bring more gamification into the program for the specific segment by allowing consumers to select instant win versus point collection."

Joël: "The last stream is more longer term, which is to search for partnerships with the help of Loylogic to work with other brands. This is also an option for us together where we are stronger. So this is something also that we're looking at more long term."

(17:00) So Dani, what are the key takeaways you can share from the success of PREMIO that other loyalty program managers should consider when looking at a global rewards program?

Dani: "I have four things in mind, which I would like to share.

"First of all, PREMIO is a true omni-channel concept. And this is very essential for consumer goods brands who generate 80% or more of its business via indirect retail and wholesale channels, which is probably the case in most instances. So direct access to retail shoppers is where the incremental value lies, and what really empowers the brand in a competitive environment.

"Secondly, scalability is a must for multinational and global brands. The scalable architecture as also mentioned, by Yves-Louis, via cloud solutions, and involving global partners, are the key elements here. Just to give you one interesting piece of information...in the case of PREMIO, the go to market is less than three months after a market has signed or approved its business case the green light is given to the involved parties. Less than three months, which is only possible due to, you know, a scalable ecosystem.

"Third, PREMIO is a truly global concept, which can be introduced to every NDG market. And there is still some white spots out there. But not only introducing this to these markets, but also with a very consistent user experience across the globe. The programs, of course, have local a local flavor, but it's Nescafé Dolce Gusto PREMIO across the globe.

"And finally, although being a global concept, it is crucial to ensure a certain degree of local flexibility, for example, with regards to offered rewards. A global rollout must always be supported by the markets, because they also finance these initiatives."

In the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast, we discuss the story of PREMIO, Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s world-leading multi-market international loyalty program.

Along with Yves-Louis Pigueller, Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s Global Data and Digital Ecosystems Lead, Joël Muller, digital marketing advisor for Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Dani Schmidt, Loylogic’s Head of Growth, we hear how this world-class loyalty program, designed to build engagement and boost consumption of  products, has developed from initial idea to the global success it is today.

Topics discussed include:

- The challenges PREMIO was designed to overcome
- How PREMIO enables the brand to directly connect with consumers through personalized communication
- How the program delivers an appealing value proposition in a consistent yet locally relevant way across multiple geographies
- The data and measurement behind the program
- The reward shops driving engagement 
- Future plans for PREMIO and much, much more.

A must listen for any internatonal brand looking to scale-up a loyalty program globally, or create a new international engagement stratgey, listen here, or read the transcript below.

(1:20) A good place to start is with the story of Nescafé Dolce Gusto and PREMIO. So Yves-Louis, what's the background that led to the creation of the program?

Yves-Louis: "Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a pod coffee system, offering consumers the ability to prepare at home, all the beverages that are made in a regular coffee shop. The range includes espresso, americano, but also the latte macchiato, the cappuccino and chocolate and teas. You can even find, since a couple of years, all of Starbuck's iconic recipes in the portfolio.

"Nescafé Dolce Gusto is available now in 70 markets, mostly in retail channels for the machine, but also for the coffee pods. We also use our own DTC to sell pods and machines. The overall yearly turnover has exceeded more than 1 billion USD in the past year."

Joël: "We like to call ourselves billionaires!"

Yves-Louis: "We're already there, Joël!

"Nescafé Dolce Gusto is operated by each of our markets and the central function provides support for anything which is a common solution, process or capability. This is the case for the Nescafé Dolce Gusto digital ecosystem, which is made up of a direct to consumer, CRM, but also PREMIO, our loyalty scheme, all of which is operated above market."

(3:17) Joël, I'll bring you in here. What challenges has PREMIO been designed to solve?

Joël: "Well, like any brand sold in retail, our challenge is to have a direct engagement with our consumers. This direct engagement provides the ability to collect precious insights on our consumers, and also the ability to engage with them through our own channel in a relevant matter.

"One of the other big challenge we have is the pressure from compatible capsule solutions, and inflation on top, which has increased the need to maintain brand value perception to engage with consumers. So PREMIO, our loyalty scheme, has been designed to answer those challenges."

(4:07) PREMIO has been in play now for a number of years. So what have been the main stages of development since its launch? How has it adapted to meet those challenges and overcome the barriers to success?

Yves-Louis: "It has been a long journey, not an easy ride every day. To design, to build and also to roll out PREMIO across the world did not happen overnight. We invested upfront a firm enough time and effort to define the concept, but also to build a sustainable business case. Loyalty is not really a frequent practice in our industry, so it took time to get everyone on board and to be convinced about the concept. Then, in order to validate all of the business assumptions and to harness the concept, we worked with a pilot market over a period of two years.

"Following these two years, where we had good results, and for the past four years, we've focused on two folds. Number one was to roll out PREMIO to our top DTC markets. And now today we're covering more than 80% of our total revenue. The other fold is about fine tuning the value exchange. What is very important to find is the right balance between an appealing proposition for a consumer, but also for us to remain ROI positive. And this is where we are now."

(5:26) Dani, what role does Loylogic play in supporting this development?

Dani: "Well, as mentioned by Yves-Louis, a major focus in recent years has been on opening up new markets on various continents. And what I mean by launch is, of course, beyond the technical implementation. It's about acquiring members and driving engagement from the program registration, and the very first can onwards. This requires a lot of effort and provides a lot of learning opportunities for all involved parties, including us. Hence, our role is to support NDG in line with its strategy and focus, and while there will be additional market launches, the next one is just around the corner in May, the engagement and value for the brand will mostly come from existing markets and its millions of members. Hence our job is to evolve and support the mentioned initiatives from both the conceptual and executional perspective."

(6:20) Joël, bringing you in again here. What are the core pillars of success for the PREMIO program?

Joël: "The first pillar is the simplicity of the user experience. It is super user-friendly. So concretely, as a consumer, you just have to flash the code which is printed inside every box of Nescafé Dolce Gusto beverage, and each scan will increment your point balance. So you can redeem your points in a gift catalog. And with our latest coffee machine generation, NEO, earning points is even easier. Once you connect your machine to your Wi Fi points are automatically granted for every cup brewed. So no more QR codes to scan so it's even more user friendly.

"The second pillar for the success is the reward catalog itself. So not only we can select for each market, the relevant rewards for all type of points, but consumers can also select many types of appealing rewards like virtual gift cards, physical gifts, vouchers for our own web shop, and so on."

Yves-Louis: "I will add two further pillars. The third pillars is definitely the solution. So we went for a cloud solution that enables two benefits: the first one is easier to roll out than the other solutions that are hosted on premise, but also to get, with a quicker time to market, all the latest innovation from the cloud solution. And to conclude, the latest pillar is in the communication, which is key. One of the main success factors is the ability to be able to advertise on the back in order to reach our acquisition target."

(8:06) Taking that point to the next stage. You were quoted in a recent press release that Nescafé Dolce Gusto was able to establish a strong personalized intimacy with its customers through PREMIO. So can you elaborate on that further?

Yves-Louis: "Indeed, PREMIO is a goldmine of data points. Thanks to these small QR codes, we're able to track the consumption behavior at the consumer level. And with reach of this data, we can push to our consumers the right message at the right time. So any activities that could be scaled like the tech segmentation inside and communication concept, are now run above market. And these enable us to empower the market to be really spot on with the engagement with the consumer."

Joël: "And to be even closer to our consumers, each market can localize and fine tune the value proposition. So the cost per point the reward catalog are different per market. If you go and visit the reward shop in Korea, for example, and then you go to the French one, you will see that the catalog is adapted to the culture of the country. The marketing activation is also mainly local, each market can define how to activate the first party data collected through PREMIO."

(9:23) Okay, so it's all about engaging members in a personalized manner?

Joël: "Exactly using the data to engage with our consumers to spread the right message at the right time to the right people, which is the you know the basics of CRM."

(9:37) So Dani, it seems like a good place to bring you in here to talk more about the rewards catalogs and that personalization from a Loylogic perspective. So how does Loylogic work with PREMIO to source relevant rewards that work both internationally and locally?

Dani: "Yes, thanks for the question. We are often asked whether we can show THE Loylogic catalog. The answer always is that this just doesn't exist, because our job is to create an engaging rewards experience for the communities of our clients and all of our reward shops are curated for our clients. And in fact, we involve our clients in co-creating and providing a rewards briefing which includes potential categories or must have rewards, a wishlist of certain brands, do's and don'ts, in line with the brand and the program DNA.

"In the case of NDG, we collaborated closely with the global business unit and the pilot market, which was Spain back then in 2017/18. And we defined the categories which includes NDG rewards like vouchers that bring members back to the NDG web shop for their next coffee purchase. We defined music technology as a must have category. This includes earbuds and loudspeakers, electronical gadgets etc. We defined kitchen as a must have category because coffee is often produced and consumed in the kitchen, so we offer kitchen appliances and coffee mugs and these kind of things, as well as experiences which is a mix of international and local gift cards. Within these categories, we look for the right rewards that fit the community profile and the program economics.

"Now, you can imagine that the accrued points value in a coffee pod program is much lower compared to a frequent flyer program, and hence the price points of offered rewards need to be within members' reach. It's important that committed members are able to reward themselves within 30 to 90 days after registration, after starting engaging with the brand. And this requires reward offers at a few euro value or dollar value in this specific case. And on the other hand, we we need to ensure that the offers fit the brand DNA and positioning, which might be a stretch in some cases.

"And maybe another important topic is that, PREMIO is a global concept, but member behavior and needs vary slightly among European countries, and are quite different in markets in Latin America and Asia. And this requires a well-balanced approach to rewards that follows global brand principles, as Joël mentioned, but takes local needs into account. And this is important not only to gain the loyalty of the members in these markets, but also to maintain the commitment of all NDG markets. Within NDG we apply the Pareto rule wherever possible, whereby 80% of the catalogue is, let's say, globally defined, and the markets have a 20% of room to maneuver local needs into the equation. Hence PREMIO is therefore a uniform global concept which is nevertheless localized. I think that's a key success factor."

(12:55) Do seasonal promotions play a part in the rewards appeal too?

Dani: "Absolutely, I mean, redemption is a good thing right, as it is the ultimate proof of member engagement. And of course, to encourage such engagement over many years, it is crucial to run marketing campaigns, whether through the introduction of new rewards categories or reward items, seasonal campaigns such as Valentine's Day, or Black Friday, or run prize draws remember can win the  latest iPhones or an annual supply of NDG coffee capsules. So, we closely collaborate with the markets to provide an exciting marketing calendar in line with the local Nescafé Dolce Gusto marketing plan, you know, throughout the year."

