Currency Alliance

New from Currency Alliance: #LoyaltyTrends2025. As we do every year, we separate out the fundamentals that #loyalty teams *should* be focusing on, from the fads that may be distracting brands from their key priorities. See the 7 trends for this year > link in comments. #loyaltytrends

New from Currency Alliance: Loyalty for #CPGs and FMCGs. The earliest #loyalty tactics from consumer goods companies were vouchers or coupons that you could collect from cereal boxes etc. This can still be fun for kids, but most brands today are interested in more effective digital loyalty solutions which quickly yield zero-party data. Our latest article describes and weighs up the options available to these companies - including indentifying the customer via card-linking, via an app installed on the retailer's ePOS, and 6 other methods. Full article > comments link.

Loyalty partnerships: how to optimize your partner mix Nearly every points-based #loyaltyprogram increasingly relies on partnerships so that more customers can earn and burn points across a wider network of brands, and engage more frequently with the program. But the optimal mix changes from business to business, depending on your customers' preferences, the geographies in which you sell, the nature of the data you want to collect, and cultural alignment between collaborating brands. In this new article from Currency Alliance, we discuss how brands can optimize the partner mix based on their customers, and their strategic goals. Link in comments. #loyaltypartnerships

I had a great conversation a couple of weeks ago with Peter Vogel on vLoyalty Lab - the recording is now available to watch. This was a valuable opportunity to look at the evolving understanding of how #loyaltypartnerships enhance the performance of a #loyaltyprogram. A few points which people might find particularly helpful... ...at 25:30, how an airline's best customer may never buy a ticket, because their accrual transactions in your loyalty program are producing steady income from the sale of your points to partners. ...28:01, how hotels are part of a neighbourhood, and can optimize their member experience by partnering with various local restaurants and other services that guests may need during their stay. ...34:19, where I describe how neobanks and other fintech scaleups are now widely considering #loyalty as a key pillar of their growth strategy, in order to stay top of wallet, and as means to retain customer preference for their financial services. Thanks to Peter for interview.

#Marketingpersonalization comprises four key strategic initiatives: 1️⃣ Collecting customer data with consent, at scale 2️⃣ Targeting offers and messaging based on predicated ROI 3️⃣ Execution across multi-channel, multi-brand customer journeys 4️⃣ Coherent measurement across all marketing for ongoing optimization Currency Alliance’s latest article analyses the current benchmark for each one, and describes how the #loyaltyprogram can improve on current efforts. Full article here: https://bit.ly/3M98FNY

As a consent-based platform for sharing customer data, hashtag #loyaltyprograms are the most powerful available tool for hashtag #marketingpersonalization. Our latest article describes how, with modern technology, the loyalty program can now be used to enhance and drive hashtag #personalization efforts across the wider business. Full story > comments link.

'Dynamic pricing' is discussed a lot in #loyalty, but redemption values can also be varied dynamically. A wide range of factors determine the optimal ROI on a given transaction: whether or not the inventory is distressed, the predicted 'loyalty impact' of a given customer action, and the projected CLV. The optimal redemption value, therefore, changes depending on a wide range of factors. Dynamic algorithsm can be applied to vary this value in real-time, so that brands are always offering the optimal value for the number of points burned. Full story on the Currency Alliance blog: https://bit.ly/4f1cClj

Last year, Nike announced a loyalty partnership in Europe with JD Sports Fashion, helping to bring Nike fans to the retailer, and also yielding valuable insight for Nike about how customers shop in a third-party setting. The partnership was clearly successful as it's now expanded into the US - though it's not yet clear as to whether members can engage with the program when they travel between different countries. For points-based #loyaltyprograms, this is a longstanding challenge; for instance, American Express Rewards earned in EMEA cannot be burned in the US. This is often due to the loyalty program being regulated separately in different countries, or local teams using different technology. As a non-points based program, it should be easier for the Nike x JD Sports partnership to offer a truly global experience for members, which would be positive, as many people like to shop when they travel. Congratulations to Régis Schultz's team and the Nike team on the growth of this partnership. https://lnkd.in/dB98PzbT

Dr. Nejib Ben-Khedher's recent article on Skift is great reading, reflecting a lot of best-practice #loyaltymarketing. Helping customers get to rewards faster, of having accrual partners in many different categories, and ensuring that infrequent customers can find value in the loyalty program, are all crucial to maximizing the impact and efficiency of the #loyaltyprogram. Many loyalty programs would like to achieve similar things, and a number, like Emirates Skywards, have taken the bold move to evolve their loyalty infrastructure to lay the foundation for growth. It is a pleasure to read such comments, which reflect Emirates Skywards' vast experience and industry leadership, but also reflect conversations we have had directly. Getting the cost of onboarding new partners as low as possible is essential to increasing partner ROI, but it also opens the door to collaborate with many different smaller or medium-size partners, which extends the relevance of the loyalty program to more members. https://lnkd.in/dfEGmzn6

Two popular #loyaltyprograms have joined forces in UAE, Al-Futtaim partnering with Emarat - Emirates General Petroleum Corporation to increase earning opportunities for members of both programs. Dany Karam described the partnership as part of a mission to "constantly elevate our lifestyle offerings for our customers". Of course, Al-Futtaim already has an expansive lifestyle offering with many different brands under the group. The addition of a major fuel chain, via loyalty partnership, expands the Blue value proposition in a different business category, extending the reach and appeal of the program to more members at relatively low direct cost. Congratulations to Dany and Ali Bin Zayed for what will be a highly productive partnership for both businesses. https://lnkd.in/dgyUPYpn