Let's Talk Loyalty

As CEO of Asia Miles, Paul Smitton is a loyalty industry veteran, and in today's episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", he shares some exciting insights, innovative ideas and some fond memories.

From his "baptism of fire" building Air New Zealand's first loyalty programme in 1991, through an impressive career in senior roles in both airline and loyalty technology firms, Paul is continuing to create compelling concepts for the Asia Miles programme, focusing on delighting customers.

With new investments in blockchain-based concepts, to the use of messaging platforms such as Whatsapp, as well as integrating the Asia Miles programme in to selected dining and eCommerce partners in Hong Kong, this coalition programme was perhaps one of the most prepared for the pandemic that none of us predicted!

Listen to this week's episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" for a masterclass in customer focus and a true loyalty mindset.

This episode is sponsored by Valuedynamx. ( Part of Collinson Group)

Show Notes:

1) Paul Smitton - CEO Asia Miles

2) Asia Miles loyalty programme

Today Let's Talk Loyalty looks at how loyalty as it's evolving academically as I interview Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University, Dan McCarthy, who researches key marketing topics that loyalty marketers love, such as customer lifetime value.

McCarthy now writes and lectures extensively on customer lifetime value as well as a new concept "customer based corporate valuation" and his work appears in major academic and business media outlets including the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, FT and CFO Magazine.

In addition to his academic career, he has extensive commercial experience supporting companies like Nike with their customer insights and strategies. His latest company Theta Equity Partners is also successfully commercialising his knowledge of customer loyalty.

In this interview, he also shares his latest insights on the Pareto Principle as well as the consumer behaviour changes he sees emerging in early statistical data as a result of Covid 19.

Listen to this latest episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" to hear the latest insights from the academic world of loyalty marketing.

Show Notes:

1) Daniel McCarthy of Emory University - Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University

2) Twitter: @d_mccar

3) Harvard Business Review January 2020 Report - The Loyalty Economy

4) Theta Equity Partners

5) Professor Byron Sharp

As the market leader providing telecoms services to over 37 million people in South Africa, Vodacom is an award-winning consumer brand that launched an exciting new loyalty programme called Vodabucks in August 2020.

Designed to recognise, reward and drive key behaviours across all consumer segments of the business, the programme is part of an ambitious plan to expand the business "from a telco to a techco".

Listen to this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" to hear my conversation with the man behind the programme, Jorge Mendes, who shares his goals and challenges to win customers hearts and minds in an intensely competitive market where SIM swapping between networks is commonplace.

Vodabucks is truly an exciting programme that leverages the best loyalty concepts from around the world, that's built in partnership with a portfolio of brands across the country using gamification to engage customers and truly drive profitable behaviour for the business.

Show Notes:

1) Jorge Mendes - Chief Officer: Consumer Business, Vodacom Group Exco Member

2) Vodacom

3) Vodabucks loyalty programme

Every loyalty programme owner has invested in capturing the attention and interest of its members, and that attention is often much more valuable than the business realises.

In this episode of LetsTalkLoyalty, we chat to WeAreSonder, a media agency dedicated to professionally valuing OWNED media channels and ecosystems, such as the channels created by loyalty programme owners.

From American Express to Virgin Australia, this interview discusses case studies of some of the incredible work that is being done around the world to unlock billions of dollars of media value that is often left untapped.

If you are not yet measuring the value of the media assets within your loyalty programme, this episode will be fascinating, and offers key insights on how best these assets can be valued and commercialised, either now or in the future.

Show Notes:

1) Jonathan Hopkins - Founding Partner - Sonder

2) WeAreSonder.com

3) Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Yuu Rewards has taken the Hong Kong Market by storm. Launched in July 2020, this innovative coalition programme connects ten brands and over 2,000 stores, and has already recruited an incredible two million members in its first month - a superb result in a city of eight million people.

In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, I interview Mark Sage to learn the key challenges of launching a coalition programme in multiple languages, with real time points allocation across fifty POS systems, replacing existing programmes in key partner brands, amidst a pandemic!

From cheesy tunes, to compelling creative, Mark shares the exciting journey of launching this fully personalised coalition programme that is delighting Hong Kong customers.

Show Notes:

1) Mark Sage - Chief Operating Officer, Yuu Rewards, Hong Kong

2) YuuRewards

3) YuuRewards Launch Song

BP is one of the world's largest oil companies, operating over 18,700 service stations and running loyalty programmes in over twenty countries worldwide.

In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", I chat to Olivier Martinet who has led BP's loyalty initiatives for over twenty six years. He shares how he approaches the development of digital platforms and loyalty programmes according to the market's needs, maturity and challenges, with a laser focus on being relevant to consumers.