(13:38) Okay, it's clear listening to you that data and analytics are important to the success of PREMIO and you seem to have a really clear picture of what's going on with the program across the numerous markets. So one question I would like to ask is, what criteria do you use when selecting which markets to roll PREMIO out to? Or indeed, stop? Joël, I'll let you answer that one.

Joël: "So we do indeed define two main sets of criteria to set up PREMIO but also to stop PREMIO. When setting up PREMIO in the market we take a fact-based approach by running a business case considering the consumer base by size, the cost to set up and operate the program and the rewards price range.

"Once we're live, we monitor on a monthly basis, the success of PREMIO, looking at the consumer base evolution, acquisition and churn rates. We also look at consumer reviews or we run surveys. When KPIs are not met, all mitigation plans are exhausted to sustain a positive return on investment, then we make the decision to stop PREMIO in the market. This happened. Thankfully, not so often. But we are able to monitor it in an accurate way and we can decide to stop it if necessary."

(14:58) What role does Loylogic play in supporting the data gathering and measurement?

Dani: "Loylogic's scope is related to the rewards experience. And we do complement the picture with redemption related data primarily? Such data contains typical ecommerce metrics such as how many members come to our reward store? How many use their points by placing orders? What's the average order value? What are the top performing rewards and so on? Markets can access reporting dashboards individually 24/7. And the data is also uploaded on a monthly basis in the NDG BI, which allows every stakeholder to have a complete picture of the metrics related to premium."

(15:40) Looking to the future, how do you see PREMIO developing further, given you've got all this data available to you? Yves-Louis, let's start with you.

Yves-Louis: "So we're working on three main streams and I will cover the first two. Number one, we want to complete the footprint, we still have a couple of big markets to launch as well as tackling the non DTC market. So this is really the number one challenge.

"The number two challenge or looking forward is to be able to target the low value user segment. Back to the famous equation of how to have something appealing, but ROI positive. So we're working on extending the reward catalog with smaller gifts like a retail coupon, or raffle ticket donation. The aim is also to bring more gamification into the program for the specific segment by allowing consumers to select instant win versus point collection."

Joël: "The last stream is more longer term, which is to search for partnerships with the help of Loylogic to work with other brands. This is also an option for us together where we are stronger. So this is something also that we're looking at more long term."

(17:00) So Dani, what are the key takeaways you can share from the success of PREMIO that other loyalty program managers should consider when looking at a global rewards program?

Dani: "I have four things in mind, which I would like to share.

"First of all, PREMIO is a true omni-channel concept. And this is very essential for consumer goods brands who generate 80% or more of its business via indirect retail and wholesale channels, which is probably the case in most instances. So direct access to retail shoppers is where the incremental value lies, and what really empowers the brand in a competitive environment.

"Secondly, scalability is a must for multinational and global brands. The scalable architecture as also mentioned, by Yves-Louis, via cloud solutions, and involving global partners, are the key elements here. Just to give you one interesting piece of information...in the case of PREMIO, the go to market is less than three months after a market has signed or approved its business case the green light is given to the involved parties. Less than three months, which is only possible due to, you know, a scalable ecosystem.

"Third, PREMIO is a truly global concept, which can be introduced to every NDG market. And there is still some white spots out there. But not only introducing this to these markets, but also with a very consistent user experience across the globe. The programs, of course, have local a local flavor, but it's Nescafé Dolce Gusto PREMIO across the globe.

"And finally, although being a global concept, it is crucial to ensure a certain degree of local flexibility, for example, with regards to offered rewards. A global rollout must always be supported by the markets, because they also finance these initiatives."

We look forward to welcoming you to Loylogic LIVE. Read on to find out more about our brand new digital event.

What is Loylogic LIVE?

Loylogic LIVE is a virtual event that showcases how Loylogic is enabling organizations to deliver successful loyalty and rewards programs. Through a series of short sessions, we’ll discuss how the latest loyalty innovations and Loylogic’s Brands2Communities strategy are enabling global brands to engage with customers and build the new era of loyalty. You can register for the event here: Loylogic LIVE Registration.

When is Loylogic LIVE?

Loylogic LIVE takes place online on 8 May, 2024. The first session commences at 10.30am (UTC+2).

What sessions will be taking place at Loylogic LIVE?

We have a mix of sessions covering the current trends in loyalty, as well as drilling down into the specific challenges facing specific sectors. The full programme is as follows (please note all timings are Central European Summer Time):

10:30 – 10:55: Brands2Communities: The New Era of Loyalty
In this opening keynote, we take a look at the macro trends influencing customer loyalty and delve into how Loylogic's Brands2Communities approach is delivering a new era for rewards-based engagement.
Speaker: Gabi Kool, CEO, Loylogic

11:00 – 11:20: Transitioning to Community-Driven Engagement
Join us as we explore the shift from traditional loyalty models to dynamic, community-centric engagement strategies is transforming how brands connect with customers.
Speaker: Robert Clements, Loylogic

11:30 – 11:50: Creating incremental value by marketing your community
In this session we delve into the world of FMCG loyalty programs and how to drive incremental value, using Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s supremely successful multi-market Premio Loyalty scheme as an example.
Speaker: Joël Muller, Nescafé Dolce Gusto PREMIO & Dani Schmidt, Loylogic

12:00 – 12:20: The Best Bank Loyalty: Right Rewards, Right Time, Right Communities
Great loyalty engagement is underpinned by offering relevant, motivational rewards, connecting the right brands to the right communities at the right time. In this session, Dr. Nceba Hene, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at African Bank, and Loylogic’s Badr Zerradi, discuss why rewards redemption is so important to bank loyalty programme success, sharing examples from the highly successful Audacious Rewards initiative.
Speakers: Dr. Nceba Hene, African Bank & Badr Zerradi, Loylogic

12:30 – 12:50: Ultimate: Motivating employees and partners through inspirational brands
This session will introduce Loylogic's solution to employee and partner motivation and explore how we use the inspirational characteristics of brands to motivate members.
Speaker: Samir Skif, Loylogic

13:00 – 13:20: The Power of Marketplace: Leveraging Brands2Communities to Incentivize Engagement
Join us as we delve into the strategy of using incentives to enhance consumer engagement and foster enduring loyalty and take a look at how Loylogic’s world-leading incentives marketplace brings consumers the power of choice, while optimizing incentive costs for programs.
Speaker: Ahmad Oneissi & Emma Shakespeare, Loylogic

How do I register?

Registering for Loylogic LIVE is easy. Simply click on this link to be taken to the registration form. Once registered you’ll receive a unique login that can be used on the day.

What if I can’t make it on the day?

If you can’t make it on 8 May, register using this link and we will share recordings of the sessions that can be viewed at your convenience.

Can I just join specific sessions?

Definitely! Register using the link above and on the day of Loylogic LIVE you will be able to join just the sessions relevant to you.

We look forward to welcoming you to Loylogic LIVE. Read on to find out more about our brand new online event.

What is Loylogic LIVE?

Loylogic LIVE is a virtual event that showcases how Loylogic is enabling organizations to deliver successful loyalty and rewards programs. Through a series of short sessions, we’ll discuss how the latest loyalty innovations and Loylogic’s Brands2Communities strategy are enabling global brands to engage with customers and build the new era of loyalty. You can register for the event here: Loylogic LIVE Registration.

When is Loylogic LIVE?

Loylogic LIVE takes place online on 8 May, 2024. The first session commences at 10.30am (UTC+2).

What sessions will be taking place at Loylogic LIVE?

We have a mix of sessions covering the current trends in loyalty, as well as drilling down into the specific challenges facing specific sectors. The full programme is as follows (please note all timings are Central European Summer Time):

10:30 – 10:55: Brands2Communities: The New Era of Loyalty
In this opening keynote, we take a look at the macro trends influencing customer loyalty and delve into how Loylogic's Brands2Communities approach is delivering a new era for rewards-based engagement.
Speaker: Gabi Kool, CEO, Loylogic

11:00 – 11:20: Transitioning to Community-Driven Engagement
Join us as we explore the shift from traditional loyalty models to dynamic, community-centric engagement strategies is transforming how brands connect with customers.
Speaker: Robert Clements, Loylogic

11:30 – 11:50: Creating incremental value by marketing your community
In this session we delve into the world of FMCG loyalty programs and how to drive incremental value, using Nescafé Dolce Gusto’s supremely successful multi-market Premio Loyalty scheme as an example.
Speaker: Joël Muller, Nescafé Dolce Gusto PREMIO & Dani Schmidt, Loylogic

12:00 – 12:20: The Best Bank Loyalty: Right Rewards, Right Time, Right Communities
Great loyalty engagement is underpinned by offering relevant, motivational rewards, connecting the right brands to the right communities at the right time. In this session, Dr. Nceba Hene, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at African Bank, and Loylogic’s Badr Zerradi, discuss why rewards redemption is so important to bank loyalty programme success, sharing examples from the highly successful Audacious Rewards initiative.
Speakers: Dr. Nceba Hene, African Bank & Badr Zerradi, Loylogic

12:30 – 12:50: Ultimate: Motivating employees and partners through inspirational brands
This session will introduce Loylogic's solution to employee and partner motivation and explore how we use the inspirational characteristics of brands to motivate members.
Speaker: Samir Skif, Loylogic

13:00 – 13:20: The Power of Marketplace: Leveraging Brands2Communities to Incentivize Engagement
Join us as we delve into the strategy of using incentives to enhance consumer engagement and foster enduring loyalty and take a look at how Loylogic’s world-leading incentives marketplace brings consumers the power of choice, while optimizing incentive costs for programs.
Speaker: Ahmad Oneissi & Emma Shakespeare, Loylogic

13:20 – 13:30: Key takeaways
Join Loylogic's CEO, Gabi Kool, as he wraps up Loylogic LIVE with his key takeaways from the day's sessions.
Speaker: Gabi Kool, Loylogic

How do I register?

Registering for Loylogic LIVE is easy. Simply click on this link to be taken to the registration form. Once registered you’ll receive a unique login that can be used on the day.

What if I can’t make it on the day?

If you can’t make it on 8 May, register using this link and we will share recordings of the sessions that can be viewed at your convenience.

Can I just join specific sessions?

Definitely! Register using the link above and on the day of Loylogic LIVE you will be able to join just the sessions relevant to you.

In this episode of the Loylogic Podcast, we welcome Vicky Elliot, an independent consultant specializing in travel and hospitality loyalty, to talk about the trends, challenges and strategies for success that all hotel loyalty program leaders need to know.

