Loyalty Wired

In response to the closure of several high profile loyalty programs and criticism from authors like Byron Sharp, we explore the case for loyalty backed with evidence. With special guests, Tom Hill, Jessie Stuart, Dicken Doe and Phil Gunter.

This week we devote our entire episode to one of the hottest topics in customer loyalty. In this featured segment, Rick Ferguson speaks to an all-star roster of experts to answer an existential question: If marketing personalization is so important, then why aren’t more companies better at it?

In this special segment, Rick Ferguson stands inside of Starbucks’ original Pike Place Market store in Seattle and asks: Can Starbucks leverage its loyalty program and its vaunted digital wizardry to recapture its corporate soul? Plus, we dive into research on Australian customer loyalty and chat with the VP of Marketing for Canada's Air Miles Reward Program.

In this podcast we examine the growth of TikTok Shop, with Mark Ross of Konsort Social, and ask if social enterprise platforms could allow loyalty programs to turn top customers into a meaningful sales channel.

A decade ago, the global loyalty landscape was ruled by big multi-merchant coalition program operators. Today, most of those operators are gone. Rick Ferguson convenes our Loyalty Roundtable to discuss the past, present, and future of coalition loyalty. Plus, we talk to a loyalty player in the legal cannabis market and explore the changes to the Qantas frequent-flyer program.

In the saturated world of hotel loyalty, how can you make an impact in best-customer relationships? Rick Ferguson chats with Sonesta Hotels' Kevin McCarthy about the opportunities and challenges of relaunching a loyalty program in a crowded marketplace. Also, Rick debuts the launch of the Empire State Building Ambassador program and Iain Pringle explores the explosive growth of retail media with SG-Retail's Steve Gray.

In this podcast we explore the explosive growth of the retail media industry which was worth over $128 billion in 2023. With special guests Steve Gray and Katie Streeter-Hurle of SMG we explore the conditions that led to this growth, what benefits it brings customers and brands and provide advice for those considering a retail media strategy.

In this podcast we explore making the case for loyalty in the boardroom. How do you prove value and make a case for long-term investment. With special guests Amy Barnett of VP of Loyalty at Cracker Barrel and Jay Weinberg.

With recent changes to Air Miles in Canada and Nectar in the UK, the coalition model continues to evolve. But will it go extinct? Iain Pringle explores the seismic shift in the New Zealand loyalty landscape that led to the demise of the FlyBuys coalition while Rick explores the rise of the “Zero Consumer” and Airbnb’s customer loyalty strategy.

This week Rick Ferguson revisits US credit card regulations and asks what a settlement could mean for issuers and merchants and explores whether loyalty to apple is a pleasure or a pain.