Let's Talk Loyalty

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

Today we’re bringing you an incredibly exciting episode with NASCAR which is otherwise known as The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

NASCAR is the sanctioning body for the number one form of motor sports in the United States.

Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in eleven countries and more than thirty U.S. states.

Our guest for today’s episode is Donald Baal, Senior Director of Fan Loyalty for NASCAR Rewards who explains more about the sport, the multi-generational loyalty that already exists with fans and some of the fantastic reasons why the business made the decision to invest in a formal loyalty programme to build that emotional connection even further.

Show notes:

1) Donald Baal

2) NASCAR

3) NASCAR Fan Rewards

4) The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership from the CEO of the Walt Disney Company (Book)

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

2025 is the time of year that leading industry brands share their incredible insights and research as a way to support our industry, so I’m delighted today to be joined by our longest-standing sponsor and partner of the show as one amazing brand that does exactly that.

Comarch is a leading global IT company founded in Poland in 1993 which employs over 6,000 people, powering the technology needs of more than 40,000 companies worldwide.

Comarch is also one of the most dedicated software companies in the world when it comes to its focus on loyalty marketing software.

As part of that focus, I’m thrilled to be today helping them to launch their Customer Loyalty Predictions 2025 Report – focused on AI, Privacy and Sustainability - which was conducted by Comarch in partnership with the Global Loyalty Organisation.

Joining me in the studio today to share insights from this global study are Lukasz Dubiel and Joanna Witsch from Comarch.

I hope you enjoy their insights on these key loyalty topics which are so relevant for 2025 and beyond!

This episode is sponsored by Comarch.

Show Notes :

1) Comarch

2) Customer Loyalty Predictions 2025 Report – focused on AI, Privacy and Sustainability

3) Lukasz Dubiel

4) Joanna Witsch

5) The Heart-Led Leader (Book)

6) Loyalty.com (Book)

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

Today, we are delighted to be chatting with a leading regional loyalty and lifestyle program in the GCC called Blue Rewards, which is the rewards and lifestyle app for the Al-Futtaim Group.

Founded in the 1930s, the Al-Futtaim Group is a family-owned business that has evolved into a leading conglomerate across automotive, retail, real estate, and finance sectors in more than twenty markets.

Our guest is Geeta Raghuvanshi, who is the Chief Technology and Data Officer for Blue Rewards, which operates in the GCC, Egypt, Singapore, and Malaysia.

In this fun and insightful conversation, Geeta shares with us the overall Blue Rewards Programme and proposition, as well as some major evolutions and enhancements that the Al Futtaim Group have achieved in partnership with our friends in Capillary Technologies.

Together, they've grown the program from a simple cash back concept through to a major lifestyle brand which is now operating as an independent business within the group.

Please enjoy this conversation with Geeta Raghuvanshi from the Al Futtaim Group.

Show notes:

1) Geeta Raghuvanshi

2) Al-Futtaim Group

3) Blue Rewards

4) The Upside of Disruption: The Path to Leading and Thriving in the Unknown (Book)

Today we are re-publishing this fantastic episode from our archive as our planned episode has been delayed for technical reasons.

United Airlines remains the largest airline in the world with 244.4 billion revenue passenger miles flown in 2023, and their loyalty insights, even though recorded in November 2023 are ever-green.

This re-release has also given us the chance to publish this on our dedicated Loyalty TV website (previously just available on Youtube) as well as our usual podcast channel (of course).

It comes as United Airlines last week announced record fourth quarter profits for Q4 2024 and when we spoke, our guest Luc Bondar COO and President of MileagePlus shared how they achieved some of their superb results for their 110+ million MileagePlus members.

Show Notes:

1) United Airlines

2) MileagePlus® program

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

Today, we are thrilled to be sharing global loyalty insights from a woman who is truly on a mission to drive our industry forward.

Zsuzsa Kecsmar is the Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Antavo AI Loyalty Cloud, a loyalty software company she co-founded almost 14 years ago.

Zsuzsa was also chosen last year as the “International Loyalty Personality of the Year”, partly because of her incredible work creating the Global Customer Loyalty Report which last year was downloaded by over 8,000 loyalty professionals.

As you can imagine, Zsuzsa has even greater ambitions for the 2025 Global Customer Loyalty Report which was just released in the last couple of weeks and contains some incredible insights from both loyalty industry professionals as well as direct insights from over 10,000 loyalty programme members.

Today Zsuzsa also shares all of the latest AI-led loyalty technology innovations at Antavo which are being designed and built based on feedback from some of their incredible global clients.