Together, we discuss:

The evolution of loyalty programs in the hotel industry:

- How loyalty programs have evolved
- The catalysts behind developments
- How hotels are measuring success from their loyalty programs

The challenges and barriers to success:

- Challenges hotels face today in recognizing and rewarding members of their loyalty programs?
- The discussion around sustainability across hotel and the wider travel sector
- Solutions that exist to overcome the challenges and roadblocks

The future of loyalty in the hospitality industry:

- The new trends that Vicky sees being tried and tested in the hospitality loyalty space
- How loyalty programs can leverage data analytics and customer insights to offer more personalized experiences and rewards
- How program leaders should go about selecting which one to partner with?
- Advice to a hotel company either wanting to launch a loyalty program or review their existing loyalty proposition

A must listen for anybody involved with travel and hospitality loyalty, listen here, or read the transcript below.

(1:30) You've been a leader in loyalty marketing and CRM in the hospitality sector for many years now. So how has the hotel loyalty program evolved during this time?

"Yes, probably more years than I care to remember! The hotel loyalty space, if I'm not mistaken, is about 30 years old now. I think Marriott or Holiday Inn were the forerunners of hospitality loyalty and it was very much the collect points for free nights type of program. And then obviously, a lot of the bigger chains jumped on board in the following years and hotel programs became very much a conduit into the airline programs, which were already more established and already much bigger. Through partnerships they fed into the airline travel programs. That then led on to partnerships with financial institutions, especially the likes of American Express.

"Today, the hotel programs are very much essential programs in their own right. Marriott now has nearly 200 million members, over 30 brands, nearly 9,000 hotels worldwide. Hilton is not far behind with 173 million members. And then now you've got alliances such as the Global Hotel Alliance, which is bringing together some of those smaller to medium sized hotel chains. I think they have now 40 brands and over 800 Hotels within their alliance and all joined through a loyalty program. So, co-brand credit cards, partner networks, sponsorship of major events, celebrity endorsement...these aren't just linked to the big retail brands anymore, you see a lot of loyalty programs out there sponsoring, whether it's global football tournaments, tennis, cricket, motor racing, etc.

"Loyalty programs within the hotel industry and moving more away from the points for free nights model, to really becoming a self service experience for the member throughout their hotel stay, whether that's giving them access to things like online checking, keyless door entry, preferred room choice, and even room settings before they arrive, as well as more the transactional benefits. Still collecting points but being able to redeem them for a plethora of other rewards, whether it's in hotel or through partnerships that they have."

(3:56) What has been the catalyst for this change? Why are these big hotel chains looking at the wider experience rather than just points for nights?

"I think a lot has been brought about through industry consolidation. Really the only competitive advantage now is the experience that you can give to your members and to your guests. It's very easy for competitor hotel chains to copy awarding points or a particular in hotels say benefit. But what resonates with the customer, what resonates with the guests and therefore your key differentiator is how you make them feel when they're staying with you. So really through the customer demand and customer expectation and moving away from that transactional to the emotional loyalty. Guests expect to be known. They expected to be recognized. They think they've told you their preferences once, so they don't want to have to repeat themselves. Loyalty is about bringing in this much more one-on-one emotional loyalty that has been the catalyst."

(5:14) That's a nice little segue into the next question, which is how are hotels measuring success from a loyalty program? How do they know that they're delivering the best experience?

"I think obviously they still have the usual loyalty measures of healthy program redemption rates, breakage, number of active members. In the hotel industry, we've obviously focused a lot on the impact on business. So, retention rates, customer lifetime value, and then looking at the average spend of a member versus a non-member during their stay throughout the year. And looking at that recency, frequency, monetary value. We're now also pulling in customer satisfaction scores, customer effort scores, net promoter scores, and how your relationship with that customer influences other people to come and stay at your property as well."

(6:06) There's a lot to think about for these hotel chains now, in terms of their loyalty program. So therefore, there must be lots of challenges and barriers to success. From your perspective, what challenges are hotels facing today in recognizing and rewarding members of their programs?

"I think there are two big challenges. I think one is making sure that colleagues and employees in the hotel chains on the ground are familiar with, educated with, and involved with the hotel loyalty program, so that they don't see it as just something they've got to do, but understand the reasoning, why they have the program, and what those benefits are and what the members' expectations are, and being able to deliver that consistently at a hotel level. There's quite a lot of staff turnover, whether it's front desk, in restaurants, etc. So, it's really that employee engagement, I think that's going to become increasingly important. And looking at employee loyalty is almost as important as looking at the customer loyalty as well.

"And then secondly, data. There's a lot of siloed, disconnected systems within the hotel industry, whether it's from the reservation platforms to their point-of-sale terminals and restaurants, Spa and fitness, to the property management systems, table reservation systems, their CRM, their revenue management... There are so many different locations where data is stored, not necessarily in a consistent manner. They've all evolved over time, but the data hasn't really been brought together. So, I think a major challenge is being able to pull that data together in a manner that's GDPR compliant, that captures member consent and preferences, but then is also being processed in a way that empowers and enables hotels to be able to reward and recognize their guests on an ongoing basis.

"So, I think those two areas are the main challenges for hotel chains today, whether they're small, individual properties, or the I imagine those challenges are even bigger for some of the mega chains out there."

(8:24) So how do we overcome those challenges? What solutions are out there to help loyalty programs?

"I think there's a lot more now in the employee loyalty space, whether that's connecting with learning management systems. And often this is something overlooked from a loyalty program perspective, there's a lot to focus on delivering service in the hotels, but maybe not so much on educating around the loyalty program, etc. I know the big chains definitely have that, but some of those smaller chains, not necessarily so. Then, hotels need to have a reward mechanism that incentivizes colleagues to engage with the hotel loyalty programs as well.

"From a data perspective, there is a lot of middleware out there. There are quite a few companies that specialize now in taking your data and delivering it to your front of house employees. So, they're able to take action on it as well. So, it's out there. It's just being able to choose which one's the right fit for you and fits the gaps within your customer journey that are currently maybe pain points are somewhat disconnected."

(9:34) On that, what questions should a loyalty program leader manager be asking to ensure they get the right software?

"I think they start with their customer journey. At the end of the day, technology is an enabler, it shouldn't be the solution. So, looking at your customer journey from the time that they even start to think about booking a holiday, when they haven't necessarily chosen your chain, all the way through to once they've left and the reminiscing and that whole customer cycle. It's looking at how you interact, where you interact, what platforms you've got, what data you have. And then again, going back to that customer effort measurement, what effort is it for a customer to engage with you across all of those different touch points within the customer journey? And then from that, you're able to identify where your gaps are, where your pain points are for your customers. And from there, you can look at what technology solutions will help you bring that together, whether that's complementing what you already have within your tech stack, or whether it's replacing what you have out there."

(10:38) Before we move on to discuss the future of loyalty, going off on a bit of a tangent here, but I would quickly like to talk about sustainability, which is a topic that I know is close to your heart, and is a topic that that's impacting the wider travel sector at the moment. Is sustainability becoming an important element of hotel loyalty programs? And if so, how are hotels incorporating these aspects to engage customers?

"Yes, it is becoming an increasingly important element into drivers of consideration for a traveler when they're booking their hotel stays, their airline, whether it's with a travel agent, or directly, it's becoming much more of a consideration as to which hotel brand they're going to choose. How is that being incorporated into loyalty programs? To be honest, the answer is not very well.

"The hotel industry overall, is taking amazing steps in addressing sustainability measures, protecting natural environment, promoting societal wellbeing, whether that's through eco-friendly products, waste minimization solutions, energy saving technologies, environmentally-friendly guest services, bike rental, those little notes that you get on your beds to remind you not to use the towels, or change the towels every day, locally sourced food products, even being able to track the food through the process within the hotel to minimize waste there. And then also supporting local communities through food banks or charitable initiatives. And then on the social responsibility side through the hiring and ensuring equality within the hotel teams.

"The World Travel and Tourism Council has come up with 12 basic criteria for the hotel industry based on three core pillars of efficiency, planet, and people. Hotels are starting to share those on social channels. They're starting, they're obtaining certification from distribution channels, but it hasn't really filtered down as much into loyalty programs yet. You see some brands incorporating the ability to donate points to charitable organizations, or to participate in experiences, it could be things from tree planting, or whatever. But there's nothing that really matches what they're doing at a higher level at a more substantial level. And this could ultimately be rewarding guests for eco-friendly choices during their stay.

"I think you know, green loyalty programs do attract the environmentally conscious traveler who seek to have the hotel experiences align with their values that they have. But the ability to do this hasn't really evolved as much. But these initiatives and once a hotel company understands how they can track trace and reward what a guest will do on property, then they could definitely foster that emotional connection with guests and encourage them to return and recommend the hotel to others as well."

(13:47) That sounds like an important part of a future loyalty strategy for hotels there, which moves us very nicely on to the future of loyalty in the hospitality industry. With that in mind, what are some of the new trends you see being tried and tested in the space?

"There's a lot around AI at the moment. Whether that's from chat bots helping you book your hotel stay online, you maybe get stuck with something and the Chatbot pops in and says how can I help you, then connects you to a real live person if the if the bot can't answer, to answering simple questions, being able to connect through chats to order your room service or a cocktail on the beach, there's a lot of AI driving efficiencies and improving the guest experience on property or when they're booking. I think these will only continue to improve.

"From a loyalty program perspective, there's huge potential in card linking products when you're talking about having your loyalty program not only during your hotel stay but meaning something to you or being incorporated into your life when you're back at home, whether that's being able to redeem points for merchandise that you use every day for gifting, being able to collect points whilst you're shopping or in your day to day activities. So being able to connect that value proposition to outside of the of your hotel stay."

(15:17) Does that mean hotels need to work with loyalty platforms that have a really wide rewards marketplace and can drive to connect brands to communities? Is that where the future is do you think?

"Definitely, that's a component of it? Absolutely. So Being able to reward members outside of their own ecosystem, and employees as well, I think such platforms or play will be very important to employee loyalty and driving that employee space who don't necessarily want to or have the means to go and dine or stay at the hotel properties, but want to be able to choose some sort of reward that's relevant to them. So yes, definitely.

"I also think that just understanding how and why a customer wants to engage with you, or engage with other travel partners, and who those travel partners are through the enhanced data analytics and customer insights that will help drive those personalized experiences, that emotional connection. You want members to think, okay, these people really get me they really know me, they're going to make my travel experience seamless, so I can get make the most out of my time, whilst I'm in my destination."

(16:26) We've touched on this already, but there's a huge choice of platform providers and technology out there vying for business. Is there anything else you would like to add on that topic in terms of selecting which one to partner with?

