There are plenty of full news stories listed on our main news page - make sure you don't miss them! Here are some of the latest news highlights...  
 · Smartphone users more loyal to their network
 · Nectar UK simplifies the redemption process
 · Virgin adds more flexibility to its Elevate FFP
 · Telecoms customers want love, not discounts
 · Marketing ROI still lagging without data analysis
 · Customers may be engaged, but what about you?
 · Travel loyalty schemes counter lower revenues
 · RightNow urges more social customer experiences

 
More: See the main news articles
 

Futura Rewards has recently signed a loyalty and marketing services agreement with Integra Tire & Auto Centres to launch both the Aeroplan and Futura Rewards programmes throughout the company's 64 locations in Western Canada. Futura will provide the loyalty solution and ongoing tracking of transactions for Integra, allowing the company to more easily measure its return on marketing investment. Futura's range of reward solutions is also in place at all Integra locations, thanks largely to Futura's proprietary web-based rewards issuance system.

Web: http://www.futurarewards.ca

PeopleValue, a UK-based provider of loyalty programmes, has been enlisted by Denmans Electrical Wholesalers to provide a points-based loyalty and incentive scheme to help drive product sales throughout the company's 73 outlets nationwide. PeopleValue's loyalty, reward, incentive and benefit programmes are already in use by a range of organisations, providing the creation, execution and management of programmes for companies such as Rank, npower, Whitbread, Corus, Royal Mail, Aviva and the RAC.

Web: http://www.peoplevalue.co.uk

When Sprint launched its rewards programme one year ago, the company says it had no idea how popular the programme would be. But now Sprint reports that the benefits that Premier members receive have helped to foster a new level of loyalty among its customers. To mark the programme's first anniversary, Sprint announced a number of enhancements to the programme, including Anniversary Rewards (every year customers get a 'thank you' gift for their loyalty - the choice of a US$5 service credit or 75 voice bonus minutes); a Premier Community Forum (an online user community for Premier members); and a new Premier web site explaining Premier eligibility and programme benefits. As before, members continue to benefit from early upgrades, accessory discounts, and other bonus offers and perks.

Web: http://www.sprint.com

In South Africa, the eBucks coalition loyalty programme has expanded into the growing mobile advertising market with the addition of Goodyz as a partner. According to Jolande Duvenage, CEO for eBucks, the programme recognised that mobile is a new paradigm and was eager to break into this space. Using their smartphone's web browser, eBucks members can go to the Goodyz mobile web site to download the Goodyz application. They then earn eBucks for every advertisement that is viewed (automatically - every time their phone rings, or when messages are sent or received). There is no charge for the Goodyz software, but standard data rates do apply for the images transferred from Goodyz to the handset. According to Anton Potgieter, managing director for Huge Media (which owns Goodyz), "Goodyz has been well received by the market since its launch and, with an increasing local rate of adoption of the mobile web, South Africa has become an ideal market to pioneer these sorts of mobile applications."

Web: http://www.ebucks.com

Rick Ferguson, former Editorial Director of Colloquy, has joined Groupe Aeroplan's executive management team. In his new role as Vice President, Knowledge Development, he will assume overall direction for the dissemination of loyalty marketing thought-leadership, research and best practices. Rick is recognised as a leading expert in customer loyalty by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, USA Today, the Guardian UK, Forbes.com, MSNBC and, of course, The Wise Marketer and The Loyalty Guide. He has published numerous articles and white papers describing best practices in customer loyalty and has pioneered research describing the characteristics of word-of-mouth advocates. He has taught loyalty-marketing workshops around the world and has served as a featured or keynote speaker at loyalty conferences in Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, the UK and the US.