I hope you enjoy our conversation with Zsuzsa Kecsmar from Antavo AI Loyalty Cloud.

This episode is sponsored by Antavo AI Loyalty Cloud.

Show notes:

1) Zsuzsa Kecsmar

2) 2025 Global Customer Loyalty Report

3) Antavo AI Loyalty Cloud

4) The Definitive Book Of Body Language by Allan Pease (Book)

5) Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide by Philip Shelper (Book)

This episode is in Spanish and is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

En el episodio de hoy compartimos con un panel de expertos en Loyalty en donde se comentan algunos de los fundamentos importantes que se deben considerar a la hora de construir y/o gestionar estrategias de lealtad. Se señaló la importancia de combinar elementos transaccionales con momentos emocionales, la innovación, el uso de la data, la visión Customer First, entre otros. Esperamos que disfruten la conversación con Gerardo y Franz.

Hosted by Alex Saul.

Show Notes:-

1) Gerardo

2) Franz

3)Crear o Morir (Book)

4) Great by Choice (Book)

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

This episode was recorded in November 2024.

The Wiser Loyalty podcast series for Let’s Talk Loyalty shifts its focus in 2025 to interview a series of C-Level executives who are influential in leading change in customer loyalty and loyalty marketing.

Loyalty Academy™ Executive faculty members Bill Hanifin, CEO Wise Marketer Group, and Aaron Dauphinee CMO Wise Marketer Group will be hosting conversations with executives from a wide range of disciplines that impact the development of customer strategy and contribute to overall corporate profitability.

In this week’s episode Bill and Aaron talk with a special guest and known loyalty SME, Tim Murphy, to share his thoughts on what the future of loyalty technology may look like in the nearer-term but also with an eye to the horizon.

Tim has been a C-suite executive at 5 fortune 500 companies that include time as CIO and CTO to lead technology shared services and divisional to enterprise transformations.

The conversation touches on the impact of artificial intelligence on loyalty technology, explores new concepts implied by the term "composable commerce" and looks into the future of how the tech stack required to support digital customer strategy will evolve in the coming year.

Show notes:

1) Tim Murphy

2) Bill Hanifin

3) Aaron Dauphinee

4) Wise Marketer Group

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

In this episode Charlie Hills interviews Mary Beth Bell, a Senior Advisor at Valuedynamx, focused on driving growth in the U.S. market. With nearly 25 years of experience in the pay-for-performance space, MB has developed a deep expertise and passion for all things loyalty commerce. MB is also a true rewards enthusiast, racking up over 500,000 rewards points, miles, and cashback over the past two decades just by shopping.

Today we will be learning about her favourite books and loyalty programmes, highlights and key learnings from the programmes she has worked on and all about Valuedynamx.

Hosted by Charlie Hills

This show is sponsored by ValueDynamx.

Show Notes :

1) Mary Beth Bell

2) Valuedynamx

3) The Alchemist

4) The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value

5) European Loyalty Whitepaper

6) Mando Connect

This episode is available in audio format on our Let's Talk Loyalty podcast and in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.

Capitec Live Better Rewards is 3.5 years old in a banking environment which is only 24 years old. However, age is meaningless as Capitec holds a 60% market share in South Africa’s retail banking industry, with 24 million clients. 22m of these clients are part of its rewards programme, called Live Better. It has already been re-launched, which epitomises Capitec’s disruptive mindset to create customer centricity throughout all it does.

Kelly Goldsworthy is Head of Live Better Rewards with an engineering background and a laser focus on continuous improvement for the Live Better programme and its members. Kelly shares the journey to date and the fascinating statistics of its current engagement activities by different channels, encouraging all of us to re-think the norm and disrupt for the ultimate end game of greater customer centricity.

Show Notes:-

1) Capitec Live Better Rewards

2) Kelly Goldsworthy

3) Live Better Rewards

4) Blue Ocean Strategy (Book)

5) Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't (Book)

Phil Hawkins, a loyalty veteran with over 30 years experience in the loyalty industry and a well known leading loyalty personality in Australia. Expertise in coalition programs, working extensively with Flybuys in Australia over several stints, from its inception in 1993.

With leading roles at National Australia Bank, Coles and Myer, Phil has loyalty experience including program design, all aspects of program operation, and specific experience in email and digital communication

These days, Phil is a keen loyalty observer, commentator, writer and occasionally creating mischief on LinkedIn.

Hosted by Carly Neubauer

Show Notes:

1) Phil Hawkins

2) The Loyalty Leap

3)Omnichannel Retail

4) Flybuys