"As I said before, I think it's very much linked to the customer journey and where your gaps are. But then also, the hospitality industry is quite unique in the way its tech stacks are structured, and how everybody interacts very differently with the technology. So having a partner that potentially has that experience already with the hospitality industry, or at least within the travel industry and understands what you're trying to achieve, and is aligned with you and understand your vision, then I think that's important, too."

(17:14) Bringing all of the different strands we've talked about together, what would your advice be to a hotel company who either wants to launch a loyalty program or who wants to review their existing proposition?

"I think there's a lot of hotel companies, not only hotel companies, but a lot of businesses that go out there today saying, "I need to get my I need to understand my customers better I need to get customer data, I need to have a loyalty program to do that". Okay, there's a couple of objectives in there, but it's maybe not the best way to start. I think understanding what type of behavior you're looking to drive. What loyalty actually means to you as a business, you know, is it repeat stays, is it increased wallet value? Is it multiple stays across multiple destinations? Is it advocacy? It could be a combination of all of these things, but very clearly setting out your objectives that are very much aligned with your vision of your company and what your company stands for and what its purpose is, remains vital. Start from the top work your way down.

"And as I said before, the technology part is really an enabler to all of that, rather than the solution. So, work on your strategy, work on your objectives. And from there, look at what your customers want from you what they're expecting from you speak to your customers, understand what they value, what drives consideration when they're going to book with you, how they like to be treated on property, and start there, rather than starting with a solution of I need a loyalty program and I need to tech solution to do that.

"I think spending more time on that whole discovery and design phase is really important, rather than jumping straight to delivery."

In this episode of the Loylogic Podcast, we welcome Vicky Elliot, an independent consultant specializing in travel and hospitality loyalty, to talk about the trends, challenges and strategies for success that all hotel loyalty program leaders need to know.

Together, we discuss:

The evolution of loyalty programs in the hotel industry:

- How loyalty programs have evolved
- The catalysts behind developments
- How hotels are measuring success from their loyalty programs

The challenges and barriers to success:

- Challenges hotels face today in recognizing and rewarding members of their loyalty programs?
- The discussion around sustainability across hotel and the wider travel sector
- Solutions that exist to overcome the challenges and roadblocks

The future of loyalty in the hospitality industry:

- The new trends that Vicky sees being tried and tested in the hospitality loyalty space
- How loyalty programs can leverage data analytics and customer insights to offer more personalized experiences and rewards
- How program leaders should go about selecting which one to partner with?
- Advice to a hotel company either wanting to launch a loyalty program or review their existing loyalty proposition

A must listen for anybody involved with travel and hospitality loyalty, listen here, or read the transcript below.

(1:30) You've been a leader in loyalty marketing and CRM in the hospitality sector for many years now. So how has the hotel loyalty program evolved during this time?

"Yes, probably more years than I care to remember! The hotel loyalty space, if I'm not mistaken, is about 30 years old now. I think Marriott or Holiday Inn were the forerunners of hospitality loyalty and it was very much the collect points for free nights type of program. And then obviously, a lot of the bigger chains jumped on board in the following years and hotel programs became very much a conduit into the airline programs, which were already more established and already much bigger. Through partnerships they fed into the airline travel programs. That then led on to partnerships with financial institutions, especially the likes of American Express.

"Today, the hotel programs are very much essential programs in their own right. Marriott now has nearly 200 million members, over 30 brands, nearly 9,000 hotels worldwide. Hilton is not far behind with 173 million members. And then now you've got alliances such as the Global Hotel Alliance, which is bringing together some of those smaller to medium sized hotel chains. I think they have now 40 brands and over 800 Hotels within their alliance and all joined through a loyalty program. So, co-brand credit cards, partner networks, sponsorship of major events, celebrity endorsement...these aren't just linked to the big retail brands anymore, you see a lot of loyalty programs out there sponsoring, whether it's global football tournaments, tennis, cricket, motor racing, etc.

"Loyalty programs within the hotel industry and moving more away from the points for free nights model, to really becoming a self service experience for the member throughout their hotel stay, whether that's giving them access to things like online checking, keyless door entry, preferred room choice, and even room settings before they arrive, as well as more the transactional benefits. Still collecting points but being able to redeem them for a plethora of other rewards, whether it's in hotel or through partnerships that they have."

(3:56) What has been the catalyst for this change? Why are these big hotel chains looking at the wider experience rather than just points for nights?

"I think a lot has been brought about through industry consolidation. Really the only competitive advantage now is the experience that you can give to your members and to your guests. It's very easy for competitor hotel chains to copy awarding points or a particular in hotels say benefit. But what resonates with the customer, what resonates with the guests and therefore your key differentiator is how you make them feel when they're staying with you. So really through the customer demand and customer expectation and moving away from that transactional to the emotional loyalty. Guests expect to be known. They expected to be recognized. They think they've told you their preferences once, so they don't want to have to repeat themselves. Loyalty is about bringing in this much more one-on-one emotional loyalty that has been the catalyst."

(5:14) That's a nice little segue into the next question, which is how are hotels measuring success from a loyalty program? How do they know that they're delivering the best experience?

"I think obviously they still have the usual loyalty measures of healthy program redemption rates, breakage, number of active members. In the hotel industry, we've obviously focused a lot on the impact on business. So, retention rates, customer lifetime value, and then looking at the average spend of a member versus a non-member during their stay throughout the year. And looking at that recency, frequency, monetary value. We're now also pulling in customer satisfaction scores, customer effort scores, net promoter scores, and how your relationship with that customer influences other people to come and stay at your property as well."

(6:06) There's a lot to think about for these hotel chains now, in terms of their loyalty program. So therefore, there must be lots of challenges and barriers to success. From your perspective, what challenges are hotels facing today in recognizing and rewarding members of their programs?

"I think there are two big challenges. I think one is making sure that colleagues and employees in the hotel chains on the ground are familiar with, educated with, and involved with the hotel loyalty program, so that they don't see it as just something they've got to do, but understand the reasoning, why they have the program, and what those benefits are and what the members' expectations are, and being able to deliver that consistently at a hotel level. There's quite a lot of staff turnover, whether it's front desk, in restaurants, etc. So, it's really that employee engagement, I think that's going to become increasingly important. And looking at employee loyalty is almost as important as looking at the customer loyalty as well.

"And then secondly, data. There's a lot of siloed, disconnected systems within the hotel industry, whether it's from the reservation platforms to their point-of-sale terminals and restaurants, Spa and fitness, to the property management systems, table reservation systems, their CRM, their revenue management... There are so many different locations where data is stored, not necessarily in a consistent manner. They've all evolved over time, but the data hasn't really been brought together. So, I think a major challenge is being able to pull that data together in a manner that's GDPR compliant, that captures member consent and preferences, but then is also being processed in a way that empowers and enables hotels to be able to reward and recognize their guests on an ongoing basis.

"So, I think those two areas are the main challenges for hotel chains today, whether they're small, individual properties, or the I imagine those challenges are even bigger for some of the mega chains out there."

(8:24) So how do we overcome those challenges? What solutions are out there to help loyalty programs?

"I think there's a lot more now in the employee loyalty space, whether that's connecting with learning management systems. And often this is something overlooked from a loyalty program perspective, there's a lot to focus on delivering service in the hotels, but maybe not so much on educating around the loyalty program, etc. I know the big chains definitely have that, but some of those smaller chains, not necessarily so. Then, hotels need to have a reward mechanism that incentivizes colleagues to engage with the hotel loyalty programs as well.

"From a data perspective, there is a lot of middleware out there. There are quite a few companies that specialize now in taking your data and delivering it to your front of house employees. So, they're able to take action on it as well. So, it's out there. It's just being able to choose which one's the right fit for you and fits the gaps within your customer journey that are currently maybe pain points are somewhat disconnected."

(9:34) On that, what questions should a loyalty program leader manager be asking to ensure they get the right software?

"I think they start with their customer journey. At the end of the day, technology is an enabler, it shouldn't be the solution. So, looking at your customer journey from the time that they even start to think about booking a holiday, when they haven't necessarily chosen your chain, all the way through to once they've left and the reminiscing and that whole customer cycle. It's looking at how you interact, where you interact, what platforms you've got, what data you have. And then again, going back to that customer effort measurement, what effort is it for a customer to engage with you across all of those different touch points within the customer journey? And then from that, you're able to identify where your gaps are, where your pain points are for your customers. And from there, you can look at what technology solutions will help you bring that together, whether that's complementing what you already have within your tech stack, or whether it's replacing what you have out there."

(10:38) Before we move on to discuss the future of loyalty, going off on a bit of a tangent here, but I would quickly like to talk about sustainability, which is a topic that I know is close to your heart, and is a topic that that's impacting the wider travel sector at the moment. Is sustainability becoming an important element of hotel loyalty programs? And if so, how are hotels incorporating these aspects to engage customers?

"Yes, it is becoming an increasingly important element into drivers of consideration for a traveler when they're booking their hotel stays, their airline, whether it's with a travel agent, or directly, it's becoming much more of a consideration as to which hotel brand they're going to choose. How is that being incorporated into loyalty programs? To be honest, the answer is not very well.

"The hotel industry overall, is taking amazing steps in addressing sustainability measures, protecting natural environment, promoting societal wellbeing, whether that's through eco-friendly products, waste minimization solutions, energy saving technologies, environmentally-friendly guest services, bike rental, those little notes that you get on your beds to remind you not to use the towels, or change the towels every day, locally sourced food products, even being able to track the food through the process within the hotel to minimize waste there. And then also supporting local communities through food banks or charitable initiatives. And then on the social responsibility side through the hiring and ensuring equality within the hotel teams.

"The World Travel and Tourism Council has come up with 12 basic criteria for the hotel industry based on three core pillars of efficiency, planet, and people. Hotels are starting to share those on social channels. They're starting, they're obtaining certification from distribution channels, but it hasn't really filtered down as much into loyalty programs yet. You see some brands incorporating the ability to donate points to charitable organizations, or to participate in experiences, it could be things from tree planting, or whatever. But there's nothing that really matches what they're doing at a higher level at a more substantial level. And this could ultimately be rewarding guests for eco-friendly choices during their stay.

"I think you know, green loyalty programs do attract the environmentally conscious traveler who seek to have the hotel experiences align with their values that they have. But the ability to do this hasn't really evolved as much. But these initiatives and once a hotel company understands how they can track trace and reward what a guest will do on property, then they could definitely foster that emotional connection with guests and encourage them to return and recommend the hotel to others as well."

(13:47) That sounds like an important part of a future loyalty strategy for hotels there, which moves us very nicely on to the future of loyalty in the hospitality industry. With that in mind, what are some of the new trends you see being tried and tested in the space?