Web: http://www.groupeaeroplan.com

Recognizing the growing meeting planners market in Latin America and the Caribbean, InterContinental Hotels Group's Priority Club Rewards has expanded its Meeting Rewards programme to the 73 IHG hotels within 20 countries and territories in the region. Developed with meeting planners in mind, Priority Club Meeting Rewards awards three points per dollar to planners booking 10 guest rooms. Up to 60,000 points can be earned with each meeting and then redeemed for Meeting Credits, an American Express branded prepaid card ranging in value from US$250 - US$1,000, and valid toward future meetings at any of IHG's more than 4,400 hotels and resorts worldwide. Meetings Planners are also upgraded to Priority Club Gold Elite status after booking just one meeting in a calendar year and Platinum Elite after booking two. They also benefit from the features of Priority Club Rewards, such as no point expiration, no blackout dates for free night stays and online account management 24/7.

Web: http://www.ihg.com

The Australian shopping rewards programme, FlyBuys, has reported a surge in new memberships in 2009, with a significant number of young shoppers signing up for the programme. Almost 400,000 new cardholders joined FlyBuys in 2009, with the average age of new members being 33 years - 12 years younger than the overall average age of a FlyBuys' cardholder. The interest in the programme generated the second highest annual growth rate for new membership households since FlyBuys was launched in 1994. FlyBuys General Manager Phil Hawkins attributed the strong interest in the programme to the economic downturn as well as to growing consumer awareness of the benefits of loyalty programmes. FlyBuys is one of the biggest coalition loyalty programmes in the world with more than 5.5 million membership households and more than 10 million cardholders in Australia. Participating brands include Coles Supermarkets, NAB, Kmart, Target, Liquorland, Liquorland Direct, Kmart Tyre & Auto Service, Bi-Lo, Jetset and Travelworld.

Web: http://www.flybuys.com.au

Air Miles collectors have donated Can$352,050 to the Canadian Red Cross to help with relief efforts in Haiti following its devastating earthquake. In partnership with the Canadian Red Cross, Air Miles encouraged their collectors to donate 200 reward miles online from January 15 to February 12. These were converted into Can$25 cash donations to the Haiti Relief Fund. These total contributions from collectors will be included in donations presented to the federal government by the Canadian Red Cross for matching, so the donation will actually amount to Can$704,100.

Web: http://www.airmiles.ca

A new reward offer from npower could boost Barclaycard Freedom customers' accounts by £160 per year. The reward, the first in the scheme to be paid regardless of the amount the customer spends on their card, is recorded in pounds, not points, and can be immediately spent by customers at thousands of participating retailers across the UK. To mark the partnership, npower is doubling its sign-up incentive to £60 of Reward Money for Barclaycard Freedom cardholders who transfer their gas and electricity to npower before May 17th. To this is added the £100 annual loyalty payment for both new and existing npower customers paying by monthly direct debit for both fuels.

Web: http://www.barclaycard.com

Aeroplan members can now earn miles on more than 60 Nestle and Purina Pet Care products. More than Can$30 billion is spent every year by manufacturers encouraging Canadians to buy a vast range of their goods, including cereals, juices, stereos, motorcycles and cars. Most of these companies share a common challenge: they don't have a direct relationship with their customers. They can't learn about their customers without traditional primary research or going through a channel partner. The new agreement bridges this gap. Members simply purchase a participating product, visit the relevant maker's website and enter the PIN on the packaging to earn miles.

Web: http://www.aeroplan.com

After research indicating that US coupon usage had increased in 2009 for the first time in 17 years, new data from Coupons.com has revealed an increase in printed savings of over 170% during 2009. Compared to growth metrics for coupons inserted into newspapers, which range between 8% and 16%, digital coupons dramatically outpaced the growth of their newspaper counterparts by more than ten to one. Coupons.com reported that almost US$1 billion in savings was printed from the Coupons.com network last year. More than 45 million American consumers are now using online coupons, up from 38m in 2008. Of those 45 million online coupon users, almost one third (13.1 million) said they do not clip coupons from their Sunday newspaper - a 140% increase over 9.4 million in 2008.

Web: http://www.coupons.com

Best Western International has launched its "Status Match, No Catch" programme, which rewards members of its free global Best Western Rewards loyalty programme with matching elite status of any other hotel loyalty programme - free of charge. From now on, new and existing Best Western Rewards members can upgrade their Rewards status by providing proof of elite status with another hotel loyalty programme. Best Western Rewards points will be earned at the equivalent elite status immediately. Members of Best Western Speed Rewards and Best Western Ride Rewards are also eligible.