We discuss the importance of global standards and the need to drive loyalty "beyond points", leveraging mass personalised programmes that can effectively drive consumer behaviour.

This episode is sponsored by Comarch.

Show Notes:

1) Olivier Martinet - Global Retail Customer Insights, Data, Loyalty Programs & European Regional B2C Marketing, BP

Today's episode of Let's Talk Loyalty showcases Epsilon's latest loyalty learnings from two of their senior Directors, featuring Tamara Oliverio as Senior Director of Loyalty and Customer Experience, as well as Julie Smith as Vice President of Loyalty Technology.

Listen to this episode to learn how the US market is evolving dramatically at the moment, including brands re-inventing their programs to respond to the changing perception of what customers find valuable. Key insights include a significant shift towards "contactless loyalty" and how to approach the complex process of effective loyalty program evolution. We also discuss how brands continue to capture data, with consumers increasingly expecting it to be useful in real ways and in real time.

This episode includes fascinating insights on designing & optimising loyalty programmes from some industry experts who clearly love loyalty.

This episode is sponsored by Epsilon.

Show Notes:

1) Tamara Oliverio - Senior Director of Loyalty and Customer Experience & CLMP

2) Julie Smith, Vice President, Loyalty Technology

3) Epsilon Europe website including Loyalty week webinars, the Forrester Assessment Tool & the Guide to Contactless Loyalty

4) Epsilon USA - loyalty articles and content

5) #33: Loyalty Insights from Epsilon

6) Masters of Scale podcast

7) Foresight Factory, Trend Spottr & Trend Hunter

As the technology platform that powers loyalty programmes for global brands such as BP, Heathrow Airport, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, ADNOC Petroleum and Etihad Airways, Comarch is in a unique position globally, advising brands in all industries on their loyalty strategy and ensuring it's executed brilliantly.

We are delighted to be working with Comarch as a sponsor of the show, so in this episode of Let's talk Loyalty, I interview one of their top executives, Sidney Dunn, who shares his insights as Client and Business Development Director for Comarch in the Americas.

From the latest research on how millennials are engaging with global platforms, to advice for anyone keen to understand the benefits of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, listen to this episode to hear Sid sharing his unique perspective in a way that's both powerful and practical.

This episode is sponsored by Comarch.

Show Notes:

1) Sidney Dunn - Client and Business Development Director, Comarch - Americas

2) Comarch.com - Loyalty Platform Technology

Wiiv Rewards is a coalition loyalty programme launched in Mauritius by the country's largest private company IBL Group.

As a group-owned multi partner programme, Wiiv boasts eleven loyalty partners across key lifestyle categories such as grocery, pharmacy, transport and leisure, with a focus on supporting their members (known as Wiiv-ers) as a true community.

Listen to this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty to hear why Wiiv won two of the industry's most prestigious awards at this year's Loyalty Magazine Awards, including Regional Loyalty Champion Award for Middle East and Africa as well as highly commended for Best New loyalty Programme launch of the year in 2018.

Show Notes:

1) Wiiv Loyalty Programme Mauritius

2) Delphine Lagesse - Group Strategic Innovation & Excellence Executive at IBL Together, Mauritius

3) Cécile Henry - IBL Group Loyalty Manager at IBL Together, Mauritius

Rob Burgess is a leading travel loyalty expert in the UK, reporting on campaigns by airlines and hotels as well as loyalty-led credit cards in the UK market.

Rob personally boasts over 1 million Avios points, 1 million Virgin Flying Club miles and over 6 million airline, hotel and credit card points. He created HeadForPoints.com as a platform to share his ideas on how to get the best value from these loyalty assets, and now boasts an extra-ordinary community of 50,000 UK travel consumers who all love being recognised and rewarded for their loyalty!

As a past winner of 'Editor of the Year' at the Business Travel Journalism Awards, Rob has successfully achieved what many digital entrepreneurs dream of, having left a traditional corporate career and created a compelling digital business publication that is loved by readers who enjoy his highly informed, yet independent view.

Rob also acts as a consultant to the loyalty industry, focusing on the development of reward schemes which are attractive to consumers whilst cost effective for the sponsor.

In this episode of Let's Talk Loyalty, we discuss how loyalty leaders can and should connect with thought leaders online. We also discuss some extra-ordinary loyalty leaders in the UK beyond travel, including John Lewis departments stores and the iconic Danish café brand - Joe & the Juice.

Show Notes:

1) Rob Burgess - Founder and Editor - Head for Points

2) HeadforPoints - the UK's biggest frequent flyer and business travel website

3) Podcast Episode / Audio Article about Joe & The Juice