"There's a lot around AI at the moment. Whether that's from chat bots helping you book your hotel stay online, you maybe get stuck with something and the Chatbot pops in and says how can I help you, then connects you to a real live person if the if the bot can't answer, to answering simple questions, being able to connect through chats to order your room service or a cocktail on the beach, there's a lot of AI driving efficiencies and improving the guest experience on property or when they're booking. I think these will only continue to improve.

"From a loyalty program perspective, there's huge potential in card linking products when you're talking about having your loyalty program not only during your hotel stay but meaning something to you or being incorporated into your life when you're back at home, whether that's being able to redeem points for merchandise that you use every day for gifting, being able to collect points whilst you're shopping or in your day to day activities. So being able to connect that value proposition to outside of the of your hotel stay."

(15:17) Does that mean hotels need to work with loyalty platforms that have a really wide rewards marketplace and can drive to connect brands to communities? Is that where the future is do you think?

"Definitely, that's a component of it? Absolutely. So Being able to reward members outside of their own ecosystem, and employees as well, I think such platforms or play will be very important to employee loyalty and driving that employee space who don't necessarily want to or have the means to go and dine or stay at the hotel properties, but want to be able to choose some sort of reward that's relevant to them. So yes, definitely.

"I also think that just understanding how and why a customer wants to engage with you, or engage with other travel partners, and who those travel partners are through the enhanced data analytics and customer insights that will help drive those personalized experiences, that emotional connection. You want members to think, okay, these people really get me they really know me, they're going to make my travel experience seamless, so I can get make the most out of my time, whilst I'm in my destination."

(16:26) We've touched on this already, but there's a huge choice of platform providers and technology out there vying for business. Is there anything else you would like to add on that topic in terms of selecting which one to partner with?

"As I said before, I think it's very much linked to the customer journey and where your gaps are. But then also, the hospitality industry is quite unique in the way its tech stacks are structured, and how everybody interacts very differently with the technology. So having a partner that potentially has that experience already with the hospitality industry, or at least within the travel industry and understands what you're trying to achieve, and is aligned with you and understand your vision, then I think that's important, too."

(17:14) Bringing all of the different strands we've talked about together, what would your advice be to a hotel company who either wants to launch a loyalty program or who wants to review their existing proposition?

"I think there's a lot of hotel companies, not only hotel companies, but a lot of businesses that go out there today saying, "I need to get my I need to understand my customers better I need to get customer data, I need to have a loyalty program to do that". Okay, there's a couple of objectives in there, but it's maybe not the best way to start. I think understanding what type of behavior you're looking to drive. What loyalty actually means to you as a business, you know, is it repeat stays, is it increased wallet value? Is it multiple stays across multiple destinations? Is it advocacy? It could be a combination of all of these things, but very clearly setting out your objectives that are very much aligned with your vision of your company and what your company stands for and what its purpose is, remains vital. Start from the top work your way down.

"And as I said before, the technology part is really an enabler to all of that, rather than the solution. So, work on your strategy, work on your objectives. And from there, look at what your customers want from you what they're expecting from you speak to your customers, understand what they value, what drives consideration when they're going to book with you, how they like to be treated on property, and start there, rather than starting with a solution of I need a loyalty program and I need to tech solution to do that.

"I think spending more time on that whole discovery and design phase is really important, rather than jumping straight to delivery."

Loylogic, a global leader in loyalty and rewards engagement, has appointed Amit Bendre as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

With a remarkable 13-year tenure at Loylogic, Amit has showcased exceptional leadership in pivotal domains such as product management, project management, technology, and operations. His extensive experience uniquely positions him to drive operational efficiency and maintain high client service standards as COO.

Amit's strategic vision aims to streamline operations and optimize efficiency across Loylogic's spectrum. By leveraging talent, refining processes, and embracing automation, he is poised to spearhead Loylogic's ambitious Brands2Communities growth strategy. This strategy seeks to foster direct relationships between 1,000 brands and over 100 million loyalty program members, driving significant revenues for partner brands.

Expressing his enthusiasm for the role, Amit said: "Serving as COO at Loylogic represents the culmination of my professional journey. I am dedicated to leveraging my insights and industry knowledge to cultivate an operationally superior organization known for its innovation, efficiency, and client satisfaction.

"In my capacity as COO, my primary focus is to harmonize teams and optimize the delivery of Loylogic's groundbreaking solutions. Central to our transformation is the adoption of process-driven methodologies, empowering teams with shared expertise and decentralized knowledge."

Gabi Kool, CEO of Loylogic, commended Amit's appointment, highlighting his pivotal role in shaping Loylogic's flagship solutions and his esteemed reputation among clients and colleagues.

"Loylogic remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering unparalleled solutions in the loyalty and rewards domain. Amit's expertise in technology, product development, and operations will fortify our position as industry leaders, driving innovation and excellence."

Loylogic, a global leader in loyalty and rewards engagement, has appointed Amit Bendre as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

With a remarkable 13-year tenure at Loylogic, Amit has showcased exceptional leadership in pivotal domains such as product management, project management, technology, and operations. His extensive experience uniquely positions him to drive operational efficiency and maintain high client service standards as COO.

Amit's strategic vision aims to streamline operations and optimize efficiency across Loylogic's spectrum. By leveraging talent, refining processes, and embracing automation, he is poised to spearhead Loylogic's ambitious Brands2Communities growth strategy. This strategy seeks to foster direct relationships between 1,000 brands and over 100 million loyalty program members, driving significant revenues for partner brands.

Expressing his enthusiasm for the role, Amit said: "Serving as COO at Loylogic represents the culmination of my professional journey. I am dedicated to leveraging my insights and industry knowledge to cultivate an operationally superior organization known for its innovation, efficiency, and client satisfaction.

"In my capacity as COO, my primary focus is to harmonize teams and optimize the delivery of Loylogic's groundbreaking solutions. Central to our transformation is the adoption of process-driven methodologies, empowering teams with shared expertise and decentralized knowledge."

Gabi Kool, CEO of Loylogic, commended Amit's appointment, highlighting his pivotal role in shaping Loylogic's flagship solutions and his esteemed reputation among clients and colleagues.

"Loylogic remains steadfast in its commitment to delivering unparalleled solutions in the loyalty and rewards domain. Amit's expertise in technology, product development, and operations will fortify our position as industry leaders, driving innovation and excellence."

The latest episode of the Loylogic Group Podcast brings together two experts to delve into the evolving landscape of airline and hotel loyalty programs.

The latest episode of the Loylogic Group Podcast brings together two experts to delve into the evolving landscape of airline and hotel loyalty programs.

Irish Life and Loylogic have agreed a multi-year extension to their partnership that will see the two organizations further develop the successful MyLife health and wellbeing program.

Irish Life and Loylogic have agreed a multi-year extension to their partnership that will see the two organizations further develop the successful MyLife health and wellbeing program.

Loylogic, the global loyalty and rewards engagement specialist, has appointed Samir Skif as the Head of Ultimate, its all new motivational rewards and recognition currency.

Loylogic, the global loyalty and rewards engagement specialist, has appointed Samir Skif as the Head of Ultimate, its all new motivational rewards and recognition currency.

Nescafé Dolce Gusto multi-beverage system and Loylogic, the global loyalty and rewards engagement technology specialist, have extended their collaboration on the successful PREMIO loyalty program for a further five years.

Nescafé Dolce Gusto multi-beverage system and Loylogic, the global loyalty and rewards engagement technology specialist, have extended their collaboration on the successful PREMIO loyalty program for a further five years.

Loylogic, the global loyalty and rewards engagement technology specialist, has appointed Emma Shakespeare as Head of Global Sales.

In her role, Emma will be responsible for driving Loylogic’s ambitious ‘Brands2Communities’ growth strategy, which aims to build direct relationships between 1,000 brands and at least 100 million loyalty and rewards program members, driving significant revenues to these brands. Emma will focus on driving strategic and structural change, building internal processes within Loylogic that allow the business to scale up its customer facing teams and significantly increase the number of collaboration opportunities with loyalty partners.

Over the last 16 years, Emma has held various senior sales roles across a range of technology focused organizations, including SAP and SAS, not only delivering sales growth but turning customers into advocates of the brands. This extensive enterprise sales leadership experience will enable Emma to nurture existing customers and identify new business channels in order for more companies to benefit from Loylogic’s expertise.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be joining Loylogic as the business embarks on a new phase in its growth,” said Emma. “Our clear strategy that focuses on connecting Brands2Communities provides us with a compelling value proposition into our key verticals of FMCG, travel and hospitality, and finance. The organizations I’ve worked for have enjoyed exponential growth and I’ll be bringing know how from my time at those to scale and build out a sales culture with processes that fully support the customer journey.”

Gabi Kool, CEO of Loylogic, added: “We’re thrilled to bring Emma on board at such a pivotal time in Loylogic’s journey. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role and will play a key part in delivering on our ambitious growth strategy, as we continue to enhance our offer to the market.

“We continue to invest in adding new brands and categories to our portfolio, while also building direct brand relationships with the biggest, most desirable brands in the world. This is enabling us to deliver the reward shops of the future and introduce a branded shop-in-shop concept that will help both brands and loyalty programs build revenue and stand out from their competition. To have Emma on board at this time, to help as many organizations as possible benefit from our solutions, is truly exciting.”

To talk to Emma about how your organization can benefit from Loylogic's solutions, contact us by clicking here.

Loylogic, the global loyalty and rewards engagement technology specialist, has appointed Emma Shakespeare as Head of Global Sales.

In her role, Emma will be responsible for driving Loylogic’s ambitious ‘Brands2Communities’ growth strategy, which aims to build direct relationships between 1,000 brands and at least 100 million loyalty and rewards program members, driving significant revenues to these brands. Emma will focus on driving strategic and structural change, building internal processes within Loylogic that allow the business to scale up its customer facing teams and significantly increase the number of collaboration opportunities with loyalty partners.

Over the last 16 years, Emma has held various senior sales roles across a range of technology focused organizations, including SAP and SAS, not only delivering sales growth but turning customers into advocates of the brands. This extensive enterprise sales leadership experience will enable Emma to nurture existing customers and identify new business channels in order for more companies to benefit from Loylogic’s expertise.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be joining Loylogic as the business embarks on a new phase in its growth,” said Emma. “Our clear strategy that focuses on connecting Brands2Communities provides us with a compelling value proposition into our key verticals of FMCG, travel and hospitality, and finance. The organizations I’ve worked for have enjoyed exponential growth and I’ll be bringing know how from my time at those to scale and build out a sales culture with processes that fully support the customer journey.”