Web: http://www.bestwestern.com

Tesco is marking the fifteenth anniversary of its Clubcard by sending vouchers worth over £120 million to 14 million+ members, as well as other birthday offers that include cut price deals at Hilton hotels, free entry into theme parks and other Merlin attractions, half price on selected magazine subscriptions, and hundreds of pounds off Virgin holidays. Every Clubcard member can enter into a prize draw, and five of them will become 'Clubcard Millionaires' - worth £10,000 in shopping or £40,000 if the points are used on other rewards. Clubcard now has more than 400 partners. Tesco will also continue to give customers double points on their purchases. Tesco has national loyalty card schemes based on Clubcard in Ireland, Poland, Malaysia, South Korea and China and pilot schemes in Slovakia, Thailand and Turkey. Tesco has now launched three iPhone apps: the first allows customers to find their nearest Tesco store and even the exact aisle and shelf location of any given product. The second allows customers to photograph a bottle of wine and, if Tesco stocks it, they will receive Tesco tasting notes and can buy it online. The third and latest app turns the phone into an electronic Clubcard, enabling customers to scan the phone screen without having to search for their card.

Web: http://www.tesco.com

Amtrak Guest Rewards members can earn 5,000 points with the purchase or upgrade of a cell phone and service plan with Points for Wireless, powered by a new Guest Rewards partner, Wirefly. To earn 5,000 points, Amtrak Guest Rewards members must make a purchase from Wirefly's web site. The points are posted to their loyalty accounts some 8-10 weeks after activation of their new mobile phone, and can be redeemed for Amtrak travel, hotel stays, car rentals, and retail and restaurant gift cards among other options.

Web: http://www.amtrakguestrewards.com

Budgetcar, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, has renewed its multi-year agreement with Alliance Data's Canadian Air Miles Reward programme. Budget has been a sponsor and rewards supplier in the Air Miles coalition since 2007, issuing reward miles to Canadian Air Miles members who rent vehicles in Canada. Under terms of the new agreement, from the end of the first quarter 2010, Budget will also issue reward miles to collectors who rent cars in the United States. Under terms of the reward supplier renewal agreement, collectors can now also redeem reward miles for US car rentals.

Web: http://www.airmiles.ca

Barclaycard has announced the names of the first national partners to join its new Barclaycard Freedom loyalty programme in the UK. Some 30,000 outlets of small and medium retailers have already been invited to join. The first national partners are LA Fitness, YO! Sushi, Firebox.com, Goldsmiths and Nationwide Autocentres. The programme will be available automatically to over eight million Barclaycard cardholders who will (also automatically) earn and redeem Reward Money at the point of sale. Reward Money is recorded in pounds and pence. When the programme launches in March, cardholders will be able to earn a reward of one percent . The national partners will also offer cardholders special promotions and giveaways. Cardholders see their new Reward Money balance on the card machine as part of each transaction. The next time they use their card in a participating retailer they will see the current value of their Reward Money balance on the card machine before they enter their PIN to pay. They can then choose to redeem some or all of their Reward Money toward that transaction or continue to save for a future purchase at another retailer within the scheme.

Web: http://www.barclaycard.co.uk

Until March 28, guests who stay twice at any Best Western hotel can earn double or triple rewards if bookings are made on Best Western's web site. Double or triple rewards begin with the second qualified Best Western Rewards stay, and continue on each qualified stay thereafter, up to four stays during the promotion period. There is no cap on the number of bonuses that can be earned by elite members of Best Western Rewards.

