Let's Talk Loyalty

In today's episode, "Let's Talk Loyalty" talks with Kevin Siew, Vice President and Head of Shangri-La Circle, the latest innovation from the Shangri-La International premium global hotel management group.

Shangri-La recently transformed their beloved Golden Circle loyalty program as a powerful direct-to-consumer platform, to include digital marketing, mobile and e-direct capabilities, social media and content development, rewards marketing operations and global brand partnerships.

Hear how they have crafted their latest proposition to further enrich their appeal to travellers of all ages and backgrounds, and allow for greater freedom and flexibility, including iconic lifestyle partnerships.

Show Notes:

1) Kevin Siew, Vice President and Head of Shangri-La Circle

2) Shangri-La Circle

This episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" features a conversation with Eadaoin Keane, Head of Marketing for Circle K Ireland who won the "Best Loyalty Programme 2021" from the Irish Loyalty Awards for their "Play or Park" programme.

Circle K Ireland is a highly successful and well-known fuel convenience retail brand in Ireland, the market leader for food, fuel and convenience retail.

Having inherited the "PLAY or PARK" loyalty programme from the previous business owner, Circle K has continued the programme and further invested in the proposition.

That strategy has ensured that this award-winning programme, featuring gamification, rewards and charitable contributions, benefits the members and business in equal measure.

Listen to hear how Eadaoin and her team continue to build new campaigns within "PLAY or PARK" to support Irish Olympic athletes, connecting with customers through local community activations, growing the programme's membership and ultimately winning the hearts of Irish customers.

Show Notes:

1) Eadaoin Keane, Head of Marketing for Circle K Ireland

2) Circle K "PLAY or PARK" programme\

In this short summary show, "Let's Talk Loyalty" revisited an episode with Len Llaguno, founder of Kyros Insights. Len uses his professional training as an actuary to assess loyalty programmes not in terms of liability, but profitability and possibility.

We talked about why redemptions are such a signal of a strong programme and an investment in the company's long-term success.

Len also shared how brands should employ a "customer-first" mentality and also segment their customers to maximize the effectiveness of their loyalty programmes.

Show Notes:

1) Episode #76: Loyalty Programme Liability Management - Len Llaguno, Founder of Kyros Insights

2) Len Llaguno, founder of Kyros Insights

Cheetah Digital's 2022 Digital Consumer Trends Index was recently released and reveals what consumers expect from the brands they do business with.

"Let's Talk Loyalty" was joined by Tim Glomb, VP Content & Data with Cheetah Digital, to learn about the latest research, which features insights from over 5,000 consumers across seven countries.

Tim highlighted the findings that he found most fascinating, including increased consumer desire for personalization at every stage of the customer lifecycle.

We also heard about consumer privacy concerns and communication preferences by age groups.

Tim reminded us that even the biggest brands are constantly reviewing and evolving their strategies and reminded us that we can learn and grow from each other when we're up to date and informed by clear understanding of key consumer priorities.

This episode is sponsored by Cheetah Digital.

Show Notes:

1) Tim Glomb, VP Content & Data with Cheetah Digital

2) Cheetah Digital's 2022 Digital Consumer Trends Index

The Loyalty & Awards Conference is the largest international loyalty conference for the travel industry.

In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", we are joined by Ravindra Bhagwanani, Chairman of Loyalty & Awards, all about the exciting plans for this year’s event taking place in October in Madrid.

Ravindra shares his extensive loyalty industry experience and his love of airline loyalty marketing, and how the conference came to life almost 18 years ago.

Listen to hear what you can expect from this year's event - THE premier place to be for travel loyalty experts, offering superb opportunities to learn from exceptional industry leaders and connect with your loyalty industry colleagues.

Show Notes:

1) Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director at Global Flight and Chairman of Loyalty & Awards

2) Loyalty & Awards conference website

In this short summary show, "Let's Talk Loyalty" looks back on an interview with Mark James, the CEO of Customology in Australia who shared some insightful outcomes of some consumer research he had conducted in early 2021.

Mark shared the challenges for loyalty marketers when new customers are prioritised over existing ones with better offers.

Mark also shared some insights on the most effective communication strategies to keep customers happy and engaged.

Show Notes:

1) Previous Episode: #74: Australian Consumer Loyalty Research - Mark James CEO Customology

2) Mark James, CEO, Customology

The "Australian Loyalty Association" (ALA) is the highly respected organisation that provides thought leadership, education and networking opportunities to those working in the loyalty industry in Australia, New Zealand and increasingly throughout the Asia Pacific Region.

In this episode, "Let's Talk Loyalty" is joined by Sarah Richardson, Founder and Advisory Board Chair of the Australian Loyalty Association to hear all about their expansion plans and upcoming events.

Together, we announce our content partnership for "Let's Talk Loyalty" to provide exclusive podcasts for the "Australian Loyalty Association" and help ensure even more outstanding and relevant content for loyalty professionals across the Asia Pacific region.

Show Notes:

1) Sarah Richardson, Founder and Advisory Board Chair, Australian Loyalty Association on LinkedIn

2) Australian Loyalty Association website

3) Episode #21: Loyalty Lessons from Australia

This episode is all about The Loyalty Academy and the latest updates and in-person workshops to become a "Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™️" (CLMP).

Mike Capizzi, Dean and Director of Education at The Loyalty Academy joins us to share their latest Loyalty Academy news, as in-person training workshops return in key cities around the world.

In today's show, we also announce a NEW scholarship and competition for one lucky listener to win a FREE “Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional” accreditation either in person or online.

Listen to hear how to enter.

Show Notes:

1) Let's Talk Loyalty CLMP Workshop Scholarship Information and Application due XXX, 2022

2) Mike Capizzi, Director of Education, The Loyalty Academy

3) The Loyalty Academy

4) Scholarship Competition from "Let's Talk Loyalty" and The Loyalty Academy

"Let's Talk Loyalty" is today looking back on our conversation with IKEA's global vice president of loyalty, Aaron Mitchell.

As one of the world's most iconic retail brands, IKEA boasts 156 million members of its Family Club worldwide, a programme that brings the very best of the IKEA brand to its customers.

The IKEA Family Club focuses on community and creating emotional loyalty with customers, with the intention to create value, deepen relationships and personalize interactions with customers.

Listen to learn what we learnt from Aaron Mitchell and IKEA.

Show Notes:

1) Episode #70: Ikea Family Club with Aaron Mitchell - Global VP Loyalty

2) Aaron Mitchell on LinkedIn

Today "Let's Talk Loyalty" talks with one of the leading marketers in U.S. convenience retail, Derek Gaskins, Chief Marketing Officer of Yesway.

Yesway is one of the fastest-growing convenience chains in the United States, and was voted the U.S. Convenience Chain of the Year.

Gaskins shares the exciting challenge of keeping customers loyal while acquiring new stores and products that customers love, and building a leading retail brand that combines the best of them all.

He also explains how his team have embraced a mindset of loyalty from the start, and how they are leveraging their award-winning "Yesway Rewards" program to support their ambitious growth plans.

Show Notes:

1) Derek Gaskins on LinkedIn

2) Yesway Rewards