Gabi Kool, CEO of Loylogic, added: “We’re thrilled to bring Emma on board at such a pivotal time in Loylogic’s journey. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role and will play a key part in delivering on our ambitious growth strategy, as we continue to enhance our offer to the market.

“We continue to invest in adding new brands and categories to our portfolio, while also building direct brand relationships with the biggest, most desirable brands in the world. This is enabling us to deliver the reward shops of the future and introduce a branded shop-in-shop concept that will help both brands and loyalty programs build revenue and stand out from their competition. To have Emma on board at this time, to help as many organizations as possible benefit from our solutions, is truly exciting.”

To talk to Emma about how your organization can benefit from Loylogic's solutions, contact us by clicking here.

We find out how African Bank’s Audacious Rewards program is incentivizing positive financial behavior for all customers.

We find out how African Bank’s Audacious Rewards program is incentivizing positive financial behavior for all customers.

For a recent episode of the Loylogic Podcast, Olivier Martinet, CEO of Posidonia Consulting and former Vice President of Marketing at BP, joined us to discuss the future of large-scale fuel and mobility rewards programs.

The conversation focused on the evolution of loyalty strategies in the fuel industry, driven by digitalization, the shift towards electric vehicles, and the transformation of fuel companies into energy providers and mobility hubs, and much more.

To listen to the podcast in full, simply click below. Six key route markers that will help loyalty programs navigate the changing fuel loyalty landscape can be found below.

1. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach: Olivier challenged the notion of a universal best-in-class fuel rewards program, emphasizing that success is highly dependent on the alignment between the program, company strategy, and readiness for implementation. He did, however, introduce four pillars that loyalty program owners should consider that will drive success, namely: ease of participation, relevance, personalization, and profitability. By focusing on these four elements, companies can find the right balance between customer advantage and strategic adaptability.

2. Loyalty strategies need to be tailored to company size and scope: The level of focus on the four pillars needs to vary depending on the company's size and global reach. For example, larger organizations tend to have a greater need to balance customer advantage and brand consistency, reflecting a more comprehensive approach to loyalty programs that considers both local and global factors.

3. The shift to electric vehicles will have a profound impact on loyalty: Olivier highlighted the impact of the increasing adoption of electric vehicles on how customers interact with brands – and therefore loyalty. Consumer interaction will change and loyalty programs must adapt to this new behavior.

4. Fuel companies transforming into energy providers: Major fuel companies are repositioning themselves as energy providers, with collaborations and investments in alternative energy sources already underway. This shift suggests a future of potential joint ventures and partnerships, reflecting a broader transformation within the energy sector. This needs to be factored into thinking around loyalty and how both earn and burn of points or miles happens.

5. Extended dwell times and mobility hubs: The rise of ‘mobility hubs’ is impacting loyalty offers. Longer customer dwell times due to electric vehicle charging present new challenges and opportunities for loyalty programs. Companies need to rethink their strategies to engage customers during extended on-site interactions and integrate these experiences with home charging behavior.

6. Personalization beyond marketing: All loyalty programs, regardless of sector, should go beyond marketing and engage in strategic decision-making. Olivier emphasized the wider range of use cases that arise from privileged customer data, including category management, pricing policies and assortment range. As a result, loyalty schemes should be considered as long-term strategic tools that have a seat at the boardroom table.

In conclusion, the future of fuel rewards programs is dynamic and requires companies to adapt to digitalization, changing consumer behaviors, and the broader energy landscape. Success lies in a personalized and adaptable approach that considers both customer needs and long-term strategic goals. As fuel companies transition into energy providers, collaboration and innovative loyalty strategies will play a crucial role in shaping the industry's future.

For a recent episode of the Loylogic Podcast, Olivier Martinet, CEO of Posidonia Consulting and former Vice President of Marketing at BP, joined us to discuss the future of large-scale fuel and mobility rewards programs.

The conversation focused on the evolution of loyalty strategies in the fuel industry, driven by digitalization, the shift towards electric vehicles, and the transformation of fuel companies into energy providers and mobility hubs, and much more.

To listen to the podcast in full, simply click below. Six key route markers that will help loyalty programs navigate the changing fuel loyalty landscape can be found below.

1. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach: Olivier challenged the notion of a universal best-in-class fuel rewards program, emphasizing that success is highly dependent on the alignment between the program, company strategy, and readiness for implementation. He did, however, introduce four pillars that loyalty program owners should consider that will drive success, namely: ease of participation, relevance, personalization, and profitability. By focusing on these four elements, companies can find the right balance between customer advantage and strategic adaptability.

2. Loyalty strategies need to be tailored to company size and scope: The level of focus on the four pillars needs to vary depending on the company's size and global reach. For example, larger organizations tend to have a greater need to balance customer advantage and brand consistency, reflecting a more comprehensive approach to loyalty programs that considers both local and global factors.

3. The shift to electric vehicles will have a profound impact on loyalty: Olivier highlighted the impact of the increasing adoption of electric vehicles on how customers interact with brands – and therefore loyalty. Consumer interaction will change and loyalty programs must adapt to this new behavior.

4. Fuel companies transforming into energy providers: Major fuel companies are repositioning themselves as energy providers, with collaborations and investments in alternative energy sources already underway. This shift suggests a future of potential joint ventures and partnerships, reflecting a broader transformation within the energy sector. This needs to be factored into thinking around loyalty and how both earn and burn of points or miles happens.

5. Extended dwell times and mobility hubs: The rise of ‘mobility hubs’ is impacting loyalty offers. Longer customer dwell times due to electric vehicle charging present new challenges and opportunities for loyalty programs. Companies need to rethink their strategies to engage customers during extended on-site interactions and integrate these experiences with home charging behavior.

6. Personalization beyond marketing: All loyalty programs, regardless of sector, should go beyond marketing and engage in strategic decision-making. Olivier emphasized the wider range of use cases that arise from privileged customer data, including category management, pricing policies and assortment range. As a result, loyalty schemes should be considered as long-term strategic tools that have a seat at the boardroom table.

In conclusion, the future of fuel rewards programs is dynamic and requires companies to adapt to digitalization, changing consumer behaviors, and the broader energy landscape. Success lies in a personalized and adaptable approach that considers both customer needs and long-term strategic goals. As fuel companies transition into energy providers, collaboration and innovative loyalty strategies will play a crucial role in shaping the industry's future.

Join us for the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast as we explore airBaltic's pioneering entry into Web3 with NFTs in their airBaltic Club loyalty program.

Join us for the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast as we explore airBaltic's pioneering entry into Web3 with NFTs in their airBaltic Club loyalty program.

In the latest episode of the Loylogic Podcast, we’re joined by Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic, a true pioneer in the airline industry's adoption of Web3 technologies, and Rob Clements, Lead Consultant at Loylogic and Web3 loyalty strategy expert.

What’s fueling the future of large scale fuel rewards programs?

For this episode of the Loylogic Podcast, Olivier Martinet, CEO of Posidonia Consulting and former Vice President of marketing at BP, joins us to discuss fuel loyalty programs and what’s driving any rethinking of customer retention, revenue generation and incentivized engagement strategies.

In this discussion, Olivier emphasizes the importance of tailoring fuel rewards propositions to fit each company's strategy and customer engagement capabilities. Key talking points include:

- Instead of searching for a universal best-in-class program, he suggests evaluating programs based on four lenses: ease to participate, relevance, personalization, and profitability.

- The level of focus on these lenses varies based on the company size and scope, with global organizations showing a greater inclination towards balancing customer advantage and brand consistency.

- How the increasing digitalization and shift towards electric vehicles in the fuel industry are driving organizations to rethink their loyalty strategies, recognizing that a loyalty scheme is not just a marketing tool but also a privileged data provider for long-term strategic adaptation.

- Why, as the industry moves towards becoming energy providers, the evolving landscape of mobility hubs and electric vehicles will impact loyalty offers, requiring companies to adjust to longer customer dwell times and the integration of home charging behavior.

- Why major fuel companies are indeed repositioning themselves as energy providers, and collaborations with other energy companies and investments in alternative energy sources are already taking place, signifying a shift towards a future of potential joint ventures and partnerships.

- Why loyalty program owners should keep earn simple but creative with the burn side, with the differentiator coming in terms of personalization, and how customer data is handled.

To hear Olivier’s thoughts on these topics and much more, listen using the link below, or read on for the full transcript.

(1:27) Olivier, in your opinion, what are currently the best in class fuel rewards propositions around the world? And what is setting them apart?

Olivier Martinet: "That's a good question. And maybe I won't answer that directly, because at the end of the day, there's one thing I really don't believe in is that there's a best in class program. Basically, all programs, or success of a program, is very much dependant on the fit between the program as it is with the company, the company strategy, but also the readiness of a company to be using it. To some extent, the best in class aspect is having the right program for the company, for the company's targets and what that company is able to do with engaging customers. Okay, so it's probably not directly answering your question, but I guess it's a key feature of the thinking and how I've been approaching loyalty schemes for about 30 years."

(2:28) So your approach there is very much steering away from a one-size-fits-all strategy and instead looking at a case-by-case basis?

Olivier: "Yes, absolutely. The KPIs I'm looking into, to decide what is where we should go. The first one is around ease to participate. And when I'm saying this, it's ease to participate on both sides, from the consumer angle, but also from a retailer or partner point of view.

"The second one, the second lens is on the relevance. How relevant is a program as a consumer on the receiving end, but also how relevant is this program to my strategy to be engaging customers going forward?

"The third lens is personalization. And when I'm saying personalization, what is the right level of personalization? And are we talking to groups? Are we talking to a segment of one? And this is very highly dependant on the capabilities you have as a company, in terms of what you are going to be doing with the data? How are you going to be engaging the customers? How far have you gone on the digitalization journey? And how smart are you with analyzing the data of your customer base.

"The last dimension I'm looking into is the profitability. When saying this I'm more thinking of financial sustainability of the scheme, because one thing is, you are not as a company entering into loyalty for the next two weeks, this is for the long run, so you bloody need to make sure that you can sustain this financially in the long run, and not going to be forced to deceive your customers, you know, 5/6/7 years down the road by decreasing the advantage you've been giving them.

"These are four lenses, I'm always looking into to try to find the right balance between customer advantage and what the company or my clients can do with that scheme and how far we can push the personalization journey."

(4:27) How common is it that you come across an organization, a brand company, whatever you want to call it, that shares that vision that that is able to look at its loyalty and rewards through those same lenses?