Web: http://www.bestwestern.com

Recycling reward and loyalty programme, RecycleBank, is joining with eBay to reward consumers for recycling and re-using items. RecycleBank rewards people for positive green actions (currently the recycling of trash and electronics) and in five years use of the model has, on average, seen recycling volumes increase two to five times, and members earn hundreds of dollars in reward value. RecycleBank has programmes in hundreds of cities around the country, reaching over one million consumers. RecycleBank members will soon be able to use their RecycleBank Points for discounts on eBay purchases

Web: http://www.RecycleBank.com

Loyalty New Zealand has signed up Universal Music New Zealand's music catalogue and now has 280,000 songs available to download on Fly Buys Music. According to Fly Buys, many of its 2.2 million card holders like to turn their points into music. A 30, 60 or 90 song download voucher 'costs' 260, 500 or 720 Fly Buys Points. The voucher is emailed directly with a link to flybuysmusic.co.nz to begin downloading. Some 65% of all music is now available on Fly Buys Music, including artists from two of the main music industry players, Sony and Universal. The music is DRM-free in MP3 format, encoded at MP3 256 Kbps or higher, and is very close to CD quality and is compatible with almost all portable players and devices including iPods.

Web: http://www.flybuys.co.nz

A new benchmarking study from dotCommerce of 100 UK retailers reveals that just 42% of UK retailers have a social media presence. Only 10% use more than one social media network and just 32% of retailers with a Twitter or Facebook account promote them on their web site. The report also uncovers the differences in social media activity between larger and smaller retailers. Larger retailers are more likely to have a Twitter or Facebook account, with 42% on Twitter compared to just 12% of smaller brands. However, when it comes to blogs, smaller companies are leading the way as 10% have a blog, compared to only 6% of bigger ecommerce players. Other key findings include: Although Facebook has a greater user base than Twitter, fewer retailers have a presence there (24% compared to 26% for Twitter). One of the reasons might be the more 'open' nature of Twitter, making it easier to enter from a business standpoint. Retailers are largely using Twitter as a broadcasting tool with 73% using it for product updates, 62% for marketing and 58% to promote company news. Only 8% of retailers have a blog on their website, making it the least used of all the main social media channels assessed. Only 6% of retailers offered links to any other social media channels like Youtube and Flickr . The report can be downloaded at http://www.dotcommerce.co.uk/social_ecommerce_solutions.

Web: http://www.dotcommerce.co.uk

A single negative experience with a customer call centre would be likely to cause 68% of the respondents to take their business elsewhere, reveals a survey commissioned by Teleperformance and conducted by YouGov. Over 1,000 US adult consumers took part. Survey results also revealed that consumers expect excellent service in return for brand loyalty. Some 87% of people felt that they had a right to a better contact centre experience if they regularly spend money with a company or stay loyal to a brand, and 51% said the main reason for their dissatisfaction with a company is poor customer service or a bad contact centre experience. In a UK survey that was also commissioned, British consumers responded similarly.

Web: http://www.teleperformance.com

Saudi Arabian-based Riyad Bank and First Data have launched a new credit card reward programme for Riyad Bank customers.The Hassad rewards programme is an automated, points-based loyalty programme powered by First Data's loyalty technology on FirstVision, its global issuing and consumer finance processing solution. Participating cardholders can earn one Hassad reward point for every 10 Saudi riyal spent on Riyad Bank credit cards. They can redeem them at selected outlets.

Web: http://www.firstdata.com

During the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Payback is offering its members the opportunity to collect gold points. Every gold medal that German athletes win increases the points that participating customers collect on their purchases. Customers will earn double points for two gold medals, triple points for three gold medals, quadruple points for four, and so on. In fact, they can collect up to 15-fold points. The first similar campaign, run during the Summer Olympics in Beijing, turned out to be the biggest and most successful campaign in the history of Payback. The campaign is split into three phases: during the first phase, the customers register. The second phase (currently under way and running until the start of the Games) involves broad-based communication activities. The third phase begins when the Games get under way, with heavy multimedia advertising. Payback supported the German Olympic teams in Athens in 2004, in Turin in 2006 and in Beijing in 2008 and has devised a charity campaign in aid of Deutsche Sporthilfe for each of the games. So far, these campaigns have raised donations totalling some EUR 400,000.