Olivier: "To some extent, it depends on the company you're talking to. If you're talking about a company who is in one market, covering one, it's very infrequent that you would be looking into these four lenses because basically very often, you find those really focusing on how relevant the offer can be for customers and how much digitalization you can put in your system. But, if you start getting into some other companies who are managing schemes across the globe, 20 different countries, or more four or five different continents, that's where often you can find some of this approach. This was where you need to balance how much you're giving to customers, to your targets, in terms of personalization, but also managing some kind of consistency in the approach for your brand."

(5:43) My logical next question there is, you've got these four lenses, and what challenges are rewards loyalty program owners facing? What's driving any rethinks of the strategy? And how are people going to regard and look at their loyalty programs?

Olivier: "Very often, what is forcing the rethinking is the digitalization of it, coming in with a mobile application and then kind of suddenly saying, here is the 'ta-da' moment for customers. You start realizing that to be getting there, you need to be upgrading your IT, you need to be making sure you're going to be dealing with your consumer data. What are you going to be doing it? And what is the analytical solution you're going to be applying to it? And then, what are the use cases you're going to be applying to it?

"Very often, what I see is that companies would go through part of his process, and we'll start getting into, "Okay, my use case for this, obviously, is I need to talk to my customers, I'm going to be communicating to my customers, because that's a marketing tool, I need to do this". Very often, what I see missing is that comms or marketing, even on a segment of one, is only one part of a value, which a loyalty scheme can generate. The number of use cases which can come from the data arising from your privileged customer base is much wider. And it can go into various strategic things like category management, if you're a retailer, what are your pricing policies, where are you going to be investing, what is the range of your assortment you're going to be offering to customers in what sites etc etc., which are much, I would say, wider use cases, than only looking at the marketing side.

"Obviously the marketing side, to some extent, is the bread and butter, because that is what makes sure your customer base keeps coming back, keeps generating the income, but also keeps generating the data you're after. A loyalty scheme is not only a marketing tool, it's also a privileged data provider for companies to be adapting their strategy in the long term."

(8:31) So it's fair to say that it is more than marketing?

Olivier: Yeah, absolutely. As anyone who has known me for some time will know, I always say that your loyalty scheme shouldn't be left only to loyalty managers. It should be sitting on a boardroom table. It's where we honestly should be sitting, not so much the engagement or marketing part, but for all of the rest, which is getting into the long term benefits of launching and participating into a loyalty scheme."

(9:06) One question I've got to ask you, given we're talking about fuel, is where does the shift to electric vehicles come into play?

Olivier: "I guess it's an indirect impact. The shift to EVs is a strategic shift for fuel retail, for networks, and we see, not all, but most of the companies working on shifting on moving away from being a fuel or let's say a fuel provider, to becoming an energy provider. So that's a fundamental strategic shift, which is happening to most of the fuel retailers. To some extent, that's the driver. That means, though, that there is going to be some adaptation required to the loyalty, so it's more of a consequence of the strategic shift, which needs to happen and obviously will need to be impacting via schemes at some point in future."

(10:06) Okay, so in London, as in many other cities around the world, we're seeing the creation of mobility hubs that are about more than fuel. It's about enjoying time out of good cup of coffee and maybe do some shopping. So how is that impacting fuel loyalty?

Olivier: "It will impact the overall offer to the consumer, so it will need to impact loyalty. Basically, there's a fundamental shift here, which is to say, in the past, you had customers coming to fill up with a get me in, get me out as quickly as possible, and by the way, as cheaply as possible, attitude. And if on my way, in and out, you can sell some other stuff, you know, being impulse items, coffee, fine.

"There are two ways which I would say the EV will impact loyalty. The first one is, it will force customers to stay longer on the forecourt, because there's a charging time, which means it's less of loyalty. You then get into how, I can make sure as a customer when I'm getting to a site, I will be able to charge, I will be able to get some coffee or make sure that the 10/15/20 minutes I'm going to be there are also going to be very valuable. That's one thing.

"The second thing is, how does this relate to me charging my EV when I'm home, because at the end of the day, for an EV to be financially attractive to customers, one of the big underlying thing is that a big share of the charging should happen at your own house. And to some extent, that's where the impact of loyalty schemes is going. How do you deal with customers staying longer on the forecourt? Then, what is the kind of behavior you want to reward? And the second thing is, how do you relate that on-site interaction with what is happening when customers are filling up at home?”

(12:09) Do you therefore see fuel companies becoming energy companies?

Olivier: "So that's what they are claiming. Look into what BP or Shell are claiming, Total is doing the same thing. They are very much claiming to be a future energy company, energy provider for mobility.

(12:29) Is there a case there that we'll see more collaboration between fuel companies and other energy providers?

Olivier: "You can see already things happening. You can see already partnerships happening between electric companies, oil companies, energy companies. You can see also that BP and Shell and Total are investing highly in alternative energy, be it solar, wind, etc, etc. And to some extent that's something which is already happening. Whether then you are going to see some of the big companies joining up in future in the long term, probably yes. Is it happening? Is it going to happen in the short term? Honestly, I have no clue. I would suspect not. Because you still have the weight of the oil production and distribution, which is still driving significant value for shareholders. So it's not in the short term. But in the long term. You know, probably yes. That's me guessing, you know, it's probably more for an evening, you know, a beer conversation!"

(13:41) If only we knew Olivier will be richer than we are now! Does this changing landscape of loyalty, and you've touched on it a little bit earlier, does it require more personalization of rewards now, as well as greater choice of rewards?

Olivier: "There's a long term trend anyway, which is for hyper personalization or on getting to segment of one. And obviously, you know, digitalization is forcing this into a conversation. So, yes, you're aware, but at the same time, there is also a very clear thing to say, don't make it too complicated for customers. So, probably, if you're on your earn side, you know, keep it as simple as possible, make it very understandable for customers. You don't need to start creating tiers to achieve something, which only complicates the conversation.

"Probably focus more on the burn part, on giving a wide choice of options for customers. And that's where, to some extent, the attractiveness of a scheme is happening. How big is the choice? To some extent, give the customer the choice of how they want to burn and don't force them to do it in a limited way.

"Talking about the key features of a scheme, that's probably where I would focus. On top of burning, how much more are you offering to customers? If you're part of a loyalty scheme, your customer journey on site is going to be much more simplified, you have privileged access to a cashier, quick in and out. Starbucks is one of these examples. Money can't buy experiences, etc, etc. Earn and burn being the traditional thing, but how much more can you personalize to the customer's aspirational lifestyle, in terms of getting rewarded or getting some kind of benefits or recognition of participating into a scheme?”

(15:57) Does that then also bring into play the possibility for programs to look at profit margins use innovative ways to burn points through raffles, the play model, etc?

Olivier: "To some extent, the worst thing for a loyalty scheme is to have customers sitting on a big amount of points, or value or currency, whatever it is, basically, and not being very clear about what we're going to be doing with it. That's, to some extent, the worst of what you can do. And therefore, you know, there is always a balance to be done in terms of, yes, obviously, I need as a brand to have part of my customers come back to me to get rewarded, which needs options for the customers in terms of freedom of burning, or using the currency. And that's where you will have some customers say, you know, absolutely, to have a partnership with a supermarket. Others will say yeah, you know, I love gamification, while some of us say, I want to pick from my computer the reward I've been always dreaming and want this to be delivered to my home. You have all of these options, which needs to be offered to the consumers."

(17:37) So coming back to the whole development of thinking around electric vehicles, are there any regions or brands that you think could go first in this transition, or any leading the way?

Olivier: "It's the usual suspects, obviously, you're going to have Europe, UK, parts of the US, because to some extent, legislation is forcing the OEMs to electrify cars. Basically, if you're talking about, by 2035, to only sell electric cars, for example, which is, you know, part of what we've seen in UK or in Europe, this means that adaptation will need to happen quickly. I would say, look into wherever legislation is pushing the most. And then you will very quickly find where this EV shift will impact the market."

(18:34) So wrapping things up, what are the key takeaways for from this conversation for anybody involved in fuel loyalty, looking to adapt to current trends? And what recommendations can you give to those looking to set up new loyalty rewards engagement programs in this changing landscape?

Olivier: "Three things. The first one is make it simple for your customer base to participate, you're only one out of X number of schemes in the market. So make it simple for them, because we shouldn't be spending the next 25 hours reading into what can I get out of it, understanding it.

"The second thing is make it attractive to customers. And when I'm saying attractive, it's probably not so much on your own. It's more of a Burnside make it relevant to him. But these are hygiene factors.”

"The differentiator will come in terms of personalization, and how you're dealing with consumer data, what you're going to be doing with consumer data, that's probably wherever focus should be. This means quite a dramatic shift in terms of teams capability in terms of data analytics. How do you make decisions? That's where the value is going to be going forward."

 Like this? Then don't miss other episodes in the Loylogic Podcast...

What’s fueling the future of large scale fuel rewards programs?

For this episode of the Loylogic Podcast, Olivier Martinet, CEO of Posidonia Consulting and ex Vice President of marketing at BP, joins us to discuss fuel loyalty programs and what’s driving any rethinking of customer retention, revenue generation and incentivized engagement strategies.

In this discussion, Olivier emphasizes the importance of tailoring fuel rewards propositions to fit each company's strategy and customer engagement capabilities. Key talking points include:

- Instead of searching for a universal best-in-class program, he suggests evaluating programs based on four lenses: ease to participate, relevance, personalization, and profitability.

- The level of focus on these lenses varies based on the company size and scope, with global organizations showing a greater inclination towards balancing customer advantage and brand consistency.

- How the increasing digitalization and shift towards electric vehicles in the fuel industry are driving organizations to rethink their loyalty strategies, recognizing that a loyalty scheme is not just a marketing tool but also a privileged data provider for long-term strategic adaptation.

- Why, as the industry moves towards becoming energy providers, the evolving landscape of mobility hubs and electric vehicles will impact loyalty offers, requiring companies to adjust to longer customer dwell times and the integration of home charging behavior.

- Why major fuel companies are indeed repositioning themselves as energy providers, and collaborations with other energy companies and investments in alternative energy sources are already taking place, signifying a shift towards a future of potential joint ventures and partnerships.

- Why loyalty program owners should keep earn simple but creative with the burn side, with the differentiator coming in terms of personalization, and how customer data is handled.

To hear Olivier’s thoughts on these topics and much more, listen using the link below, or read on for the full transcript.

(1:27) Olivier, in your opinion, what are currently the best in class fuel rewards propositions around the world? And what is setting them apart?

Olivier Martinet: "That's a good question. And maybe I won't answer that directly, because at the end of the day, there's one thing I really don't believe in is that there's a best in class program. Basically, all programs, or success of a program, is very much dependant on the fit between the program as it is with the company, the company strategy, but also the readiness of a company to be using it. To some extent, the best in class aspect is having the right program for the company, for the company's targets and what that company is able to do with engaging customers. Okay, so it's probably not directly answering your question, but I guess it's a key feature of the thinking and how I've been approaching loyalty schemes for about 30 years."

(2:28) So your approach there is very much steering away from a one-size-fits-all strategy and instead looking at a case-by-case basis?

Olivier: "Yes, absolutely. The KPIs I'm looking into, to decide what is where we should go. The first one is around ease to participate. And when I'm saying this, it's ease to participate on both sides, from the consumer angle, but also from a retailer or partner point of view.

"The second one, the second lens is on the relevance. How relevant is a program as a consumer on the receiving end, but also how relevant is this program to my strategy to be engaging customers going forward?

"The third lens is personalization. And when I'm saying personalization, what is the right level of personalization? And are we talking to groups? Are we talking to a segment of one? And this is very highly dependant on the capabilities you have as a company, in terms of what you are going to be doing with the data? How are you going to be engaging the customers? How far have you gone on the digitalization journey? And how smart are you with analyzing the data of your customer base.

"The last dimension I'm looking into is the profitability. When saying this I'm more thinking of financial sustainability of the scheme, because one thing is, you are not as a company entering into loyalty for the next two weeks, this is for the long run, so you bloody need to make sure that you can sustain this financially in the long run, and not going to be forced to deceive your customers, you know, 5/6/7 years down the road by decreasing the advantage you've been giving them.

"These are four lenses, I'm always looking into to try to find the right balance between customer advantage and what the company or my clients can do with that scheme and how far we can push the personalization journey."

(4:27) How common is it that you come across an organization, a brand company, whatever you want to call it, that shares that vision that that is able to look at its loyalty and rewards through those same lenses?

Olivier: "To some extent, it depends on the company you're talking to. If you're talking about a company who is in one market, covering one, it's very infrequent that you would be looking into these four lenses because basically very often, you find those really focusing on how relevant the offer can be for customers and how much digitalization you can put in your system. But, if you start getting into some other companies who are managing schemes across the globe, 20 different countries, or more four or five different continents, that's where often you can find some of this approach. This was where you need to balance how much you're giving to customers, to your targets, in terms of personalization, but also managing some kind of consistency in the approach for your brand."

(5:43) My logical next question there is, you've got these four lenses, and what challenges are rewards loyalty program owners facing? What's driving any rethinks of the strategy? And how are people going to regard and look at their loyalty programs?

Olivier: "Very often, what is forcing the rethinking is the digitalization of it, coming in with a mobile application and then kind of suddenly saying, here is the 'ta-da' moment for customers. You start realizing that to be getting there, you need to be upgrading your IT, you need to be making sure you're going to be dealing with your consumer data. What are you going to be doing it? And what is the analytical solution you're going to be applying to it? And then, what are the use cases you're going to be applying to it?

"Very often, what I see is that companies would go through part of his process, and we'll start getting into, "Okay, my use case for this, obviously, is I need to talk to my customers, I'm going to be communicating to my customers, because that's a marketing tool, I need to do this". Very often, what I see missing is that comms or marketing, even on a segment of one, is only one part of a value, which a loyalty scheme can generate. The number of use cases which can come from the data arising from your privileged customer base is much wider. And it can go into various strategic things like category management, if you're a retailer, what are your pricing policies, where are you going to be investing, what is the range of your assortment you're going to be offering to customers in what sites etc etc., which are much, I would say, wider use cases, than only looking at the marketing side.

"Obviously the marketing side, to some extent, is the bread and butter, because that is what makes sure your customer base keeps coming back, keeps generating the income, but also keeps generating the data you're after. A loyalty scheme is not only a marketing tool, it's also a privileged data provider for companies to be adapting their strategy in the long term."

(8:31) So it's fair to say that it is more than marketing?

Olivier: Yeah, absolutely. As anyone who has known me for some time will know, I always say that your loyalty scheme shouldn't be left only to loyalty managers. It should be sitting on a boardroom table. It's where we honestly should be sitting, not so much the engagement or marketing part, but for all of the rest, which is getting into the long term benefits of launching and participating into a loyalty scheme."

(9:06) One question I've got to ask you, given we're talking about fuel, is where does the shift to electric vehicles come into play?

Olivier: "I guess it's an indirect impact. The shift to EVs is a strategic shift for fuel retail, for networks, and we see, not all, but most of the companies working on shifting on moving away from being a fuel or let's say a fuel provider, to becoming an energy provider. So that's a fundamental strategic shift, which is happening to most of the fuel retailers. To some extent, that's the driver. That means, though, that there is going to be some adaptation required to the loyalty, so it's more of a consequence of the strategic shift, which needs to happen and obviously will need to be impacting via schemes at some point in future."

(10:06) Okay, so in London, as in many other cities around the world, we're seeing the creation of mobility hubs that are about more than fuel. It's about enjoying time out of good cup of coffee and maybe do some shopping. So how is that impacting fuel loyalty?

Olivier: "It will impact the overall offer to the consumer, so it will need to impact loyalty. Basically, there's a fundamental shift here, which is to say, in the past, you had customers coming to fill up with a get me in, get me out as quickly as possible, and by the way, as cheaply as possible, attitude. And if on my way, in and out, you can sell some other stuff, you know, being impulse items, coffee, fine.

"There are two ways which I would say the EV will impact loyalty. The first one is, it will force customers to stay longer on the forecourt, because there's a charging time, which means it's less of loyalty. You then get into how, I can make sure as a customer when I'm getting to a site, I will be able to charge, I will be able to get some coffee or make sure that the 10/15/20 minutes I'm going to be there are also going to be very valuable. That's one thing.

"The second thing is, how does this relate to me charging my EV when I'm home, because at the end of the day, for an EV to be financially attractive to customers, one of the big underlying thing is that a big share of the charging should happen at your own house. And to some extent, that's where the impact of loyalty schemes is going. How do you deal with customers staying longer on the forecourt? Then, what is the kind of behavior you want to reward? And the second thing is, how do you relate that on-site interaction with what is happening when customers are filling up at home?”

(12:09) Do you therefore see fuel companies becoming energy companies?

Olivier: "So that's what they are claiming. Look into what BP or Shell are claiming, Total is doing the same thing. They are very much claiming to be a future energy company, energy provider for mobility.

(12:29) Is there a case there that we'll see more collaboration between fuel companies and other energy providers?

Olivier: "You can see already things happening. You can see already partnerships happening between electric companies, oil companies, energy companies. You can see also that BP and Shell and Total are investing highly in alternative energy, be it solar, wind, etc, etc. And to some extent that's something which is already happening. Whether then you are going to see some of the big companies joining up in future in the long term, probably yes. Is it happening? Is it going to happen in the short term? Honestly, I have no clue. I would suspect not. Because you still have the weight of the oil production and distribution, which is still driving significant value for shareholders. So it's not in the short term. But in the long term. You know, probably yes. That's me guessing, you know, it's probably more for an evening, you know, a beer conversation!"

(13:41) If only we knew Olivier will be richer than we are now! Does this changing landscape of loyalty, and you've touched on it a little bit earlier, does it require more personalization of rewards now, as well as greater choice of rewards?

Olivier: "There's a long term trend anyway, which is for hyper personalization or on getting to segment of one. And obviously, you know, digitalization is forcing this into a conversation. So, yes, you're aware, but at the same time, there is also a very clear thing to say, don't make it too complicated for customers. So, probably, if you're on your earn side, you know, keep it as simple as possible, make it very understandable for customers. You don't need to start creating tiers to achieve something, which only complicates the conversation.

"Probably focus more on the burn part, on giving a wide choice of options for customers. And that's where, to some extent, the attractiveness of a scheme is happening. How big is the choice? To some extent, give the customer the choice of how they want to burn and don't force them to do it in a limited way.

"Talking about the key features of a scheme, that's probably where I would focus. On top of burning, how much more are you offering to customers? If you're part of a loyalty scheme, your customer journey on site is going to be much more simplified, you have privileged access to a cashier, quick in and out. Starbucks is one of these examples. Money can't buy experiences, etc, etc. Earn and burn being the traditional thing, but how much more can you personalize to the customer's aspirational lifestyle, in terms of getting rewarded or getting some kind of benefits or recognition of participating into a scheme?”

(15:57) Does that then also bring into play the possibility for programs to look at profit margins use innovative ways to burn points through raffles, the play model, etc?

Olivier: "To some extent, the worst thing for a loyalty scheme is to have customers sitting on a big amount of points, or value or currency, whatever it is, basically, and not being very clear about what we're going to be doing with it. That's, to some extent, the worst of what you can do. And therefore, you know, there is always a balance to be done in terms of, yes, obviously, I need as a brand to have part of my customers come back to me to get rewarded, which needs options for the customers in terms of freedom of burning, or using the currency. And that's where you will have some customers say, you know, absolutely, to have a partnership with a supermarket. Others will say yeah, you know, I love gamification, while some of us say, I want to pick from my computer the reward I've been always dreaming and want this to be delivered to my home. You have all of these options, which needs to be offered to the consumers."

(17:37) So coming back to the whole development of thinking around electric vehicles, are there any regions or brands that you think could go first in this transition, or any leading the way?

Olivier: "It's the usual suspects, obviously, you're going to have Europe, UK, parts of the US, because to some extent, legislation is forcing the OEMs to electrify cars. Basically, if you're talking about, by 2035, to only sell electric cars, for example, which is, you know, part of what we've seen in UK or in Europe, this means that adaptation will need to happen quickly. I would say, look into wherever legislation is pushing the most. And then you will very quickly find where this EV shift will impact the market."

(18:34) So wrapping things up, what are the key takeaways for from this conversation for anybody involved in fuel loyalty, looking to adapt to current trends? And what recommendations can you give to those looking to set up new loyalty rewards engagement programs in this changing landscape?

Olivier: "Three things. The first one is make it simple for your customer base to participate, you're only one out of X number of schemes in the market. So make it simple for them, because we shouldn't be spending the next 25 hours reading into what can I get out of it, understanding it.

"The second thing is make it attractive to customers. And when I'm saying attractive, it's probably not so much on your own. It's more of a Burnside make it relevant to him. But these are hygiene factors.”

"The differentiator will come in terms of personalization, and how you're dealing with consumer data, what you're going to be doing with consumer data, that's probably wherever focus should be. This means quite a dramatic shift in terms of teams capability in terms of data analytics. How do you make decisions? That's where the value is going to be going forward."

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