Web: http://www.payback.net/Home.8.0.html?&L=1

American Airlines Cargo Division has redesigned its Business ExtrAA programme, which now allows nearly all cargo customers to earn travel awards for booking cargo shipments. For every shipment on American Airlines, regardless of the size or booking method, eligible AA Cargo customers earn points that can be redeemed for travel-related awards such as airline travel certificates, upgrades, and Admirals Club memberships or passes. Previously, the programme only rewarded customers for booking their shipments online. For every US$40,000 in eligible shipping revenue customers earn 2,000 points - the equivalent of a PlanAAhead Award for the Continental US, Canada, and Mexico in Economy Class, plus 20 bonus points for the company's express freight product, Expeditefs, and five bonus points for making their bookings online. Eligible AA Cargo customers can earn up to 200,000 points per calendar year.

Web: http://www.aacargo.com

The Baesman Group has formed a channel partnership to deliver enhanced loyalty programme capabilities to US retailers. Baesman will become a preferred channel partner and will offer the Reward Paths loyalty management system - Incentive Control - for resale in the US, while providing clients with full programme design, execution, communications, fulfillment, reporting and analytical services in connection with loyalty marketing programmes operated on the platform. Reward Paths will provide the software and technical support services, plus any platform customisation needs and web services, from its global technology centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Inventive Control is a 100% web-based tool that requires no extended client footprint other than a browser and provides complete back-end functionality to manage customer loyalty programmes, sales force and channel incentive programmes, consumer rebate processing and employee motivation or performance improvement programmes. marketplace.

Web: http://www.rewardpaths.com

Annual coupon use in the US is on the rise for the first time since 1992. Coupon distribution hit the highest level recorded since Inmar, a leading promotion transaction settlement provider, began tracking trends in 1988. For the first time in 17 years, consumers used more coupons than they did the year before, with 3.3 billion consumer packaged goods coupons redeemed, a 27% increase over the 2.6 billion redeemed in 2008. The rise in coupon use started in October 2008, coinciding with news of the US financial crisis. That has led to five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth (based on percentage change from the same period of the previous year). The increase in redemption goes hand-in-hand with an increase in distribution. Despite the tight economy, marketers invested heavily in coupons, boosting the number available to the highest level in over 30 years. Brands issued 367 billion coupons, at an average face value of US$1.44, indicating that they were committed to promotions in 2009. Online coupons also contributed to the rise in coupon distribution and redemption, with internet distribution up 92% and consumer redemption of these coupons up over 360%. However, in spite of the meteoric rise in online and digital couponing, the traditional newspaper-distributed FSI still accounts for 89% of all coupons distributed and over half of the coupons redeemed. Consumers expect to find coupons in their sunday papers, and they will continue to be there for them. As coupon numbers across the board rose in 2009, brands were forced to mitigate the cost of increased redemption by maintaining face values and keeping expiration periods in check. In 2009, face values declined by a penny, reversing a multi-year trend of increasing values. Expiration periods were shortened by 10% last year, after years of virtually no change.

Web: http://www.inmar.com

An increasing number of financial institutions are going back to offering marketing gifts as an incentive to attract and keep the nearly 25% of large-bank customers who plan to switch to local banks or credit unions this year. According to River Rock Marketing Services, a company that develops incentive-based acquisition and retention programmes that use merchandise as incentive gifts for the financial services industry, there is substantial evidence that offering branded merchandise as bank marketing gifts motivates consumers to take immediate action, spurring new accounts and increasing the ROI on what is spent to attract and keep customers. The source of cash or a gift card is quickly forgotten, and its perceived value is fixed: US$50 is US$50. It is indistinguishable from one offer to another.

Web: http://www.riverrocksvcs.com

Hawkins Strategic's centre for Advanced Retail Technology (CART) has partnered with RetailConnections, creators of peer-to-peer events that bring together a diverse range of retailing companies and senior management executives. The events, which provide quality education and sharing of ideas are seen to be perfectly aligned with CART's educational mission to move the industry to Retail 3.0. Retail 3.0 is the next-generation retail industry ecosystem driven by relevant marketing to the individual shopper, realtime marketing and supply chain synergies, built on the foundation of shopper-identified transaction data. RetailConnections is the ideal interactive forum through which industry members can work through their evolution to the new ecosystem together.

Web: http://www.hawkinsstrategic.com